Chapter 8: Shock!
Darius had long expected such a question the moment he understood the system, which functioned as a pavilion that sold everything and offered all kinds of services. In fact, it was the reason it was called a Pavilion in the first place, with Darius merely adding the "Immortal" part for a more mystic feeling.
Although the functions would be enormous, he thought he would figure out how to handle everything accordingly and efficiently with time.
Shaking his head, Darius replied briefly, "Not an adventurer building nor a mercenary one." He leaned back slightly in his chair. "It’s a true pavilion that offers all kinds of services, from training rooms to quests to anything that exists."
Finding his explanation lacking, he continued, "Obviously, those services will come later. For now, this is what we have." He pointed at the prices and services behind him, then bent down and opened a locker below the desk, scrumbling through a few pieces of paper.
"Why not join us?" he added casually, sliding a paper forward along with a pen.
Hearing the young man’s explanation and seeing him casually hand out a membership paper, Any felt her head spin. She pressed her lips together before finding a nearby chair and sitting down heavily.
"Who are you really?" she asked, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. "No sane person would do such a thing, especially in such a dangerous part of the city. And the door back then..." Her voice trailed off as she frowned slightly.
This question had been bothering her all along, and she finally voiced it after calming down a bit.
"Just an ordinary man who runs a pavilion," Darius replied with a faint smile, shrugging lightly.
After several minutes of continuing silence, broken only by the faint sound of her fingers tapping the table, Any finally spoke again, her tone more serious.
"The cultivation room... how can I use it? And is it authentic?"
Darius felt delighted inwardly, but his expression didn’t change as he maintained the same calm smile of a casual shopkeeper.
"Become a member, and you can use it." He paused slightly, his eyes narrowing just a bit. "As for your second question..."
Darius hesitated. He had hoped the system would respond to him, but seeing no reaction from its side, he could only rely on himself.
"Find out yourself." He paused again, and seeing that Any was about to stand up and head toward the room next to him, he added, "After becoming a member, of course."
"Am I being looked down upon by this mortal..." Any muttered under her breath, her lips twitching slightly.
She froze for a couple of seconds.
Then suddenly...
She flew into a rage and stormed outside the Pavilion.
Da da da!
Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps returned.
Looking through her belongings and finding no resources to support her cultivation in her current dire situation, Any’s face turned bright red, and her eyes flashed with anger as she walked back into the Pavilion.
Darius glanced at her expressionlessly.
"Give me a cultivation room!" she snapped, crossing her arms tightly. "Hmph! I shall test it myself. If it doesn’t work and the speed of cultivation isn’t at least faster than usual cultivation speed, I will get the authorities to shut down your shop!"
With that threat, Darius simply acted as if he didn’t hear anything and presented the paper once again.
Any’s face was blushing under her veil, but she was still speaking in a belligerent tone. Darius glanced at her meaningfully and smirked slightly.
Ami blinked upon seeing that scene, and her fair skin turned bright red, but she still belligerently said, "Let me say this first, I am ordering not because I have accepted the price. It’s because I intend to prove that your cultivation room is a scam and is not worth the price!"
"I get it, a membership and a cultivation room, right?" He paused slightly and took the pen from the desk, tapping it once. "You will need to answer a few questions, of course. One spirit stone and a hundred gold coins before that."
Even though Any accepted the conditions, she still felt a sting in her heart hearing such prices. Reluctantly, she grabbed her tiny bag attached to her waist and fetched the price, her fingers hesitating for a brief moment.
Before she could even think of changing her mind, Darius snatched the money out of her hand with a smile, his movements quick and natural.
"This investment will truly be one of the best decisions in your entire life, rest assured."
Any felt the urge to smash that smug face in front of her, but she held herself back and merely gave a cheap smile in return, her eyes twitching slightly.
As Any was waiting for the questions, Darius was quickly having a conversation with the system as several messages flooded his vision.
[ Ding! Host has accomplished the first mission and found a building in a matter of three days... rewards are being calculated accordingly... three days for the rewards to be issued ]
[ Ding! Three days have passed. Rewards have been issued ]
[ Ding! Host has accomplished a hidden mission and gained a member for the pavilion in the same amount of time that it took him to find a building... rare accomplishment! ]
[ Rewards are being calculated accordingly ]
’I was wondering why the system never issued another quest and rather went silent for three days while dishing out the rewards. It’s because there was a hidden reward in between,’ Darius felt delighted, and all the frustration that was built up in the past three days was washed away in a matter of seconds.
"System, quickly tell me how I can issue quests to keep this member around. No one will ever be willing in their life to post a quest in here, that’s if they ever found this god-forsaken place in their lifetime." Darius felt a headache from this specific issue, his brows slightly furrowing. He knew that the most important issue right now was how to issue quests.
However, his thoughts were soon cut off by Any’s impatient voice, her tone sharp as usual.
"Hey, you, what kind of questions do you want to ask? I don’t have all day, and I still need to test that cultivation room of yours."
Darius pushed the response of the system to the back of his mind as he regained his focus on Any, straightening slightly.
"I want your class, whether knight or mage, etc., also your cultivation level... age..."
