2026-05-11 08:46:20
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Chapter 169- END OF SEASON ONE
The two snipers moved like blurs of faded yellow and blue. They leaped from the warrior carriages, their [Relic-Grade] rifles barking in the muffled air. THWIP-THWIP-THWIP. The bullets, tipped with [Luminous Aether-Cap] spores I’d traded from Kylan, struck the Keeper’s weeping eyes. They didn't just pierce; they exploded into fungal neon-blue fire, eating away at the ancient stone.The Keeper shrieked, a sound of grinding tectonic plates—and lashed out with a dozen stony arms.One arm, thick as an oak trunk, caught a carriage of Gothic knights. There was no time for a scream. I watched in horrific slow-motion as the wood splintered and the knights were crushed into a red slurry against the stone, their blood turning grey and solid before it could even hit the ground."NO!" Barbany screamed. His suit flickered, and he became a whirlwind of vibrating green blades. He sprinted up the Keeper’s colossal leg, his swords shearing through stone as if it were soft clay. He wasn't just cutting
Chapter 168
Queen Ariadne was already there, looking infuriatingly perfect in a fresh gold-silk traveling gown. She was leaning against the Red Beast, holding a cup of steaming tea and watching the chaos with that same sharp, amused smile from the night before."Your 'Spec-Ops' unit is... colorful, Arthur," she sassed as I approached, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "I’ve seen circus troupes with more discipline, and yet, I’ve never seen men move with such... violent purpose.""It’th called 'High-Performance Culture,' Ariadne," I snapped back, my lisp making a brief cameo. I grabbed a cold Red Gatorade from a crate and chugged it. "We don't do 'Military Precision.' We do 'Aggressive Branding' and 'Overwhelming Force'."Elsa marched up to me, her [Pink-Black-Pink] suit humming with a low-frequency mana hum. She started checking my belt pouches with a practiced, aggressive flick of her wrists."Food rations? Checked. KOK reserves? Checked. Emergency backup power for the HUD? Checked." She looked up
Chapter 167
I watched them. The Queen of Aven and my Second-in-Command, two women who could probably conquer a continent with a well-placed glare, bickering over me like two siblings fighting over the last piece of Kylan's garlic frog.My heart did a weird little flip—not because of the 250,000 VP bonus, but because for the first time since I woke up in this realm, I didn't feel like a merchant on a mission.I felt... wanted. I felt like I had a home, even if that home was currently a heated argument between a monarch and a maid-assassin. It tasted better than the gold-fizzy wine. It tasted like belonging."Ladies," I said, standing up and brushing the dust off my [CEO-Red] jacket. I felt a surge of genuine warmth that had nothing to do with the fire. "As much
Chapter 166
"You're staring," she said, not looking up from the fire."I'm observing. There's a difference.""Of course there is."She patted the ground beside her. "Sit.""I'm comfortable here.""You're standing. That's not comfortable.""I'm emotionally comfortable.""Sit, Merchant Lord."I sat.The fire crackled. The mountain air was cold and clean and smelled like pine and snow and something ancient. In the distance, an owl hooted. Probably judging me."Tell me about the Keeper," I said, because I needed to talk about something that wasn't flirtation and VP bonuses."She's old. Older than me. Older than my mother. Older than the palace, maybe. She lives in the mountains alone, reading books that should have crumbled to dust centuries ago.""And she knows about the thing beneath the roots?""She knows about everything. That's her job.""How do we convince her to help us?"The Queen—Ariadne—turned to look at me. Her dark eyes were serious now, the flirtation gone, replaced by something heavier.
Chapter 165
She leaned forward, the movement fluid and intentional, and reached into the mini-fridge. The clink of crystal against crystal was the only sound in the carriage besides the rhythmic thud of the horses' hooves.She pulled out two glasses and a bottle of something sparkly that caught the light like trapped stars."Drink?""It's nine in the morning," I noted, my internal clock still screaming about the breakfast burrito I hadn't finished."Time is a construct, Merchant Lord.""I can't argue with that," I sassed, checking the 1.5 million VP balance on my phone out of habit.She poured. The liquid hissed into the glass, a golden, effervescent foam. I took a sip. It was fizzy and sweet, hitting my tongue with a burst of flavor that tasted like summer, expensive mistakes, and the kind of bad decisions that lead to "Hostile Takeovers."Elsa refused hers. She didn't even look at the glass. She was glaring at Ariadne with a violet intensity that could have pierced dragon scales. If looks could
Chapter 164
I sat there for a moment, the gold-leafed air of the VIP dining room pressing in on me, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. The bubbles from the Queen's "bad decision" drink were still fizzing in my throat, but my brain was elsewhere—caught in the static of a long-awaited digital resurrection.Then—Ding.The sound didn't just play; it resonated inside my skull like a silver hammer hitting a tuning fork. It was familiar, horrifying, and absolutely wonderful. My eyes widened, my pupils dilating as the neon-blue light of the VENUS SYSTEM flooded my vision for the first time in what felt like an eternity.I’d missed it. I’d missed the mindless scrolling, the One Piece updates, and the sweet, sweet dopamine of interdimensional shopping.I ignored Ariadne’s piercing gaze and pulled up my HUD with a flick of my wrist, my fingers trembling with a mix of caffeine and pure, unadulterated geek-joy.[SYSTEM UPDATE: COMPLETED][NEW ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: ROYAL FLIRTATION]My jaw
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