Chapter 113: Sponsorship

Remember to join my Patreon to get 35 chapters in Advance! You can check it here: https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch

-----

Ding!

[Character [Inferna] is eligible for a [Super Growth Package Gift (C Rank Privilege)]!]

[Unlockable Abilities]: [Jack of all Trades (A)] [Guardian (A)] [Demonic Spear Master (S)] [???] […]

[Overall Description]: [Inferna is a Low-Ranking Demon girl from the Ruined Demonic Realm. Her talents with the spear are surprisingly good; despite being self-taught, she has grasped a basic mastery over the weapon she hasn't realized yet, thanks to her innate talent with it.]

[Additionally, her tendency to learn many things at once has made her a sort of jack-of-all-trades, practicing some basic alchemy, first aid, cooking, cleaning, sewing, and even taming weak and small demonic beasts.]

[With enough help, she can attain the ability to learn up to ten skills from someone else, as long as they're below A Rank. Master Demonic Energy and use her spear, and with her great heart, gain power by protecting those she loves and cares for.]

[Despite all the things she has gone through, her resilience and mental fortitude are top-notch, and she is an innate warrior. A perfect example of the tenacity and power of Demons.]

[Package Cost]: [8000 Plot Points]

Interesting. I've got a lot of Plot Points, around 40k. She's much cheaper than Sara, that's for sure. So I guess it's worth it, right? I also got another 20K Privilege I need to buy, but 8k is nothing with my current capital. So let's spend my hard-earned points on a better future for this village.

"Inferna, I've got a good idea. How about you become my sponsor?" I smiled.

"S-Sponsored? Wait, you're a Constellation?!" She was shocked.

"Hahaha, no, nothing like that." I laughed. "But I have the power to sponsor others and help them flourish and grow their talents. Our connection is good enough, so are you up for the task?"

"M-Me? But why me?" She asked.

"Are you seriously asking that now, girl? You're more than qualified; you're the village's strongest, and you have a nice amount of talent." I rubbed my chin. "So just accept it already!"

"T-This is… I've never been sponsored before, but... If you say so!" She seemed rather excited. "I… I pledge my loyalty to you, Lady Anna!" She suddenly kneeled and lowered her head.

"Eh? You don't really need to do that…" I sighed. "But well, let's get to it."

Ding!

[You've exchanged 8000 Plot Points, and you've purchased the [Super Growth Package Gift (C Rank Privilege)]!]

[You've used the [Super Growth Package Gift (C Rank Privilege)] on [Character]: [Inferna]!]

[Her Innate Skills And Talents Have Awakened!]

[She learned the [Jack of all Trades (A)] [Guardian (A)] [Demonic Spear Master (S)] Innate Skills!]

[All Of Her Stats Have Increased!]

[Character]: [Inferna] has developed a [Demonic Heart Core: Tier 1: Rank 5]!]

[You Have Become [Character]: [Inferna] Sponsor!]

[You Can Now Grant More Privileges To Your Sponsored Incarnation.]

FLASH!

A powerful blinding light took over Inferna's entire body, slightly changing and modifying her weak physique, making her sleek arms gain a lot of muscle, and even increasing her height by around five centimeters!

She gained a few black tattoos across her muscular arms, looking at herself with joy and awe. Above all, her Demonic Heart Core, the special organ Demons utilized to cultivate their Demonic Energy, finally formed in her chest.

They're their equivalent of Physique Cultivation, and it has the same set of Tiers and Ranks that my physique and other physiques have; the higher it becomes, the more Demonic Energy she can wield and utilize while her body and magic become stronger.

It is a wonderfully unique trait that Demons possess and the origin of their great strength. Celestials have something similar too. Sadly, I don't have the Celestial's counterpart of a Core, most likely because my Cosmic Core is already taking its place.

"W-What is this?! Incredible… My body got much bigger and stronger! And this… I got a Demonic Heart Core! I can't believe it!" Inferna cried, suddenly hugging me tightly. "Thank you, Anna! Thank you!" She was about to cry.

"I-it's fine! Ugh, you've gotten pretty strong; stop squeezing me so hard…!" I cried as she freed me from her death grip.

"Anyways, I've awakened your powers and talents now," I said. "Now that you've been given a sponsorship, you have unlocked three skills, and…"

I spent a couple of minutes explaining her things as she led me to an abandoned underground laboratory where the previous apothecary created medicines and potions. While using magic to clean the place of all the dust and preparing the ingredients for the medicine, Inferna managed to get the gist of it.

