Chapter 65

Over the next three days, Keith continuously fought monsters alongside his Mother and Aunt. The monsters he encountered were either plant-type or bug-type, with most of them being new species with never before seen abilities.

The gains were plentiful.

Including a level from the Rift Simulator, Keith went from level 430 to 451, Mariane went from 473 to 480, and Serilla went from 501 to 503.

While they hunted, Keith kept an eye out for any herbs. Unfortunately, his herblore skill was barely over level 100, so he unintentionally destroyed over 90% of the herbs he picked. Thankfully, the plant-type monsters had a chance to drop herbs as loot, so he was lucky to acquire 14 herbs of different types by the third day.

In the evening, Keith separated from his Mom and Aunt upon arriving at New Hope’ west gate, giddy with anticipation. He could finally act on his plan now that he had so many herbs in hand. Hastily making his way through the crowded streets, Keith went to the residential district.

Ten lefts and eight rights later, he arrived before a house so out of place that anyone passing gasped in disbelief. It was extremely gaudy. The tiles on the roof were made of literal gold, while the other parts of the house consisted of different expensive metals and exotic wood. By living in a place like this, it was like the owner was afraid others wouldn’t know they were wealthy.

The owner of this house was no stranger to Keith. It was Mariane and Serilla’s father, Hoid Walker, making him Keith’s grandfather. Around two years ago, Keith studied under Hoid to learn the basics of alchemy. During those three months, he discovered that Mariane and Serilla hadn’t spoken to Hoid in decades. The two deeply resented their father for putting them through such intense training during their youth, and none of Keith’s efforts to repair their relationship could resolve their enmity.

To be honest, Keith didn’t really like his grandfather’s personality, but he didn’t want to give up on his family so easily, so he kept in touch with Hoid over the magic network after studying under him. It mainly involved Keith sending updates on his life and Hoid replying with short messages.

However, as much as Hoid was dislikable, he had an incredible innate ability, which was why Yara chose him centuries ago. Hoid’s innate skill allowed him to tilt luck in or against his favor. If it was against him, he gained luck energy whenever something unfortunate happened to him. He could then spend that energy to influence things in his favor.

It was that ability that Keith needed.

Taking a breath, Keith approached and knocked on the door. A moment later, an eye peeped through the door’s eyehole before the door opened slightly to reveal an older man with thick eyebrows and short cyan hair. Hoid was wearing a luxurious silk robe as he gave Keith a wary look, “Are you here to take away my luck?”

Keith was stunned. “How did you know?”

Hoid scoffed and looked down at Keith condescendingly. “Thirty-two people have visited me today, all to steal my hard-earned luck. Hmph, it’s like all I am is a resource for people to take advantage of. Shameless thieves, the lot of them!”

After saying his piece, Hoid shut the door in Keith’s face, leaving him speechless. Thankfully, Keith knew what to do and quickly shouted, “Wait, I have a business proposition for you. We could make a lot of money!”

This time, the door opened a little bit wider. Hoid gave Keith a suspicious look for a good minute before he said, “Let’s talk inside.”

After entering the house, Hoid led Keith through a short hallway filled with various artwork. Yet, as soon as Keith showed the slightest interest in one particular painting, Hoid warned, “Careful, these pieces are more expensive than you could imagine.”

Keith looked at Hoid in disbelief. Really? There were over two feet between Keith and the wall, yet Hoid was worried that merely gazing at the art would damage it. At first, Keith thought Hoid was joking, but when he saw Hoid’s expression, Keith forced a smile, “You’re right. I’m way too poor to comprehend their value.”

Hoid nodded matter-of-factly with a relieved nod. “At least you know.”

Continuing past the hallway, they entered a tidy living room. Hoid sat on the sofa and gestured for Keith to sit in a chair covered in some protective transparent film. It was the only furniture like that, meaning it was probably for guests. Keith found Hoid’s behavior amusing instead of getting irritated as he sat down.

“Well?” Hoid leaned forward with a snobbish smile. “Explain why I should spend my luck on you.”

Seeing that Hoid was interested, Keith explained his plan and immediately won Hoid over. After all, Hoid was a grandmaster alchemist with close ties to the military and knew the ins and outs of the current herb situation.

After several rounds of haggling back and forth, they decided on an 80/20 split. 80 to Keith and 20 to Hoid. With that settled, Hoid appeared even more excited than Keith and asked, “How fast can you grow herbs? In what quantities?”

“150 at a time, though I’m not sure how long it’ll take to grow herbs from the Grandsky Realm,” explained Keith.

Hoid frowned in displeasure. “Only 150? What do you need to increase that?”

Keith was satisfied with having 150 plots, but Hoid clearly had higher standards. When Keith said that money could permenately increase the growth speed and quantity, Hoid relaxed with a smile. “How much would 10 billion improve your farm?”

Keith blanked out. 10 billion? How could he casually throw out such a huge number? Maybe he meant 10 billion grains of rice?

Hoid was visibly pleased by Keith’s reaction and asked, “What? Is 10 billion gold not enough?”

“Sorry,” Keith took a deep breath, “I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t want handouts to improve my innate skill.”

Hoid turned hostile. “Hmph, who said I was giving it to you for free? I’ll invest in your farm to increase its production ability, and in exchange, I’ll get 50% of any profit made from it for five years.”

Hoid’s offer struck Keith with indecision. One side of him didn’t want to leech off others to get stronger, while the other side said, ‘slimeballs, that’s 10 billion gold.’

Hoid noticed Keith’s struggle and added, “What’s the problem? It’s common practice for businesses to invest in up-and-coming youths. I’ve done it hundreds of times myself.”

“I suppose it’s okay then,” Keith relented when he considered it an equivalent exchange.

Five minutes later, Keith and Hoid each held a paper copy of the contract signifying their partnership. After that, Hoid promptly transferred 10 billion gold to Keith’s inventory, leaving Keith lightheaded. Unfortunately, those billions quickly became less than a million as Keith continuously upgraded his Farming Simulator. He’d never spent so much money in so little time.

“Well?” Hoid inquired calmly and sipped from his tea.

Keith clenched his hands, took a deep breath, and shared, “I have 502 plots now. The speed improved multiple times over as well.”

“Not bad.” Hoid nodded and placed fifty-four herbs onto the nearby table. “These are the fifty-four different herbs the military has collected so far. Let’s see which one’s the most valuable, shall we?”