The news of Mike’s exploits had spread like wildfire. As he stepped off the bus, he was met with a chorus of praise.
“Wow, Mike! You actually survived the Abyss!”
“Not only that, he killed two level 100 demon creatures!”
“I heard he was picking fights with everyone at summer camp, and he hooked up with a bunch of chicks…”
11
Mike rolled his eyes. What a bunch of gossipmongers.
As far as Florida Magic High School was concerned, Mike and Cain, the dynamic duo of weakness, should have been booted from summer camp within a week. They hadn’t even expected them to last that long.
Yet, they had vanished into the Abyss and somehow… not returned in body bags.
Due to confidentiality agreements, Florida Magic High School couldn’t access Mike’s actual summer camp ranking.
However, the Dean had his ways of getting intel.
For example: Mike had single-handedly slain two level 100 demon creatures!
“Make way! Make way!”
The welcoming committee parted, and the Dean and his entourage stepped forward, eager to greet their star student.
They weren’t expecting to be greeted by… livestock.
The Dean stared, dumbfounded.
“Did… did they go to summer camp or a cross-species breeding program?”
How had perfectly normal students returned transformed into… farm animals?
What in the world had happened?
“Sorry, Dean,” Cain mumbled, wrestling with a particularly stubborn cow. “Just brought back some… souvenirs.”
The incident was quickly brushed aside. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone went their separate ways.
Mike didn’t give Florida Magic High School a second thought.
He had his sights set on New York’s superpower university. He expected to receive his acceptance letter any day now.
He had more pressing matters to attend to.
The Eye of Truth, dormant for far too long, had finally reawakened!
[The Strongest Eye, ready for action!]
The thrice-awakened Eye of Truth, after its brief nap, was back online.
Mike was greeted with a familiar prompt:
[Third Awakening Announcement v1.0]
[This awakening has fixed the bug preventing the display of information for ordinary level 1,000 powerhouses. Further optimizations are in progress.]
[This awakening unlocks a new feature: Sage Mode, allowing you to lock onto ordinary level 1,000 powerhouses in battle.]
[This awakening is a small step for the Strongest Eye, a giant leap for SSS-rank talents…]
Mike skimmed the announcement, filtering out the fluff.
Displaying information for *ordinary* level 1,000 powerhouses meant he still couldn’t see detailed information about Supreme Beings.
Understandable. He had only completed three awakenings. Six more to go!
He had already experienced Sage Mode. It was pretty awesome.
Each time he entered Sage Mode, the Eye of Truth’s abilities received a significant boost.
Of course, there were side effects.
Frequent use of Sage Mode in a short period could lead to burnout, forcing the Eye of Truth into a dormant state, like what had just happened.
Mike’s main concern was the side effect of forcing his third awakening.
[Lingering Side Effect: Unable to achieve fourth awakening before reaching the ninetieth floor of the Tower of Truth.]
Mike: ???
That’s it? That’s all?
He had already visited the ninety-ninth floor, effectively nullifying the side effect.
He was good to go.
After forcing his third awakening, he had met with both Ares and Apollo.
If there had been a serious problem, those two wouldn’t have let him waltz around without
saying anything.
If Apollo said it was fine, then it was fine.
No need to panic!
Unless…
There *was* a serious problem, and panicking wouldn’t help anyway.
Either way, panicking was pointless.
[Critical Side Effect!]
A large, bold prompt appeared.
[Fourth awakening is required immediately!]
Mike: “…”
Someone was getting impatient!
His freshly thrice-awakened Eye of Truth was already clamoring for its next upgrade.
[Fourth Awakening Requirements: Level 500, some cheap eye-cleansing materials…]
Even the Eye of Truth was trying to be polite when asking Thor for money.
Cheap?!
Mike bristled.
He had bought 21 portions of eye-cleansing materials to force his third awakening!
At 100,000 Lord merits per portion, that was a 2.1 million Lord merit expense!
A small fortune!
He quickly pulled out the golden maple leaves he had shaken from the Money Tree, focusing his mind to examine them.
[Golden Maple Leaf: When applied to an object and watered with Moonwell Water, transforms
the object’s material into Truth Gold!]
Truth Gold Ore, the raw material for Truth Gold Coins!
Mike gasped, jumping up and down with excitement.
“Jackpot!”
Transforming materials into Truth Gold Ore was just one of the Golden Maple Leaf’s many
uses.
It could also be used for equipment enchantment, enhancing the Sea of Truth, or even applied directly to the skin for a temporary defense boost!
A single Golden Maple Leaf could convert up to 5 million Truth Gold Coins, equivalent to 5
Lord merits.
But on the Mystic Market, a single leaf could fetch 50-100 Lord merits! They were incredibly
rare and valuable.
Mike had 62 Golden Maple Leaves, worth thousands of Lord merits!
The Apollo-enhanced Money Tree was a game-changer!
“If I shake off 5,000 Lord merits worth of loot each time, I only need to shake it 420 times to
pay off my debt!” Mike calculated.
But 420 days… that seemed like a long time.
As he fretted over his debt, good news arrived.
“Fourth Bro, you there?”
“Just finished a meeting,” Foreskin said, getting straight to the point. “Need to discuss
something with you.”
Mike put on his best “I’m all ears” expression.
Historically, only Supreme Beings had slain Demon Gods.
What kind of reward could you possibly give a Supreme Being?
Rewarding Thor for his contribution to the Eighth Demon God’s death had become a major
headache.
After days of meetings, they had finally come up with a proposal for Foreskin to discuss with
Thor.
