Chapter10-Lia and Diana

She looked at me cautiously and asked, "Mister, are you Michael Frostburne, Eoin Frostburne's son, the super wealthy businessman?"

Eoin Frostburne? Who's that? Super rich? Me? Nah, nah. What's up with these girls?

Just when I was thinking about it, I remembered something.

Oh, so these girls are talking about that guy? I never thought he was rich. What kind of person was he?

And then, when I thought about inheriting his memories. But just as I was about to open my system panel, a voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

The red-haired girl looked at me suspiciously and asked, "Are you even paying attention?"

"Yeah, what were you asking?" I replied, not really focused.

"Are you Michael Frostburne? If yes, then, what are you doing here?" she asked again, sounding curious and suspicious.

"Yeah, I'm Michael Frostburne. You can just call me Michael. As for why I'm here... I came to catch my imposter who was giving me a bad name by kidnapping people."

I thought of the best excuse I could come up with in this situation.

I mean, there is a chance that these girls might have already seen his face.

So, this excuse is the best I could come up with?

I'd rather not say I came here just to save them because that might make them more suspicious. Only the dead guy and these girls know about this place.

And yeah, anyone connected to that guy.

Apart from that, I don't think anyone else knows about this place.

I glanced at her to see her reaction. Meanwhile, her sister, who was stunningly beautiful, caught my eye. 

A goddess. She's like a real-life goddess.

Yeah, I was stunned. For a moment, I thought she was a goddess. I mean, just look at her beauty, those big, big melons.

Her blue eyes and pink hair were mesmerizing, and her figure was striking. I was so caught up in talking to her sister that I forgot about her.

The red-haired girl's puzzled voice snapped me back. "An imposter?" she questioned.

I quickly nodded, trying to compose myself. "Yeah, he's dead. His body is upstairs," I explained, pointing upward.

The pink-haired girl looked at me and said, "Thank you for saving us, mister." Her voice was soft and grateful.

The red-haired girl chimed in and said,"Lia, why the fuck are you thanking him? We don't even know if he's telling the truth or lying."

'Ughh, that's hit hard.'

She looked at me aggressively, and I met her gaze with an emotionless face.

She is... Cautious...

 "Are you thinking I'm telling you lies?" I asked.

She didn't say anything but caught Lia, her sister's hand. I continued, "Think carefully. If I was really that guy, then I would have killed both of you by now instead of wasting time on freeing you."

My voice sounded grim, like those old men in anime who give quotes to the main character.

I could see her hands faltering, but my inner thoughts were, 'Did she buy it?' 

After a few seconds, which felt like eternity, she released her sister's hand and said, "Sorry, I doubted you."

I looked at her and simply said, "Just sorry."

She shouted, "What do you want? Do you want me to beg and plead for forgiveness?"

'I would be very pleased if you could.'

"No, no, how could I?" I replied.

Then, I asked them, "What are both of your names?"

The pink-haired girl spoke up with a soft and naive voice. "My name is Lia Parkour, and this is my sister. Her name is-"

Before Lia could finish her words, her sister stepped in and said, "Diana, Diana Parkour."

"That's a good name," I remarked.

I looked at Lia, whose face seemed a bit strange. 

Was she confused? But why? I couldn't quite understand, but somehow I felt Lia's reaction was strange when she heard her sister's name. 

Nevertheless, I left it and asked them, "How were you girls kidnapped by him?"

Lia explained, "We were hunting lesser-rank monsters when, out of nowhere, a large serpent appeared and sprayed venom at us, paralyzing our bodies. After that, a few people, led by a guy wearing a black mask, instructed them to bring us here to these wells and lock us up."

A large serpent must be that guy's pet, but why didn't it attack me with venom? 

Did it run out of venom? Strange... And the black mask... 

With that information, I'm sure these girls didn't see his face. 

But when I would have taken them upstairs, they would have suspected me after seeing that guy's body. 

So, I think it was a good idea to make that excuse. 

It really saved me from more trouble.

I looked at Lia and asked, "When exactly were you both kidnapped?"

Lia thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe a day ago."

'What? Just a day ago? What crazy luck they have. If I had transmigrated a few days later, they both would have been dead by now,' I mutterred, surprised at the timing.

"Did you say something?" (Lia)

"No, no, nothing..." (Michael)

Diana, still cautious, asked, "How long will you interrogate us here?"

Casually touching the back of my head, I replied, "My bad, I forgot. Follow me."

I could understand her frustration. Being questioned in a dark room with just a torch is pretty rough.

