Chapter 49: Chapter 49 : Moonveil Chambers
Zeres sat back on the leather chair. His back leaning heavily against the chair.
"What should u do with the basement? " he asked himself.
It would be nice for it to be filled with things and furnitures.
"I’ll do it now, I have nothing to do anyways." Staring at the ceiling, he slowly stood up.
He crossed the room with lazy steps, his eyes half lidded.
Just then, he dropped straight at his own bed. The fluffy cushion made it hard for him to get up.
"Who am I kidding, I clearly wanted to just lazed round of today." He mumbled, his eyelids felt heavy.
Just like that, he slept soundly.
______________
"Remember this Zeres, you are not to reveal your origin!" A woman’s voice tore through his hazy dream.
When he opened his eyes, he was already back in his own room.
"What was that? " he mumbled, his back was drenched in cold sweats.
"Is it because of the assimilation? " sitting up, he stared at the empty space.
"System, what’s the assimilation rate now? " he mumbled, his fist clenching as he prepared himself for the worst.
Ding!
The mechanical sound echoed softly inside his head as a red screen appeared. It hovered before him, glowing at the edges like a looking threat that will be the cause of his downfall.
[Assimilation : 20.04%]
"Fuck, it went up that fast? " he cursed under his breath.
But then, his ears throbbed. His senses felt they’ve been enhanced, he could even hear the bargaining of his merchant neighbor.
"What is this? Did the assimilation really made me stronger? " he marvelled, then his gaze went to the mana particles hovering across the room.
It was a small detail, yet it was painfully obvious for Zeres who had his senses heightened to another level.
The mana particles, precisely wind and water was now obeying his command!
Before, the reason why he couldn’t control it precisely was for that exact same reason. The elements themselves were rejecting him—but now, it hovered around him like a companion.
"I should be satisfied with this, though I can still feel some resistance." He clenched his fist in excitement.
Just then, a thought crossed his mind.
"System, if Aeliz and I have fought seriously, who will win? "
Ding!
The mechanical sound resounded again, however, this time—anticipation welled in Zeres’ eyes. He wanted to know where his level currently is at.
[The chances of you winning is 65%]
The system aswered flatly. Reminding him that he still have a king way to go.
[The case for the host is unique, even though the host had reached eclipse rank that quickly—there is a drawback. The host haven’t mastered any spell, not even the basic ones.]
[Normally, it would be impossible, it such case is bound to be normal if you use the meditation ’She’ gave you.]
"I know that, that’s also partly the reason why I relied more in my physical strength than magic." Zeres let out a sigh.
"Then how about Saelyz? "
[Your chances of winning will be 5%]
"That low? " Zeres felt a shiver run down his spine. The protagonist was indeed a monster.
"Tsk, then I should start practicing it on the basement." He clicked his tongue, standing up—he stepped out of his room.
His gaze went on the staircase, the he carefully stepped down.
’I’ll need them to know, since I’ll be using that one.’ He thought inwardly, his eyes glancing everywhere.
"Ryu, Ryndol" he said loudly.
"You’re awake" Ryndol looked at him, his lungs green hair tied in a ponytail.
"Follow me, you too Ryu." Zeres ordered, turning around, he walked towards the end of the ground floor.
"What is it? " Ryu asked, already beside him.
Zeres didn’t answer, just guided them into the corner where shelves of book line up like a temptation to scholars.
Zeres stopped before the third shelf, his hands shot up then grabbed a old-worn leather book.
"What are you—" Ryndol’s question was cut as his head snapped towards rye clicking sound.
Dusts erupted as the tall wall trembled, then it parted into two doors barely there, not evident to the naked eyes.
"The reason all merchants was giving up on this place was the wraith on the basement. I found it the night we bought it, and I’ve already dealt with the wraith." He explained.
Stepping inside the dark hallway, he grabbed the hanging torch beside it then he gave it to Ryndol.
"So that’s why there’s a talk about this being a merchant’s grave." Ryu nodded, his gaze drifting towards the hallway that stretched long enough to make you doubt if you can continue without rest.
"So, what do you want this place to be? " Ryndol asked, his eyes sharpening.
"For now, I plan to make it my training ground. As for the rooms in the corridors—we can use it as a business."
"A business? " Ryu’s eyes shone like he’d already saw the profit it will bring.
"A business? " Ryu’s eyes shone like he’d already saw the profit it will bring.
"Yeah, a business—just like a cafe, but it’s not an ordinary one; this place will be rented by nobles who wanted to avoid attention or people who values privacy."
"Treat it as a private cafe, you never know, there might be big shots that will also go here."
Ryndol glanced at the long corridor. "And how exactly will it work? "
"Simple." Zeres shrugged. "We’ll renovate the rooms. Every room can be rented for a few hours or even an entire day. Customers can discuss whatever they wanted inside, and we won’t ask questions."
"No questions? " Ryu blinked, a crease in his brows.
"No questions." Zeres nodded. "The less we know, the less trouble we’ll get dragged into."
He continued walking down the corridor, his fingers brushing against the cold stone wall.
"We’ll also serve coffee, tea, wine, and food. If they need something, they’ll ring a bell and we’ll bring it to them."
Ryndol frowned. "Would people really pay for that? "
"More than you think." Zeres replied. "Merchants discussing deals, nobles arranging engagements, adventurers dividing treasures, even officials who don’t want to be seen in public. There are plenty of people who would pay just to be left alone."
Ryu’s eyes widened.
"Then won’t this become popular really quickly? "
"Hopefully." Zeres smiled.
"What about the name? " Ryndol asked.
Zeres fell silent for a moment.
"Moonveil Chambers." He mumbled.
"Moonveil Chambers? "
"It’s private, It should sound expensive, and nobles like fancy names." Zeres explained.
"I like it" Ryndol smiled.
Looking at the empty corridor once more, Zeres could already imagine the rooms filled with customers. If things went according to plan, this basement would become another source of income before the semester even ended.
