174. I Want to Exploit Abilities

Many adventurers possess one or two special abilities unrelated to their chosen profession.

For instance, a warrior might awaken a “Hundred Strikes, Hundred Hits” ability, or a mage might gain a “Strength Enhancement” ability.

These abilities, entirely unrelated or of a different category from one’s profession, occasionally become variables that create tremendous synergy.

However, most of the time, they end up as useless, trash-tier abilities that merely take up space.

“So, you’re saying you can extract abilities like threads and trade them?”

“Yes. It’s possible. I tried it, and it worked.”

“Shion, what the hell did you do in the underground city?”

“Just… this and that…”

“Impressive!”

The second floor of the Adventurer’s Guild. The Guild Leader’s private office.

Moira was overjoyed at the news that abilities could now be bought and sold.

“If we extract abilities from retiring old-timers and implant them into the new generation… it’ll be a natural generational shift.”

“Are you planning to gather the old-timers?”

“There are many retired adventurers in the labyrinth city. We’ll have to post notices. If we announce that the guild is buying unused abilities, cash-strapped old folks will flock to us.”

“How much are you thinking of paying?”

“Hmm. It’ll vary depending on the ability.”

They decided to systematically grade abilities, with higher-ranked ones fetching higher prices.

“And it’s true that combining identical abilities strengthens them?”

“Yes. I tested it, and it worked.”

By using adventurers bound by Soul Chains, he upgraded his “Map Creation” ability to Level 2, expanding its range.

Identical abilities could be combined to strengthen them. How far this could go was unknown, but that could be tested gradually.

“So, to summarize: abilities can be extracted like threads and traded physically. Identical abilities can be twisted together to merge. Correct?”

“Yes. And you can also twist discarded abilities together to rebirth them into entirely new ones.”

“Shion. The more I hear, the more outrageous this sounds. How did you contract with an entity capable of such things?”

“……”

Would she worry if he said he’d agreed to hunt a Demon King?

“Should I tell you the truth?”

“Yes. Exactly as it is, please.”

“Well, you see… I have to go down to the 7th floor and capture a Demon King.”

“That’s a hellish difficulty.”

“Well, it’s that good of an ability.”

Thanks to Frodo, material reprocessing became possible, and through Zellia, pseudo-artifact production would soon be feasible.

Now, with Arad, he could even manipulate abilities.

‘I need to conquer the 6th floor and raise the adventurers’ standards.’

To explore the 7th floor, they had to secure up to the 6th first.

“That’s all for the report for now.”

“Leave the rest to me. I’ll post notices across the entire city.”

“Thank you.”

It was fortunate that he had a close relationship with Moira.

Her immense influence covered areas he couldn’t touch, making dungeon exploration much smoother.

“By the way, I heard the Beastkin Union will be sending people soon.”

“The Beastkin Union? Ah, the chairman must’ve summoned them.”

“Right. But they insisted on seeing your face. Something about inspecting the ‘Commander,’ or whatever.”

“I see.”

This time, the chairman had called for beastkin specialized in combat.

While most beastkin living in the labyrinth city were human-friendly and docile, these newcomers were the fiery-tempered type.

They were likely highly aggressive and xenophobic toward humans.

“And around the same time, elves will be arriving too.”

“They’ll want to see me as well, right?”

“That’s what I heard.”

Elves were nearly extinct in this world. The few remaining either struggled to survive or secluded themselves in forests, rarely emerging.

Even among themselves, elves had genetic traits that made preserving their species difficult, yet their culture despised half-elves, refusing to mix blood with other races.

As a result, the pure-bloodists lived completely isolated. And since almost all elves were pure-bloodists, they were rarely seen.

“I didn’t expect elves to react like this over a single letter from Rafnel.”

“She must’ve been nobility in elf society.”

“Whatever wind blew this way, we’ll likely see a significant influx of elves. You’ll need to handle the talks carefully.”

“They won’t dislike me or anything, right?”

“They dislike everything. Humans, beastkin, even other elves-they often hate each other too. They’re just crazy bastards.”

“Actual lunatics…”

“Finding a sane elf is harder. Most are arrogant, prideful, and have lived for centuries, making their stubbornness and prejudice worse than a senile old man in the back room. Ugh, it’s disgusting.”

“But they’re strong.”

“Exactly. They’re a monstrous race that trains for centuries.”

Most of them holed up in forests, cut off from the outside world, dedicating themselves solely to training. In terms of skill, they were on an entirely different level from humans.

Even beastkin, born with superior physiques and instincts, lowered their tails before elder elf warriors.

Though a minority, each elf warrior was incredibly strong.

This was also why elf slaves were feared. No one could understand why they’d allow themselves to be enslaved by humans.

“In that sense, Rafnel and Helena are sane.”

“No. By elf standards, they’re abnormal. Living assimilated into human society makes them the greatest oddities.”

“I see.”

So there are no sane ones.

