A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk - Chapter 8

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk ◈

Chapter 8: Life in the Gutter (5)

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In Necropolis, height is status.

Its horrific population density had divided residential space into vertical classes.

The quality of life changed depending on whether your home was underground, on the first floor, or on the second.

That was why housing prices doubled with every flight of stairs you climbed.

How many people stood beneath your feet was the measure of your status.

At the top of that hierarchy stood the Hang House.

Not a crowded building on the surface, packed like bean sprouts in a jar, but a residence carved into the side of a cliff and stuck there like a barnacle.

It naturally took astronomical wealth to pull off something like that, complete with a private elevator.

It was the sort of penthouse only this city's highest class could own.

“Hmm. Nice.”

Before the Hang House's floor-to-ceiling windows, I looked down at the nightscape of Necropolis.

Green smog flowed like a single stream, with lights leaking out through the gaps.

A pitiful cluster of lights, made by mayflies burning their lives simply to survive another day.

When I had been part of it, the place had felt like nothing but hell. From far above the surface, it was no more than a decent decoration.

“What are you thinking about?”

A sweet voice.

A pointed chin rested on the top of my head.

Breasts with unbelievable softness wrapped around my neck and shoulders like a neck pillow.

After a brief pause, I answered.

“I was thinking that people look like ants.”

“That’s an interesting impression.”

A faint laugh came from above my head.

The warmth pulled away.

When I turned around, the tallest woman I had ever seen stood there.

The owner of this penthouse, a director of Twilight Resource Development, and a mage.

Ceres Cassian.

So, why was I here?

‘I’ll buy your corpse. But there are too many eyes here.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Your corpse is “special,” isn’t it? Come to my workshop. I’ll pay you well.’

The woman I had met outside the ossuary had invited me to her workshop.

Honestly, I had not wanted to sell the body when I had no idea what kind of snowball effect it might cause.

I had not wanted to accept the invitation either.

But thinking of this as a literal invitation would have been a mistake.

She was a director of a major corporation.

A director at a terrifying corporation that legally purchased corpses in bulk in this rotten-smelling world.

Weren’t my only options, “Go nicely while she’s asking,” or “Go as a corpse”?

‘It’s an honor to be invited!’

‘My, what a spirited child.’

So I willingly accepted her invitation.

Absolutely.

I swear.

I did not accept because Ceres was slim and beautiful, her breasts were as big as my head, and...

I was curious what sleeping with a woman nearly 250 centimeters tall would feel like.

Anyway, I was not expecting anything like that.

“I’ve roughly finished the examination. A first-tier mage’s corpse. You really are carrying around an outrageous treasure.”

“Is it really that valuable?”

“Valuable enough that I don’t want the other directors taking it from me.”

“Ah, so that’s why you wanted a direct transaction.”

“You could call it corporate politics.”

I immediately greased up my tongue.

“Even someone in such an impressive position as you has troubles of your own.”

“What a smooth talker.”

It had been an unexpected invitation.

Still, I had a feeling that if I handled this well, it could become a good opportunity in many ways.

“If there’s one disappointing thing... it’s that the mana circuits are too badly damaged.”

Tsk.

Was that like, “There weren’t any scratches in the photos, but there are a few signs of use here”?

Not bad.

“I can lower the price a little.”

Ceres’s eyes widened, then she burst into laughter.

“There’s no need. Before I pay you, though... would you tell me where you got this corpse?”

Her tone was extremely natural and casual.

But I felt the adrenaline in my blood surge.

Here it was.

The first fork in the road.

There was a high chance that this question would determine my future.

If I found a treasure goblin, I would ask, “Where the fuck did you get all this gold?”

If they did not answer properly, I would pull out their fingernails, toenails, and teeth, then ask, “You’re stubborn, aren’t you? Still not going to talk?”

“She’s my older sister. I don’t know the full story either, but one day, my family was suddenly attacked. My sister was injured in the process.”

“Your family? You...”

“Yes. I’m the eldest son of Count Montraven’s House.”

There was no point in telling a clumsy lie after being brought this far.

Rather than mumble my way into having my fingernails, toenails, and teeth pulled out, I bet that Ceres had nothing to do with the attackers and told her the truth.

After giving her a rough account, I asked:

“Do you happen to know anything about this attack?”

Ceres tapped her cheek with her fingertips as though considering it.

“Who knows? I don’t really have dealings with Aden. The last time I went there was three years ago. This is also the first time I’ve heard the name Count Montraven’s House. It must have been quite a fallen family.”

No, were we really that bad?

We really were complete nobodies.

“Anyway, it was interesting. And I’ll keep this matter to myself. In return...”

“Yes, I’ll take this transaction to the grave as well. Those rotten directors will never learn of your lucky find, Lady Ceres.”

“You really do understand quickly. I should add a little tip.”

Ceres smiled, then finally reached for her wallet.

Only then did she order me to keep quiet.

I understood instinctively.

If I had made a mistake in that exchange, she would never have taken out her wallet.

“Then what would you like as compensation?”

Here it was.