"So that's how Skills work…" Inferna nodded. "I get it. It'll take a bit of time for me to grow stronger. But I'll do my best to meet your expectations, Anna!"

"Well, for now, let's put your [Jack of All Trades] Skill to use right away. I'll begin doing some Synthesis and Alchemy, and you'll follow my steps and use your own energies to try to imitate me." I said. "Like that, eventually, you'll learn the Skills as well."

"I-I can do such a thing?!" She was shocked.

"Only for Skills of B Rank and below, and you have a limit of ten, but yes, it's a pretty amazing Skill!" I laughed.

I doubt she can learn every Skill I could teach her; there are some that she simply can't because they're tied to my physique or my body, such as Venom Secretion or Sunshine, but I do plan to teach her Alchemy, Crafting, Gathering, and maybe Twin Cutter. It's a pretty good Skill because it doubles slash attacks into two attacks, and it's only D Rank.

As for more Skills, she might have to learn them from other experts in the tribe; maybe someone who knows First Aid could teach her that; another who knows Taming could teach her such a Skill, and so on.

Ultimately, she'll become the strongest jack of all trades! Filling every role so she can properly protect her people when I have to eventually depart, and perhaps never see her again...

I gave her a few ingredients, and we followed the recipe's steps one by one while being extremely cautious. They were quite detailed; the old apothecary lady had put in some good effort.

"First, we crush the Red Blood Roses until they're made into a blood-colored, slimy, and fragrant paste…"

"After that, we roast the Black Mist Mushrooms. Be careful of the poisonous smoke! Preferably, do this outside. Well, I'll absorb the poison spoken with my body and purify it; don't worry."

"Third step: cut the Screaming Roots into small chunks, leaves included, and boil them. Once boiled, crush them into a puree."

"Roast the Flare Wasps until they're nice and crispy, cut them into chunks, and boil them in a pot with the rest of the ingredients."

"And lastly… Use Synthesis after half an hour of boiling continuously for five minutes. While doing so, add a drop of Demon Blood. Her own? Inferna, can you do it?"

"Sure thing!"

Inferna quickly added a drop of blood from a small wound she made in her index finger using a tiny needle.

The potion instantly changed colors from green to red, and through the usage of Synthesis, after five minutes...

Ding!

[You have created the [Suspiciously Red Medicine (A+ Rank)]!]

[Amazing! The created product's Quality has increased by one Rank!]

[The [Alchemy (D): Lv5] Skill has Leveled Up! Its Rank has increased to C Rank!]

It was done! And not just low-rank Medicine, but a S Rank one! This is bound to get the best rewards out of the Quest.

"We did it!" I celebrated.

"I-It was really possible…!" Inferna smiled, hope finally coming back to her eyes.

"Now let's quickly give some to everyone; bring them cups!" I said.

"Sure!" She nodded, rushing to find them.

Thankfully, we used a gigantic pot left behind by the apothecary, which I cleansed thoroughly before using. Thanks to that, we had enough medicine for literally everyone.

And that wasn't all.

Ding!

[Character]: [Inferna] has learned the [Alchemy (C): Lv1] Innate Skill!]

[Number of Skills she can learn through the [Jack of all Trades (B)] Skill: 1/10]

Nice! She learned it! This makes up for all the troubles. She'll be able to do the medicine herself eventually, which will save them on future occasions if the disease ever strikes them again.

We first gave the medicine to the children, starting with the babies that were coughing a lot, much younger than even Isaac.

"Thank you so much for crafting the medicine."

"I-I hope it works."

"This is our last hope… I don't want my baby to die…"

The mothers were betting everything on the medicine we made; we couldn't possibly disappoint them now.

"Guh…"

"Gaguh?"

"Cough… Gah…?"

They slowly drank it; the medicine had a sweet flavor, so it wasn't hard for the children to drink it without thinking about it too hard. Although they still made cute baby noises.

Slowly, their bodies started glowing with a faint golden aura before it slowly dissipated. The coughing immediately stopped, and the children, sickly and tired, seemed to have regained their energy instantly.

"I-It worked…?"

"It worked!"

Everyone started screaming, making a huge fuss. We didn't stop there, giving the medicine to everyone. The children drank it and felt much better; not only was the disease instantly healed, but they even regained Vitality, Stamina, and Magic Power by drinking it!

