Chapter 102: Future Plans
"Hope you didn’t get your hands stained?" Juliana asked with a knowing smile as Asher sat down. The faint, metallic tang of blood still clung to his aura, a stark contrast to the warm light radiating from the chandelier above their dining table.
He blinked at her question, momentarily startled by her sharp perception. "You knew?"
"Of course... You can’t hide such a thing from us." Juliana said with a soft smile, gracefully standing up from her seat.
"Alright, I am done... And it seems Kelly also had her fill," she added, staring at Kelly, who was resting deep in her chair with a thoroughly contented smile.
Asher chuckled softly. No matter how angry or upset he felt after dealing with the treacherous underworld of the world, his wives always had a way to ground him. Seeing Kelly so peacefully happy, especially when she had her hands full of food, instantly washed away the lingering coldness of his recent kills.
"Alright! Kelly, come on, let’s get you dressed up... We are going to a very big party later!" Juliana announced with a bright smile, walking around the long mahogany table to reach her.
"Party?" Kelly turned to Juliana, her eyes opening wide with innocent curiosity, completely oblivious to the deadly high-society war they were about to step into.
"Yup! Come on."
Kelly happily took Juliana’s hand, and followed her towards the elevator.
"You need help?" Asher called out, his protective instincts flaring.
"Help? Do you want to bathe us?" Juliana looked over her shoulder at Asher, who stared at her, completely stunned.
’Well, I have seen Kelly’s... But I can’t say that,’ Asher thought, feeling a sudden flush of heat before he quickly shook his head to clear the image.
"I mean the maids, they should be waiting upstairs to assist you three."
"Oh, alright then... I thought you would like to bathe us, it was actually something else." Juliana turned and walked away with Kelly, the mischievous lilt in her voice leaving Asher even more confused.
Was she serious? Or just pulling his leg to test his composure?
’I could activate Shadow Gaze and see if she was lying, but that won’t work... With Juliana’s advanced magical skills and acute intellect, she will instantly know what I am doing. If she feels threatened, she might forcefully read my thoughts... Nope, take things slow.’ He sighed, resting his cheek heavily on his palm in the quiet dining room.
His mind drifted to the glowing interface only he could see. ’Her affection was 90%, but now, it dropped to 70%... Her two personalities merging into one actually caused this. But thinking about her personalities, the Gangster Queen’s actual affection was only 52%, and her second was 90%... When they joined, it balanced at 70%. Maybe it’s not a bad thing.’ He mused, analyzing the emotional mathematics of their bond before his thoughts shifted to the oldest of the three.
’I have been so focused on Sara’s and Juliana’s cures that I haven’t given a thought to Kelly’s...’ He exhaled a long, tired breath.
’Kelly’s dungeon is actually open... But it’s a nightmare zone filled with more than 300 SSS-Rank Monsters, and the Boss is a Primordial entity with ten escalating stages of combat. The Priestess was already hard enough; adding all these...’
He nodded to himself, calculating the sheer destructive force required to survive such a raid.
’I also need gear, at least a complete set of Mythic-Tier equipment... This will greatly increase my combat power. I have 15 more Mythic-Tier pieces, but these gears are all suited for Sara’s class... Only the Supreme Mythic-Tier Twin Daggers, my Armor, and the Spectral Boots are useful to me... I hate to admit it, but this system seems to heavily target my wives when giving me rewards. Seems I will have to keep searching until I have my own special and complete gear.’
He mentally controlled the system screen, his eyes locking onto the Mental Destruction Dungeon Key:
’Clear one SSS-Rank Dungeon to be able to use the key... I am sure Juliana’s cure’s three fragments are located in there. Only one SSS-Rank Dungeon left to clear. The Dragon Guild, sitting as the fourth on the national ranking, should have control over at least one.’
He shifted his gaze to the Devil Tower Key, and the ominous Emperor Demon Key. ’Got the Emperor Demon Key by investing the Devil Tower Key... Well, I took back the Devil Tower Key from Juliana, so I have the two keys with me. I wonder what type of Boss I will face if I use the Emperor Demon Key to forcefully mutate a dungeon... Now, this Holy Goddess Temple key; I am still confused. Are there truly Gods out there watching the Awakened? This key wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere.’
He stared at the floating digital key for a long while, the mysteries of the universe pressing down on him, before turning his attention to his staggering inventory balance: one hundred million spirit stones.
’One hundred million?! I thought I only had ten million... Spirit stones can be used to concoct special pills, brew high-tier potions, and even aid in forging powerful magical weapons, mainly because they contain raw Spirit energy... But the spirit energy in these unrefined stones isn’t very pure, which is why Awakened never try to absorb them directly into their cores. If they do, it might lead to severe energy corruption—some turn completely insane, while others lose their powers forever... But using them as catalysts when making pills or crafting weapons burns away all impurities, making them extremely valuable. These one hundred million here, I could easily sell them for one hundred billion dollars on the Awakened black market.’
He relaxed back into his seat, feeling the immense weight of his growing empire. ’I also have ten Spirit Mines the system rewarded me, and also the grand hospital... When I have the time, I will personally check out all my territorial assets in Silverspire.’
He turned his head to Sara. Seeing her staring at him with those quiet, perceptive eyes, he blinked as she pointed a slender finger at the notebook resting beside him. He smiled softly, picking up the book and passing it to her along with a pen.
’I think I should place my Knights with each of my wives as bodyguards; this way, I will be much more at ease in this banquet.’ He nodded his head in agreement with his own tactical plan, casually watching as she wrote in the notebook and turned it around to show him the words.
".....?!"
Asher was entirely speechless.