Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

"Rael—"

"Aster."

"Okay... Aster." Karina took a deep breath. "What's your plan exactly? You're trying to gather intel?"

"Yep." Rael nodded. "I look like someone out of a mental asylum, so no one's going to suspect a thing."

They probably would, but it was fine.

The two walked side by side past the arched gates and entered the city.

It was unsurprisingly peaceful. After all, the Holy Kingdom was a neutral land for the most part, as only the religions divided it.

The streets look a little shabby though, Rael thought with a puzzled look. I wonder if they're having financial problems. Embezzlement, maybe?

Nonetheless, he was surprised by the number of churches that were present here, and even plenty of white-robed priests walking through the streets, interacting with people.

Priests that worship the God of Light... I guess Sylvaran has always been like this, Rael pondered. One day they're worshipping the Moon God, the next the God of Light.

They were weird people, but he didn't exactly dabble in religion. It didn't really interest him.

Or maybe I should start a religion? The God of Money... hmm...

"Kya!" Karina yelped, nearly tumbling face-first onto the ground.

She attracted the attention of everyone present but still somehow kept her composure as she turned to him apologetically.

"Sorry..." she whispered. "This uneven cobblestone pavement is very hard to walk on with my shoes."

"...?" Rael looked down at her feet and realized she was wearing a certain shoe he didn't expect.

"Who the fuck wears heels in a fantasy world?"

Karina shrugged. "They looked fancy, so I bought them. I'll try not to trip next time. Don't worry."

"For someone who comes off as smart, you sometimes act like an idiot," Rael said with a sigh and moved her aside.

After all, her little stunt gathered a bit of attention.

"For your information, I have a doctoral degree in psychology. The only reason I became a music teacher was because being a therapist made me want to rip out my hair. I might act silly sometimes, but by no means am I a pushover," Karina replied flatly.

"Makes sense..." Rael trailed off, suddenly halting.

He realized he had led both of them into some alleyway, which was lit up by several broken lanterns.

To top it all off, he saw a group of people gathered in front of him—thieves.

Bruh. Rael facepalmed and turned around, prepared to walk away.

But to no one's surprise, it seemed like they had been followed by yet another batch of thieves.

"Cliché," Karina muttered.

"Oi!" one of the thieves shouted, then spat on the floor, trying to look menacing. "You there with that stupid fucking haircut. Fork over everything you have."

"Pfft..." Rael held back a laugh, turning to Karina. "They think you're a—"

"I know." She cut him off with a frown and simply leaned down, took her heels off, and threw them onto some random balcony.

Hmm... guess that's that. I'll have to get her some sandals in a sec, Rael thought, turning to the column of pop-ups.

<(x8) Human [Level 22 ~ 38] has been Threaded!>

<Decreasing Willpower by 4%/sec>

<Mass Synaptic Hijack: Available!>

<Cost: 40,000 MP>

This would be too easy. Rael sighed. I guess I can help out this soon-to-be CEO idol.

But before that, he could try something out first.

"So, are you lot thieves because you're poor, or are you poor because you're thieves?" Rael asked.

"Huh?" A knife-wielding thief tilted his head. "What are you even talking about? We're thieves because we have no money, and we only steal from the rich. You look rich."

"I guess that solves one problem." Rael chuckled. "How about the eight of you work for me? I need some people to carry out errands while I'm here. So? What do you say? A generous 5,000 Trell per person."

"Ha..." The thieves scoffed in unison.

Without warning, they dashed toward the bored-looking Rael, who immediately tapped the air and sent a quest Karina's way.

<Would you like to assign the quest: [Defeat the Thieves (Level 35)] to the player: Karina? Yes/No>

He swiftly pressed 'Yes' and simply waved at the confused Karina before jumping onto a nearby balcony.

Thankfully, there was no naked woman waiting for him like last time. In fact, the home was empty.

But since he wasn't a home inspector, Rael simply leaned over the balcony railing and glanced at the fight below.

Since he moved so fast, the thieves hadn't even registered that he was gone. Karina, on the other hand, did as she swiftly spun her body around and used her heel to deliver a powerful kick toward one of the thieves' jaws.

The thief flew straight into a wall, hitting his head and immediately being knocked out.

Hm... she seems stronger. What level is she...? Rael thought, then inspected her.

—Karina (Player) [Level 70] [34,200/34,200 HP]

She went from level 49 to level 70 after his quest, which was pretty damn impressive. Her stats definitely increased as well.

Still, he couldn't figure her out.

Was the idol company thing a sham? It's hard to tell... she made such a wild assumption the first time she met me as well...

After all, the first thing a player would assume about an intelligent NPC was that they were very well coded. Or maybe they were some sort of developer account.

But not her.

Just who is she... really?

He was curious, but not that curious. So he watched her deal with all the thieves, gracefully dodging punches and then retaliating with a punch or a kick of her own.

It was hard to tell what class she was based off this, and whenever he tried to activate Premium Override, it always canceled out since it said she wasn't using a skill.

Maybe a monk class? Rael pondered.

As she finally delivered the last hit, he jumped down with an amused smile on his face and pressed on a few pop-ups.

<Quest: [Defeat the Thieves (Level 35)] has been finished! Would you like to award the player who participated? Yes/No>

<Per Player Experience Limit Reached!>

<Rewarding the selected player with: 1,500,000 Experience!>

Her eyes gleamed at the experience and money she received. "Thanks for this... really."

"Yep, no problem—"

Rael halted, looking off toward the end of the alleyway and spotting two people in particular.

One was a tall, buff man with a massive axe stashed away on his back. The other, a woman who was playfully twirling around a pair of small axes in her hands.

The two soon passed by, leaving his sight, yet Rael was still stunned.

What the fuck are the barbarians doing in Sylvaran?