“Just kidding.” Ares looked at Thor, dropping the sword talk. “Don’t come looking for me in the First Abyss for a while.”
Mike nodded, indicating he understood.
“I’ll call you when the time is right,” Ares added. “But you’re welcome to visit the Eighth Abyss. My son will accompany you.”
When Ares said “my son,” Mike didn’t immediately register who he meant. It took a beat before it clicked.
*Maxen!*
Ares seemed about to say more, but the butterfly suddenly spoke in a human voice, “The Supreme Demon God is awakening.”
According to what Apollo had told Mike, Supreme Beings were incredibly attractive to the Supreme Demon God!
This place currently held three generations of human Supreme Beings/seeds. Faced with such a delicacy, how could the Supreme Demon God resist? Ares staying here any longer could trigger a disaster!
“Apollo, what are you waiting for?” Ares urged. “Open the door! Let me go greet him!”
Apollo looked at Ares silently, saying nothing.
The portal opened once more. This time, however, it wasn’t to visit the Supreme Demon God, but to send Ares back to the Abyss.
“Oh, by the way, I came up with a new skill on the way here,” Ares mentioned casually as he was leaving. Learning new skills was as easy as drinking water for him.
“Yeah, yeah,” Mike waved him off dismissively. “You said you were joking, but I’m guessing this skill probably already took effect through your sword without me even noticing.”
“Smart.” Ares’ figure vanished into the portal, leaving a single phrase echoing in the air. “It’s called… Broke.”
*Broke?!*
Hearing the name, Mike frowned, sensing trouble. If Ares had mentioned the skill’s name earlier, Mike would never have allowed it!
Mike took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
He was a potential Supreme Being; he wouldn’t be afraid of any difficulty! Since it had already happened, all Mike could do was check the effects.
[You have received a debuff. View details?]
[Viewing this message has a 0.0026% chance of causing sudden death from a heart attack, stroke, or other similar conditions.]
Mike clicked “view.”
[*Broke: For the next 168 hours, any Truth Gold Coins or Silver Coins you touch will automatically turn into Copper Coins.*]
Mike: “…”
Truth Copper Coins were the cheapest currency. The exchange rate between Truth Gold Coins and Copper Coins was 1 to 10,000! In other words, $10,000 in Mike’s hands would instantly shrink to $1!
Mike fought back the pain, consoling himself. “It’s okay, I just have to get through this week!”
Thinking of this, he quickly glanced at the Force of Nature in his hand. Because of the sealed Golden Dragon, the entire Force of Nature was encased in gold. Now, the part gripped by Mike’s right hand was starting to turn from gold to brass!
[*Fun fact: Gold is worth about $80 per gram.*]
[*Not-so-fun fact: Copper is worth about $10,000 per ton.*]
Mike hurriedly tossed the Force of Nature back into his inventory. At the same time, he frantically removed all gold-containing equipment from his body. While they still held their value, he had to salvage what he could!
After clumsily removing his equipment, Mike broke out in a cold sweat, deeply worried about his life for the next week.
*167 hours, 57 minutes, and 26 seconds left. How am I going to survive this?!*
Ares was gone, and the butterfly had also vanished at some point. Only Thor remained, suffering immensely.
*”It’s just a week without touching money!”* Mike rallied himself again. *”Nothing to be afraid of, I can do this!”*
He had killed almost all the monsters on this floor. Mike summoned the Truth Core Crystal. “I’ll go first!” The Tower Spirit took the initiative. “The gold mine I promised you on the 31st floor can be given to you on this floor. Do you want it now?”
“No way!” Mike refused vehemently. He had just been hit with “Broke.” If he accepted the gold mine now, it might turn into a copper mine the moment he received it. A thousand-fold devaluation before even starting mining! Who could stand that?!
“Huh?” The Tower Spirit was surprised.
What was wrong with Thor? He wasn’t greedy anymore? The Tower Spirit wanted to make a global announcement, shouting it from the rooftops for three days and nights.
“The gold mine can wait!” Mike asked instead, “What’s the reward for this floor?”
Apollo’s 70% would be converted into a buff for all of humanity. The important part was the remaining 30%.
“You’re in luck. This floor might be your favorite.” The Tower Spirit sneered, offering a price Thor couldn’t refuse. “Truth Gold Coins. This floor is rich in them. I can give you 10 billion, how about that?!”
*10 billion Gold Coins!* That was 10,000 Lord merits.
In terms of unit price, the reward was perfectly reasonable, enough to tempt Thor at any time.
Unless…
Mike didn’t smile. Instead, he fell into a strange silence.
“Um, about the gold coins… could you just put them directly into my inventory or private
space without me touching them?”
“Only you can take this money. You have to pick it up yourself. No one else can touch it.” The Tower Spirit had to operate within the rules of Truth.
Mike’s attempt to have Vladimir take the money for him failed.
10 billion Gold Coins were right in front of him, but he couldn’t take them. He was so frustrated! He proposed a bold idea. “Can you convert them all into copper coins for me?”
“Where am I supposed to get that many copper coins?!” The Tower Spirit thought Thor was acting very strangely today! Like a completely different person.
“Then put it on my tab!” In the end, Mike had to resort to his “put it on my tab” strategy, promising not to charge a single penny of interest!
“Why are you acting so weird today?” Tower Spirit muttered before leaving the 33rd floor.
Mike was also in despair… He had decided: for the next week, his hands wouldn’t touch a
single gold coin!
“Let’s settle up.” Mike placed his hand on the Truth Core Crystal. As the global announcement
rang out, he returned to his private space.
…
Back in his private space, Mike’s spirits revived.
“Fool, get over here!” Mike called out, finding Master Fool.
“Got any Truth Gold Coins? I’ll show you a superpower.”
“Trying to scam me again?” Master Fool looked at Mike warily, her eyes scanning his face.
“Ares taught me a trick. Now I have superpowers!” Mike declared proudly. “Want to see?”
“Sure.” Master Fool pulled out half a gold coin. “Here, show me your superpower.” She wanted to see what tricks Thor could pull off.
Mike snapped his fingers, and Vladimir stepped forward, taking the half gold coin.
Mike smirked, saying triumphantly, “See? I just scammed Fool out of half a gold coin.”
Fool: ???
So, this is your fucking superpower, huh?!