novelraw Chapter 262: Return to the Horror World
Chapter 262: Return to the Horror World
After an indeterminate amount of time, the urgent knocking at the door finally brought Alexander and Sofia back to reality. Reluctantly, they hurriedly dressed.
"Hold on," Alexander hesitated as he watched Sofia walk towards the door, asking his final question. "Can you tell me who you really are? What is our relationship in the part of my memory that I’ve lost?"
"All you need to know is that no matter what happens, I will always love you. I can give... everything for you," Sofia replied, and promptly opened the door.
"Alexander, you two haven’t seen what a real dark hell looks like, have you? Neither have I, and this is a great opportunity! Let me show you!"
Edward stood outside the door, his face flushed with excitement.
"Are you kidding me?" Alexander shot a look at Kassadin, who was standing behind Edward.
"I tried to stop him, but he insisted that needed to ’show you,’ so to speak, or you’d miss out," Kassadin shrugged, adding, "No wonder the guy’s still single."
"What does being single have to do with any of this? What nonsense are you spouting, Kassadin Imperial?" Edward, evidently growing more familiar with Kassadin, retorted. His handsome face was awash with confusion.
This guy is great at showing off and acting pretentious, thought Alexander. But when it comes to emotional intelligence, he’s like a grade-schooler. Resigned, Alexander wrapped his arm around Sofia’s shoulder and said, "Alright, let’s go then. Let’s have our eyes opened."
"Fantastic!" Edward forgot all about his previous confusion, his face lighting up as he led the way toward the deck.
It cost ten million "ghost points" to go from the second level of the cabin to the deck. And it wasn’t a one-time payment for lifetime access; rather, it was a fee you had to pay every single time. This mist system was quite the ruthless profiteer.
Fortunately, Alexander and his group weren’t novices at this game either. They had amassed trillions of these ghost points, essentially robbing a large portion of the participants. The cost was negligible to them.
"Today, all the entry fees for everyone present will be on me, Edward!"
With a wave of his hand, Edward effortlessly deducted forty million ghost points. Although he claimed it was for everyone, the truth was that aside from the three of them and Sofia, there weren’t many people on the deck.
Rich or poor, few would indulge in spending ten million ghost points just for the view.
As Edward’s voice echoed, all the "Ghost Emperors" on the deck turned their heads, their faces filled with astonishment. When they saw it was Edward, accompanied by Kassadin, Alexander, and Sofia, they immediately understood.
Ah, it’s these tycoons, they thought. No worries then.
Everyone knew about Alexander’s exorbitant spending in the item shop, and no one dared harbor any ill intentions.
After all, these were people known to Karin. No matter how audacious one might be, nobody wanted to incite Karin’s wrath—she was the one who had single-handedly fought her way through an entire Ghost Realm, after all.
So, the assembled Ghost Emperors could only curse Alexander and Edward for being cheats and sycophants in their hearts while envying them. But, they wished they could be in the same boat—figuratively speaking—as sycophants to Alexander.
"What a spectacular view!" Edward couldn’t help but exclaim as the four of them ascended to the deck.
Looking down from the massive airship, an incredibly grand city appeared before them, one that dwarfed Cangshan City by many times. Perhaps calling it a "city" was even an understatement; it was more like a nation.
Mountains, rivers, lakes, and even oceans could be seen within the city’s confines. The scale was so immense that it scarcely differed from the Americas in Alexander’s memory—a testament to its awe-inspiring magnitude.
Aside from Edward, the other three remained exceedingly composed.
Needless to say, Sophia remains shrouded in mystery.
Kassadin, having engaged in mist instances for years, has accumulated substantial resources. Although paying ten million ghost energy points to step onto the deck might sting a bit, he can afford it and has long grown accustomed to such grandeur.
As for Alexander, the impressions left by countless movies and TV shows have not been in vain. Moreover, with his Ghostly Piercing Vision, not only has he surveyed all of Cangshan City but also the entire Ghost Realm and even its neighboring realms.
"Ghost participants of Dark Hell, please note that this instance has concluded. All Dark Hell participants must exit the steamship immediately!" A cold mechanical voice from the mist system echoes in their ears.
Awkwardly, only those with a ranking of Prince or higher possess the ghost energy to levitate. For true aerial navigation, one must be at least a king.
Sophia and Alexander, being only soldier-level at present, are somewhat limited. Fortunately, Alexander possesses the Blink talent, which merely incurs a little extra ghost energy expenditure.
With an arm around Sophia’s waist, a flash of light marks their next moment, and they reappear on the roof of the Ghost Apartments.
"Boss (Alexander)!"
As soon as Alexander appears, Su Rong, Annie, Sam, and others rush forward to greet him.
The ghost energy emanating from Su Rong, Annie, and Full Moon has reached the peak of Ghost Prince. Terence and Asfur radiate surging ghost energy, signifying their ascension to Ghost King.
Sam, still a Ghost Prince, has notably solidified his fluctuating ghost energy, nearing the peak level, and is evidently very close to becoming a Ghost King.
Seeing the rise in everyone’s strength, coupled with a glance at the high-quality Ghost Food stacked in his storage, a smile spreads across Alexander’s face.
"Sam, send out the notice—starting today, soldier-level Ghost Food will be provided with no limitations! At the auction, there will be one Imperial-level Ghost Food and ten King-level Ghost Foods! The primary currency will still be ghost coins.
Additionally, the price of all items, whether offensive or supportive, will be increased by 30% if paid in ghost coins."
"Unlimited?" Sam is completely taken aback.
Unlimited—what does that mean? For the ghosts in this horror world, the most challenging step is advancing from ordinary ghosts to evil spirits.
Once that’s achieved, they’re no longer bound by their commoner status; from there, ascension is just a matter of time—and time is something ghosts have in abundance.
In all of Dark Hell, there are easily more than twenty million Fierce-level ghosts. These ghosts, even if it meant emptying their coffers, would definitely make a purchase.
Even if only 10% of them bought Ghost Food, that’s still a staggering number—two million.
Did Boss Alexander raid another Mist Instance?
Sam knows very well the amount of Ghost Food Alexander previously acquired, which was mostly from battling the Evil Ghost Association.
Other Ghost Imperials—even Ghost Emperors—tread cautiously in Mist Instances, fearing death. Even if they manage to get out alive, it’s often at a loss, requiring an enormous amount of time and energy to break the cycle.
Ghost Crystals are, of course, far more valuable than any item of a similar level. Even the lowest-ranked soldier-level Ghost Crystals could be sold for a price far exceeding Prince-level Ghost Food.
There’s no limit to the amount of Ghost Crystals one can absorb; even the weakest ghosts can assimilate them quickly. And that’s just for the soldier-level crystals—higher-level ones are another story altogether!
Even an Inheritance-level Ghost Emperor would find it an elating harvest to obtain just one King-level Ghost Crystal.
But what about Alexander? He’s just a soldier-level entity and he’s restocking?
Why do I say "restocking" again? Well, isn’t it obvious? Whenever Alexander participates in any instance, isn’t it always for zero-cost purchases?
However, this time, what he’s brought back is both abundant and extraordinarily valuable.
So, it turns out that Alexander not only returned from the Mist Instance unscathed, but he also managed to acquire an astonishing two million soldier-level Ghost Foods.
Even more outrageous, he had Imperial-level and King-level Ghost Foods in his stash. And he plans to auction these rarities?
"Boss! Selling King-level Ghost Food is one thing, but the Imperial-level... shouldn’t we keep that?" Sam hesitated, obviously reluctant to part with such a treasure.
A single Imperial-level Ghost Food could, within a month, elevate a ghost to Imperial status!
Su Rong, Annie, Asfur, and Terence all nodded in agreement, even Full Moon, who usually wasn’t fussy about her own abilities, agreed.
"It’s just one Imperial-level Ghost Food," Alexander dismissed with a wave of his hand. Before anyone could react, he flicked his wrist and sent several bottles of red elixir flying toward them. Each person received at least three bottles.
"King-level pinnacle Ghost Food...Imperial-level pinnacle Ghost Food...Emperor... Emperor-level?" Asfur, the highest-level among them, was the first to exclaim.
What everyone had received was a set of Ghost Food that could propel one directly to the level of a Ghost Emperor.