“The merits you earned for killing the Eighth Demon God will be split into two parts,”
Foreskin explained. “The first part will cover the cost of the 21 portions of eye-cleansing
materials…”
Before Foreskin could finish, Mike interrupted.
“Deal!”
Foreskin continued, “As for the second part of your compensation, you’ll receive 5% of the
Eighth Abyss’s annual output, transferred to you through the Mystic Market…”
This was the real prize.
How many steps did it take to kill a Demon God?
Three.
Step 1: Kill the Demon God.
Step 2: Purify the source.
Step 3: Reclaim the Abyss.
Mike had only participated in step one.
However, Apollo was notoriously hands-off, and no one dared to question his methods.
So, Thor received credit for at least half of the Eighth Demon God’s demise. Fair enough.
Quantifying individual contributions in such matters was tricky.
Hence, the proposed compensation was a mere 5% of the Abyss’s annual output.
Mike frowned. Something didn’t feel right.
Foreskin waited, but Thor remained silent.
“You think it’s too little?”
“No, I’m thinking about something else.” Mike’s voice was serious. “Am I getting equity or
just dividends? If the Eighth Abyss loses money, do I share the losses? If it requires further investment, am I on the hook?”
A barrage of pointed questions hit Foreskin like a ton of bricks.
He had considered these possibilities.
“So, what’s your proposal?” Foreskin asked, cutting to the chase.
He had negotiated with Thor more than anyone.
He knew that if Thor had an idea, he would find a way to make it happen.
Might as well hear him out.
Besides, this deal was within the Mystic Market framework. Thor wouldn’t make any
unreasonable demands.
“If it’s equity, I’d prefer to have someone else hold it for me.” Mike had done the math.
He would reap the rewards, while someone else handled the headaches.
“Who would be a suitable candidate?” Foreskin played along.
They needed someone close to Thor, powerful, and competent to manage his shares…
Mike’s eyes lit up. “How about Maxen?”
After a brief discussion, they reached an agreement.
Maxen would hold Thor’s shares, but the profits would be transferred directly to Thor’s
account, bypassing Maxen entirely.
“The Abyssal income… it’s tax-free, right?” Mike asked.
“It’s taxable,” Foreskin corrected, “but the Ninth Demon God will handle your taxes.”
“Perfect!”
As long as the money wasn’t coming out of his own pocket, Mike was happy.
With the Eighth Abyss matter settled, Mike returned to his mundane routine.
Without the Tower of Truth to challenge, he found himself with too much free time. It felt…
weird.
Like a truck driver suddenly forced to drive a go-kart.
He had been so busy lately that this sudden inactivity felt unnatural.
If it weren’t for the Supreme Demon God, he could enjoy this peace and quiet indefinitely.
The next morning, Mike messaged Kaelum.
“I’ve made up my mind. New York’s superpower university it is!”
Barely thirty seconds later, a knock echoed on his door.
“Mike, are you home? I have an acceptance letter for you!”
That was fast!
Mike opened the door to find a stranger, an instructor who introduced himself as Li, holding
an acceptance letter.
The ink on Mike’s name was still wet.
Glancing outside, Mike saw the dejected figure of a recruiter from Washington D.C.’s superpower university retreating down the street.
Clearly, both recruiters had been waiting outside his door.
The moment he made his decision, they had sprung into action, processing his enrollment.
No time for second thoughts!
After Mike signed the acceptance letter, Instructor Li explained, “Due to confidentiality agreements, your summer camp performance is classified. The staff member who leaked the information about you slaying two level 100 demon creatures has been… disciplined.”
Mike shrugged. As long as they didn’t reveal that he had killed two level *1,000* demon
creatures, he didn’t care.
“Your acceptance into New York’s superpower university will also be kept confidential for now,” Instructor Li continued. “Since you’re part of the early admission program, you’ll start classes at the new campus next Monday.”
“Okay, thanks.” Mike was always a fan of secrecy.
After Instructor Li left, Mike glanced at the calendar and chuckled.
Today was Sunday. Classes started Monday.
No time for a break.
He went to pack, but there wasn’t much to pack.
His apartment was practically empty. He lived alone, after all.
He messaged Cain, inviting him for barbecue that evening.
“I wonder if Shadow Nine has access to barbecue in the Supreme Abyssal,” Mike mused.
…
In the Supreme Abyssal, a pair of chicken wings sizzled over a campfire…
A disheveled figure, dressed in rags, lifted a perfectly cooked chicken wing to his nose,
inhaling the aroma.
“Ah, that’s the stuff.”
Afterskin had been in the Supreme Abyssal for several days.
He hadn’t rushed to find Shadow Nine and Calderon. He had been taking his sweet time,
exploring the desolate landscape and even enjoying a leisurely picnic.
He knew that as long as he remained in the Supreme Abyssal, Shadow Nine and Calderon
would be plagued by misfortune.
He couldn’t help it.
He was a walking, talking bad luck charm.
And for Shadow Nine, nothing was more unlucky than running into Afterskin.
So, Afterskin wouldn’t go to Shadow Nine. Shadow Nine would come to him.
…
Shortly after Mike made his decision, James and Jessica both messaged him, confirming their intention to apply to New York’s superpower university. Unlike Mike, they still had to take the entrance exam. Their acceptance and scholarship offers depended on their performance.
The recruiters for New York’s superpower university were having a busy day.
Over 80% of the summer camp students had chosen New York over Washington D.C.! Combined with the SS-rank talents, who had all chosen New York… The recruiters were ecstatic. Even the slowest among them had figured it out by now. “Thor is coming to New York!”