In the center of his bright golden eyes were pupils as sharp as needles; though they were as beautiful as rare gemstones, Ed still read two words in them:
Pay me back.
Three days had passed, and the steaming dampness from the Rotting Corpse Dark Lake had long since dissipated. Now, just a fleeting glance was enough to send a chill down Ed.
He felt that the damp, cold air here was too strong, and even he, a newly promoted High Tier cultivator, could not withstand it.
Ed silently vowed that once he became rich, he would turn the Rotting Corpse Dark Lake into a giant underground bathhouse!
But right now, it seems there are more important things to do.
The jumble of thoughts corresponded to only a fleeting moment in reality. After exchanging a glance, Ed didn't even lower his arms, which were crossed over his chest, before lying back stiffly on the wooden platform that had shaped his body.
Serene. jpg
The posture or position when waking up is probably incorrect. Try again.
His body quickly dissolved into the giant tree, three levels underground in the Klaf City, inside the ancient castle that sealed Antos.
Ed's body was reconstructed once again, but he had only just opened his eyes and hadn't even sat up yet when he saw a spatial rift slightly opening in front of him.
Those were still the familiar golden eyes.
Not a buddy...
Ed treated it as a dream within a dream, lying down and closing his eyes while gritting his teeth, intending to show Seraphina what it meant to abscond with the money.
However, even though the battle ended so long ago, Seraphina is still existing in her original form?
Ed had a sudden thought, and an eye quietly opened in the canopy of a Aberration plant in Valhalla that was directly opposite the Obsidian Bank headquarters.
The Obsidian Bank, not far away, was completely closed today; there was even a dragon scale standee on the counter that read:
[Business temporarily suspended due to debt collection efforts]
"..."
Speechless, Ed activated the entire Root Network's perception, instantly locking onto Seraphina's true location.
The giant dragon is currently located on the ground of Klaf City, in the Wilderness of Chaos that it has transformed into a paradise for Aberration plants.
This isn't a bodyguard; this is a debt collector!
Ed thought to himself that he had no choice but to run away to a place a little further away.
Klaf City, a thousand miles to the south.
In the endless Sea of Flowers stands a large tree that never blooms. Compared to the other Aberration plants, this tree is neither fierce nor vibrant; it appears so normal as to be somewhat abnormal.
However, considering the location of this large tree, it is hard to believe that it was formed naturally, because right next to this tree is a huge Hive that looks like a three-dimensional city.
Ed opened his eyes again and, unsurprisingly, saw the spatial rift once more.
He opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end he only sighed and chose to accept his fate.
Ed sat up from the smooth, hard wooden platform and looked toward the crack:
"You managed to track me from this far away?"
The spatial rift was widened by the dragon's claws, revealing half of the Red Dragon's head.
The dragon nodded and said:
"It wasn't supposed to work."
As she spoke, she made a gold coin stained with blood slowly float in front of her:
"But it's possible through a contract."
Ed took a deep breath, wishing he could just fall asleep and never wake up again.
He looked at Seraphina and asked:
"... What do you want?"
"Cough cough."
The dragon cleared its throat and let out a sound like thunderclap from a clear sky.
Seeing that Ed had stopped running away, Seraphina transformed back into her human, energy-efficient form amidst a thick cloud of white steam.
"As you taught me before, the first thing to do at this point is to clarify the amount owed."
"Um..."
Ed, whose mind was preoccupied with deleting some settings from the dragon race, just wanted to open the console.
He listened to Seraphina's speech only half-heartedly.
Since the year 908 of the Royal Calendar, Ed Adrian has borrowed money from Seraphina five times. The first loan was for 100,000 gold coins, 1 million silver coins, and 10 million copper coins. The second loan...
"The five loans total one million gold coins, with an annualized interest rate of 1.8% and a term of one hundred years."
Upon hearing this Ed waved his hand repeatedly to interrupt Seraphina:
"I understand the logic, but why are you asking me for money now?"
"Although I'm a bit poor right now, I'm not in debt. Logically, you should come back to me to collect your principal and interest in a hundred years, no, ninety-nine years."
Upon hearing this, the Dragon Girl nodded and then shook her head, saying:
"Theoretically, that's true, but after deducting the cost of inviting me to join the battle, your assets have shrunk to a... shocking degree."
"Based on what you once taught me, your cash flow should be about to dry up."
"Considering the possibility that bankruptcy could leave me with nothing, I feel it's necessary for you to first deposit a certain amount of security to prove that your Second Holy See can operate stably..."
Ed's face fell upon hearing this:
"Actually, if you don't make me pay, the Second Holy See can still operate stably, but if I pay, it's not certain."
"Besides, our relationship is just a simple loan agreement. Why are you making it sound like you're withdrawing your investment? Are you even talking about the same thing?"
At this moment, Ed felt bitter inside. He even withdrew his margin. Anyone who didn't know better would think that he had lost everything due to leverage.
He had just advanced to the High Tier, and the entire Klaf City was a scene of Vitality creatures.
Could it be that just because of a tiny, insignificant amount of cash flow, this place could become his final resting place?
No matter how you put it...
Ed suddenly remembered something. He recalled the 100,000 players fighting fiercely in Klaf City and subconsciously felt that something was not quite right.
While selling plant-based items can generate a significant amount of currency from players, the cost of rebuilding one's body upon resurrection is the main expense for players.
If someone dies without a complete corpse, it costs one gold coin. The battle for Klaf City has been raging for the past three days, and players should theoretically have had a lot of gold coins successfully recycled by Ed's game system.
But where are those gold coins now?
Ed tilted his head, feeling that he might have overlooked something.
He pondered for a moment, then traced his finger in front of him, bringing up the recent update announcements for " World of Disorder," and quickly identified the core of the problem...
Who changed the resurrection fee to 5% of the standard price?!
Needless to say, Ed had already shouted that name in anger:
" Noya!!!!"
A phantom chibi-style Blue Dragon appeared beside Ed. She was wearing a modified Holy Crusaders robe, her upper body slightly raised, and she bowed to Ed.
"Boss, you're awake?!"
"... I wish I had never woken up..."