The Transmigrated Author

With absolute precision, Aconite watched through the eyes of the worker, effortlessly making Rel's coffee.

As she stirred it carefully, she added an odourless agent that masked the scent of the pill hidden within the coffee. Even superhuman senses wouldn't detect it until after consumption.

"Here's your coffee, sir..."

"Here's your coffee, sir..."

As Aconite's clone handed Rel the coffee, she discreetly guided the worker clone towards the employee's room.

Aconite then opened her own eyes and observed from the rooftop to see if Rel had noticed anything. Luckily for her, he hadn't.

She turned away to change disguises, equipping herself to appear as a young businesswoman.

She wore a black skirt, a white long-sleeved buttoned tee, and glasses that gave her an air of mystery and unapproachability.

She took one last look before jumping down.

"The target should be neutralized..."

But when she turned her head to check on Rel, it seemed he had caught on.

He hadn't touched the coffee and was staring directly out the window towards Aconite's location.

He put the cup down, arms crossed, head tilted slightly, and brow furrowed.

Aconite froze her heart racing, but quickly hid from Rel's sight.

How did he figure it out? The possibility of him detecting the poison was nearly impossible. He can't be that perceptive, can he?

Her mind searched for answers, but she had no choice but to get closer.

Heup!

Jumping down from the alleyway, she rushed towards the coffee shop, hoping to finish the job.

But she stopped short. Rel was already outside, holding the cup, surrounded by civilians. It was almost impossible to act without being noticed.

Tch!

Aconite gritted her teeth, but her eyes widened as she watched Rel pour the coffee into the sewer drain.

Rel kept his eyes on her, and after emptying the cup, he walked towards her.

Tap...

Among the crowd, she wondered if she needed an area-of-effect attack to escape.

Tap...

She reached into her pocket, her hand closing around a concealed vial of liquid.

Tap...

But suddenly, he walked past her without a second glance.

She turned her head, wondering if he was playing a trick, but he continued walking away.

For an executioner and a Quadra executive, Aconite had failed a mission for the first time in her life.

***

RING!...RING!...RING!

"Argh... my head."

The pain of waking up never gets any easier. I guess there's no helping it. I still couldn't get over what happened yesterday. I trailed Jan for the entire afternoon, then those blood mimics appeared, I fought Jan, and a whole lot of other stuff happened.

Yet, I was lucky in the end.

Those events led to these artifacts falling into my hands.

aka stealing from Jan.

"A gift handed by the Gods"

I fist pumped in the air with a slight nod and turned my head towards the closet.

WOM...

Using Precision Control, I opened up my closet from my bed and hovered over the two items I rightfully earned.

FWANG!

[Displaying Item Contents:]

[Item 1: Ancient Greek Bracelet Of Fluvia [Grade 2] - [Condition: Great] - [Enchantments: Regeneration III, Mana Recovery III,] - [Special Effect - Magic Amplification Output: 10% - The magic power output of the desired elemental attribute is enhanced when wearing this item.]

[Item 2: Ghost Orchid Seed [Grade 1] - [Condition: Perfect] - [Content: This item can be used for alchemy] - [Enchantments: ???] -[Special Effects: ???]

If I didn't say I was proud of my actions, I'd stand up and say it now. Of course, I won't, but it's a figure of speech.

Anyway, I chose these two items based on their value. In the original novel, Jan kept them as keepsakes for defeating the Sunlit King. His tendency to cherish memories and honour was very main-character-like.

So, instead of letting these things gather dust on a shelf, I'll put them to good use.

I'll start with the Greek bracelet.

Clank!

Opening the bracelet of Fluvia, I could understand why this thing was kept as a keepsake. Firstly, it heals well and recovers mana extremely well for its grade. Its overall recovery factor is much better than modern potions, and it's more efficient in every aspect.

If I sold this on the market, it would fetch a high price. Artifacts with special functions or passives are extremely rare. I knew these needed to be rare and rewarding for a reason, but I hadn't figured out what to do with them, so I inevitably vaulted them until further notice.

But since things are different now, I'll make sure this goes to the right buyer. To my knowledge, there's no way this item will fall into the wrong hands.

CLANK!

Removing the bracelet, I placed it in the artifact box labelled "sell."

Now, I could finally get to this...

Holding the Ghost Orchid, I could feel my entire body shiver just looking at its beauty. In this world, the Ghost Orchid is one of, if not the rarest, extinct flower.

It has special properties, allowing it to grow unique, high-graded fruits with permanent stat-increasing properties. And it's not limited to just one stat.

The Ghost Orchid can grow different unique-graded fruits, allowing for growth across all my physical stats.

But the downside is that I can't control which fruits the plant will bear. So, I plan to cultivate it and grow it elsewhere once I find the right place.

The Ghost Orchid seed is the key to upgrading all my stats. With it, I'd be able to become much stronger on my own and wouldn't need to rely on others to save me.

WOM!

[The Following Item Has Been Transferred To The Pocket Realm: Ghost Orchid Seed (4/5)]

With all that done, I still hadn't figured out who spiked my coffee that day.

I couldn't shake the feeling that the overly suspicious woman staring at me on my way out was involved.

Her face was still a blur in my memory, but I didn't think a woman with black hair would be suspicious.

Most female characters in this novel have bright colours and pretty faces that stand amongst most NPCs, so I wouldn't have pegged someone with black hair as a villain.

It must have been a mistake; she was probably waiting for her husband or something.

I don't want to judge, but if I think about it, I'm probably right.

Hmm... but I was exhausted, and even a moment of consideration without my coffee could have led to a mistake.

That's what I learned as a writer.