***
Well, that's how it turned out.
It's regrettable, but there's nothing to be done.
Originally, I had intended to steadily level up by using Ray and Lena, but a major obstacle appeared from an unexpected angle.
It was the existence of parties.
In 'Sonisia Fantasy,' parties can consist of up to four members.
However, parties usually consist of three members. Two members are too risky, and four members result in too little experience gain.
The problem is that Ray, Lena, and I are considered a single party.
This means we can't join other parties; only invitations to our party are possible.
To make matters worse, since I'm the party leader, I have to send the invitations, but in this world, party invitations are impossible without an adventurer's pendant.
It's also impossible to make the one I'm parasitizing the party leader. My position as party leader is fixed, and transferring it would also require a pendant.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do about this.
In other words, the only way to form a party is through forced inclusion via 'Parasitism'.
In short, it's effectively impossible for adventurers to form parties with each other.
And one more thing.
Loot obtained from the dungeon must be settled through the guild. This is due to tax issues, safety concerns, and various other reasons.
The problem is that the party leader has to do it.
This means normal loot settlement is also difficult.
So, after much deliberation, I had no choice but to choose this path.
An illegal route.
Namely, hunting adventurers.
Aside from the extremely high risk and the slight moral qualms, this method actually has its own considerable advantages.
Firstly, players yield significantly more experience than monsters.
To what extent? It's almost equivalent to hunting a floor boss.
Furthermore, killing players allows you to acquire all their equipment and items, making it much easier to earn money.
I can keep what I need and sell the rest on the black market.
“Unnie, Unnie, isn't this underwear a magic item too?”
“But who would wear that?”
“Hmm... Papa?”
After hunting the adventurer party, we plundered their spoils.
As they chatted amongst themselves, Lena subtly glanced my way.
For your information, I am currently parasitizing a Lich.
Don't ask how I can parasitize a creature that's nothing but bones. I don't know either.
This Lich monster seems to be a very rare floor boss. You could say I was lucky.
It's powerful, possesses many rare skills, and most importantly, its necromancy is a great help.
Because when you revive a killed player as a skeleton, they become a much stronger entity than a typical summoned creature.
What's more, they're permanent.
And since they're summoned beings, they aren't even counted as party members.
“Papa, do you want to wear this?”
Lena held up a dazzling, glowing pair of boxer briefs and asked.
The 'Lucky Boxer Briefs,' a unique item. They increase Luck by 5.
“Give it here.”
I roughly fastened the boxer briefs I received from Lena to both of my shin bones.
Given that my stats increased, it seems to count as being worn.
“Papa, I'm pretty much done packing. I think we can go.”
Ray said, tying the straps of her bag.
I used necromancy to revive the three dead adventurers.
Their flesh gone, three skeletal figures, nothing but bare bones, awkwardly rose to their feet.
After another level-up, Ray reached level 38, and Lena reached level 36.
For adventurers in the 3rd layer, that's quite high.
For reference, I am currently level 41.
Perhaps it's because I'm sharing experience with my host and the two of them, but my leveling speed is much faster.
In my case, it seems that when my level increases, my host is strengthened.
If I had to classify myself, I'd be a buff character.
As I leveled up, I learned several skills, the most useful of which is 'Parasitic Equipment'.
It's a skill that significantly enhances equipment performance by corrupting it and adding a 'Parasitized' debuff.
This performance enhancement scales with my stats, so if I boost combat abilities with 'Succumea Support,' Lena and Ray also become stronger exponentially.
And one more addition, seemingly minor, but in some ways, not so minor.
Parasitic Equipment can freely change its material and form.
This means that when defense is needed, it can cover the skin with plate armor material for protection, and when not, it can be completely retracted into the body to be hidden.
“Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle♥”
“It keeps moving inside...♥”
Lena and Ray muttered, their eyes half-closed, their bodies trembling.
Aside from thick brown cloaks, both were completely naked.
At least, that's how it appeared. In reality, their equipment was properly stored inside their bodies.
More precisely, within their swollen breasts and the uteri inside their vaginas.
Because of this, the breasts and uteri of the two, containing equipment transformed into masses of tentacles, were much more swollen than usual.
Compared to their short stature of around 150cm, their breasts were larger than their faces, and their nipples were thick. Their lower bellies protruded like those of pregnant women.
“Sex, sex, sex♥ Ah...♥”
“Heeugh♥”
The two lewd elf twin sisters masturbated as they walked, rolling their nipples and clitorises with their fingers.
Due to the increased lewdness from the personality theft, Lena and Ray quickly became aroused, masturbating anywhere and everywhere, scattering their fluids.
So, I've been using the parasitic equipment to poke and stimulate them from within to relieve it, but it seems to have had the opposite effect, making them even more lewd.
“Behave yourselves inside the black market.”
When I spoke, Lena and Ray nodded.
“Yes, Papa♥”
“Naughty thoughts only in my head... naughty thoughts only in my head...”
They answered obediently, but their eyes were unfocused, giving them a precarious look as if they'd pounce on any man the moment they were given permission.
I guess there's no helping it.
“'Subdue Consciousness'”
I used dark magic.
'Subdue Consciousness' is a type of dark magic that interferes with the mind. It's a skill that literally blurs the opponent's consciousness.
It's usually used to drain mental power, but for subordinates like Lena and Ray, who obey me without resistance, it's possible to temporarily excise their self-awareness, turning them into doll-like states.
