As the price for achieving an SSSSS rating, Mike didn’t need Maxen to remind him again. He wouldn’t be able to continue exploring the Tower of Truth today.
And his personal rewards would have to wait until tomorrow.
Mike sighed inwardly, “Apollo will be busy again.”
With nothing else to do, Mike returned to his private space, taking a tour of his territory.
The plane fragment from the Fourth Abyss hadn’t fully integrated with Mike’s private space yet, which might take some more time.
Mike wasn’t in a hurry.
Everything was as usual, so Mike sought out the demon race’s Master Fool to discuss reforging the Force of Nature.
“This piece of thunderstruck wood is an excellent base material, but it’s been made into this? What a waste!”
Master Fool held the Force of Nature, lamenting the waste of good material.
She sharply criticized, “It’s like a shoddy piece made by an apprentice in a rush!”
Mike chuckled awkwardly, not responding.
He had bought the Force of Nature at a low price from Foreskin.
Now it seemed the Force of Nature might have been hastily made on the spot for Mike.
“Enough criticism, tell me how to improve it.”
Mike knew that if the Force of Nature were truly worthless, Master Fool wouldn’t even bother to criticize it.
“This piece of thunderstruck wood, based on Lightning and nature elements, should be reforged on that basis.”
Master Fool handed the Force of Nature back to Mike, saying seriously, “One condition for reforging is that your Sea of Truth must align with these two elements. To forge SSS-grade equipment, the Sea of Truth’s assistance is essential. Otherwise, why do you think I’m here?”
Master Fool had been placed in Mike’s private space specifically to utilize Mike’s Sea of Truth for forging SSS-grade equipment.
Currently, Thor’s Sea only had two elements: Shadow and Water.
To add more elements, it was simple: invest and consume a large amount of resources!
First, the added elements must be ones Mike already possessed: lightning, wind, fire, nature. Second, Mike must invest a massive amount of materials and resources!
Lastly, the [Sea God’s Curse II] still affected Mike’s Thor’s Sea!
He needed to invest four times the materials to achieve twice the scale.
After hearing Master Fool’s explanation, Mike pondered,
“So, to reforge the Force of Nature, I need to add Lightning and Nature elements to Thor’s Sea first?”
Master Fool nodded, “Yes!”
Mike took a deep breath, his heart trembling, “That will cost a lot of money…”
“Maybe I shouldn’t reforge it.”
After feeling the pain for a full five seconds, Mike sighed.
“Alright, Lightning and nature elements, right? I’ll go buy some materials.”
With that, a flash of lightning, and Mike entered the Trade Secret Realm.
Mike laid out four anonymous merits cards, each with a limit of 100,000.
“Foreskin, two sets of Lightning element materials, two sets of nature element materials.” Foreskin handed over a list, ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
“Mike, my boss has already prepared the materials. Please verify, the total is 400,000 Lord merits.”
Just hearing the number made Mike feel like he was about to go bankrupt.
Clutching the merits cards, Mike made one last effort,
“Didn’t your boss mention any discounts or free promotions?”
Foreskin smiled wryly, “No.”
Mike: “There should be!”
Foreskin shook his head seriously, “There really isn’t.”
“Mike, let go. It’s been five minutes.”
“Just a bit longer.”
After ten minutes, Mike took several deep breaths and finally let go.
After paying the bill, his wealth plummeted by 50%.
Mike felt the sea god owed him 1.56 million Lord merits for this!
With the two sets of materials, Mike returned to his private space.
He was surprised to find that a third of the Shadow element materials in Thor’s Sea had already been absorbed!
Mike confirmed that the materials hadn’t been eaten by Cetus but that Cetus’s presence had accelerated their absorption.
In other words, Cetus was speeding up Mike’s wealth consumption!
Mike felt a mix of love and hate for Cetus.
Placing the materials in Thor’s Sea, Mike forced himself not to look.
Forty thousand, a full 400,000 Lord merits spent just like that!
He glanced at the Force of Nature, muttering,
“If you don’t become SSS-grade equipment, I’ll use you as firewood!”
With the remaining time, Mike practiced his skills in his private space, trying various combat combinations.
At 6:10 AM, when the Tower of Truth’s challenge time ended, he stopped, summoned the core crystal of truth, and with a flash of lightning, returned to Earth.
…
Training summer camp, Area C.
Back in his familiar dormitory, everything returned to normal.
After a busy night, Mike stretched and smiled,
“Good morning, Shadow Nine.”
From the black mist, Shadow Nine coldly replied, “Morning. You should know what I’m going
to say next, right?”
“Hold on, no matter how much you pay, I won’t go after Calderon.”
Mike raised his right hand, stopping Shadow Nine, “This time, it’s not about the money!”
He calmly analyzed, “Calderon can’t kill me, right?”
“Right.”
With Shadow Nine’s confirmation, Mike continued, “Since he can’t kill me, the result will be me killing him. The All-American Boy version of Calderon isn’t the true body.”
Mike counted on his fingers, “Eight false, one true. The other seven should be dealt with. If I kill this last one, the true body will temporarily break combat limits. This is likely part of Calderon’s plan. I guess he wasn’t crazy when he made it, right?”
From Mike’s experience, the old generation of powerhouses who survived the initial Blood
War were all exceptionally resilient.
Calderon’s plan was so crazy, his true body must be planning something shocking!
Analyzing this, Mike spread his hands, “Since I guessed Calderon’s plan, why should I
cooperate?”
As long as Mike didn’t kill the last false body, Calderon’s true body would never break combat
limits.
And fighting Calderon, Mike wouldn’t die.
But the pain… was inevitable!
Looking at Bad Woman’s fate, it was clear how miserable it could be.
Listening to Mike’s analysis, Shadow Nine fell silent.
From a certain perspective, Mike wasn’t wrong.
But Mike had subconsciously overlooked one thing:
If Mike could see through Calderon’s plan, Shadow Nine could see it even clearer.
What if… Shadow Nine could achieve his own goals through Calderon’s plan?
So, Shadow Nine needed Mike to take action and deal with Calderon’s last false body.
Yesterday, Shadow Nine had told Shadows One, Two, and Three that the last false body would
be handled by Thor. He would offer a price Thor couldn’t refuse.
After a moment of silence, Shadow Nine’s raspy voice spoke again, “If you deal with
Calderon, I’ll tell you about my true origins.”
Mike was taken aback, a flash of surprise in his eyes, but his expression quickly returned to
normal.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected Shadow Nine to offer such a deal.
After that, both fell into an eerie silence.
Shadow Nine had nothing more to say.
Mike had nothing more to say.
As usual, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and neatly arranged his towel, toothbrush,
and cup. With the Thunderclap Hammer at his waist, the Force of Nature in hand, and Nightmare’s Breeze draped over him, Thor’s Sea flickering, his aura steadily climbed, reaching its peak.
Mike opened the window, looking out at the Forest of Truth, his gaze fixed on the Tower of
Truth.
“Shadow Nine, Calderon is hiding on the ninety-fifth floor of the Tower of Truth.”
His expression was indifferent, and his tone carrying a hint of killing intent, “Should I pick a good burial spot for him first, or just go kill him?”