Chapter 366: Ringer
Chapter 366: Ringer
"40% is 40% then." Mike sighed, not saying anything more.
He calculated in his mind, "I can cleanse my eyes in advance, and when I reach level 400, it'll be exactly seven days, perfect for the third awakening!"
[Thumbs up!]
Since the matter of the Supreme Mark was cleared up, Mike had nothing else to ask Professor Gregory and got up to leave.
He still needed to find a way to deal with the [Endless Infernal Fire] problem.
He was currently wearing armor that continuously regenerated health, and he kept casting nature and water element healing spells on himself, so his health wasn't an issue.
Burning 600,000 health per second was a piece of cake.
Even if Mike forgot to heal himself, he had Fate's Reversal, he wouldn't die!
After leaving Professor Gregory's office, Mike returned directly to his private space.
...
Inside the private space, Mike was greeted by a floor full of copper eggs and a significantly thinner cock.
Even with Ace's intelligence, he could figure out what had happened.
"Fool!!!"
Mike pointed at the crime scene and questioned, "What happened?!"
Master Fool looked innocent and asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with me?"
She even added fuel to the fire. "Is there a possibility that your rooster's golden eggs were fake and faded?"
"You're asking for a beating!"
Mike took out the Thunderclap Hammer, ready to teach Master Fool a lesson.
This was too much!
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Fool remained calm, a sneer appearing on her lips.
"Man, are you sure you can beat me?"
As a master smith "invited" by Ares, Fool wouldn't actually harm Thor's life.
However, if Thor took the initiative to spar, it was very likely that he would get a beating.
"Forget it, I won't argue with you."
Mike put the Thunderclap Hammer back and brought out a glass of water.
"Do you know what this is?"
Master Fool's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Water infused with four-leaf clovers!"
Mike guessed right, she was indeed knowledgeable!
"Forging this into equipment would add at least +5 Luck!"
Master Fool looked at Mike, hesitating to speak.
Clearly, Fool's Luck was negative, and she had a strong desire for this glass of water.
Fool thought for a moment and said, "Name your price."
"Let me think."
Mike tentatively offered, "Tell me your true identity?"
Master Fool fell silent and finally shook her head.
"Even if I don't tell you, you'll find out sooner or later. But knowing now wouldn't benefit anyone."
After thinking for a moment, Master Fool added, "Firstly, I haven't shed any human blood, and I won't deliberately target the demon race. Secondly, in a way, I owe Morpheus a favor."
"And... I'm strong."
Mike raised an eyebrow. Really? I don't believe it!
"As strong as a Supreme Being?"
Master Fool remained silent for a while and then spread her hands. "No."
Mike continued to ask, "Archdemon?"
Master Fool still shook her head. "I can't beat him either."
"Then you're weak!"
Mike rolled his eyes.
What kind of "strong" was that?
Master Fool struggled for a while and finally blurted out, "But I'm stronger than you!"
This time, it was Mike's turn to be speechless.
Are you so great just because you're a Nine-Star(Titer) Lord? Don't you realize I'm only level 322?
In fact, a Nine-Star Lord was already considered a top-tier combatant.
The most obvious example was Joseph, who had a formidable reputation even on the abyssal battlefield.
"No matter how strong you are, you can't help me kill enemies."
Mike waved his hand, signaling her to make a sincere offer.
"I don't know much, I'm best at crafting equipment," Master Fool said sincerely. "But the reforged Force of Nature is an SSS-level equipment, and the armor I'm designing for you is also SSS-level. I can only craft these two SSS-level equipment for you at most."
"Think bigger!"
Mike pulled Master Fool to sit down at the stone table and gave her an idea. "Look, you can use your expertise to help me solve some small problems."
"For example?"
Mike stretched out a hand and pointed at the ring on his finger.
"Look, you can only wear one ring on each hand, it's such a waste. Can you design an
equipment that allows me to wear a hundred rings?"
Master Fool was stunned.
That's not how you exploit loopholes!
Mike was still persistent.
"Even if a hundred is too much, wearing five rings on one hand, that's reasonable, right!"
Master Fool rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "If you want to wear five rings, my suggestion
is to grow five hands, that would be more convenient!"
"Then what's the difference between me and a demon creature?!"
Mike argued reasonably, patiently guiding her.
"I'm a person who cares about my image. I'm going to become a Supreme Being, I have to maintain my handsome appearance."
