NOVEL WEB Chapter 85 - Rich
"Oh, it's getting late now," Elunara said as her voice faded. "Let's continue our conversation another time."
With that, she rose to her feet, picked up her crystal ball... and offered them a parting smile.
"Until we meet again."
And with that, she was gone...
Leaving behind two men staring blankly at the space she once occupied.
Lucien remained still.
His thoughts were in disarray.
He had more questions than ever... and not a single answer.
'What did she mean by all that? Could it be tied to the divine energy inside me? Or maybe… that golden figure I saw back then?'
His thoughts clashed like waves. Nothing made sense and everything felt tangled.
Then... a firm hand landed on his shoulder.
"Let's save the complicated stuff for later, Nephew," Edric said as he puffed out his chest with a proud grin. "The moment I saw you, I knew you weren't ordinary. GAHAHAHA!"
Lucien couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
He was genuinely envious of Edric's ability to stay carefree.
With a quiet sigh, Lucien shook his head, trying to push the chaotic thoughts aside for now.
"Oh right," Lucien said, snapping out of his thoughts. "How did it go, Uncle Ed?"
At that, Edric beamed like a man who'd just pulled off the heist of the century.
"Nephew, you won't believe it. Turns out, the Golddust family actually had savings stashed away in the bank here. One hundred thousand gold coins!"
Lucien's eyes lit up. Excitement sparked in his gaze.
"You guessed it," Edric continued with a grin. "I withdrew everything. Look!"
He held up a thick stack of banknotes with an almost theatrical flourish.
"Each note is equivalent to one hundred gold coins. GAHAHA! And here's the seal..."
Without hesitation, Edric handed it all over.
Lucien stared at the notes in disbelief. "Uncle Ed, at least take half of this."
But Edric just waved him off with a hearty laugh.
"No need, Nephew. Use it to expand your territory. We've got plenty of gold saved up already. My Spatial Wallet is stuffed to the brim! Honestly, I planned to blow most of it during our little outing but now, we've come out ahead. GAHAHA!"
Lucien smiled helplessly. He knew better than to argue when Edric made up his mind.
And so, they headed off to retrieve the drakes once more.
Along the way, Lucien remembered something and pulled out the land deed Olga had given him.
Edric raised an eyebrow, then let out a low chuckle as he read it.
"Oh, Langrave's quite thoughtful. This land is right beside Silvermine. There's a villa built on it too. Congratulations, Nephew! You've got your own estate in the capital now! Looks like we'll be neighbors!"
Lucien's eyes sparkled with excitement.
It was more than generous.
All that... just for offering some of his excess loot and a few notes from the Magic Book.
'Life is good,' he thought, smiling to himself.
Eventually, they returned to fetch the drakes. Lucien slipped the caretaker a generous tip before heading back home.
That evening, Lucien and Edric shared a hearty dinner.
Their conversation was warm and animated. Mostly filled with jabs at the Golddust family's expense.
Maxim, however, was still nowhere to be seen.
"That Maxim!" Edric roared with laughter, slamming his mug on the table. "Looks like he's trying to get lucky tonight! GAHAHA! Old bones never die huh?"
Lucien could only shake his head.
After dinner, Lucien made his way to his assigned room.
Silence settled in.
He sat on the edge of the bed as he stared into space.
'I'm rich now. Incredibly rich.'
Golds. Mana Cores. Estate. Influence.
He wouldn't lose out to any noble in the capital.
And yet, it felt surreal.
He let out a long sigh and raised his hand.
With a thought, the familiar glow of the SYSTEM INTERFACE appeared before him.
***
< STATUS >
< INVENTORY >
< SKILLPEDIA >
< MAGIC BOOK >
< MONSTERDEX >
< CRAFT >
***
Without hesitation, he tapped on STATUS.
A new panel unfolded in the air before him.
***
Name: Lucien Lootwell ♂
Age: 12 years old
Race: Human (Reincarnated)
Job: Drop Out
Level: 41
Title/s:
• Young Lord of Lootwell
• Menace to Society
• Side Hustle Hero
• Miracle Lord
• Underdog Champion
• The Chosen Sovereign
• Medal Collector
Skill:
• Drop Rate: MAX
• Auto-Collect
• Cram Session
• Extra Credit
• Procrastinate
• Slime Beast Mode
• Phantom Ink
...
