Double Experience Gain, double drops for instance materials, Instance Promotion...
Moreover, this Destiny Contract was not a deed of sale. On the contrary, it was even more equal than a legal marriage.
Spouses shared both fortune and misfortune. If one party's luck suffered a setback, it would severely affect the other. In other words, all the humiliation and abuse she had imagined before did not exist.
Once the other party committed such acts against her, they themselves would also suffer a backlash from the Destiny Contract.
"Could such a wonderful contract really exist?"
Fujiwara Chika read through the contract several times, yet she could not find any other problematic terms. It was an extremely equal Destiny Contract.
Contracts from the Inner World naturally could not be altered or exploited through loopholes like contracts in the original world. In other words, signing this contract came with far more benefits than drawbacks...
No, she could not seem to think of any drawbacks at all.
If spouses could treat each other with respect after forming the contract, that alone would already make for a wonderful marriage.
And Tsukikawa Shu was not a bad person either. He was quite handsome too... aside from the fact that he wanted to openly build a harem.
She had once thought Tsukikawa Shu was a Great Demon Lord who committed every evil imaginable, bullied men and women alike, and loved resorting to threats and temptation. Now that she had seen the contents of this contract, she finally realized she had wronged him all along because of her preconceived notions.
Honestly, she was a little moved...
"What am I even thinking?!"
She rubbed her head, forcing herself to clear her mind again. {{{(>_<)}}}
"We have not even met in person yet. How can I sign this kind of contract so easily..."
Fujiwara Chika imagined herself in the future, dressed in a pure white wedding gown and holding a bouquet of flowers.
As for Tsukikawa Shu, her mind automatically shaped him into a powerful yet gentle man—handsome, with a faintly carefree air about him. He was rather charming.
She could not help but blush.
She liked gossip and watching other people's romances unfold in those shy, innocent moments. Sometimes, she even wanted to play a few pranks... but when it came to herself, she was not nearly so at ease.
"At the very least... at the very least, we should meet first."
She shifted her gaze away from the items in the System Backpack that she could see but could not take, then opened her Private Chat Window with Tsukikawa Shu again.
Fujiwara Chika: "Could we meet sometime?"
The other party replied quickly.
Tsukikawa Shu: "Sure. The people on your team should be nearing level 20 by then. Just come over to the instance."
Fujiwara Chika: "Mm-hmm, all right. Good night."
After sending the message, Fujiwara Chika let out a sigh of relief, and her mood became much lighter.
Ever since entering the Inner World last time, she had constantly lived in fear and anxiety over the unknown. She had become less lively as well, but now, she seemed to have found herself again.
After all, Tsukikawa Shu's contract was there as a safety net. If she really encountered danger, all she needed to do was make a light stroke across it, and the items in her System Backpack would all unlock—enough to save her life.
As for being bound to Tsukikawa Shu from then on... it was not entirely unacceptable. After all, having a harem in this Inner World was not some unforgivable matter.
"Why does it feel like I'm starting to accept him..."
Fujiwara Chika held her head again.
Please provide the text you would like me to translate and revise.
Tsukikawa Shu, Hiratsuka Shizuka, and Goto Hitori had finally reached level 40.
Standing before the Goblin Instance, Tsukikawa Shu checked its information.
They had just tried clearing it once.
[Current Instance: Goblin's Lair] [Level: 40] [Eligible Teams: 1/1] [Eligible Players: 3/10] [Remaining Attempts: 39] [Completion time: 8 minutes] [Monster Level: 40-45]
What gave Tsukikawa Shu a headache was that the monsters did not appear in a single wave, but in several waves. Furthermore, unlike the initial instance, which had merely been a small space, the level 40 instance had a much larger map.
Tsukikawa Shu killed monsters one wave at a time. Those eight minutes were basically spent on map traversal and waiting for goblins to respawn.
To use up all the instance attempts consecutively would take at least three hundred minutes. Five or six hours were unavoidable.
Only because Tsukikawa Shu and the others were high-level, Tsukikawa Shu had the support of Legendary Grade skills, and Goto Hitori and Hiratsuka Shizuka had Epic Grade weapons, did they avoid collapsing from exhaustion after clearing an instance.
On the contrary, they could spend half a day farming instances, then use the other half to explore the new map.
As for nighttime, that was for romance.
In the level 40 Goblin Instance, the drop rate for Fine Grade items and above had doubled. Rare drops such as Skill Cards and Class Cards had also increased. Tsukikawa Shu could clearly feel it.
After spending half a day using up all their instance attempts, Tsukikawa Shu and the other two had reaped a bountiful harvest.
This time, they obtained two Rare Grade items, two ice-type Skill Cards, one Berserker Class Card, and quite a few Fine Grade items. The haul was substantial.
Tsukikawa Shu still dismantled all items below Fine Grade. He gained another five thousand-plus Refined Ore, along with five thousand units of Universal Currency.
After farming the level 40 Goblin Instance for two days, Tsukikawa Shu and the others had reached level 43.
(Third update! Bonus chapter for recommendation votes: 1/3)
Fujiwara Chika had been in much better spirits recently.
While the team traveled, she would even narrow her eyes and occasionally smile.
The predicament had clearly not been resolved, and their daily food could barely maintain their normal consumption. Why, then, could she remain so optimistic?
