I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 369: A Narcissist Beyond Narcissists

“By narcissistic tendencies, what do you mean by that exactly?” Argentum could not help but ask Felix, wanting to clarify how seriously narcissistic Helios was. If it was at a level that he could tolerate, then Argentum would still be able to adjust. But if he couldn’t, then he would just choose another person that excelled in the Wind element to work with.

“Er…how do I put this…” Felix scratched his head as he pondered as to how he would convey the level of narcissism Helios had to Argentum. After about a minute or so, he eventually found a place to start from, deciding to ask Argentum, “Well, you do know what a narcissist is, right?”

“Of course, it’s a being that loves themselves to the point that they would put themselves above others. It’s similar to selfishness, but it’s not at the same time,” Argentum responded before asking, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, what do you think narcissists do?” Felix asked, making Argentum go silent for a bit as he tried to imagine himself as a narcissist. Soon after, he answered, “I guess they would always think they’re great while they want all the attention towards them. They think of themselves as extremely important people and…that’s all I got.”

“You’re more or less correct, Argentum,” Felix responded before saying, “That’s what most narcissists do. But in Helios’s case, take those actions…and turn them up to 11.”

“That bad?” Argentum said with a slight frown on his face. At this moment, he could not help but think of finding other people to work with to concoct the Heaven’s Wind Potion. Though, as he continued to listen to Felix’s words, the thought of finding other people to work with intensified, instantly concluding that there was no way he would be able to work with Helios regarding the Heaven’s Wind Potion.

“What you imagine might not even be 1% of what he’s actually like,” Felix said as he slightly shuddered. Taking in a deep breath, he then told Argentum, “He would ignore you unless you call him something along the lines of ‘Oh, the Great and Venerable Tempest King Helios Gustav’ or ‘Oh, the Almighty and Powerful Tempest King Helios Gustav’. Of course, you can also call him handsome, but he’ll only spare you a quick glance. That’s how bad it is.”

“Not only that, but if you enter his inheritance, almost every nook and cranny of the place would be filled to the brim with his figures. If not a statue of his whole body, you would see a bust. If there isn’t enough space for a bust, there would be a self-portrait of him. Even the place where he rests is covered with pictures of his own face. His mattress, pillows, and even the blanket he uses has pictures of his face on it. He’s so narcissistic that he even went to another continent just to have those things made for him.”

“And if you thought it stopped there…I’m not over yet,” Felix said as he looked at Argentum, who now had an expression of extreme shock and fear on his face. Any ideas of wanting to work with Helios had now gone down the drain. The level of narcissism Felix had just mentioned was already beyond his level of tolerance, but to think that there was even more to it just scared him.

“Fortunately, he knows how to wear appropriately, though he always wears a locket with a picture of his own face on it. From time to time, he would open the locket and kiss it as if it was his wife. Whenever he would come across a mirror, he would get closer to the mirror. and kiss himself from head to toe. And if he’s in the shower, he would—” Felix said, only to be interrupted by Argentum as he hastily said, “Alright, alright. I get it. He’s so narcissistic, there’s no point working with him.”

“If only that was the case, Argentum,” Felix said with a bitter chuckle. “He wouldn’t become the owner of an inheritance if he was just overly narcissistic.”

By this time, all thoughts of working with Helios were completely and thoroughly removed from his mind. Though, Felix’s next words brought a bit of those thoughts back, albeit with the thinking of those thoughts being last priority.

“It’s quite ironic that such a narcissistic man like him would be great at combat. Then again, he wouldn’t be able to protect his appearance if he didn’t know how to protect himself,” Felix said. “Not only that, but he’s incredibly skilled in the manipulation of the Wind element. I have a feeling that his understanding of the Wind element is way above yours, Argentum, even if yours is already at the True Element level.”

‘Fortunately, he’s only good at combat. I probably wouldn’t have a choice but to work with him if he’s also good at alchem—’ Argentum thought to himself while listening to Felix’s words, only to be interrupted as the urge to bang his head on the ground soon surfaced.

“On top of that, he’s also good at concocting potions, just like me. Well, to be honest, he’s far more proficient in concocting potions when compared to me,” Felix continued. “Remember how you gave me 5 batches of materials to concoct Heaven’s Wind Potions. If you gave the same amount of materials to him, I have a feeling that he wouldn’t just be able to concoct 50 of them, even 200 of those flasks wouldn’t be impossible.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Just as Felix was finished talking about Helios’s good sides, the sound of a dull thud resounded throughout the area, prompting the three to look at the origin of the sound. Surprisingly, they soon found out that the origin of the sound came from Argentum as he banged his head on the ground with the greatest force he could muster. It was as if he was trying to forget that this conversation had ever happened.

“Do the heavens really want me to work with this guy?!” Argentum could not help but shout as he continued to bang his head on the ground. In response to his question, Felix told Argentum, “Well, it’s not like you’re forced to work with him. We still know a few people that excel in the Wind element and are good with alchemy that don’t have the same personality as him.”

Hearing those words, Argentum’s aura instantly turned into that of excitement and optimism as he stood up and asked Felix, “Are any of them also good at marketing the potions?”

In response to that question, Felix, Eleanor, and Rosalia looked at each other before looking at Argentum and giving him bitter smiles, or equivalents of it. Seeing this, Argentum could not help but let out a sigh as he asked with a hint of acceptance, “Let me guess…he’s also great at marketing…right?”

