For the measly little price of 10,000 Sand Dollars, anyone could buy a miraculous metal brick that can communicate across vast distances, capture scenery with complete accuracy, and other such amenities! Who wouldn't want to buy it?
The Elves certainly did. They sumptuously ordered a hundred phones without blinking.
In truth, they wanted to buy thousands of phones for all the Elves in the village, but Michael limited them to only a thousand. He still didn't have a reliable way of mass producing phones, so he didn't want to bite off more than he could chew.
Still, this was another million Sand Dollars in his pocket!
After counting the Sand Dollars now in his inventory, Michael was glad to know that he had about 3.3 million SD now!
He couldn't wait to spend it all on upgrades. Speaking of which, the Drone Upgrade Shop has probably refreshed all of its items. I should visit it soon.
But that was for later, once he exchanged it for Soo drops.
"I'll only be able to deliver the phones in a few weeks," Michael said to Lady Farren.
But instead of a response, the only thing he could hear was the clicking of buttons.
Lady Farren was too absorbed in the phone in her hands, furiously texting and taking pictures of everything inside her quaint little bungalow house.
If Lyra was here to see this, she'd feel indignant. She was getting scolded exactly for this reason, yet Lady Farren was doing it herself!
"Ahem…"
"Oh! Oops, sorry. It's just that this phone is too amazing! Can I really order a case of this 'beer' and have it delivered in a few days? And I can see the location of anyone with a phone? I'll finally be able to track that rowdy little child wherever she goes!"
Knowing Lyra's ability to weave around technology, the little girl would probably find a way to turn off her location sharing services.
"I know now more than ever that an alliance between our groups is the best decision I have made. In return for all you have given us, I will make sure that you obtain that Antique from Romeo," Farren said decisively.
And with a big sigh, she continued. "If the Antique is that important to you, then I'll relent to Romeo's request."
Michael shook his head. "You don't have to accept his advances just for this."
"No, no. It's fine. An alliance with a Draconian will take the Elves into the next level. Perhaps the children we sire will become transcendent."
Even in Elven terms, she was getting up there in age.
"Huh?"
She nodded. "Yes. He's been saying that he wants my bloodline for quite some time now."
Michael staggered after he heard those words.
What if… she was misunderstanding Romeo's words?
What if the bloodline he was talking about was the Elves' ancestor, not their progeny?
"He says he wants your bloodline?" Michael asked, on the brink of a realization.
"Yes… that's what's written on his letters."
"What if he means the opposite? What if he wants the blood of the Ancient Humans?"
It made total sense. The Antique always tested the blood of anyone who touched it. Those who failed, will be refused entrance to its inheritance. But those who had the prerequisite blood, will be granted access to the obelisk.
Michael was transported into the obelisk thanks to his unique power: Unity and all that.
Aside from him, no one else could enter… except for the Ancient Humans, the very people who bestowed an inheritance into the Antique in the first place!
Memories flashed into his mind, showing him the sundry stone statues that the Elves kept in their garden.
According to Elven myth, they had the closest connection back to the Ancient Humans.
They had the last vestige of their bloodlines.
If that were true, then this was what Romeo would need to enter the Antique!
…
…
…
"Is… is that true?" Lady Farren asked in disbelief. "He wants our blood for the Antique?"
Michael nodded. "I think so. It's the only thing that makes sense."
"But… Why me? He could have chosen any other Elf if he wanted our bloodline."
He wasn't sure about that yet. Perhaps, Lady Farren was ostensibly only a normal Elf, but in truth, actually had a secret ancestry that led back to the Ancient Humans.
Of course, that was still only a wild conjecture with no evidence. He had to take that with a grain of salt.
"I don't know. But I do know that he needs your blood."
Lady Farren paced back and forth. "What should I do then?"
Michael didn't know. Romeo didn't seem like a bad guy. If he were truly that desperate to exhort blood out of Lady Farren, then he would have done so already. The power of a Draconian was nothing to scoff at.
Not only that, but they weren't even sure that his guess was correct. Perhaps, the guy really was just besotted by Lady Farren's Elven beauty.
"Let's just wait until Katarina comes back. Then, we can schedule a meeting with the guy."
This was the best course of action.
Lady Farren seemed okay with that, and soon excused herself out of the room. She still had a lot of things to deal with in the village, like increasing defenses to make sure that never happened again and other stuff.
This left Michael alone to ponder his next move.
He looked at his phone and saw a message that was already a day old.
{Message from Lupan}
{Heyo! When ya coming back?! The Lunar Celebrations are already a go-go! Ya don't wanna miss it!}
This was the message that he got before Lyra took his phone from him. He just didn't have the time to reply because of the hectic hours of everything that happened.
I should go there now… but…
He just couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him. With this much money, he wondered what kind of upgrades he could buy with his Drone.