"Fujiwara."
After wondering about it for quite some time, Tanuma Tsubasa finally could not help asking, "Have you encountered something happy recently?"
"Huh? No. Aren't I the same as usual?" Fujiwara Chika tilted her head in confusion.
"Mm... you are the same as usual, but not like you were when we first entered the Inner World," Tanuma Tsubasa said.
"Is that so?" Fujiwara Chika clasped her hands behind her back and thought about it.
Saying that something happy had happened was not quite right. It was more like a weight had recently been lifted from her heart.
Tsukikawa Shu was not such a bad person, and she could receive his help—
Of course, that required paying a price. Without paying the corresponding price, she could not receive help.
But at least she had a Fallback now.
"Senior—"
Iino Miko was equally curious and quietly asked, "Senior, are you really all right?"
Being able to cheer up while on the brink of despair made Iino Miko worry even more that something might be wrong with her senior's mental state.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Fujiwara Chika looked around. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did she relax slightly and lean close to Iino Miko's ear.
"Actually... I talked to Tsukikawa Shu a few days ago."
"Tsukikawa Shu? The one who posted on the forum about Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives and likes using threats and temptation?" Iino Miko's eyes widened. "Senior, you have to stay rational. You can't just so easily..."
"There, there, I know. Don't worry." Fujiwara Chika patted her shoulder. "I haven't given myself to him. We merely reached an agreement, so we would have an Escape Route."
Afterward, Fujiwara Chika briefly explained the outcome of her negotiations with Tsukikawa Shu.
"This..."
Iino Miko did not know what to say either.
Why did it feel like her senior, who loved watching other people's romances, was already showing signs of getting into a relationship herself?
Meanwhile, at the front of the team, the bodyguard players could barely hide their excitement.
Kyuutake Itsuki viciously chopped off the head of a Red-Eyed Wolf Monster. Then the system issued a notification:
[You have advanced to level 20. Level 20 instance unlocked: Goblin's Lair]
At the same time, the system marked the location of the instance on the map.
"Level 20! I'm level 20! I can farm instances now!" Kyuutake Itsuki said delightedly.
The players erupted into cheers.
Even some of the Shuchiin Academy students looked extremely happy and applauded along with them.
Miyamoto Daichoku put away his pistol. Looking at his level 20 status, he could not hide the delight on his face either.
Unlocking instances at level 20 meant they had a stable source of resources and Experience Points. They would no longer need to search everywhere for monsters to level up or scour the area for resources.
Getting items from instances was far more stable and safe than exploring outside.
First of all, Fine Grade items and above had fixed drop chances in instances. Furthermore, the monsters in an instance never changed. For example, in this Goblin Instance, they only needed to understand the goblins' Attack Pattern and habits. After that, they could persistently farm the map without worrying about encountering dangerous unknown monsters.
This was also worth celebrating for Shuchiin Academy's Sugar Daddies.
The stronger their subordinates became, the larger their future territory could expand, right? The Elite Committee would eventually stand above the Inner World!
Within the current Elite Committee, Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku had already reached level 20, giving them greater security when farming instances.
As for the rest, Iino Miko's two bodyguards were currently level 17, while the remaining people were all below level 15.
This was because, while leveling, there were Too many people, not enough resources. Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku, the two higher-level players, had essentially snatched the bulk of the Experience Points, while everyone else could only scrape up a little from them.
Naturally, this caused dissatisfaction among the others, but in this world where strength ruled, they could only dare to be angry but dare not speak.
And now that they could rely on Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku to lead them in farming instances, with greater benefits ahead of them, they temporarily suppressed their dissatisfaction.
As for those Shuchiin Academy students, they were still all only level 1.
"I wonder how long it'll take to use up all the instance attempts?"
Nita Goichi, who was eating chips, sucked the Chip Seasoning from his fingers and asked with a smile, "Tell me, when can we start building a large team that can Control the World?"
Over this period, Nita Goichi had deeply experienced the benefits of Hiring the Strong. At the very least, he could eat his fill, and he could use food to Control Others' Destinies.
Aside from Nita Goichi himself and the two bodyguards he had brought, everyone else received only enough food to maintain their bare minimum daily consumption.
There had originally been plenty of food, but Nita Goichi deliberately refused to let everyone eat their fill.
Born into the upper class, Nita Goichi had long been familiar with all kinds of corporate management methods. Now, he was applying those theories with ease.
Only by controlling other people's necessities could he control them. Only those who obeyed him could receive rewards from him. He deliberately wanted to create a Stratified team.
Nita Goichi was finally getting a taste of Control Others' Destinies!
"Based on our team's current strength, if there are thirty monsters in the instance and they're around levels 21 to 25, then it will probably take roughly thirty minutes."
Miyamoto Daichoku made a rough calculation. "For twenty runs, that would take ten hours. Factoring in breaks and sleep, we can finish it in one day."
"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry over there!" Nita Goichi was faintly excited as well.
The stronger his subordinates became, the closer he would come to his dream of establishing a New Order and New Rule in the Inner World!
Time was of the essence. The entire team quickly headed toward the Goblin Instance outside the town.
Filled with excitement, Nita Goichi quickened his pace. It was as though walking faster would let him reach that grand dream of his sooner.
Before you continue