YM778.TV Chapter 192: A Long-awaited Opening
Chapter 192: A Long-awaited Opening
When was the last time the System had an event?
Roel had to think way back to a time long ago to find the answer to that question, and why that was the case was a question worth pondering over.
If he had to find a word to describe his System, it would definitely be ‘lazy’.
It took a passive role in his life, only reacting when special incidents occurred. The last time it was triggered was when he returned from the first Witness State with Nora, but from then on, it had gone completely silent. While Roel was holed up in his manor trawling through historical records, it didn’t react even once.
Roel thought that there would be an event waiting for him when he returned from his second Witness State, but unexpectedly, the System didn’t react at all. It was then that he began to suspect if it was due to the loan he had taken.
And today, his suspicions were finally confirmed.
【Ding!】
【Repayment of loan completed.】
【’Events’ function reinitializing. 10%, 20%, 30%...】
【Reinitialization complete.】
【New event triggered: Commemoration of Debt Repayment
Courage and wisdom are vital strengths to overcoming challenges, but so is wealth. Having overcome a financial crisis, your future will be blessed.】
“Looks like I’ve underestimated you, huh? You actually have all sorts of countermeasures in place. In other words, the reason why there were so few events thus far is because I owed you money?”
【The System will be forced to shut down if the user is unable to repay the debt. In order to free the user from temptations and encourage the user to repay the debt, the ‘Events’ function would be partially shut down during the loan period. The System seeks the user’s understanding for this.】
“...”
Roel fell silent. He had to grudgingly admit that the System was right. Its discounts were usually quite generous, and for someone like him who capitalized on bundle discounts and stockpiled on toilet rolls in his previous life, it was simply impossible to resist it.
If he failed to hold himself back and ended up squandering his money on various items in the System shop, it could cause him to miss the deadline for repaying the debt. In that case, the System would shut down, and by then it would be much too late for regrets.
“Fine! There’s no meaning holding an event earlier on since I didn’t have spare cash on me anyway... However, it’s different now!”
Roel muttered to himself as he placed the teacup in his hands down. He stretched his back lazily as he gazed out of the window.
It had been an hour since Charlotte had offered him a generous compensation earlier in the morning. After making peace with Roel, she immediately began examining his condition. She found that the mana in the little bottle filled with Golden Soul was almost fully expended, which meant that it had at least activated once throughout the night.
Yesterday, Charlotte was busy preparing her materials for the Sorofyas’ executive board meeting, so she hadn’t gotten any sleep at all. Nevertheless, before heading off, she made sure to drop by and recharge the mana in the Golden Soul, which meant that she had really only been away from his side for three hours.
Knowing that Roel’s condition was acting up at least once in a three hour period made Charlotte’s complexion darken. From the looks of it, she would have to postpone her plans to bring Roel out for a stroll around Rosa three days from now. It would be better to focus on dealing with his illness first. On top of that, she would have to hasten the production of Golden Soul too.
With so many things to deal with, she quickly left the room and got down to business.
Roel hadn’t been slacking off while Charlotte was gone either. He quickly washed up and drank a cup of tea the servants had prepared for him. Then, he ordered the servants to move the cart of golden coins over to the open balcony.
It didn’t take long for several birds to gather around the mountain of golden coins out of curiosity, chirping joyously with one another. Watching this sight, Roel was finally coming to terms that it was all real. He felt like he had fulfilled one of the greatest wishes he had harbored since his previous life. The feeling of financial freedom filled him with plenty of motivation for the future.
He sat leisurely on one of the couches and immersed himself in the feeling of profound fulfillment.
It was so peaceful that Roel felt that he could fall asleep once more... until one of the birds suddenly made off with his gold coins in its beak.
“Ah?”
The moment that a Fighter Pigeon in the Sorofyas’ Hundred Birds Gallery escaped with two gold coins in its mouth, Roel immediately froze up. The leisurely mood he was in burst like a bubble.
Huh? What just happened? Did I just get robbed by a bird?!
It’s one thing to be robbed by a human, but even these Sorofya birds dare to steal from me too?
The unexpected robbery left Roel fuming. The merry chirpings of the birds swiftly caught the notice of the surrounding servants, and soon, the butlers, maids, and guards rushed to the scene to fight off the Fighter Pigeons.
The battle lasted for a good ten minutes before the pigeons finally dispersed. Following that, the butler quickly walked up to Roel and apologized to him for the incident. He promised that he would try to find the gold coins and return them to him.
“Forget it, it’s just a couple of gold coins. It’s not a big deal.”
Seeing how flustered the butler was—the old man was practically drenched in sweat!—Roel decided not to pursue the matter. He did know that there were some birds that were fond of collecting shiny objects, and it was simply in their instinctives. It would be going overboard to vent his anger on these innocent servants. Besides, it was also partly Roel’s fault for flaunting the gold coins out in the open anyway.
The butler and the servants of Hundred Birds Gallery were deeply relieved to hear that Roel wasn’t going to pursue this matter.
