"Congratulations, Wyatt. Your G-book sold ten million copies in under an hour. You made it," Mary said, congratulating me inside my single dorm room.
The announcement feature released by the city's research institute, vouching for the legitimacy of my G-book, worked like a charm. Coupled with the deliberately low price of two G-coins, the response was explosive. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if it crossed a hundred million copies within a week.
My G-book was a one-of-a-kind book. It followed my contract ceremony outside of Grimmyth, something everyone was very curious about, and it was priced modestly at just two G-coins. On its own, it would have eventually sold a respectable number of copies, but it was Mary's PR efforts that gave it legitimacy and made its record-shattering sales pace possible.
"Thank you. This was only possible because of your PR work," I said sincerely. Credit had to be given where it was due. The overwhelming success of my G-book launch was, without question, her doing.
It had been a full day since Mary went far beyond her duties, helping me move from Crayon's basement room, a place where sunlight never reached, into a single dormitory at the research institute after assisting me in signing a fair employment contract with the Skyox Grimmyth Research Institute.
Soon, she mobilized nearly all her connections. Most were renowned researchers from the city, her seniors and mentors, and she convinced them to review my G-book and post its release details in their Grim Web communities. The institute's newsletter featured my G-book release that morning with full coverage.
Twelve hours from then, leaving ample time for media coverage and word of mouth to work their magic, I had posted my G-book on the community page in the evening, then my Grim Web community had over a million followers.
That had been an hour ago. Now, my Grim Web community had surpassed ten million followers and was still growing as we spoke, since everyone who bought my book automatically followed my Grim Web community. They could unfollow later, but nobody does unless I start cluttering their Grim Web community feeds with nonsense or spam.
"Don't mention it. I'm doing this for my sake as well. I get priority consideration for funding by bringing in a generous patron," Mary said, remaining modest in the face of my gratitude. "Now we can focus on crafting your gioncore card and gion circuit card. After that, I can help you redeem your free Engram Enhancer card."
"Speaking of gioncore, you know my Grim Cypher. What would you recommend?" I asked, seeking Mary's opinion having shared my Cypher Card info with her as I had promised to hire her to administer my gioncore and gion circuit cards creation in exchange for her help with my G-book's PR.
Mary had performed her role so flawlessly that I could now afford to hire a world-class specialist to administer my gioncore card and gion card creation. Even so, I had no intention of going back on my promise. After all, a man who forgets his roots is like a tree without water.
"First, tell me this. What kind of Grimlock do you want to become?" Mary asked. "With the money you'll earn from your G-book sales, you can already live comfortably as an average Grimlock. However, if you're not satisfied with average and wish to continue standing above the masses, then your G-book fortune should be more than enough to craft a gioncore card and gion circuit card that will allow you to do exactly that."
Her words made it clear that I had reached a pivotal point, a moment where I had to decide what kind of life I truly envisioned for myself. However, I didn't believe the choice was mine. It was already decided for me when I became the only living Grimlock chosen outside of Grimmyth. I couldn't just go back to an average life after this.
"I'm all in," I announced resolutely, asking Mary not to think about saving me money, but crafting me the best gioncore card and gion circuit card possible for my grim cypher.
Listening to my answer, Mary's indifferent face broke into an excited grin as she shared a document to my grim web card, uttering, "Then I recommend the Crowned Death. It should be highly compatible with your grim cypher."
[ — Grim Web —
Name: The Crowned Death
Type: Flora
Rank: Legendary Grimmon
It is a legendary floral parasitic grimmon that infiltrates its victim's system in the form of a parasitic pollen. It enters through the ocular or nasal canals, weaving an obsidian mycelium directly into the brain's gray matter, where it takes root and gradually hijacks the host's motor functions and consciousness. As the fusion deepens, it merges with the victim's skull, forcing the growth of a pseudopod that expands outward and hardens into a crown encircling the head. Once the transformation is complete, the host is irrevocably turned into the Crowned Death. When fully mature, the Crowned Death's crown begins producing parasitic pollens, which it releases into the surrounding environment.
i) Crown's Claim: The Crowned Death can flawlessly wield all abilities and skills possessed by its victims.
ii) Ultimate Undead: As long as its gioncore remains intact, it cannot die and will regenerate. It no longer possesses vital points and expends virtually infinitesimal stamina in all activities.
iii) Parasitic Pollen: The pollen of the Crowned Death can bypass any physical barriers and defenses, allowing them to infiltrate their victims directly.
Note:
i) The abilities listed above represent those of an average Crowned Death. Its skills can vary depending on the type of creature its predecessor used as a host.
ii) This Grimmon is a hypermutator, it is highly prone to mutation. Grim Raiders and Rangers are therefore advised to treat this information as reference material rather than absolute fact.]
"How is this Grimmon anything like my grim cypher? And how is it even legendary?" I asked Mary in confusion after reviewing the information on the Crowned Death. "I can name several parasitic grimmons with similar abilities, and they aren't even epic rank."
"How can't you see it? It embodies everything your Grim Cypher is, and everything it lacks," Mary replied calmly. "Like your Grim Cypher, it can mirror the abilities of its victims, but unlike yours, it does so flawlessly — even better than the victim did. That is precisely what your Grim Cypher is missing and desperately needs. It's the fatal flaw of every copy-type Grim Cypher out there. You are jack of all trades, but master of none. This will help you overcome that."
She continued, unfazed by skepticism. "Lastly, it's a flora-type Grimmon. That means you can use my Grim Cypher to increase your chances of successfully condensing a peak-grade gioncore within your body. As for why it's legendary, when it infects a Grimlock, it can wield their Grim Cypher and Grim Deck as well. It instinctively understands how to use the Grim Deck and immediately begins sealing high-level Grimmons and Grimlords. Name another parasitic grimmon that can do that. You can't, because another one hasn't been discovered yet. Trust me, you do not want to face a Grimlock Crowned Death. Just one of them is a menace. Imagine a small army of them."
After a brief pause, she added one final point. "There's also this. Our institute happens to possess gioncore stems from a Grimlock Crowned Death. If you ask me, our timing couldn't be more perfect. If you give the nod, I will reserve it right away."