Reborn as a Transcendent-Chapter 692Book 3: : A Half-Step Grandmaster, How Terrifying!?

* **Aoma Village.**

Angelica had just finished her bath and stepped out, a gentle warmth and fragrant steam still clinging to her body.

“Mggh!” She stretched lazily upon entering the living room. “So tired…”

At that moment, Angelica was like a sleepy cat basking after a long day.

“Good evening.” Suddenly, a melodic voice came from nearby, giving her quite a fright.

“Waaah!”

“Hehe, look how startled you are,” Yae-hime said with a soft laugh. “Just like a little kitten caught off guard.”

Angelica blinked, then pouted in mock protest. “Princess, you scared me to death!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Yae-hime smiled, touching her rosy lips with a graceful finger as she approached. “That was my bad.”

Then, she reached out and gently ruffled Angelica’s still-damp hair. The gentle gesture left Angelica’s cheeks slightly flushed, but her heart was undeniably warm.

“You’ve been working hard these past two days,” Yae-hime said warmly.

“It’s nothing!” Angelica responded with a content smile.

“Even though I’d like you to rest right away, there’s one more thing I need to trouble you with,” Yae-hime added with a hint of apology.

She was hoping to gather the final ingredient for the Berserk Drug tonight, so Layna could start synthesizing it right away.

“It’s no problem! I’ve still got plenty of energy!” Angelica balled her fists and her eyes lit up with resolve.

“I’m looking for something called a Demon Lotus,” Yae-hime said.

“Demon Lotus… I’m not sure if Aoma Village has it, but we do have a trading guild. I can check with them,” Angelica replied, clearly unfamiliar with the item.

“Is it convenient to go now?”

“Should be fine. After the chaos caused by those outsiders, no one in the village is sleeping anyway.” Angelica gave a cheerful laugh.

“Alright then, I’ll leave it to you.” Yae-hime retracted her hand and smiled.

“Mhm! I’ll be back soon!” With a skip in her step, Angelica left the house and headed straight for the merchant guild.

“What should I do in the meantime…?” Seated on a bench, Yae-hime opened her game interface, a bit at a loss. With nothing urgent to do, she decided to check the forums and see what players were saying about the new update.

The top post caught her eye.

«Trash Game Company! What an Ugly Cash Grab!»

Opening it, she was met with a wall of profanities.

“Yep, just as expected…people venting their frustration,” Yae-hime muttered.

From the surface, this update really did seem like nothing but a money pit. Switching to the new Job cost 5 million gold, and synthesizing a single bloodline started at a million. It felt like a direct slap to the face for regular players.

(“Our goal is to create joy, with a giant middle finger to the poor!”)

The silent mockery of the game developers rang loud in everyone’s minds. And yet, to this day, no one even knew who actually owned the company.

Closing the thread, Yae-hime kept browsing trending posts.

«Hahaha, I Just Made 5 Million!»

Clicking in, she saw a new player proudly showing off their Job panel. Sure enough, it was the new Pugilist class, worth five million gold to Job Change.

Scrolling down, the comments rolled in:

[Barbie Burpee]: Free 5 mil? I’m jealous!

[Vinnia’s JO]: Look at you, grinning like a kid.

[Scumbag]: Ughhh I’m so jealous!

(sneakily posts Level 20 stats.JPG)

[Bermuda CarpKing]: Tsk, must feel good to earn 5 mil just like that.

[Bluefist Envoy]: Oh ho, this guy’s kinda cute. Interested in joining our [Blue Fist] guild?

All male Pugilists only! 💙

[White Cloud]: Idiot, most of us are already level 10–20. You’re still in the Novice Village, completely left behind!

[Huehuehue]: Someone sounds salty, hehe~

[Carefree Junior]: Jokes aside, this class is crazy strong on paper.

One combo = massive damage.

Too bad the defense is kinda meh.

[George Tank]: But Pugilist has high mobility, so the low defense makes sense.

[Platinum Star]: Too bad the Job Change fee is 5 mil. That price tag is just brutal for us common folk.

[Fishmonger Stronk]: Are they insane for wanting that much?

But wow, there really are a lot of rich players in this game.

I checked the statistics thread just now, dozens have already switched classes.

[Elina]: If you count global servers, even more people have Jobs changed.

Rich people… they’re terrifying!

***

The further down the thread she scrolled, the more normal the comments became. Yae-hime found herself losing interest. With a flick of her finger, she closed the page.

At that moment, a sound came from the direction of the door. A moment later, a beautiful girl walked in. Who else could it be but Angelica?

“Princess, I found it!” she called out excitedly, holding up a small pouch in her right hand.

Hearing that, Yae-hime immediately rose from the bench and walked quickly toward her.

“There were only ten of them,” Angelica added.

“Ten is more than enough.” Yae-hime gave her a pat on the shoulder. “You’ve done well.”

“It was nothing. Really, just a small errand,” Angelica replied, looking a little bashful. She then handed over the pouch in her hand.

Yae-hime took it and asked, “How much did it cost altogether?”

“Nothing at all. The guild master gave them to me,” Angelica replied, blinking.

“Demon Lotus isn’t exactly cheap. The guild master’s that generous?” Yae-hime asked, puzzled.

“I think it was probably because of you, Princess,” Angelica said.

“What makes you say that?”

“He asked me what I needed the Demon Lotus for, so I told him it was for the Lord Angel.” Angelica paused, then continued, “After that, he immediately packed up the ten he had in stock and told me to bring them to you.”

“I really shouldn’t…,” Yae-hime said, though not even pretending to refuse.

“Princess, you saved our whole village. This little gift…please don’t be modest,” Angelica said earnestly.

“All right then, I’ll gladly accept.”

With that, Yae-hime stored the Demon Lotus in her spatial ring.

Something she had been trying to get her hands on for so long had landed in her lap so easily, it both surprised and delighted her. But on second thought, considering Demon Lotus was an aquatic plant, finding it at a port town like this wasn’t entirely unexpected.

After chatting a while longer, Yae-hime urged Angelica to get some rest. She herself then left Aoma Village alone and flew off in the direction of Aureole Town.

***

Elsewhere—America, San Francisco, headquarters of the Small Sword Group.

A thunderous sound suddenly erupted from within the training chamber, startling the two guards standing watch outside. They nearly jumped where they stood.

Right after, the sound of wild laughter rang out.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

There was no mistaking that familiar voice, it was Lucky.

“My power has finally stabilized. It’s time to head to Cathay!” He slowly rose to his feet, eyes gleaming with razor-sharp light. His entire body radiated a deadly aura.

There was also an overwhelming presence about him, one that could force others to their knees. This was the terrifying pressure of a Half-Step Grandmaster.