The Crowned Greed: Transmigrated into a Demonic Dragon

"Let's see…" Ruby scratched her chin thoughtfully, writing the approximate value of every item on the wooden floor: "You will take 40%, as I agreed before, and each one of us takes 30%—here are the values according to my experience, so please choose wisely."

Dante looked at them thoughtfully, considering his options.

It was time to take his spoils!

The book they found contained some information about the boots and the sword, which showed that they were actually very good artifacts.

But the mana crystals and the Cores of Existence were also tempting.

'I don't think I need the sword…'

Although he hated to admit it, the Sin of Greed was a better weapon considering its sword form.

Storm of Shadows' sword was better than the Sin of Greed regarding the sharpness and strength, as it was an enchanted Grade 3 sword, but the Sin of Greed had the potential to keep growing with Dante's soul.

Additionally, it was a greatsword, which was something Dante wasn't used to using—he preferred one-handed longswords.

'I also don't think I need mana crystals, I have a lot of them. I earned some from selling the beasts I killed during my time on the convoy, and a good amount from completing quests on Onyxsilk Town.'

After thinking for a few seconds, Dante decided: "I'll take the boots, and give me the remaining share as Cores of Existence, two Rank 2 cores for each Rank 1 core."

"Okay, give me a second." Ruby nodded and started counting the cores for his request.

The logic behind his choice was simple—the boots were only Grade 2, carrying a low value and a good enchantment for him.

As for the cores, he wanted Rank 1 cores to advance to Rank 2 quickly, but the Rank 2 cores would stay in his ring for the future.

The Rank 2 cores could give him two points of Existence Essence per core, but that wasn't why they were so valuable compared to the Rank 1 cores.

What made them truly valuable was the fact that the Rank 2 individuals can't absorb Rank 1 cores!

Back then, when Dante saw that the baron's knights were killing the villagers for their cores, he had thought that the baron was the one who desired the cores.

Of course, after seeing the baron ignoring all the cores, Dante was a bit confused until he knew that he couldn't absorb them anyway.

Because of that, Dante decided to keep Rank 2 cores with him for the future. He was confident that being patient would give him a good payoff.

"So, uhh…" Jin squinted his eyes, looking at Ruby putting Dante's cores on a bag: "Didn't he do the same thing as me? Why is he taking 10% more than me?!"

Ruby shrugged: "We accepted without knowing that it'd be a safe opportunity, we can't help it now… unless you want to fight him."

"Oh, nevermind." Jin drank sorrowfully in silence, his eyes still on the cores.

After a minute, Ruby took a few steps forward and placed the bag of the cores on the floor and the boots beside them before bowing in gratitude: "Here is your share, thank you for everything! If you didn't accept, I'd have had to start from scratch after my latest loss!"

Dante scratched the back on his neck in embarrassment: "Thank you as well, this is the easiest money I have ever made."

She took a few steps backward, returning beside Jin to get her own share of the spoils.

Seeing that she was at a safe distance, Dante moved forward and grabbed the boots and the big bag off the floor.

As he put on his new boots, Ruby and Jin finished sharing the loot. Jin took the sword, some Rank 1 cores, the book, and some mana crystals. Everything else went to Ruby's bag.

Of course, she didn't really have a bag big enough for them, as her share was mostly mana crystals. Her current bag was one of the chests, which she wrapped in a rope and carried it like a backpack. Her inhuman strength allowed her to achieve such a feat.

"Shall we leave now?" Ruby asked while examining the place for one last time.

"Wait, give me a second." Jin rushed back to the treasure room. After a second, he returned with the coffin on his back.

'What the fuck is he doing?'

He received confused and suspicious looks from Dante and Ruby. Noticing these gazes, he raised an eyebrow: "What's with these looks? Can't I give this grandpa a good grave as gratitude or what?"

"I thought you wanted to sell his coffin." Dante nodded in understanding as he used Shadowstep, emerging far behind Jin and Ruby to give them a path to leave this place.