Was it because it ended up becoming an S-ranked medicine? It had many more effects than the base effects it held, which is fantastic!

"Big sis… My coughing stopped. And my chest doesn't hurt anymore!" Isaac smiled, filled with happiness.

"Indeed! It was all thanks to Anna…" Inferna laughed, hugging her beloved little brother.

The underground village was suddenly very lively; the children started playing around again, and even the elderly were chatting without end, feeling much more revitalized.

It was finally done, and it didn't even take a day to get this side quest completed!

Ding!

[You have completed the {Special Quest}: {The Demon's Last Hope}

[Rank: C]

[Thanks to your efforts in finding the materials and making the medicine, not only have you healed them from such a disease, but you've even given back the vitality and energy the demons had long lost.]

[Because you feed them a powerful S-Rank Elixir, their life expectancy has greatly improved, their stats have temporarily increased for the next week, and they won't feel as much hunger or exhaustion for the whole month.]

[Thanks to you, the Demons get to live much longer than expected. Perhaps this Ruined World wasn't just that; it still harbored life, and the demon's tenacity wouldn't let them die yet.]

[You've received Additional Rewards for completing the Quest in less than 12 Hours, and by making the Medicine S Rank, much higher than the expected D Rank quality!]

[Completion Rewards]: [10000 Plot Points] [500.000 EXP] [Favorability With Demons +10000] [Blood Demon Earrings (A+ Rank)] x1 [Countess Blednica's Castle Key (A Rank)] x1 [Crystal Eye of the Abyss (??? Rank)] x1]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

"E-Eh?! So many rewards…"

Without even mentioning this, this is the first Quest that gives me EXP. Not only did I get the 10k Plot Points, but I also gained +10k Favorability with Demons, A+ Rank Earrings that are ideal for fighting against Vampires, the key to opening that madwoman's castle, and...

This can't be... How did I get my hands on this so soon into the story?

Just who is the one managing my System to gift me something like this?

The Jester? Or is there someone else watching me too?

The Crystal Eye of the Abyss is an incredibly rare material containing not only the Darkness Attribute but a fragment of "The Seamless Abyss", one of the Void Walkers.

Unlike Constellations, the names of Void Rulers are almost incomprehensible, as they're higher-dimensional beings, so they are simply called after their Titles.

The Seamless Abyss, the Unborn Chaos, the Endless Hunger, the Fearful Fear, the… Oldest Dream.

All of them are incomprehensible monsters that manipulate this entire "game".

And I got a fragment of one of them so easily?!

It almost feels like... Could it be?

Seamless Abyss… Is he watching me?

The only ones who can still watch over worlds that have been conquered and left in ruins are the Void Rulers, after all.

Ugh, I can't help but feel a shiver down my spine as I hold this eye-shaped black crystal, whose rank is simply too high to showcase to me for now.

Yeah, there are higher ranks than the SSS Rank, but they'll only be revealed once the Third Awakening happens.

I could use this item to get some insane power-up, but I need other materials to make it possible. If I try to absorb it alone, I'll only get consumed by the crystal's powers and die a terrifying death.

But I wonder if I could get some of the necessary materials from that castle over there; after all, if my memory serves me right, the brother of Blednica was a Death Apostle holding such a material.

"The… dar… kness…"

"End… less…"

"A… byss… Ta… ke…"

"Take… me!"

The crystal, as I held it, started to whisper strange words to me. Was it trying to brainwash me? It didn't seem to work thanks to Eye of Truth's immunity to mental attacks, but even then, it felt very disgusting.

Whoever sent this probably knows I can resist the mental degradation that Fragments of a Void Ruler create, but for now, I'll keep it stored where nobody can see it.

"Anna? Are you alright? You've been standing there for a while…" Inferna wondered.

"A-Ah… Yeah, I'm fine! Anyway, is Isaac alright?" I wondered.

"I'm super fine!" Isaac started jumping over his bed. "Thank you so much, big sis! I will never forgive your help! Never ever!"

"Hahaha, alright, take it easy now, champ." I giggled, giving him a head pat.

Ding!

[The [Character: Isaac] Affinity with you has Increased Greatly.]

[Because of this, he has become qualified to be sponsored by you!]

[Do you wish to purchase a [Super Growth Package Gift (C Rank Privilege)]?]

[Cost: Varies depending on the target's Potential.]

Are you kidding me?! The brother too?

-----

Remember to join my Patreon to get 35 chapters in Advance! You can check it here: https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch