NOVEL NEXT Chapter 198: Cooperation
The ancestor didn't answer immediately. He opened his palm, and something suddenly appeared there—a golden rose with silver veins.
Of course, it wasn't a real flower. It was a material.
Richard wasn't sure whether it was an artifact or not because there was no aura indicating it was one.
However, the material was clearly extremely strong; he felt that even if he were one realm stronger, he still wouldn't be able to destroy it.
"Help me sell it and give me the proceeds," the ancestor said.
Richard couldn't help but show a strange expression upon hearing that.
This ancestor's request was simply to sell something, and he handed the rose to Richard.
"It will appear in your Storage Artifact," he added.
"Ancestor, what is this, and how am I supposed to sell it?"
"Just sell it with Spirit Nature. It should fetch around 1 billion."
"One billion?" Richard's jaw dropped the moment he heard that.
He wondered who could even afford it.
"Its name is Rose of Eternia. You may tell the buyer its name. You can also sell it to a shop, it's fine if the price is slightly lower—as long as it's not below 950 million. Then, you may take 10 million as your fee."
"Don't you think it's dangerous for me to sell something so valuable?"
Richard could think of a few people who might help him sell it—such as Gray and Elise, both backed by powerful forces. They should be able to offer the rose to influential figures.
If that didn't work, he could go to Aether Magic Shop. Even if they didn't buy it themselves, they surely had connections to people who might be interested.
But everything depended on whether he could sell the rose safely.
In the worst case, he might get robbed without even realizing it.
For only 10 million in commission, Richard was doubtful.
He thought this ancestor was extremely stingy.
If he weren't his ancestor, he would have refused without hesitation.
"Relax, you don't need to rush to sell it. Just keep it for now. As long as you're only storing it, no one will know. You may keep it until you're strong enough or confident in your safety." The ancestor replied.
"Are you sure?"
"I trust you well enough. If it were that girl before you, I'm worried she would try to trick me and run off with my item."
Richard had no idea what Olivia had said to this ancestor to make him so distrustful of her.
"Can I use it temporarily?" Richard asked.
"Below Ancient Sovereign, no one can use it. You won't even know what its function is…"
Richard, "…"
"I believe our meeting time is up." The ancestor added.
Before Richard could even say goodbye, the scene around him changed.
He returned to the real world, seeing Grace's confused expression.
"What happened?" she asked.
"A meeting," Richard replied.
He didn't bother explaining further.
Grace nodded without pressing him.
"Let's go back," she said.
Richard and Grace then returned to the previous corridor.
"By the way, Grace, do you know Olivia Skylight? She used to live in Apple Town."
"Of course I know. Mother has been looking for her for a long time and wants to arrest her." Grace answered.
"Have you heard anything about her recently?" Richard asked, curious about Olivia's whereabouts.
"She's been wandering around and has committed many crimes, so a lot of people want to hunt her down. Oh right—Thundervale Clan from the Central Region is also after her because she once tricked Sean Thundervale, who liked her. She pretended to accept him just to steal his belongings."
"Looks like she's gotten even bolder…" Richard already expected nothing good from Olivia.
"Mm…" As they continued walking, Richard was suddenly interrupted by a group of people blocking their way.
It was Luke and his companions.
Richard wondered what they wanted.
This clearly wasn't a coincidence—they were obviously blocking him and Grace on purpose.
Moreover, their gazes were focused entirely on him.
"Richard, I saw you at that restaurant earlier, but I only realized just now that it was you…"
Luke approached Richard, smiling.
"Is there something you want?" Richard grew more suspicious because of how polite he sounded.
Of course, he didn't rule out the possibility that this was like Lord of the Crimson Veil earlier, who wanted him to join the Order of the Crimson Veil.
"Could we talk alone for a moment?" Luke asked.
"Why not here?" Richard replied.
"It's a personal matter—not suitable for others to hear," Luke said.
"Then where?" Richard didn't reject him completely, wanting to know what this was about.
What surprised him was that Luke opened a door beside them in the corridor.
There were many doors along this hall, but they were all private rooms for members.
Richard saw that it was a small empty chamber.
"Here," Luke said, and he went inside immediately.
After thinking for a while, Richard followed him in.
Click!
Luke closed the door right away.
"I heard you received a lot of Boundless Gems from John Goldwood," he said.
Richard wasn't surprised that the news had spread. John probably told a few people what happened.
"Yes. Is that a problem?" he replied.
He was naturally on guard now that this topic had been brought up.
Did this guy want those gems?
If so, that was basically a challenge—even if he claimed he wanted to 'trade' for them.
Those gems were something Richard needed right now. He even wanted more.
Otherwise, why would he need to go through such lengths to get them?
Luke seemed to observe Richard's expression after bringing it up.
But he continued smiling.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to do what you're thinking. I just want to propose a little cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Richard was confused.
After mentioning the gems, Luke suddenly talked about cooperation.
"There are people who gamble on the contests held by the temple. Since you showed your strength, many are betting on you to win first place. But what if we make the results a little… different from their expectations? For example—I become the winner, and you bet on me. We often call it gambling manipulation. It's fairly common to earn some extra profit. If it goes well, you might even double the number of Boundless Gems you have."
Richard, "…"