According to Master Fool's idea, if Mike wanted to wear three helmets and ten rings, he would
need to grow three heads and ten arms.
Wouldn't that make him a monster?!
In the end, Master Fool had to compromise.
"I can try to design a special equipment that uses its own properties to offset the interference between rings. But the cost is also high, if you wear ten rings at the same time, the durability
will be consumed very quickly."
"No problem."
Mike nodded, agreeing to Master Fool's plan.
If this kind of equipment was truly designed, it wouldn't just benefit Mike alone, but the
entire human corps!
Most importantly, Mike could make a fortune by crafting this kind of equipment!
These investments were all considered early production costs.
With this glass of water, Mike completely controlled the negotiation and continued to make
demands. "Also, can you craft some extremely broken equipment?"
"Extremely broken?"
Master Fool was stunned, then immediately understood what Mike wanted to do, and her face
turned cold.
"This equipment is for Afterskin, right?"
With [Reverse Polarity], an F-level equipment in Afterskin's hands was equivalent to an SS-
level equipment.
If there was even more garbage equipment, wouldn't he be able to obtain the power of SSS-
level equipment?!
Mike's idea was beautiful.
He could resell these things to Afterskin with Foreskin's help.
Master Fool said coldly, "If this is your last condition, then yes!"
"Deal."
The glass of water belonged to Master Fool.
After taking the water, Master Fool drank it all in one gulp and even looked at the glass
longingly, as if wanting to eat it too.
"Alright, it's Money Tree time, let's go!"
Mike called out, leading Master Fool, who had just gained +5 Luck, to the Money Tree.
"Ladies first."
Mike was very gentlemanly, letting her first!
Master Fool reached out and shook the Money Tree.
Clang!
A whole copper coin fell to the ground.
It was like a slap in the face to Master Fool.
She was about to leave in anger, but she held back and picked up the copper coin.
"Look at you, so easily discouraged."
Mike scoffed at Master Fool's behavior.
He stepped forward confidently and stretched out his hand.
"Watch me!"
Clatter!
In full view of everyone, after shaking the Money Tree, a pile of coins fell down. Looking at
the bountiful harvest, Mike's smile slowly froze.
[1335 copper coins!] Looking at the copper coins scattered on the ground, Mike could only accept his bad luck.
This had nothing to do with Master Fool, it was mainly because Afterskin's influence was too
strong.
Even with four-leaf clovers added to the water, he couldn't completely purify the bad luck
accumulated while being with Afterskin. Only after a certain amount of time would the effect gradually fade.
After collecting the copper coins, Mike started checking the accounts.
The Money Tree had been in his private space for 24 hours, and most people had shaken it
once, some even twice.
Dorian, the werewolf in charge of accounting, reported, "Boss, the Money Tree has earned a
total of 68,000 gold coins, and there are also a lot of work hour points to be deducted. After
calculating..."
Dorian flipped through the ledger for a long time and finally gave a number.
"Our weekly expenses are 995 gold coins, no, 819, wait... let me calculate again." Looking at the frowning Dorian, Mike glanced at the ledger, which was a complete mess.
It wasn't Dorian's fault, he simply had too much on his plate. Mike's private space currently housed miners, dwarves, werewolves, vampires, fishermen...
And some special individuals: Rolling, Cetus...
There were too many tasks and jobs for Dorian to arrange. He now had hundreds of employees
under him, none of them easy to manage.
Werewolves weren't good at using their brains, and being able to calculate a rough estimate
was already Dorian's limit.
Mike felt the pressure from his finances.
He was good at accounting himself, but spending his energy on such trivial matters was too
exhausting.
"I need to find someone else to handle the accounts."
Putting the ledger aside, Mike inquired about the daily operations within his private space.
After getting a general understanding, he headed to the Trade Secret Realm.
...
Inside the Trade Secret Realm, Foreskin had been waiting for a long time.
"Mike, you've had a tough time."
Mike sighed and shook his head, words were unnecessary.
Taking Afterskin through the 29th floor was part of Mike's duty.
But the resulting bad luck was a bit too much.
Mike chatted with Foreskin for a bit and then got straight to the point.
"I'm having Master Fool craft a batch of inferior equipment. I'll sell it to you, and you can sell
it to Afterskin, okay?"
Foreskin wasn't surprised by Thor's move and nodded in agreement.
"Afterskin has gone to the abyss on a mission, I can make the decision for him."
"As for the price of the equipment..."