Similar to how the servants of the Ascarts’ manor had their own big clique, the same applied to the servants of the Sorofyas’ Hundred Birds Gallery too. They were the ones who had been taking care of Charlotte over the years, and they had watched her grow up from a little kid to a fine lady. It was understandable why they would be both curious and concerned when they heard that Charlotte was bringing her fiancé back to the manor.
This was the first real interaction the servants had with Roel since his arrival, and their first impression of him was good. On top of his prestigious standing as the successor of the Ascart House and his handsome looks, he had a gentle and magnanimous personality too. All of these qualities made him a fitting partner for Charlotte; though, there was just one small problem...
Young master Roel’s body seems to be a little weak.
It was a cause of concern since Charlotte was a powerful transcendent herself, not to mention that she had inherited the High Elf Bloodline, which meant that her lifespan was far longer than normal humans. It would be very unfortunate if her husband were to die well before her, especially considering the Sorofyas’ Loyal Origin Attribute.
Oblivious to the worries of the servants, Roel was currently looking through the list of items in the events page earnestly.
【Nine-headed Serpent Staff (Incomplete)
In the ancient era, a malevolent king was born out of the demonic beasts. Its venom was terrifying enough to threaten the gods, and its recovery ability was almost impossible to curb. It took thousands of years after all nine of its heads had been severed before people were able to extract its poison sac and use its safest portion to craft out a staff.
Effect: A serpent’s head will be summoned when you infuse mana into the staff. The serpent carries a powerful recovery ability, while its attacks carry potent venom.
Side effect: Lowered movement speed
Price: 1,000,000 Gold Coin】
【Commemoration of Debt Repayment
% off all of the items listed!
...
Nine-headed Serpent Staff (Incomplete)
Discounted Price: 300,000 Gold Coin】
“...”
Sitting by a round table on the balcony, Roel took a sip of tea as he earnestly examined the items available on the System. He slowly compared the pros and cons of each of the items and evaluated their value. The 70% discount on everything listed on the event page was too enticing for Roel to miss!
Perhaps it was because there hadn’t been any events for too long or that the System was feeling guilt-ridden for secretly withholding events from him, but regardless of the reason, the discount offered this time was the highest ever. Bargain naysayers would argue that one could save 100% of the money by not buying anything at all, but the truth was that Roel wasn’t shopping just to satisfy his consumer urges. Rather, he felt that there was a need for him to invest in himself, bringing up his strength. For that, he was willing to part with his money.
In order to gain something, you would have to give up something first.
The reason why Roel was able to leisurely sip his tea while watching over his horde of golden coins was due to his willingness to spend money on important things. If he hadn’t taken the loan from the System and obtained Glacial Touch, it was likely that both he and Charlotte would have lost their lives in the Witness State. Just Puppetmaster Douglas would have been enough to end both their lives, let alone Sire Darkness.
This time, what had caught Roel’s eyes was an item called Nine-headed Serpent Staff, the most expensive item listed in the event page. It was a weapon artifact, something which Roel had never purchased from the System before.
‘If you want to go for something, always go for the best’ was generally a terrible adage to live one’s life by, but it was a different story when the items were greatly discounted.
It had been several years since Roel obtained the System, but he still hadn’t spent much money on the Gold Coin Shop to date. One of the reasons was because he was poor, and the other one was that he was more focused on his own development as a transcendent as compared to obtaining equipment. He basically only spent his money on strengthening his body and advancing his Origin Level.
However, the situation was different now. His body was frail and his condition was terrible, making him incredibly vulnerable. While he had confidence in the security of the Sorofyas, he didn’t think that it was wise to entrust his own safety fully into someone else’s hands.
Every soldier who had been to the battlefield would understand this logic, and it was one of the pieces of advice that the predecessors of the militaristic Ascart House passed down to each succeeding generation. Roel could definitely relate to those words as well.
So, when he realized that he couldn’t count on himself anymore, he felt that it was time for him to get a handy weapon—something so that he could at least protect himself—and the Nine-headed Serpent Staff, which could be used for both offense and defense, seemed like a terrific idea.
There was just one small doubt he had with the purchase...
“What does the ‘Incomplete’ refer to...”
Roel muttered to himself contemplatively. Based on the description, he could tell that it was an item made out of the remains of a legendary monster many years after it had been slaughtered. From this, he could easily make a deduction—the materials weren’t fresh.
It was common knowledge that one should harvest materials from a demonic beast right after hunting it down, otherwise the mana harnessed in its body would gradually dissipate. Usually, by the fifteenth day, the carcass of a demonic beast would have pretty much turned into a normal animal.
Of course, as a legendary monster, the Nine-headed Serpent was no ordinary demonic beast, so it shouldn’t be evaluated using the same standards. Nevertheless, after thousands of years, its materials should have lost much of its original potency. Most likely, the ‘Incomplete’ should be referring to this.
So, should I buy it or not?
Roel brooded over this question carefully. He looked at the mountain of golden coins before him as his fists clenched tightly under the table. A long time later, he sighed deeply.
“System, I would like to purchase the Nine-headed Serpent Staff.”