“I’m afraid so,” Felix replied, to which Argentum let out a long sigh as he furiously scratched his head. After that, he steeled his heart for the journey that he was about to embark on. “Alright, I guess I have no choice but to head to the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance.”

As he said that, he looked at Rosalia and said, “Since you’re an Animate, I think it would be better for you to be the one to contact the town officials while I’m at the inheritance.”

Surprisingly, Rosalia shook her head as she responded, “No. I’m going with you.”

“Hmm? Why?” Argentum asked not long after, curious as to why she would accompany him all of a sudden. As for Felix and Eleanor, they looked at Rosalia and simultaneously thought as they inwardly let out sighs of relief, ‘At the very least, Argentum wouldn’t have too bad of a time there.’

Oblivious to what the two were thinking, Rosalia answered Argentum’s question. “That’s because I’m the one most familiar with Helios’s personality. Not only that, but he’s also an Animate, just like me. Don’t you think it would be better for you to have someone familiar with his personality?”

“Are you sure you want to accompany me, Rosalia? Don’t you have your inheritance to look out for?” Argentum hastily asked, to which Rosalia replied, “I let Argento be in charge of the inheritance’s mechanisms in the meantime, so you don’t have to worry a thing.”

“Well, if you say so,” Argentum said with a tone of gratitude. He then looked at Eleanor and Felix before saying, “I don’t know which one of you will be the one contacting the town officials, but please help them out as much as possible, okay?”

Eleanor was the one to respond to Argentum’s question this time, telling him not to worry. “Relax for now, Argentum. A great kingdom isn’t built in a day, you know. Just leave the projects you’ve told us to me and Felix.”

“I’ll definitely repay the three of you back someday,” Argentum said not long after before bidding farewell to Eleanor and Felix with Rosalia. The two of them then left the inheritance as they headed to the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance as fast as possible.

…

With Rosalia carrying Argentum along the way to the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance, they had arrived at the place where it was located by the time the moon was at its peak. Nevertheless, the dim moonlight was still enough for Argentum to be left at a loss for words as they stood in front of what looked like the entrance to the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance.

Just like how the entrance to Felix and Rosalia’s inheritances looked, the entrance to the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance also seemed to have the appearance of a majestic castle. Though, unlike their entrances, the castle gave off an aura of beckoning, yet at the same time rejection. It gave one the feeling that only those deemed worthy would be able to enter the inheritance.

As he gawked at the sight of the beautiful entrance, Argentum looked at Rosalia beside him and asked, “You told me that he’s an Animate, right? Doesn’t that mean he’s asleep by now?”

In response, Rosalia lightly grinned as she said, “Watch this.”

Rumble…

With a stomp of her foot, the ground surrounding the entrance to the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance started to madly tremble like an earthquake was happening, giving off the feeling that the majestic castle in front of them was about to tremble at any time. Though, after some point, this trembling stopped as an annoyed voice soon resounded, saying, “For fuck’s sake, I’m trying to get some beauty sleep here!”

Soon after, the silhouette of a slightly tall man appeared in front of the two of them, soon revealing itself in front of the two. Although the man was wearing what seemed to be comfortable light green sleepwear, it did not hide the aura the man was emanating, which was that of sharpness and swiftness…if one ignored the rage mixed into the aura, of course.

Seeing how the sleepwear could not hide the lean yet dense muscles of the man, combined with his above average face, it made others think that he was the perfect man. In any case, this cranky man was none other than the owner of the Heaven’s Gust Inheritance, the Tempest King, Helios Gustav.

“Now who the fuck are you two to be so daring to disturb my slumbe—Rosalia? Is that actually you?” Helios said, only to stop and change his statement as he noticed that one of the two people was actually one of his old friends, Rosalia. Nevertheless, only a slight expression of surprise could be seen on his face as he continued, “Well, in any case, leave me be. I’m trying to get some shuteye here.”

Just as he turned around, Rosalia reached out to him and said, “Wait a second, Helios. I have something to ask of you?”

“What? Do you want this divine being to model for your paintings once more like the old times? Well, although I might be sleepy, I wouldn’t mind doing that just for you,” Helios replied with an indifferent tone, though a hint of a chuckle could be heard at the end of it.

In an instant, Rosalia shook her head as she replied, “That’s not it. I need your help in something.”

“Oh?” Although his expression was still somewhat disinterested, Helios raised his eyebrow.

Noticing that she had gotten his attention, Rosalia then introduced Argentum beside her to Helios, saying, “Helios, this is my friend, Argentum. He’s the leader of a town and he would like you to become a benefactor of the town to make it prosper. Of course, he’s willing to pay the price to enlist your help.”

Surprisingly, after Helios realized that the one needing help wasn’t Rosalia but some nobody he hadn’t heard of, he turned around once more as he waved his hand, saying, “Don’t involve me in any of that. This divine being is beyond the worth of a measly town.”

At that moment, Argentum thought to himself, ‘Ah, fuck it! Only these two would know of what happened here anyway.’

With that, he mustered up all his courage as he said without hesitation, “Oh, the Charming and Handsome Tempest King that would Smite even the Heavens with His Looks Alone, the All-Powerful and Venerable Helios Gustav. Please listen to my request.”

“…”

“…”

“…I’m listening.”

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