Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

"No," Rael flat-out denied. "Were you the ones who did it?"

"Of course not," one of the masked men replied, before suddenly taking off his mask, revealing a scar-filled face. "We've been searching for the one responsible, because the moment the Beast awakened, our trade supplier was killed on this very bridge, destroying it in the process."

"That sucks." Rael whistled. "Anything we can help you with? I really need to get to the other side, you see."

"Call me Dreadlock, and do you really want to come to the other side? We can bring you, however, you might have to pay a small fee," Dreadlock said, rubbing his hands together. "5,000 Trell each, one-way trip to the other side."

What a scammer, Rael sighed. I respect the hustle though.

"I'll pay," Rael said as he stretched his hand out and Dreadlock accepted it in kind.

He didn't know how to start a transaction, but it seemed he didn't need to.

<Payment requested: 100,000 Trell. Accept? Yes/No>

"You added another zero, mate," Rael pointed out with a frown.

"Oh, hahaha, my bad," Dreadlock laughed it off as a new offer came in.

<Payment requested: 10,000 Trell. Accept? Yes/No>

Noticing that it wasn't a total scam anymore, Rael swiftly accepted.

<Confirmed.>

<Balance Updated: -10,000 Trell | New Balance: 3,896,724 Trell>

Neat menu, Rael remarked as he stared Dreadlock in his blue eyes. "Lead the way."

"Of course, follow me, you two. As for the others, wait ahead," Dreadlock instructed, before walking to the right side of the fallen bridge.

Rael and Seryn followed until they finally caught up to Dreadlock.

However, the sight that greeted Rael made his brow twitch. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Pfft... No hard feelings, kid. Everyone's gotta make a living," Dreadlock chuckled.

At first glance, the bridge looked like it had collapsed, but in reality, a massive mirror had been placed there, perfectly reflecting the bottom of the cliff and making it seem like the bridge was simply not there.

Rael had no clue how it worked, but one thing was for sure...

I've been had...

"Just proceed forward on your way and don't tell anyone about this," Dreadlock added, as he pointed toward the perfectly fine bridge. "Have fun now, I hope you two enjoy your stay in the Frostpire Bastion."

"Fair play. Good luck with whatever bullshit you're pulling here," Rael said with a scoff and proceeded forward.

The bridge was pretty long—about 500 or so meters.

Despite that, Rael picked up the pace and sprinted to the other side of it, with Seryn right behind him.

"That was probably a peddler," Seryn noted.

Rael rolled his eyes. "Any detours you want to take, or do you want to head straight into the bastion?"

"I do not have anything in mind." Seryn shrugged. "I wish to observe how these people live their lives, and then move on to the next. If there is a worthy training partner, then I would stay."

"Fair enough," Rael said, and summoned the REwinder car. "Get in."

Seryn did just that, and soon, they were off.

Rael's plan was simple.

He would ignore the first monument in front of him and go for the one behind the Frostpire Bastion.

Chaos was bound to ensue, however, Rael didn't want to stay near a possibly bustling bastion for more than an hour.

So I'll simply stay back for around an hour, wait for the Beast to fall asleep again, and then... Yeah, I'll be fucking them over regardless, Rael sighed as he put the car into autopilot.

The moment he did, however, a pop-up appeared.

<Congratulations! Your active dungeons have produced: +113,870 Trell>

Oh? It's already been a day? Hmm... Rael thought, leaning back.

At the speed they were going, he'd arrive in the Frostpire Bastion in around an hour, so he decided to get some shuteye.

"Seryn, if you notice something off then—bruh." Rael facepalmed.

Motherfucker fell asleep... What if the GPS messes up again, Rael thought, before suddenly getting a genius idea.

<Sweepus Prime (Rare) has exited the Crystallite Summon Storage!>

<Stored Summons: 1 → 0>

"Sweepus," Rael called out with a smile. "If you see any bad people, or if you see us about to fly off a cliff, wake me up, okay?"

Sweepus Prime immediately saluted, before staring ahead, determination clear in its crystal eyes.

Damn... I really should get my crystal summons something nice... candy maybe? Rael pondered as he began growing drowsy.

And not even a few seconds later, he was finally knocked out.

***

<You have arrived at your destination!>

Rael shot awake, his eyes darting around. "...Huh? Fuck."

Despite the seats being extremely comfortable, he slept like absolute shit.

But as he glanced toward Seryn, whose noble persona had long disappeared with drool running down his mouth, Rael could only let out a sigh.

Why is life so cruel... Rael wiped an imaginary tear before stepping out of the car and getting a breath of the somewhat fresh air.

However, he was definitely not expecting the sight before him.

Massive steel walls stretching several hundred meters above, with cannons, ballistas, and even guards sticking out through the cracks.

Some were holding weapons—ones that were eerily similar to muskets—while others had the ballistas and cannons aimed directly at him.

There was an enormous gate up front, which seemed to have two huge handles on it, as if it was meant for giants to open.

Better yet, he saw steam and smoke rising into the sky from inside the Frostpire Bastion, followed by the clanging of metal, which meant it had a very strong industrial side.

This is no joke... Comparing this with the encampment was a mistake on my end, Rael thought with wonder.

They were simply far more advanced than anything he had seen so far in this strange world.

But of course, the bigger the fish, the more mone—

"Stop." A cold voice rang out behind Rael, prompting him to swiftly turn around.

The moment he did, he saw Seryn pinned to the ground by a gray-bearded man wearing sandals.

He had a massive grin on his face as he rested a pitch-black katana on his shoulder, staring down at Rael menacingly.

"Care for a little chat, lads?"