Foreskin explained, "Afterskin has used the equipment crafted by the one in your private space before, and the effects are indeed comparable to SSS-level equipment. But because
they're broken to the limit, they're all disposable items, so the price can't be too high."
Mike nodded, indicating that he understood.
If it were durable SSS-level equipment, even if Mike asked for 1 million Lord merits, it wouldn't be unreasonable.
But for disposable items, the value was greatly reduced.
Foreskin tentatively offered a price.
"100,000 Lord merits per piece?"
"Deal."
Mike knew very well that when it came to making money, Foreskin was currently much better
than him. Haggling with such a shrewd businessman was pointless, as he would likely end up losing in the end. After finalizing the order, Mike purchased a batch of materials for cleansing his eyes.
"One portion of materials for 100,000 Lord merits, with a 40% reimbursement, so 60,000 to
pay. I'll take three portions for now."
Mike swiped his card, paid 180,000 Lord merits, and received the items he needed.
Mike had 1.11 million Lord merits, 310,000 was for Ace's materials, 800,000 belonged to him,
after spending 180,000, he had 620,000 left.
When the goods were delivered to Mike, they were even pre-mixed!
Saving him the trouble of processing them himself.
Foreskin explained, "A little extra service, as a benefit for our biggest customer at the Mystic
Market recently." Mike accepted the materials and casually mentioned the problem he was facing. "Too many beings in my private space, can't manage them all, the accounts are a mess."
After listening to Thor's words, Foreskin pondered for a moment. "Mike, I can arrange a
meeting with a goblin butler for you. He's not like my disguised appearance, he's a real goblin. But... you'll have to negotiate the hiring price yourself." Foreskin explained, "Goblins are all very eccentric and greedy. In the past, the largest banks
and vaults in the Core City of Truth were all controlled by goblins. Although they're not strong
in combat, they're the wealthiest group in the Core City of Truth."
"That impressive?"
Mike couldn't help but feel curious.
"And then?"
Mike had been exploring the Core City of Truth for a month and hadn't seen any trace of
goblins.
In just a hundred years, what had caused the goblins, once the wealthiest group, to disappear
from the Core City of Truth?
What had happened?
"And then?"
Foreskin thought for a moment and told Mike what had happened. "I came to the Core City of Truth."
Mike: ...
Damn, he was showing off!
At this moment, Mike fully understood Shadow Four's thoughts.
Who needed a goblin butler when Foreskin was the best butler?!
He had to find a way to get Foreskin to join the Guardian Shadow!
Leaving the Trade Secret Realm, Mike returned to Earth. "Shadow Three, what's up!" "Fourth Bro, what's up."
The burly man, adorned with bones, retreated into Mike's shadow.
Life at the summer camp resumed.
Ace wasn't next door, he had already gone to the abyss to search for information related to
Shadow Three.
As for Little Nine, she was by Mike's side, holding a piglet in her arms, curious about
everything.
During break time, Mike found Kaelum. "Kaelum, big news!" "What big news?!"
Kaelum was curious. What big news did Mike know that he didn't?
Mike lowered his voice and said, "This morning, I met Ace, and he said there's a tournament
coming up, something to do with the Nightmare corps."
"A tournament?"
Kaelum took out a communicator and contacted his nephew, quickly receiving a reply.
"It's true, but what does that have to do with Ace?"
The Nightmare corps was full of talented individuals, and everyone was eager to sign up for
the tournament, there weren't enough spots for everyone.
"I heard from Ace that the people from the Guardian Shadow are planning to pay him to
participate in the tournament!"
This was big news!
After getting Mike's consent, Kaelum told his nephew Joseph, the vice-captain of the
Nightmare corps, about it.
"What?!"
Joseph, holding the communicator, was stunned. He widened his eyes. "The people from the Guardian Shadow are actually hiring Little Calderon as a ringer?!"
If this happened, the Nightmare corps would suffer a huge loss! Besides the potential Supreme Being, Calderon's strength was unmatched at the same tier.
More importantly, many members of the Nightmare corps were Calderon's students. If they met on the tournament field, they would already be at a psychological disadvantage! They had to find a way to deal with this!
A brilliant idea flashed in Joseph's mind. If the Guardian Shadow could pay for a ringer, so
could they!
Competing in wealth?
Who could be richer than the Nightmare corps! Joseph replied domineeringly, "No matter how much the Guardian Shadow offers, the Nightmare corps will double it!"
"Oh, and ask Mike if he's willing to fight for the Nightmare corps!"