Actually, there was a hidden chat group.
[ I Really Want to Be an Ultimate Lord ]
This small group had only five “people”: Shadow One, Shadow Two, Shadow Three, Shadow Nine.
Stunning Woman (Shadow One): Shadow Nine, did I do well?
Bad Woman (Shadow Two): Not bad at all! Shadow Nine’s few words really fired up those guys!
Bad Man (Shadow Two): As the saying goes, the best way to spread a message is to delete it.
Admin (Shadow Nine): You all still have a lot to learn about being human.
Apollo’s simple sentence had sparked an overachievers’ competition.
If Shadow Nine hadn’t been behind it, how could Apollo have done something so boring?
The real mastermind was Shadow Nine!
The best hunters often appear as prey.
Untitled (Shadow Three): Shadow Nine, there’s one thing I don’t understand. How did you convince Apollo to lie?
The others were curious about this too.
Growing into a Supreme Being within a year was too exaggerated, right?
It had to be fake, a lie, right?
Admin (Shadow Nine): Apollo didn’t lie.
The atmosphere became a bit tense.
Untitled (Shadow Three): Shadow Nine, you said there are four Calderons in the Forest of Truth, all stronger than nine-tier Lords, right?
Admin (Shadow Nine): Yes.
Untitled (Shadow Three): How much for killing one of them?
Admin (Shadow Nine): One million Lord merits.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted over the Forest of Truth, a gale sweeping through the forest, sending countless startled birds flying.
Untitled (Shadow Three): Alright, now there are three left.
Clearly, even the highest-ranking members of the Guardian Shadow had to join the competition!
Stunning Woman (Shadow One): The remaining two won’t escape. Shadow Nine, who will handle the Calderon that escaped and attacked Shadow Two?
Admin (Shadow Nine): Thor will handle it.
Bad Woman (Shadow Two): I don’t believe it.
First, she didn’t believe Thor would dare face such a terrifying Calderon!
Second, she didn’t believe Thor could defeat Calderon!
Admin (Shadow Nine): I’ll offer a price he can’t refuse.
The old godfather at work. freeweɓnovel.cm
The discussion about Thor and Calderon ended there.
Mike finished his remaining classes and finally returned to his dormitory.
During his free time, he had roughly tallied all his gains from the Abyss trip.
Killing demon creatures, teaming up with Amari to kill nine-tier demon Lords, withdrawing from Stone and Joseph…
All these added up to a total of 600,000 Lord merits!
The SSS-level mission reward was 10,000 Lord merits, and Amari’s upgrade reward was 140,000.
The minerals and various supplies Mike left for building the fortress added up to 30,000 Lord merits.
Including the 23,146 he had before setting off:
600,000+ 10,000+ 140,000 + 30,000 + 23,146 803,146 Lord merits!
How rich was Mike?
He even ignored the three decimal places!
The Eye of Truth provided a detailed number:
[803,146.25]
“There’s still one payment pending!”
Mike calculated meticulously.
Professor Gregory had promised him a temporary research group for studying the Suture
Abyss, and Mike had made significant contributions to the research.
This payment would take some time to process.
Holding 800,000 in his hands, Mike suddenly felt it was all worth it!
With most of the Lord merits already in, Mike thought to himself,
“There’s still some time before midnight. Why not continue strengthening the Sea of Truth? But I wonder how much it will cost this time…”
Due to the sea god’s curse, Mike’s Sea of Truth required more resources.
Previously, Shadow Nine had prepared two complete sets of materials for him, but that was far from enough.
Mike still needed two more sets, which he had to buy himself. He contacted Foreskin, and they arranged to meet in the Trade Secret Realm.
“Fourth Bro, it’s great to see you again.”
Seeing the long-lost Mike appear, Foreskin knew a big deal was coming.
When Mike listed his shopping list, Foreskin was stunned.
“Cool-”
Foreskin looked over the list twice and asked seriously, “Are you sure you need everything on
this list?”
“Yes, two sets.”
Mike nodded, speaking boldly, “I’m not short on money now!”
Foreskin was full of admiration and took out a POS system,
“One set costs about 150,000 Lord merits, two sets are 300,000. Will you pay by card or cash?”
“Three hundred thousand? Why so expensive!!”
Mike was incredulous.
Had inflation hit while he was away from Earth?
“Fourth Bro, these materials are the top-tier for building the Sea of Truth. Selling one set
means one less in stock, and you’re asking for a lot!”
Foreskin was also helpless.
The Mystic Market was always fair and just in business.
If anyone else had said this, Mike wouldn’t believe it.
Knowing Apollo was behind the Mystic Market, Mike believed it.
With Apollo’s character, he really had no interest in money.
“Here’s the thing, let me explain.”
Foreskin first listed the prices of all the materials and explained seriously,
“Originally, these materials would cost around 100,000 Lord merits. But starting this
afternoon, for some reason, high-tier powerhouses in the Guardian Shadow went on a buying
spree, and the prices of Shadow element materials doubled!”
Thor’s Sea of Truth contained Shadow elements, so his demand for Shadow elements was
significant.
This price hike affected him too.
Damn it!
Mike gritted his teeth in anger. Who was behind this, causing the Lords in the Guardian
Shadow to start competing?
“That’s 100,000 Lord merits… killing a few nine-tier Demon Lords for nothing!”
Listening to Fourth Bro’s near-hysterical muttering, Foreskin fell silent.
Nine-tier Demon Lords, killed for nothing, a huge loss…
He couldn’t understand.
“There must be a way to fix this, there has to be a bug to exploit!”
Mike pulled out several thick books from his inventory, studying them one by one, looking for
a way to save money.
“Got it!”
Mike found a solution!
He pointed to a regulation, excitedly saying,
“Those performing S-level or higher missions or missions lasting more than six months have
the right to make one purchase at the prices during the mission period upon returning to
Earth! The spending limit is 50% of the mission’s earnings.”
This regulation was to protect the interests of long-term mission performers.
If someone went to the Abyss for ten years for 1,000 Lord merits and returned to find the
prices had risen, making their efforts worthless, anyone would be outraged!
“I know this regulation.”
Foreskin pointed to the last line, explaining,
“But there’s a spending limit, 50% of the mission’s earnings. To buy 200,000 Lord merits
worth of materials, you need at least 400,000 Lord merits officially earned.”
Earning 400,000 Lord merits in one mission?
Even Thor couldn’t do that!
Killing a nine-tier Lord rewarded 36,000 Lord merits, so killing ten wouldn’t be enough for
400,000!
The key point was, before going to the Abyss, Thor wasn’t even level 200!
How was that possible!
Facing Foreskin’s skepticism, Mike reluctantly but confidently pulled out his card, his voice
trembling slightly:
“Swipe it!”