Magic:
• Eclipse Magic (Basic)
• Light Magic (Basic)
• Dark Magic (Basic)
...
Magic Affinity:
• Eclipse Magic
• Light Magic
• Dark Magic
...
Charisma: MAX
***
A lot had changed.
His skill list had grown and his magic affinities had multiplied.
He had even reached level 41 without lifting a finger. It's all thanks to his Extra Credit job skill quietly doing its work in the background.
Lucien wasn't sure how many magic attributes existed in total.
After all, Eclipse Magic had shown up unexpectedly. It's an affinity he hadn't even heard of before.
But one thing he was certain of. There were still more out there.
He guessed that, on the third floor of the Lootwell Dungeon, he could obtain the two affinities of Space and Time Magic from the Void Slime and Temporal Slime.
If he managed to acquire those, it would unlock their corresponding spells within the MAGIC BOOK.
That alone made the upcoming dungeon dive even more exciting.
With a flick of his finger, he switched tabs and clicked on INVENTORY.
***
—INVENTORY—
Assets:
• 1,000 Mid-Grade Mana Cores
• 5,000 Low-Grade Mana Cores
• 15,200 Lowest-Grade Mana Cores
• 1,000 bank notes (100 gold coins per note)
• 9,169 gold coins (1 gold coin = 10 silver coins/100 copper coins)
• 9 silver coin (1 silver coin = 10 copper coins)
• 6 copper coin
Inventory Slots (55):
• Spatial Bag (empty) x40
• Spatial Bag (with items inside) x99
• Spatial Bag (with items inside) x20
• Spatial Wallet x1
• Energy Drink x30
• Coffee x60
...
***
Lucien had money now. A lot of it.
And for the first time, he found himself wondering.
How was he supposed to spend it all?
It was easy money too. The kind that just fell into his hands without effort.
"So this is how corrupt politicians must feel," he mused.
Except in his case, he stole from the bad guys.
Did he feel guilty?
Not in the slightest.
In fact, he felt like he was floating on clouds.
On top of the gold, he also had a mountain of mana cores.
He couldn't use them to level up but he could put them to good use.
"Why not invest in recipes from the CRAFT feature?"
Without hesitation, he navigated to the CRAFT menu.
***
—CRAFT—
• CONSUMABLES
• EQUIPMENTS
• TOOLS
• ARTIFACTS
• MACHINA
***
He started browsing the CONSUMABLES section.
The deeper he went, the more ridiculous and expensive the recipes became.
Potions, elixirs, talismans, even food recipes... and other magical oddities filled the list.
The sheer variety was overwhelming.
Lucien had to be strategic.
He began listing the ones that seemed most useful for his current situation, prioritizing based on urgency and practicality.
After all, budgeting even in wealth was a necessary skill.
But as he continued, his eyes kept widening.
One hundred Low-Grade Mana Cores for a soup?
Five hundred Mid-Grades for a breathing charm?
The absurdity only escalated.
Then he saw it...
Life-Link Talisman.
He clicked on it out of curiosity... and nearly choked.
The recipe alone cost 1,000 Highest-Grade Mana Cores.
'And that's just the recipe! What kind of ingredients does this thing even need? A dragon's heartbeat? The soul of a phoenix?'
Even if he bought it, the ingredients would be another nightmare.
Lucien sighed, leaning back.
He'd have to be smart about which recipes to invest in. Buying on impulse here could ruin his entire mana core savings.
He backed out and opened the EQUIPMENTS tab.
Instantly, his eyes lit up.
He could purchase individual weapon and armor recipes but what really caught his attention were the equipment sets.
Most of them were still hidden behind question marks, showing only their names.
But even just the names were enough to stir his imagination.
Elder Dragonscale Set
Obsidian Dragonbone Set
Drakehide Set
Skyclaw Sentinel Set
...and more.
Each one sounded formidable.
Lucien's mind was already spinning with possibilities.
He wanted to unlock the dragon sets most of all but he didn't even have the dragon materials.
'Still,' he thought as he opened his notes, 'better to plan early.'
He started listing them down one by one.
Next, he moved on to the TOOLS section.