A Ghost Emperor!
Everyone swallowed hard, their moves synchronized in awe. Sam, astounded, asked, "Boss, what exactly did you do in the Mist Instance?"
"Nothing much. Made some money, looted some corpses, and completed a couple of small tasks," Alexander replied nonchalantly.
"Indeed, he made a fortune. He disguised himself as a chef in dining hall number nine and swindled 80% of the wealth from the participants in the Cangshan city instance, totaling in the trillions," Kassadin landed on the rooftop and informed Sam and the others.
"Although I’ve told you this, you must keep it a secret. If word gets out, the entire horror world will be out for his head," Kassadin warned.
The talk of chefs and dining halls meant little to the newly promoted ghost kings Asfur and Terence. However, they understood the magnitude of the wealth that was mentioned, as well as the qualifications required for participants, which were at least at the King-level.
To rob 80% of the wealth from countless Ghost Kings, Imperials, and even Emperors across the Six Ghost Realms—what did that even mean?
Su Rong and Annie remained unfazed. They were used to their boss’s audacious exploits—this time, he had just gone a bit further than usual.
They were long accustomed to being astounded by Alexander, whether it was in bed or in this horror world; his capabilities were always awe-inspiring.
"Take everything you’ve received!" The last person to descend from the airship was, naturally, the lowest-leveled Edward. He arrived on the rooftop, his body swirled in gusts of wind and snow, forming a miniature blizzard around him, ever the ostentatious figure.
He glanced at the crowd, particularly at the Ghost Food in their hands, and spoke, "Put those away. Your boss may have just ’looted some corpses,’ but he rallied hundreds of thousands of natives and swept through a hundred-mile radius. He obtained nineteen portions of Emperor-level Ghost Food alone! What you have is nothing in comparison."
Just looting and making money, you say?
No one had the energy to comment. Nevertheless, they all gripped their bottles of red elixir tightly.
"Brother Alexander, I need to leave. If I don’t show up at Happiness Apartments for an extended period, there will be trouble. If you have any orders, just send someone to relay them. I will always follow your command," Kassadin stepped forward and addressed Alexander.
After the Cangshan instance, Kassadin was completely convinced by Alexander. Such a man was destined to be a superhero in the future.
No, with nineteen Emperor-level Ghost Foods and millions of soldier-level ones, Alexander was already more than a superhero. Just by having the Fierce Ghost Association consume the soldier-level Ghost Foods, he would become a super lord second only to the city lord’s mansion.
If all other Ghost Foods were absorbed as well, Alexander alone could unite the entire Ghost Realm unless a significant portion of the Third Ghost Realm banded together.
Kassadin realized that he must maintain a good relationship with Alexander.
"Fine, go on and attend to your matters. Your help in this Cangshan city instance was invaluable. Take this," Alexander waved his hand and flung a bottle of red elixir toward Kassadin.
"This? An Emperor-level Ghost Food? Is this for me?" Kassadin looked incredulously at Alexander, never imagining that he would be gifted with something so extraordinary.
"Not just for you, Edward has a share too. We’re all brothers here; there’s no need for formalities," Alexander said, tossing another vial of Emperor-level red elixir towards Edward.
Edward, for his part, caught it without ceremony. The "Good Will" above his head stayed at 99 points, not budging an inch.
Clearly, he didn’t genuinely care for the token unless it was something that would give him enough attention to flaunt.
Alexander, a rather low-key individual, had pretty much given up on impressing Edward. Their friendship was solid enough; a few points on the Good Will didn’t matter much.
"Brother, there’s nothing more to say! From now on, call on me, Kassadin, whenever you need. I’m in this with you, for better or worse!" Kassadin bowed slightly toward Alexander and left without a backward glance.
Kassadin bowed slightly to Alexander and left without looking back. If he stayed any longer, he feared he would shed tears and lose face.
At that moment, the Good Will above Kassadin’s head finally reached its peak.
"Congratulations, Good Will Level reaches 100 points. Special effect of ’Unobstructed Social Communication Charm Syndrome’ activated! You’ve earned Kassadin’s ultimate friendship reward: the forbidden treasure—Ring of Wall-Breaking!"