They took their items and walked up the stairs. As they disappeared from his sight, he quickly stored the cores and the boots he had taken off in his ring.

Next, he walked up the stairs for a few minutes until he reached the surface again.

"Do you have anything to do now?" Ruby asked the moment Dante left the tree entrance.

He shook his head: "No, but you can go now—there are no other opportunities, after all."

He turned around, looking at the entrance of the inheritance room: "I think this place is good for… living."

Dante had already decided.

He wasn't going to live between people anymore. Fortunately, this place looked reliable for living. It was better than living in a cave or among trees.

Here, he had a place that could be considered an underground house. It would provide him warmth and safety, and the empty space was enough to make a beautiful home. All he needed was some decorating, furniture, and a bathroom.

"Wait, you're going to live here?!" Clarity returned to Jin's eyes as he asked: "I mean… it's your choice, but you're rich! Why don't you just buy a house in a good town or city? Don't tell me you're one of those weird people who prefer dangerous wilderness and all over the comfortable towns."

Dante sighed helplessly: "Sadly, I wasn't lying about my curse. If I decide to live in a city, the chance of a meteor falling on it will increase… Anyway, just leave me alone and find a place to spend your crystals."

Ruby and Jin looked at him in hesitation with a sense of sympathy and surprise.

He told them many times about his strange misfortune curse, but they didn't expect him to be that serious about it.

He kept avoiding them all the time, but they didn't think too much about that after realizing that he wasn't showing such acts when they were traveling with the trade convoy. It all started after his supposed regression.

'Was he cursed there? Was the danger in that town so dangerous that even a regressor was affected?' They both guessed.

But what really struck them was the fact that he was ready to live in this place, alone without companies, in order to avoid affecting people with his curse.

This fate just looked… lonely.

"Are you sure you want to do this…?" Ruby asked after a moment of hesitation: "You can come with me and keep a distance, you know."

"Dante narrowed his eyes: "Why do you want me to come with you? Is there another opportunity you're hiding?"

Ruby quickly shook her head and smiled, her eyes sparkling: "No, but it'll be a waste if I don't form a connection with you! You're the strongest Rank 1 Existence I have seen alongside some Lord-class beasts, you have a regression ability, and you have high potential as a shadow user. As a weak merchant, having someone like you would only benefit me, especially if my ability was triggered again."

Dante's eyes twitched briefly: 'Can't she just sugarcoat it and say she wants to be my friend or something? Damn it!'

Although he thought of that inwardly, he understood the importance of having connections with many people, especially for a merchant that relied in connections to live.

Someday, she might need an urgent service from one of the people she had met and decided to keep close to her. She wasn't losing anything by that.

"Sorry, but I refuse."

Unfortunately for her, Dante had made up his mind already.

As a disappointed look formed on her face, an onyx-black centipede appeared around Dante's neck: "Are you sure you want to do this? Following her wouldn't harm any of you, right? This might be your last chance to fix your life."

Dante sighed: 'It's better to be safe than sorry… If something bad happened because of my misfortune, I'd like it to affect either me or my enemies, not someone who simply was nearby because of my choice.'

'I'm not a monster like you, and I'll never become one. Someday, I'll know how to either control you or remove you from my body. Even if I didn't do that in time, I'll resist your mental invasion until I succeed.'

A glimpse of hope suddenly blazed deep inside him: 'I still remember what the darkness entity said about you. You're in a weakened state, and he said that you have other scattered parts. You're weak currently, so weak that you had to stay hidden while waiting for a chance to invade my mind. You aren't the Sin of Greed, you're just a small piece of him.'

As he said that, the centipede chuckled and disappeared.

"Even I used to have hope and pathetic morals when I was young. It's only a matter of time before you either get replaced by me or become the next Sin of Greed."

"I'll wait and see. Watching you fall into the depths of the abyss should be enjoyable."

════════✧HAPPY NEW YEAR✧════════