Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

Signing multimillion credit deals with the major guilds was good, but it was awfully boring.

Freude already knew she would turn in a profit every time, she already knew how much she would make calculated down to the very last credit.

But this was different...

When it came to Ark, and the new guild he was building, there was no telling how the investment would go.

It was a gamble.

Would her investment in him be a waste? Would he grow to become a pitiful average individual? Or would he turn in profits large enough to shake the very foundations of the guild?

Freude felt giddy inside. An intense heat was searing in her chest, and she could feel her heart throb with excitement.

Pick up a random fool from the street and they could tell you that an investment in fable would be profitable.

But decisions like this... this was where real skill was needed. And it very much excited her!

"I have to admit, I am tempted to give you the ten million and watch the way you dance."

’Huh? What am I? A monkey?’ Ark could not say he was very fond of her wording.

Freude crossed her leg while shifting her toe back and forth.

"But as much as I love taking risks, my business sense will never allow me to dive so deep..."

Her expression tightened a bit as she contemplated.

"Why should I invest in you, Ark? And I don’t mean flowery words, I need something tangible—"

Click!

Before she could finish her sentence, three materials landed on the table in front of her.

Freude curiously eyed the items. The first two were the mana stones he had obtained from the Dreamer’s epilogue, and the second one was a mana crystal he plucked out of the cave before leaving.

She picked up the golden mana stone first and raised it to the light. The black of her Iris burned into gold, and her pupils expanded as she closely observed the item.

"Hmm. A mana stone from a two headed golem. These are... extremely rare."

When it came to mana stones, diversity was often needed, because the nature of a monster before its death, often dictated what the stone would be applicable for.

Freude narrowed her eyes slightly. "Oh, a boss grade monster even?" Not only that, from what she could sense, the monster was an advanced golem in bronze rank at the very least.

She stared at him suspiciously. "Where did you get this?"

"The same place I got the crystal..." Ark replied in a humourless tone.

"You picked them up on your expedition?" She casually asked while inspecting it.

"No. I killed the monster and took it off its corpse."

Freude paused. "You mean to say that you beat a rare boss monster nearly three times your level?"

Ark nodded. She glanced at Olivia and Thalia, only to see them nod in agreement as well.

"Hnm." Freude smiled. "Intersting..."

The fact that he had been able to beat a monster that would crush even bronze rank players was more than enough to make him worth investing in.

But that was not the only item he had presented. She picked up the crystal next, and her eyes widened ever so slightly as she appraised it.

The crystals had a very dense collection of mana within it. Mana crystals were a lot like aged wine, when they were left alone, undisturbed for a very long time, they tended to become even more valuable.

"This is of excellent quality... it’s a shame you only have one."

Crystals like this were rare for a reason. Mana crystals were basically the fuel of this world, as such, mining corporations were always out to get them—

"Actually, there are many more from where that came from."

Fleude’s ears twitched and she sat up a little straighter.

"I would have mined it myself, but I neither have the tools, nor the time." He paused briefly, purposely dragging out the conversation.

The hook came shortly after.

"But if we can strike a deal, I am willing to pass over the mining rights to you..."

Technically, the mana crystals belonged to Thalia, but she had said she had no interest in it, meaning he could do whatever he pleased with them.

Mana crystals were known to be extremely hard substances. Just pulling out the single stone had taken him five minutes, and that was while using the hero’s blade in pickaxe form.

Although Ark would have loved to keep the mine to himself, it would take too long to gather those tools.

And this way, he showed that he was an asset to Freude, and not just a charity case.

Freude smiled then gently placed the crystal on the table. "How much royalties do you want from each sale?"

’Straight to business, huh?’ Ark mused. Thankfully, this meant that she considered the mine valuable.

Thalia and Olivia watched the conversation idly by the side.

Seeing that the discussion had calmed down, they were finally able to eat their snacks and drink their tea without feeling as though it would get stuck in their throats...

Everything had been going smoothly so far—

"Sixty percent."

They both froze and glanced at Ark. He was sitting down with a stoic expression on his face, his eyes burning with devilish greed.

"I want sixty percent of all profits—"

"I heard you the first time!" The tea cups rattled. Freude’s lower lip twitched.

She silently stared at him, judging him with those eerie Black eyes.

"How can you request for sixty percent when we are the ones doing all the work?" Her tone had lowered a bit, a vain attempt to maintain her composure...

"You won’t be doing much of any work if we didn’t find the mine in the first place. Sixty percent seems like a fair price to me."

But Ark seemed adamant on making her run mad.

"In what world is fifty percent a fair price you greedy dragon!"

"Your complement is very much appreciated, Lady Freude, but flattery won’t take you anywhere with me."

Lady Freude’s hand froze in the air, her fingers vibrating from rage.

"This... Argh!"

Eva scooched a bit to the left. She had never seen the vice guild master lose her cool, but ever since she met Ark, it was almost as if it was now a regular occurrence.

And yet, although she looked on the verge of strangling him, lady Freude seemed to enjoy their little engagements.

<•••>

After arguing for a few minutes, they finally settled on a 40-60% split, with Freude taking the bigger share of the profit.

Ark had been gunning for a Fifty-Fifty split, but considering it was her money she would risk to get to the cave, it was worth it.

"Shall we shake to this agreement?" Ark got to his feet with effort. He had been sitting so long that it felt as though his pelvic bone was glued to the chair.

Freude did so as well and they both shook hands. "It was nice doing business with you, Ark..."

"As with you."

The party of three walked up to the door when Freude asked. "Oh, and where is this mine?"

Ark immediately exited the room along with Olivia and Thalia, slamming the door shut.

"Mountain!" The undead rose from the shadows, its eyes settling on Ark.

"Keep that door closed at all costs."

Meanwhile, Freude stared at the door, confusion etched all over her features.

"Huh?"

Eva who was beside her was just as confused.

Then Ark’s voice came out as a low squeak.

"It is at the bottom of a wyvern’s nest... we already shook hands, no take backs!"

"..."

Eva gasped in shock, feeling as though her heart had been ripped out of her chest.

"A-Ark~" she cried, just before Freude’s voice filled the room.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

A heavy force slammed into the door, but Ark and his group had already vanished, leaving poor Mountain alone to face the wrath of the Disaster Fae.

"I can’t believe you scammed the disaster fae..." Thalia said in an exasperated tone, her face downcast.

"I didn’t scam her, I just... left a few details out of our discussion..."

"You’re going to get us killed one day!" Olivia screamed as they dashed through the busy streets of Issen.

Ark laughed. "She is the owner of the biggest merchantry in Eden, a few wyverns should not be anything for them to handle!"

Barely a second later, Ark saw a notification flash in front of him.

[Your summon has been destroyed in a catastrophic manner...]

He wiped off an invisible tear. "Your sacrifice will forever be engraved in my heart..."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!