Chapter 30: Winter’s Pale Lily

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"Hot pancakes! They're pipping hot! Buy four, pay three!"

"The best steamed meat buns in the entire city are here; special offer for only today!"

"Hey, handsome! Are you interested in buying some new cosmetics? They're made of Troll Snooze, said to be very good for the skin!"

"A young lady like you could look even more beautiful with this wonderful magic ring that enchants Charm!"

Right in front of my brother and me, there were hundreds of vendors stretching over a highly populated and bustling street. This was Stronghold City's "Flea Market", where not only street vendors gathered to sell all sorts of things, from food to cosmetics, clothes, and even all sorts of magic items such as accessories, clothes, and even weapons, but a lot of shops and restaurants were located.

My brother, of course, was very confused right now. He simply had no idea why I brought him here to begin with, nor did he know the point of coming here. He even said it was better to just purchase things online if I wanted something.

"Erm, Anna, why are we here again?" Jack sighed. "This place is… not really safe."

"Oooh, I like the look of this! So many new foods to try out! Hey Jack, I want that and that and that!" A small black dog at our side spoke. It was Fenrir who was disguised as a small, black-colored golden retriever.

"Kyu?" Violet, who was sitting on my shoulders in his smallest form, was also confused.

"Heh, we're going to look for talents," I said with a smile.

"T-Talents?" Jack wondered. "What do you mean?"

"Brother, do you trust me? I have received a small revelation from a Constellation." I said it with angelic eyes. "There's someone important here we must find and help! And in the meantime, get them to our side."

"You received a Divine Revelation?!" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yeeeah." I nodded.

"Hmmm…" Jack began to doubt my words.

It seems like Charlatan alone won't cut it this time.

Let's see.

[The Special Effect of your [Divine Eye of Truth (S): Lv1] has been activated: {Fusion}!]

[You have exchanged 25 Skill Points!]

[The [Crafting (E): Lv3] and [Charlatan (D): Lv2] Skills have been fused together!]

[A New Skill has been born: [Crafty Trickster (C): Lv1]!]

[Due to the Special Effect of the [Divine Eye of Truth (S): Lv1] Skill: {Library of Knowledge}, the Skills used for {Fusion} have been maintained.] 

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[Crafty Trickster (C): Lv1]

[Skill EXP: 0/1000]

You're one hell of a schemer, liar, and trickster, and you're shameless about it. This Skill aids the craftiest of tricksters to… well, trick others. Based on your Charm Stat, the chances of someone believing your lies, being influenced by your words, and helping your scheme come to fruition are enhanced by 25% every 1000 Charm. Additionally, you can now create {Mirages} by spending Mana.

Level Bonus (1): Enhances the Skill Effects by 10%.

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[The Effects of [Crafty Trickster (C): Lv1] have taken effect.]

[Your convincing ability has increased by 175%!]

"Hmmm…" My brother sighed. "Agh, fine."

I am sorry for tricking you like this, brother! But this is actually something good for the two of us, so I hope you can forgive me.

"Hehehe, I knew my brother wouldn't just question me as if I were a stranger!" I said with a proud smile.

"Now, where is this special person?" Jack wondered. "I honestly dislike crowds…"

Ah, there he is—the social anxiety demon within him. I've got to help him open up a little. That's what little sisters are there for as well, right?

"The Constellation said that this person was working in a small Family Restaurant by the name of "Dumpling Paradise" or something," I said while recalling the information I had inside of my memories. "And she was called… Err, something like Dan Baihe." 

"Dan Baihe?" My brother wondered. "That's a Chinese name, huh?"

"Yep!" I nodded. "Let's go; I think I heard the restaurant was around that street." I pointed.

Dan Baihe, who would later be known as the "Winter's Pale Lily," was a powerful Hunter in the Solo Player Novel. She was only able to awaken her powers in the Second Awakening, though, but due to her harsh childhood and her current situation, she grew to have a very cold heart and became one of my brother's enemies later on as she sold her soul to a Demon.

Her future activities include freezing half of Stronghold City, killing thousands of innocents, attempting to kill my brother over four times, and capturing me, of course, freezing me in an ice statue, which my brother later freed me from using the Legendary Grade {Phoenix Flames} which he acquired in a Dungeon from Europe. 

Why am I even aiming to recruit such a dangerous person? Well, because the author made sure to write her story as sad as possible. Saying repeatedly that "she might have been saved if someone like Jack could have shown her kindness before she became the monster that she is now".