Anyway, it wasn't my fault; I was just too focused on getting answers.

I led them out of the hidden compartment and into the main room. Lia's eyes widened in shock when she saw the bloodstains and the dead body on the floor.

Why is she so shocked? I did inform her. 

I wondered. On the other hand, Diana seemed calm, as if she had seen many dead bodies before. She looked at me intently, and I quickly shifted my gaze.

"So, this is the imposter?" Diana asked. "You look exactly like him, or... maybe you are the imposter."

I met her gaze.

'She is really too cautious of me.' 

But before I could respond, Lia chimed in, "Sis, you're suspecting him again? He is not the imposter, you know."

Diana looked at her naive sister, then back at me. "I was just joking," she said.

'Was that really a joke? You think I'll believe it?' 

I thought but kept my expression neutral. 

"Oh, no problem, the joke was good," I said aloud.

Lia caught Diana's hand and said, "Let's go."

"Where?" I asked.

"Outside this place, back to our home in Ambrosia," Lia replied.

'Ambrosia?' 

Is that a city or something? I have no idea what place they're talking about. If I had inherited that guy's memory, I would have understand. Anyway, for now, the best option is to follow them.

Regarding his memories, I opened my system panel and, after scrolling through the messages, I finally found that message.

(Ding, congratulations host! You have completed the Bonus quest (Don't die)!)

(Would you like to acquire the memories of the deceased?)

(Yes/No)

I clicked "Yes" without hesitating. A new message popped up:

**(Processing...)**

**(Please wait, host. The deceased's memories will be installed in your brain within 30 minutes.)**

As they started to leave the room, I followed them. We climbed out of the well, and just as we emerged, a screen popped up in front of my eyes with various messages.

(Ding, congratulations host! You have completed the quest (Dead Man's secret))

(The List of Monster and Item Ranks has been added to your character profile in a new section called Info!)

(Ding, congratulations, host! You have completed the Bonus quest: Rescue them)

(The list of Essences needed for each upgrade has been added to your Info section!)

Info?'

 I opened my character profile to check the new Info section that was just added.

Name: Michael Frostburne 

Race: Human

Current rank: Iron.

...

Human Racial Abilities:

- Interface

- Quest System

- Inventory

- Map

- Adaptor (Special)

- Skills 

- Info (New)

I clicked on the Info section, and saw a familiar list of hunter ranks I had already seen in the past. But under it were three new lists that caught my attention, containing exactly the information I needed.

List of Hunter Ranks:

1. Normal

2. Bronze

3. Iron

4. Gold

...

Beneath this were the new lists:

1. **Monster Ranks**:

   - Lesser

   - Common

   - Uncommon

   - Rare

   - Elite

   - Legendary

   - Mythical 

   - Immortal

   - Eternal

2. **Item Ranks**:

   - Bronze

   - Iron

   - Gold

   - Platinum 

   - Diamond 

   - Legendary 

   - Mythic

   - Divine

3. **Essence Requirements for Upgrades**:

   - Normal to Bronze: 100 Monster Essences

   - Bronze to Iron: 500 Monster Essences

   - Iron to Gold: 2500 Monster Essences

   - Gold to Platinum: 12500 Monster Essences

   - Platinum to Ace: 62500 Monster Essences

   - Ace to Master: 312500 Monster Essences

   - Master to Dominator: 1500000 Monster Essences

   - Dominator to Conqueror: 75000000 Monster Essences

   - Conqueror to Grandmaster: 375000000 Monster Essences

'Hmm, this is exactly what I was looking for.'

I carefully examined all three lists, focusing on the third one, which detailed the essence requirements for upgrades. 

Something about it seemed off, particularly the massive increase in essences needed to ascend from the Dominator to Conqueror and Grandmaster ranks compared to the previous upgrades. 

Intrigued and slightly puzzled, I questioned the system in my mind, "System, why do I need 50 times more essences to ascend from Dominator to Conqueror and to Grandmaster rank, while the other ranks just need 5 times more?"

It didn't make sense to me. More essences meant more kills, and more kills meant more hard work. 

And let's be honest, I wasn't exactly known for my diligence.

Back in my previous world, I practically avoided doing homework out of sheer laziness, resulting in frequent punishments from my teachers.

A screen appeared, and the system replied, "Host, it's the requirements. If you want to ascend through those ranks, then you have to put in the hard work or just stay in that Dominator rank."

I couldn't help but mutter, "Cheeky bastard," under my breath at the system's straightforward response.