Being human-friendly makes them abnormal by elf standards.

Elves are just inherently abnormal.

“My head’s spinning.”

“Once the elves arrive, we’ll likely need to prepare a separate space for them. So, Shion.”

“Yes?”

“You bought a mansion not too long ago, right?”

“I did?”

“There’s some land around it. How about you manage the elves? I heard Rafnel is already staying at your mansion.”

“Me? Manage elves?”

“Hand direct communication to Rafnel, but let’s build an elf district around your mansion. How does that sound?”

“Won’t that just mean troublesome neighbors?”

“It might actually be good. It’s a chance to observe elf lifestyles. And if we create an elf residential zone centered around your mansion, you could profit from it.”

“How?”

“You’d act as the intermediary. Anyone who wants to meet elves would have to go through you. There are plenty who’d want that.”

“I see. You’re suggesting using it as an embassy.”

“Exactly.”

He pondered for a moment.

Using his house as an elf embassy…

The mansion was spacious enough that people coming and going wouldn’t be noticeable.

‘Most importantly, monetizing the elves could be incredibly lucrative.’

The culture of a race largely unknown to the public was prime business material for those who got in early.

“Will the Druid Association chairman have any objections?”

“That guy will be too busy managing the incoming beastkin. He’s probably overwhelmed right now. I made him a similar proposal.”

“The chairman will be swamped managing the beastkin special zone.”

“Right. I told him to buy land around the Druid Association building. The beastkin will settle there.”

“I see…”

The labyrinth city was becoming truly diverse.

“Let’s proceed with that plan, then.”

He’d leave elf management to Rafnel. Or maybe he should recruit an elf to assist him in the labyrinth city.

“By the way.”

“Yeah?”

“Since you have this ability-extraction technique… How about taking a few of my abilities?”

“Your abilities?”

“Yes. My labyrinth assimilation makes dungeon diving difficult now anyway. Some of my abilities are overkill for just guarding the city.”

“Don’t tell me… You’re offering me your Magic Eyes?”

“What do you say? Want them?”

Moira possessed quite a few Magic Eyes, some of them extremely dangerous.

“Among them, the ones most suitable for you right now are the ‘Eye of Identification,’ ‘Dragon Eye of Intimidation,’ and ‘Eye of Insight,’ among others.”

“What does the Eye of Insight do?”

“It maximizes dynamic visual acuity. You can anticipate an opponent’s techniques, movements, or spells a step ahead.”

“That’s just…”

“Overpowered, right? It lets you instantly counter attacks mid-battle. It’s similar to the ‘Retroactive Foresight’ ability.”

Retroactive Foresight was akin to an extreme counter-even if the opponent attacked first, your strike would land first. With the Eye of Insight, he could achieve a similar effect.

It also synergized incredibly well with his Dimensional Pouch. With sharpened senses, he could not only react to incoming attacks but also steal the opponent’s weapons.

“That’s very tempting.”

“Take them, then. I’m strong enough without them anyway. And while you’re at it, take the Dragon Eye too. It also enhances dynamic vision and applies a strong intimidation effect against those you’ve killed before-or even those you’re meeting for the first time.”

“So it staggers them?”

“You can make them flee in fear too. Want them?”

“Well, if you’re offering, I won’t say no.”

“Good. I don’t need them to intimidate people anyway.”

Thus, Shion received the Eye of Insight and Dragon Eye of Intimidation from Moira.

“They were my go-to eyes before I reached mastery. They’ll be useful. And take the Eye of Identification too. It’ll let you glean basic info about unfamiliar monsters, objects, or items.”

“Thank you. The Eye of Identification is famous.”

It was an eye that spared him from trial and error. Rumor had it that this eye, connected to the “Book of All Creation,” overloaded the user’s brain but granted vast knowledge.

“Arad, please.”

A small spider crawled out from his shadow and onto Moira’s hand.

“So this is how it feels.”

“A bit ticklish, right?”

“Like being bitten by a bug. Wait, no-it is a bite.”

Arad, having bitten Moira, extracted three threads from her.

The Eyes of Identification, Insight, and the Dragon Eye, no doubt.

Magic Eyes were rare abilities-selling these three could fetch an astronomical sum.

“Implanting them now.”

“Alright. How is it?”

“Well… uh…”

Arad, having extracted the ability threads, injected them into Shion.

His vision sharpened noticeably.

“Holy shit…”

His eyes ached intensely.

At the same time, Moira’s office began to look different.

“There are so many peculiar items here.”

“Many are from the 7th floor.”

“Now I can see them. Wow.”

Through the Eye of Identification, rare items in the office became visible.

He’d thought they were just decorations before. He was wrong.

“Your dynamic vision should be sharper too.”

“This is insane.”

As he marveled at his enhanced sight, Moira smiled in satisfaction.

He’d just gotten three Magic Eyes for free. Wasn’t this the ultimate freeloading?