Compared to the previous categories, everything here felt practical and grounded.
No flashy items or absurd mana core costs. Just solid utility.
One item immediately caught his eye.
Gemcarver's Kit.
With the mountain of raw gems sitting in his Spatial Bags, this was exactly what his Crafting Division needed.
A quality toolset could turn ordinary stones into masterpieces or better yet, into powerful crafting materials.
Lucien nodded in approval and marked it with a check on his shopping list.
He continued browsing.
There were also tools like Beast Collars and Whistles designed for taming and managing monsters.
He wasn't entirely sure what effects they had but if they were system-crafted, he trusted they'd be useful.
'Anything from the system usually comes with a hidden perk or two,' he thought.
Then came the ARTIFACTS section.
This one was… elusive.
Lucien could see the names but the descriptions were grayed out... locked behind question marks.
That made choosing harder. He had no idea what each artifact did.
Still, the names alone stirred curiosity.
Whisper Pebble. Compass of Echoes. Sigilstone. Orb of Tides. Sunstone Relic.
Mysterious.
Enigmatic.
Tempting.
But the price tags were steep.
Starting from Mid-Grade to Highest-Grade Mana Cores.
Lucien narrowed his eyes and scratched the back of his head.
'Risky buys without knowing what they do. Better hold off... for now.'
He marked a few names just in case but moved on to the final section.
The one he was secretly most excited for.
MACHINA.
Of course, buying the Airship was already a done deal in Lucien's mind.
<Recipe: Airship (Small)>
<Price: 100 Mid-Grade Mana Cores>
It was the smallest model available but also the most cost-efficient.
A perfect starter ride.
Curious, he glanced at the larger variants.
His face twitched.
Airship (Medium) – 100 High-Grade Mana Cores.
Airship (Large) – 100 Highest-Grade Mana Cores.
"Yeah… maybe someday."
He sighed and continued browsing to see what else the MACHINA section had to offer.
And that's when things started to escalate.
At first, it was reasonable.
Machines for harvesting crops. Enhanced carts for transport. Self-loading wagons.
But the further he scrolled, the more absurd it became.
Bulldozers. Excavators. Heavy machinery.
Then—
Automatons.
Lucien blinked. "Wait, is this turning into a sci-fi novel?"
And then he saw it.
He froze.
Ironman Suit.
He choked on air and nearly fell off his chair.
"What the hell, System?! Isn't this copyrighted?!"
He rubbed his temples, dragging a hand down his face.
Still... the temptation was real.
But when he peeked at the price tag, he winced.
It was absurd... even by system standards.
With a long sigh, Lucien shook his head and scrolled past it.
He couldn't help himself.
His curiosity kept pulling him deeper as he browsed through more MACHINA options.
And then...
He froze.
Mecha Suits.
Lucien stared at the panel, wide-eyed.
"…Okay. That's enough browsing for today," he muttered, slowly backing out of the menu. "If I keep going, this genre might shift entirely."
He closed the interface with a sigh.
He'd already marked down a solid list of items to prioritize. Now came the part that was equally important.
Budgeting.
Lucien reviewed the items, checking each one off again and calculating their total cost.
It would be tight but manageable.
Before calling it a night, he gave his INVENTORY one last glance...
That's when his eyes landed on something peculiar.
A certain item he had nearly forgotten about.
The wallet.
The one that had been quietly slipped into Dorian's bag by the assassin.
The one he stole from Dorian.
The system had identified it as a Spatial Wallet.
Nothing unusual on the outside, just plain leather with a faint enchantment seal.
But the fact that someone went through the trouble of sneaking it in… that made it suspicious.
Lucien plucked it from his inventory and inspected it closely.
No hidden compartments. No fake lining. Just a spatial wallet.
He opened it.
And then—
He was stunned.
Inside were High-Grade Mana Cores.
Not just one or two.... Piles of them!
They are the kind of cores that dungeon explorers were supposed to declare and sell directly to the royal castle.
Anything less would be considered smuggling.
And yet… here they were.
Hidden.
Untaxed.
Illegal.
"Golddust was smuggling high-grade mana cores..."
And now?
They belonged to him.
Lucien's lips curled into a slow grin.
"Jackpot."