“Follow me.”
“Yes, Papa...”
“Understood...”
When I commanded, the two replied with blank expressions and followed behind me.
Black markets exist on each layer of the labyrinth.
Among them, the Polymarket, located on the 3rd layer, is the largest black market. Despite its cheerful-sounding name, it's a hotbed of illegal activities where various drugs and stolen goods are actively traded.
“Entry ticket.”
The guard standing at the cave entrance leading to the Polymarket said.
I showed him a blood-stained pendant.
To enter the Polymarket, one must show proof of illegal activity. The most common proof is another person's adventurer's emblem.
Given the nature of adventurer emblems, which are legally prohibited from transfer or sharing, possessing someone else's is undeniable proof of illegal activity.
The guard took the pendant, opened its lid, and alternately looked at the photo inside and at me, as if comparing us.
“Take off your hood.”
“You probably won't want to see it.”
“That's for me to decide, not you.”
I took off my hood.
The guard's expression changed significantly upon seeing the skull underneath.
“...You may enter.”
He said, returning the pendant.
I walked past him.
Seeing the two elf women following behind, the guard asked.
“Are those your slaves?”
“Party members.”
When I corrected him, the guard stared at me as if I were something extraordinary.
His gaze was one of incomprehension.
“An elf and a Lich... there truly are all sorts of things in this world.”
I sold the equipment I had plundered at the black market.
With the money I earned, I purchased equipment and consumables.
Drugs sold on the black market are expensive and have the fatal drawback of permanently lowering stats with continuous use, but their effects are incredibly potent.
The permanent stat reduction isn't a big problem for me. The stats that drop from drug use are HP and Strength, both of which are 0 for a Lich.
In this game, a Lich's HP and Strength are influenced by Intelligence. Therefore, the penalty is effectively zero.
Don't ask how I take drugs without a stomach. I don't know either.
It must be some kind of game mechanic.
For equipment, I bought a staff and a new robe.
Both were cursed items, so I could buy them much cheaper than their performance suggested. Since Liches are immune to curses and mental attack spells, this was also not an issue.
After finishing my shopping, I headed to the detective agency within the black market.
If there's an Adventurer's Guild in the light, there's a Hunter's Guild in the shadows.
This Hunter's Guild can be considered the illegal version of the Adventurer's Guild.
Various requests can be made or accepted here; some are common, like monster subjugation within the labyrinth, while others are overtly illegal, such as kidnapping, murder, theft, or robbery requests.
The rewards for such missions are quite generous. Especially for murder, where large organizations or wealthy nobles often place bounties, it's literally possible to strike it rich overnight.
For me, it's a win-win situation, allowing me to gain experience and earn money.
“Hey, those two girls, they're your slaves, aren't they?”
While I was at the Hunter's Guild checking missions, someone approached and spoke to me.
I turned around to see a rough-looking man standing there.
He gestured with his head towards the naked elf twins waiting to the side and asked.
“Party members.”
When I corrected him, the man scoffed and said.
“Don't make me laugh. Do I look blind? It's obvious their eyes are glazed over from a mental attack. Besides, the elf race despises undead, so why would they willingly party with a Lich?”
“Then think what you want.”
Anyway, whether they're slaves or whatever, it won't be an issue here.
I just said no because it's not true.
“Oh? Then it's none of my business, is it? Sell those two to me.”
“Sell them?”
“Yeah. Are you deaf? Don't make me repeat myself, it's annoying. I've always wanted elf sex slaves. But they're so rare, I never dared. And those two look like purebloods. The pregnancy is a bit of a flaw, but the baby can just be aborted. I'll give you a good price, so hand them over. I'll give you 100,000 G for both.”
100,000 G. A huge sum I'd never held before.
Considering murder missions usually pay between 1,000 and 5,000 G, his claim of offering a good price wasn't a lie.
In fact, at my current level, I could easily create new hosts like Lena or Ray, so from a purely calculated perspective, selling them here might be the rational choice.
Of course, I have no intention of doing so.
First of all, I don't like this guy's attitude.
And those two are characters I've personally raised since my low-level days, so to speak, my cherished characters.
Selling them for money is absurd.
The whole reason I earn money is to raise my characters, after all.
“1,000,000 G.”
“What?”
When I countered with my offer, his eyes narrowed.
It was as expected.
It seems he doesn't have that much money.
“You bony bastard, has your sense of economics rotted away too? There's no slave in this world worth 1,000,000 G. The most expensive bounty ever placed was only 840,000 G!”
I know.
And that 840,000 G bounty was none other than the one placed on the Silver Knight.
A sub-objective, and someone I absolutely must collect to survive.
The Silver Knight seemed to be infamous in this area. That 840,000 G bounty, for instance, wasn't placed by just one person, but accumulated from multiple bounties.
The fact that they've survived despite that clearly indicates they're an incredibly skilled individual.
At least at this point, they're undoubtedly in a position I can't even dream of challenging.
“If you don't have the money, get lost.”
I deliberately infused my voice with the rough, bone-scraping sound characteristic of the undead.
The threat seemed to work, as tension clearly appeared on his face.
“You... you'll regret this later.”
He said that and then left.
I checked his status window.
He was only level 11. I don't know what kind of confidence he had. At that level, he should have wet himself the moment he recognized me as a Lich.