The second fork in the road.

I had an idea about this part.

Ceres had been favorable toward me from the start.

Even her touches had seemed subtly natural.

It was only a faint breeze that could have meant something or nothing...

But this current was the turbulence between a man and a woman before something happened.

“Could I have a glass of wine with you, Lady Ceres? Just the two of us, somewhere private.”

Ceres’s eyes widened again.

“Oh? Look at this cheeky little thing.”

She said that, but she did not look displeased at all.

I did not miss the strange sensuality filling her narrow eyes.

Correct again.

This was the way to get the best reward.

I knew very well how generous a woman could be to a man who satisfied her.

During the liquidation of my eleventh run, I had worked at a host bar in Gangnam.[1]

And...

I could not ignore something I was curious about.

She was 240 centimeters tall. Yet she was a seductive beauty.

I even doubted that she was the same species as me.

When would I get another chance like this?

“If you’re not in the mood for a drink right now, should we shower first?”

“Huh? Ah, ah? Shall we...?”

“Come this way.”

I grabbed her wrist and headed for the shower.

After having a pleasant time tickling each other with foam in the shower...

“W-wait. Should we turn off the lights?”

“Why turn them off when it would be such a waste? I want to clearly carve your beautiful body into my eyes, Lady Ceres.”

That night.

We were a fucking pair of beasts.

After that mad spell ended, the bedroom was a little more humid.

Ceres tidied her sweat-soaked hair and put a cigarette between her lips.

When I took the hint and lit it for her, she expertly exhaled smoke.

“Phew. That was fun for the first time in a while. You were much better than my husband.”

“Pardon?”

Wait, what did she say?

“I said you were much better than my husband.”

Husband? This woman was married?

My heart dropped.

She should have told me that sooner!

If I had known she was married, the sense of taboo would have made it a double dopamine event!

“Don’t be scared. My angry husband isn’t going to come kill you. He’s already dead.”

“Ah. I see...”

“I wasn’t planning to give you this much, but... you entertained me.”

Ceres giggled at my crestfallen face and walked toward a massive painting hanging at one end of the bedroom.

When she pushed the painting aside, a huge safe appeared, one so large that even a thief would not dare try to carry it away.

“It’s been fun. I’ll add a service fee to the price of your sister.”

After entering the combination, she took a dazzling gold coin from the safe.

One gold coin was worth 100,000 Bios.

For someone in her position to hand it over generously, that was a rather unimpressive sum.

However.

“No, something this precious...!”

A mysterious golden aura spread softly from it, as though fairy dust had been sprinkled over it.

This was no ordinary gold coin.

This coin was...

The reserve currency of the Ark Cities.

The reason Ark Cities, surrounded by Black Dust and beasts, could still remain self-sufficient.

The reason mages could escape the shackles of lifespan and aging.

The reason fixers were constantly sent to subjugate beasts.

The one and only currency that could trade with the World.

A Universal Coin.

“Hehe. I made sure you were well compensated.”

I swallowed hard.

A Universal Coin traded for around 10 million Bios.

It was an amount that 90 percent of Necropolis citizens could never get their hands on even if they worked their entire lives.

“...”

I struggled with myself.

Part of me wanted to wag my tail and say, Please make me your kept man! Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!

But I could not forget.

This was playing with fire.

And the gap between us was like that between a basement-level slum and a Hang House hundreds of meters above the ground.

To the widowed mage Ceres, I was only a butter-licking lapdog.

“Are you leaving now?”

Look at that.

She was subtly telling me it was time to get out.

“Ah, yes. I do have work tomorrow.”

“Where do you work?”

“Ah, at the Big Dick office.”

“The Big Dick office... Good. I’ll remember that. I’ll send requests from time to time.”

For today, I had to be satisfied with having made a deep impression.

“I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

We passed through a long gallery displaying works of art and arrived at the entrance where the elevator stood.

When she pulled the lever, the brass lattice door opened.

“I look forward to seeing you again.”

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

I entered the elevator, pressed the button, and turned around.

Then I saw the gleaming marble floor and lights shining on countless artworks.

Splendor, quiet, clean air.

Things that could not be found down at the bottom.

I wanted them.

Once again, I did not want to go back.

“I want to keep living somewhere like this too.”

My true feelings slipped out.

“Do you know?”

Ceres, who had paused, gave me a meaningful smile.

“I didn’t speak to you at the ossuary because of your sister.”

“Pardon?”

“At the time, I noticed you first.”

“What do you mean...?”

Clank!

The brass lattice door closed, separating her from me.

“Find the ugliest pride within yourself.”

Her lips moved.

“Go madder. More than you are now, more and more. Let your madness consume you. Even if the world points its finger at you, force your stubbornness through.”

The elevator descended.

I descended.

Ceres grew farther and farther away.

“If you do that...”

But her final words, as though whispered beside my ear...

“You can become like me too.”

Reached my ears clearly.

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::: Achievements (NEW!) :::

- Have sex with a female mage for the first time. +2pt

- Sell your body. +1pt

- Obtain a Universal Coin. +1pt