“When can you give me the gemstones?”
The purple-haired girl asked.
“You’ll have to wait a little longer. Don’t worry, it won’t be long.”
The girl fell silent for a moment, then picked up the empty can Renn had eaten from and the water bottle before heading toward the door.
“I’m going out to gather supplies. Stay here. Some people with bad intentions might come knocking, but no matter who it is, don’t open the door. I won’t be back until tonight.”
“Okay.”
The door shut abruptly.
Renn heard faint noises from outside.
It sounded as though the purple-haired girl had poured the remaining water from the bottle into the empty can, then drank the water mixed with the scraps left inside.
For some reason, Renn suddenly felt touched.
Their relationship was nothing more than a transaction.
The purple-haired girl had brought him back and given him food and water because she wanted the gemstones.
But she could easily have given him something worse.
There had been no need for her to give him the best things she had.
“Disassembler!”
Renn pushed those thoughts aside.
With a thought, the Disassembler appeared.
It wasn’t enormous, but neither was it small.
It occupied nearly all the remaining space in the wooden hut, forcing the chair beneath the table.
Renn laid several items in front of himself.
An unloaded handgun.
A wristwatch.
And a pendant.
“These are the only things I can disassemble right now.”
After hesitating for a moment, Renn tossed the wristwatch into the Disassembler first.
The sound of gears turning immediately filled the room.
“Clack, clack, clack!”
“Disassembly successful. Disassembly EXP gained: 1.”
Then it stopped.
Nothing appeared.
A trace of disappointment crossed Renn’s face.
He turned his attention to the handgun and the pendant.
The pendant had once been extremely important to Renn.
It was the only keepsake his father had left behind.
But that had mattered to the previous Renn.
The person occupying this body now was someone else entirely.
Without hesitation, Renn tossed the pendant into the Disassembler.
“Clack, clack!”
“Ding!”
“Disassembly successful. Disassembly EXP gained: 10.”
A Clear Cube Fragment appeared.
Before Renn could even put it away, another voice suddenly sounded.
“Nen Fundamentals acquired: 8. Current progress: 8%.”
Renn froze.
“This pendant contained Nen? Was it a Nen-infused item?”
“Wait. That’s not the important part. Since when could the Disassembler grant Nen Fundamentals?”
“Did it mutate after coming to this world?”
“If that’s the case, I can’t judge this Disassembler based on my previous experience anymore.”
Renn closed his eyes and carefully absorbed the so-called Nen Fundamentals.
A short while later, he opened them again.
“My progress is still too low. Maybe once it reaches 100%, I’ll automatically master the basics of Nen without needing anyone to teach me.”
Renn looked at the handgun.
Without ammunition, it was nothing more than a decoration.
“In that case, I might as well disassemble it.”
Renn tossed the handgun into the Disassembler.
“Clack, clack!”
“Ding!”
“Disassembly successful. Disassembly EXP gained: 6.”
A Clear Cube Fragment appeared.
“Firearms Fundamentals acquired: 1. Current progress: 67%.”
Renn put away the two Clear Cube Fragments.
“For fundamental skills, one point equals one percent of progress. I didn’t know Nen before, so gaining eight points raised my progress directly to eight percent.”
“But this body already knew how to use firearms. Its previous progress was sixty-six percent, and now it’s increased by another one percent.”
Renn fell silent for a moment.
“The Disassembler has changed considerably compared to the one in the game, but for me, now that I’m in this world, that’s a good thing.”
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door.
With a thought, Renn made the Disassembler disappear.
A knocking sound came from outside.
Then a knife blade slipped through a crack in the door, caught against the wooden latch, and began slowly working it aside.
“This brat’s door is a real pain to open! She’s a pain to deal with too.”
“If I hadn’t personally seen her pick up a can of meat yesterday, I wouldn’t have bothered coming here. But if I can get my hands on that meat, offending the brat won’t matter much.”
The person outside continued muttering curses.
“Knowing her personality, there’s no way she would’ve eaten the whole can already.”
Hearing this, Renn fell silent.
The can of meat that, according to the man outside, the purple-haired girl definitely wouldn’t have finished yet…
Was already entirely inside Renn’s stomach.
“I haven’t tasted meat in ages. Damn, I miss it.”
“Click!”
The door opened.
Renn closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
The thief who entered was startled when he saw Renn lying on the bed.
He had never expected anyone else to be inside.
As far as he knew, the purple-haired girl had always been a loner.
She had no companions whatsoever, which was why the thief had caused trouble for her many times before.
But the girl was clever and ruthless.
Every previous attempt had ended with the thief getting the short end of the stick.
This time, he had come to steal the canned meat.
Partly because he genuinely wanted to taste meat again.
And partly to get revenge on the purple-haired girl.
The thief examined Renn on the bed.
Holding a dagger in his hand, he crept closer one step at a time.
“A man? Who would’ve thought that brat would already be fooling around with men at her age!”
“Bah!”
Suddenly, Renn opened his eyes.
“Clear Cube Contract!”
In an instant, power surged through Renn’s body.
Renn shot out one hand and clamped it around the thief’s neck.
Then he squeezed hard.
“Crack!”
The thief’s head lolled to one side, and his body collapsed to the floor.