Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Late Night Stroll
"What happened here?" whispering to himself, he decided to check his rankings and saw something that left him more speechless than Cassie catching him naked.
Rank: 69
His book had risen to the top 100 of trending list in less than a month.
It was clear... People were loving it.
Just reading the comments made his heart beat like it was never beating before. Even after years of becoming a successful author, Derrick still felt his heart throbbing in excitement whenever he shared his imagination with others and liked it.
{Phex_Gleam: WHY AM I SO ADDICTED TO THIS SHIT? REEEEE!!!!!! I WANT MORE ChapterS!}
{SouthernWildToplessGirl: ["Why do I feel like she looks like a famous actress?" Asked Greg.] Is this foreshadowing? Don’t lie to me author! I have read many novels to know when I am getting such premonitions and I have a nose of a witch. I will know if you lie and I will come to haunt you!"
{RisaChan’s Greatest Fan: Um...@SothernWildToplessGirl why is your profile image so blurry? I want to see the clear version. Even the ai is not helping me.}
{SouthernWildToplessGirl: @RisaChan’s Greatest Fan Yeah, you wish. Creep.}
{PomEs: My sister suddenly screamed in the middle of the night waking up the whole house.}
{Timeless: @PomEs What does that have to do with this novel?"}
{PomEs: @Timeless everything. She was gooning on Mc’s Character image. I woke up to drink water and caught her with her face cms away from the screen. Can you believe it? I got curious and tried this novel.}
{Yawhey: @PomEs That is the most boring shit I ever read unless you intentionally changed some details.}
{PomEs: @Yawhey Hehe... let’s just say I was.}
{Phex_Gleam: @PomEs GET BACK HERE YOU TWAT. I WANT DETAILS!!!!}
{Yawhey: Why is this guy so excited.}
{DedicatedRomanceReader: Author, can I get your personal address? Please? I just need to talk to you. Fr. Maybe I will invite you for a cup of coffee at my place. Then we can explore my dungeon— Ahem! I mean basement together. There are many Gamestations there, any game you want it’s yours.}
{InForIt: The guy above me... yeah, he is not creepy at all. Does anyone else get a little stalker vibes?}
{RisaChan’sGreatestFan: @InForIt a little? But I think I understand his emotions. I feel the same way about someone else}
...
..
.
The chat went on and on with no end in sight. Derrick had to scroll through useless messages while checking out the genuine ones which were related to plot.
After liking them all. He gave them all a single reply. "I’m happy to see you are loving this novel."
Just then...
"Derrick! Cassie! Dinner is ready. Come out." Rebecca’s voice sounded from outside.
Derrick hurriedly finished writing the comments and closed the tab without looking at his weekly earnings. He placed the screen back on the desk and turned around to see Cassie had already left without waiting for him.
He too went out and sat on the table. The dinner was nothing extravagant but it was comfort food.
Derrick ate to his heart’s content before making his way to the shoe rack.
"Are you sure about this?" Rebecca’s worried voice echoed from behind.
He looked over his shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "I am just going out for a walk. Not everyone is after my life."
"Then, don’t go far." Even though she did not want him to leave, Rebecca could not keep him locked in the house.
"Don’t worry. I am just going around the corner. I won’t leave our area, the max I will go is to the market." With his shoes tied, Derrick ran out of the house, while waving at her.
"If something were to happen, it would happen outside our house too." Rebecca clutched her hands before her chest and whispered to herself before shaking her head, "Don’t think like that. You will jinx him. Thinking like that is just asking for disaster."
...
Outside his house, Derrick pulled out his cellphones and started searching for a local markets online.
"Since I have some free time on my hands. I might as well check out the wares of the people here. Maybe I can find something worthwhile." It did not take long for him to find one.
It was not far from Jade Pharmaceuticals. The same shop he had visited to learn about his death.
With Derrick’s memories, he did not even need maps anymore to find the place.
It was around the corner of the area. It was a footpath that led into the gaps between the shops and came out to the other street on the other side.
Unlike the stores, people who sold wares here barely had enough money to sell authentic or legal items. They had all sorts of items from self proclaimed ancient weapons to even pills of Jade Pharmaceuticals.
The market was a maze of tarps and makeshift stalls, lit by flickering LED strips strung overhead without any care. It seemed like no one had maintained them once over years.
The air smelled of fried street food mixed with metal and dust, vendors shouting over each other to draw in customers.
Derrick weaved through the crowd, eyes scanning every stall he passed.
After searching for a while he realized something. Every stall had the almost the same item. It was hard to tell which was even real or not.
But then his eyes flared, gold light flickering briefly across his irises.
[All Seeing Eyes activated. Time remaining: 10 seconds.]
’Since I am here, might as well check what these eyes can even do.’
The world around him dimmed, colors muting into gray, except for three items on two stalls.
They were stationed near the corner, cluttered with trinkets. They too had the same wares as the rest of them, old coins, cracked jade pendants, tarnished rings, some exquisite looking rusty swords.
To naked eye, there was nothing special to them. But to Derrick, it was a gold mine.
They pulsed faintly with a soft, ethereal glow, some bright other dark. The clouds of dark energy gave him an ominous feeling which he decided to trust and stayed away from them.
Instead he focused on the bright, soothing red glow on the rest.
Each item had a glow of different intensity. Some of them were very faint, others were quite prominent.
’There.’
9 seconds.
He leaned closer, studying the glow, trying to gauge the strength of the energy pulsing from each item.
8 seconds.
’That ring... although its too faint but it has that special energy maybe it could be of some use to me. The pendant’s stronger, but—’
7... 6...
He was so absorbed in the analysis he barely noticed the price tags dangling from each one. When he finally did, his stomach dropped.
50,000 SC. 72,000 SC. 88,000 SC.
’...Not happening.’ He barely had 40,000 Social Credits in his account. Not to mention the one with 88,000 tag, he could not even buy the 50,000SC worth ring.
’3 seconds left!’
Derrick saw the timer from the corner of hie eye and started looking around frantically. His eyes darted across the other stalls nearby hoping he could find something decent there.
Then he spotted it.
Tucked away at the very back, half-buried under a pile of scrap metal.
It was an old, dented cauldron, covered in grime and rust. Unlike the previous artifacts there was no glow on this items on the surface but he could see it with his eyes, deep underneath it all there was a powerful suppressed energy, just waiting to be awakened.
[All Seeing Eyes deactivated.]
His vision returned to normal right as the glow faded from sight, but he’d seen enough.
"How much for that?" Derrick pointed at the cauldron.
The old vendor squinted at it like he’d forgotten it was even there. "That old thing? 20,000 SC, and I’m being generous."
’Should I haggle? Nah... it’s not worth the time. Let’s gamble. If I lose, so what. 20k will come back to me next week.’
Derrick didn’t hesitate. He pulled out his phone and paid without haggling, earning a surprised look from the vendor.
"Wrap it up," Derrick said putting the phone back in his pocket.
The old man obliged, wrapping the cauldron in cloth and sliding it into a plain box. Derrick reached out to take it—
"Wait."
The voice cut through the market noise like a blade.
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