The next morning, Lian woke up without any hurry.
Sunlight shone through the dormitory curtains into the room, and a pleasant silence filled the space. For a few minutes, he didn’t move. He just lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
He had made his decision. He would go to the Vonhelm family ceremony.
Of course, the only reason was for himself. And after talking with Seraphina and hearing her opinions, and after thinking about all the pros and cons of going, he had reached a conclusion.
If the Vorhelm family really intended to force him back into their game, then it was better to resolve this matter as soon as possible.
Running away would only postpone the problem to the future.
And Lian had no interest in spending his whole life looking over his shoulder, waiting for the family’s next move.
Anyway, this was the best opportunity he could get. A birthday celebration with guests from all over the world. And for a family like his, reputation and prestige are everything.
And he planned to use that obsession with reputation and prestige to have a fair game with them.
Then he got up. He needed to get ready and go somewhere. The birthday ceremony was in four days, and before entering the lion’s den... he had to prepare himself.
A few hours later, Lian stood in front of the massive building of the National Awakened Center.
This place was one of the busiest spots in the capital. A multi-story building with massive glass walls, where hundreds of people entered every day.
Hunters, Awakened, guild representatives, equipment sellers, government employees, and all kinds of other people.
And this was the second time he had come here. But this time, he hadn’t come to register his information. He had come to sell something again.
He went straight to the equipment and item sales and purchase section. As soon as he entered, the sound of a massive commotion greeted him.
Large digital displays on the walls showed the prices of various materials.
The price of mana crystals, the price of monster cores, the price of magical equipment, the price of recovery medicines, and even the price of information about discovered locations in the Ruined Realm.
This surprised him a little. It had only been two to three weeks since the Ruined Realm had appeared, but they were already selling information there?
But with a second thought, it wasn’t that strange. After all, this was the tenth realm. And after experiencing nine realms, humanity had naturally learned many things and developed many mechanisms.
Long lines had formed in front of various counters. Some were buying equipment, some had come to sell loot.
Some were just looking for new information.
A few people paused as soon as they saw Lian, as if they recognized his face. Immediately, whispers were heard around him.
"That’s him..."
"The same student who’s at the top of the news?..."
"Is it really him?"
"He looks much younger up close..."
But Lian didn’t even look at them. Fame was not new to him. Until the age of 16, when his awakening failed and he became a laughingstock, he was very well-known and respected as the son of the Vonhelm family.
Even when his awakening failed, he was at the top of the online news for a while. That someone with the direct and pure bloodline of the Vonhelm family, and the son of the family patriarch, could fail in awakening was an event that had never happened before. But that was more of a negative fame than a positive one.
So fame was not a new trouble for him. Being at the top of the news was practically a daily routine for him.
He went straight to the resource purchase section. Behind the counter sat a man around forty years old.
"Are you here to sell or buy?" The man said without raising his head.
"Sell." Lian placed one of the mana crystals on the table.
The man picked it up, first examined it with his eyes, then placed it in a scanner. The device screen lit up and showed the mana values.
Then a second device.
And a third.
A few minutes later, the man’s eyebrows went up.
"Medium quality." He looked at the screen again to make sure, and the result was the same.
A medium-quality mana crystal. Awakened could gain about 3 mana by absorbing it. A significant number, at least for Awakened below level 20.
Then he raised his head and stated the price.
"Ten thousand dollars each."
"That’s fine." Lian just nodded. He didn’t try to negotiate because he knew the prices were fixed and haggling was useless.
And then he opened his storage space. The sound of crystals hitting each other echoed in the space.
CLINK.
CLINK.
CLINK.
First one, then a few, then ten, twenty, thirty, fifty. And it continued.
The salesman first smiled, then his smile disappeared. Then his eyes widened, and finally, he completely froze.
The sound of the shop gradually died down.
Nearby people looked with curiosity. Then people farther away also noticed. Slowly, almost all the surrounding gazes focused on the counter.
Ninety-seven mana crystals!
A small mountain of blue light had formed on the table.
For a few seconds, no one said anything. Even the sound of the devices seemed to fade away.
The salesman just stared, as if his brain had stopped working.
Ninety-seven crystals!
He unconsciously began to calculate. Each crystal gave 3 mana stats. That was nearly three hundred mana points.
For an Awakened below level twenty-five, this number was insane.
With this amount of mana, an ordinary Awakened could be turned into a monster compared to their peers.
Even some high-ranking talents didn’t have access to such resources. But this boy... was selling all of them.
Why? Why would he do such a thing? And more importantly... where had he gotten this many?
Could he have bought them in bulk from somewhere and was now selling them at a higher price? Or had he won them in a lottery or competition?
The possibility that he had obtained them from the tenth Ruined Realm didn’t even cross his mind. Because it was impossible. This many mana crystals could only be found in their mines.
And he doubted a mana crystal mine had been discovered so soon. And even if it had, it would definitely be under the monopoly of the world’s most powerful forces.
Whispers slowly rose.
One of the customers, who seemed to be level eighteen, said in disbelief:
"I worked three full months for one crystal..."
Another man, who had the emblem of a local guild on his clothes, muttered under his breath.
"What kind of monster is this kid?"
"Where did he get these? Could he have stolen them?" A third person said.
"He must have stolen them, right? Otherwise, how could he get this many?"
"But isn’t he the same boy who saved the border city? I doubt he stole them..."
"Maybe the government gave them to him as a reward? But why would he sell them? Wouldn’t it be better to absorb them?"
The atmosphere of the shop had become heavy, but Lian showed no reaction. For him, these crystals were almost worthless.
If he wanted to absorb them, it would take about a month. And in one month, he could gain ten times this amount of stats.
So why should he keep them? Money was more useful.
About two minutes later, the salesman finally came to his senses.
The calculations were done. This time, he stood up with full respect.
"Sir." Even his tone had changed. He was no longer speaking like a normal employee to a student, but dealing with a major customer.
"The final amount comes to nine hundred and seventy thousand dollars."
Then he placed a small card on the table. A bronze card with the emblem of the National Awakened Center.
"This is your Grade Three VIP card. I reviewed your sales history and noticed you’ve had another large and significant sale."
Lian took the card.
"Grade Three?"
The man immediately explained.
"Yes. From today, you are considered a special customer. Purchase discounts, sales priority, access to internal auctions."
"The ability to reserve resources. And earlier access to some specific items."
Then he continued with enthusiasm.
"After bronze, there’s silver level, then gold." His smile widened.
"I’m sure you’ll reach silver level very soon."
Lian just put the card in his pocket.
"Thanks." And without any extra words, he left the place.
On the way back to the Academy, he checked the added balance.
$970,000.
Almost a million dollars. A large number. Much larger than what most people would see in their entire lives.
But for him, this number wasn’t that significant. Especially now that he had become an Awakened and had tens of millions of dollars, and probably soon over 100 million dollars in assets.
"Not bad." Then he put his phone in his pocket.
A while later, Lian entered the Academy. This time, his destination was the student services building.
As soon as he entered, he noticed how empty it was. There were no students. In normal times, there were always at least dozens of students here.
But now, not even one could be seen.
"Mr. Lian!" The staff member on duty stood up as soon as he saw him, and a professional smile appeared on his face.
"Welcome."
The change in behavior was completely noticeable.
Until a few weeks ago, he was just an ordinary student. But now... everyone knew him.
Lian stood directly in front of the counter. No introduction. He went straight to the main point.
"I want the Academy’s best combat simulation room." He said, looking directly into the staff member’s eyes.