Hometown... that familiar word touched a nerve with Rivest.
He clenched his fists silently, thinking of the traitors who destroyed his family, but what could he do even if he was angry?
He himself has become a tool of evil spirits.
“Eri, if I were to die tomorrow, would you remember that I was here?” Riverst asked, his eyes filled with tears.
"Why are you saying such things?" Ai Li seemed unhappy. She reached into her pocket and took out a ring.
"If you were to leave me tomorrow, no matter how far away, I would go with you."
The ring was placed on his hand. Riverst paused for a moment, then fell silent after a slight surprise.
He could see that Ai Li's feelings for him were pure and innocent, but he was ultimately destined to betray her because he truly could not succumb to evil.
"I'm sorry, Ai Li..."
If there's a next time, I hope I'll never meet you again, and I hope you can be happy...
Goodbye, stranger...
The night was very deep.
Despite his stomach pain, Riverst escorted Ailey back to her lodgings, then walked alone to the beach and gazed at the ocean.
Drowning in the ocean seems like a good option?
Leaning against the rocks, he closed his eyes and waited for the next wave to carry him away.
Gradually, consciousness sank into the vast ocean, as if drowning. Suddenly, the crystal ring on her finger shattered, and a contract suddenly appeared!
[Crystal Crown Contract: The signer will receive one initial fund (Contract Gold Coin +1). This gold coin can be used to exchange for corresponding items at an equivalent price within the Contract Magic Circle. Consuming funds will grant double the funds the following day! Daily gold coins must be spent, otherwise a annihilation curse will befall! Items exchanged with gold coins must be given to others; the recipient will be forced to activate a subservience value. Once the subservience value is full, the recipient will remain eternally loyal to you!]
Current funds: 1
Rivers suddenly awoke with a start, and the ring on his hand began to glow, revealing a book and... a gold coin!
"What's this!?"
If the stories in novels were to appear in reality, then a world overrun by ghosts and monsters would probably be the perfect place for those stories to unfold.
That was... Riverst's first encounter with the Crystal Crown.
He knew that this might be the key to escaping his fate!
A single gold coin isn't worth much, but he's a descendant of the Griffin family!
The curse worms are rumored to be carrion-eating evil creatures, but clearly the captain of that ghost ship brought out a mutated species.
It can be manipulated by the Soul Bell to forcibly inflict pain on the host!
But now...
"The insects must be hungry!"
Rivest traded gold coins from the contract for a piece of completely rotten flesh. He didn't know whether he would die first or the worm would submit first.
He had no other choice; perhaps there was a smarter approach?
Bribing the ghost captain is obviously out of the question; it's too difficult. What he needs is beyond our current financial means!
Now, he forced himself to swallow the rotting flesh, though to be honest, the moment he smelled that putrid stench, he wanted to give up and jump into the sea.
After swallowing the rotten flesh, Riverst sat quietly, awaiting his fate, while something seemed to be wriggling in his stomach!
【warn! 】
The contract suddenly trembled, and a line of text appeared on the paper. Riverst immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
[By misusing traded goods, you will be unable to process the "rotten flesh."]
The "Doom Worm" is accepting traded goods...
That night, the worm of misfortune surrendered.
As dawn broke, Riverst placed the Doom Worm into a bottle and gazed at the distant sea.
Perhaps the old captain is frantically ringing the bell, but that's just for fun.
If all of this really isn't a dream.
Now……
[Funds refresh daily at dawn. Yesterday's funds were perfectly used up, and funds will be awarded today! (Contract Gold +2)]
The story truly begins!
...
Time flew by, and Rivers gradually figured out the contents of the contract, though he was still gripped by the fear of his rebirth.
The value of gold coins is too high, and sometimes he doesn't know what to exchange for in the contract.
He didn't explain the Crystal Crown matter to anyone, and it seemed that Ai Li was also unaware of the reason.
Rivest had mentioned the ring to her, only knowing that it was found in a box that had drifted ashore at sea.
Speaking of these gold coins, Riverst gradually began to exchange them for bread, which he gave to all the scavengers on the island. Later, he changed it to giving cakes, precious wines, gold, diamonds...
At first, some people had doubts, but you delivered three meals a day, and even delivered them to everyone on the island!
That's not surprising, that's not surprising...
However, he never gave Elie anything; the bondage of the contract caused those who submitted to lose their souls.
Rivist witnessed the islanders frantically swearing their loyalty to him, completely becoming slaves to the contract coins!
Soon, the people on the island reached the peak of their submission value and submitted to Rivist, who became the island's rightful lord.
He gradually came to understand that although the gold coins could not be used by him, they could enable the islanders to create wealth for him.
Even after the submission value reaches its limit, it can still be increased with gold coins. It seems to decrease a little bit every day. In order to prolong the submission time, he often gives benefits to the islanders.
The islanders could also participate in and host his wedding with Airi.
The old captain at sea seemed to have been completely forgotten; he often saw the outline of ghost ships on the beach.
"He blocked my way home..."
Nearly a month later, Riverst was worried about having two million gold coins. He seemed to have no other way to spend a large amount of gold coins.
He noticed that the contract allowed him to exchange for some fantastical items.
Similar to the Soul Crystal that ghosts find most irresistible, its exorbitant price is destined to make it impossible for ghosts to resist, making it far more valuable than sacrificing a thousand people!
However, it would be foolish to use oneself as bait and send oneself on board.
He accumulated a lot of Soul Crystals and also exchanged them for some cursed items, including many one-time magical artifacts that could teleport within a small area.
"Now it's time to catch the big fish!"
...
On the ghost ship, the raging ghosts almost couldn't resist tearing him apart, but the old captain stopped them.
“Rivest! You have let us down! You have broken my heart!” The old captain gripped Riverst’s collar tightly.
"Now, I'm more interested in knowing how you escaped the Cursed Worm..."
The old captain's voice suddenly stopped, because at that moment, a Soul Crystal had appeared in Riverst's hand.
“Great Captain, I think I can explain, but before that, please accept these insignificant apologies…”
Soul Crystals rolled onto the deck, and the riotous ghosts rushed forward with gleaming eyes!
The old captain even swung his knife and slashed at the ghosts in front of him who were trying to grab it!
"Don't try to steal it!" Riverst laughed, walking step by step toward the captain's throne, soul crystals rolling from his hands.
"Everyone gets a share!"
You... will all become slaves to gold coins!!!
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