The author mentioned one traumatic incident where she lost everything in a Dungeon Break that happened in the Flea Market at Stronghold City and survived miraculously. If we get to her before that happens, things might change for the better. 

So our mission for today is to find her, get her a better life, make her happy, shower her with love, and nurture her to become a powerful ally, not the villainess she was in the original story.

And well, how come I am so confident about these things? It is because of a certain Privilege Shop I just checked this morning.

[Showcasing Privilege Shop…]

{Privilege Shop: Advanced Rank}

[Little Sister's Cheerful Rally (E Rank Privilege)] [Cost: 1500 PP]

[Super Beam of Love (D Rank Privilege)] [Cost: 2500 PP] 

[Angelic Eyes (D Rank Privilege)] [Cost: 2500 PP]

[Super Growth Package: Skills (D Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 2500 PP] [Limit: 2]

[Super Growth Package: Titles (D Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 2500 PP] [Limit: 2]

[Super Growth Package Gift (D Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: Varies] [Limit: 10]

[Random Weapon Treasure Chest (D Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 2500 PP] [Limit: 2]

[Random Armor Treasure Chest (D Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 2500 PP] [Limit: 2]

Yes, this is my new Privilege Shop! Aside from the obvious jump in costs of everything, there's something very interesting outside of the Privileges I can get, and that's the Super Growth Packages!

The personal ones are only limited to two each for me, but the "Gift" one has a limit of 10! Why? Because it is not even designed for me. It is a special privilege that will hasten the growth of a selected target with "talent" and "potential", and the cost varies from person to person.

It's because of this that I have yet to spend any Plot Points, I have to save them for now and see what I could use them for!

[The Cosmic Throne {Maiden that Watches Over Nature} seems interested in what you're doing.]

[She wonders if you're up to making someone's life better.]

[The Cosmic Throne {Lady that Soothes the Souls of the Death} says that the more allies, the better.]

[The two of them have sponsored 200 Plot Points.]

Well, these two ladies seem to be getting along pretty well. 

"And we're here. Wow, this place's full." My brother was surprised. "Who is the girl you're looking for?"

"Erm… It said it had blue eyes…" I said, looking around the bustling restaurant.

CRACK!

Suddenly, a plate filled with dumplings fell onto the floor.

"Agh…" A waitress in the restaurant dropped them off after tripping by accident. She was wearing really ugly, worn-down sneakers. "Oh no…"

"You stupid girl! What the hell did you do?!" A fat guy who seemed to be in charge of the restaurant popped up, reprimanding the girl. "I'll be discounting this off your damn salary!"

"No, wait, stepfather, I'm sorry!" The girl cried. "I-I'll make up for it! L-Look, the dumplings are still good!" 

"Stop messing around! You're such a useless good-for-nothing. "The man angrily said, "I should have thrown you to the streets after your mother died!"

"T-That's…" The girl wanted to talk back but couldn't, feeling all down. 

Her beautiful blue eyes seemed about to cry rivers.

Ahh… this is such a classic setting in these types of novels. A poor and abused girl with a terrible family gets saved by a handsome young man.

Was the author envisioning this possibility when he wrote about her past?

"Hey, that girl's eyes…" Jack said.

"It's her, isn't she?!" Fenrir wondered.

"Yeah!" I quickly ran into the restaurant, helping the girl who was cleaning the floor with her tears. "Hey, do you need a hand?"

"Huh? N-No, I can do this myself- ouch…" The girl cried; she cut her finger with the sharp piece of the shattered plate. 

FLASH!

"{Healing Light}"

I used Sunshine's healing capabilities, healing the small wound in seconds.

"Ahh…! Y-You're a Hunter?!" She asked in surprise.

"More or less. I am a talent seeker. I have a special eye for it." I said, smiling. "And you have some talent. Have you ever thought about having a better life?"

"A better life…? M-Me?" The girl felt flabbergasted. "Wait, this might be a bit too sudden! But do I really have talent? Are you not a con artist or something?" She was skeptical, and I could understand why.

"Well, let's talk about this more professionally. My brother here is an A-Rank Hunter, and he belongs to the-"

[The Hourglass of Calamity begins to react…]

Crack… crack…

And before we could even continue our talk, the space right behind us started shattering.

CRAACK!

A Rift to a Dungeon Opened.

[The Forgotten World Fragments are colliding with your own World's Dimensional Pillars.] 

[The B Rank Dungeon: {Frozen Graveyard} has been brought upon this world.]

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Chapter end