The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 24: Investing wisely

Chapter 24: Investing wisely

"It matters to all of us—he’s the most powerful person in the nation!" he declared firmly. "Besides, those words were meant for you!"

Zaid shrugged and stood up. "I won’t be in the dorm for a while. Alice has been discharged, so I’m going to go see her," he said before leaving.

"You bastard, listen to me and go back to your father! At least that way you’ll have some money to give me!" his companion roared, throwing some teaspoons at him that ended up hitting the door.

-

Alice was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon. She was recovering well, so Zaid took her to a restaurant for a sumptuous meal.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as he saw her.

Alice smiled tenderly at him. "I’m feeling better. Did you get hurt badly?"

"No, I’m fine. Aside from that blow that almost killed me, I didn’t suffer any injuries," he joked.

She swallowed hard and recalled the moment. At that moment, Zaid had been completely unprotected, and the goblin had struck him hard. How had he survived?

’I-I think I heard him, too...’ Maybe she was going crazy.

"Ask for whatever you want. The school gave us all the money raised on that portal as compensation for what happened. This is on me," Zaid said.

He had already transferred Alice and John’s share of the money to them, and he still had plenty left!

’It’s unbelievable how much a complete portal can cost.’ Zaid shook his head, but laughed maliciously to himself.

"I-I saw the news..." Alice said suddenly, after ordering her food.

Zaid frowned.

"I-is it true what they’re saying? You..."

"Maybe..." Zaid replied with a slight sigh. "I don’t know."

Alice stared at him intently for several minutes. Who knows what was going through her mind.

Clank!

Suddenly, she jumped to her feet and slammed her hands down on the table.

"D-don’t worry—even if they’ve forced you to do terrible things, you’re still a wonderful guy! A-I...! You can count on me!"

Zaid was startled by the thud on the table. Her words left him even more stunned.

For several seconds, he didn’t know what to say.

"I—" She tried to speak, but bit her tongue. "I-I... I’m s-s-sorry."

She sat down and immediately lowered her head. "I, I didn’t..."

"Hey." Zaid suddenly grabbed her hand.

Alice trembled, but slowly looked up. "Y-yes?"

"You’re beautiful."

"Huh!?"

Zaid flashed his best smile. "Don’t stop shining. And you were amazing in the dungeon, Miss Sorceress!"

Alice suddenly felt extremely hot, and her beautiful, lightly tanned face turned completely red.

She was completely frozen in place... and it was the clinking of plates against the table and the clatter of cutlery that snapped her back to reality.

.

After eating and talking about many things, they both got up and left the restaurant.

"Are you going back to the academy?" Zaid asked.

Alice nodded. "Aren’t you?"

Zaid looked at the midday sun beating down on the solar panels and felt the intense heat on his face. His body was bathed in that heat, which filled him with a strong sense of conviction.

"I have a few things to do before then. I’ll see you later," he said.

They both said goodbye and went their separate ways.

-

After disguising himself with a mask, some hoodies, and black clothes, Zaid opened his status window to check his stats.

[User Panel: Zaid Zachary]

Level 2: 90/200 Primordial Essence.

Monster Essence (ME): 1,080.

[Statistics Window]

| Strength: 15 [+]

| Agility: 11 [+]

| Vitality: 15 [+]

| Intelligence: 15 [+]

[]

Because of the boss’s overwhelming strength, when he killed it, he earned an additional bonus of 10 PE. Thanks to that, he reached 90 points and is getting closer and closer to Level 3.

The most amazing thing was farming 760 ME in just one low-rank portal. With his current wealth, he could buy up to ten Rank F talents or two Rank E talents.

That’s absurd!

He was sure that no one else in the whole country could farm as many ME as he did.

He did a quick calculation and figured that if he visited a Rank F Portal or Dungeon every week, he could afford a good Rank D talent by the end of the month.

’Like Robinson’s talent,’ he thought.

That passive ability was really good.

But to use it, he needed strength—beyond just portals.

’I think I need to spend a little of these ME,’ he told himself.

’Boosting Intelligence won’t help me right now. It wouldn’t hurt to raise Agility to 15.’

’But what I need most is strength and vitality. That blow from the goblin would have killed me if my vitality had been at 10. And I wouldn’t have been able to kill that goblin if my strength hadn’t been at 15.’

It was because he knew that that Zaid didn’t hesitate any longer.

[Stats Window]

| Strength: 20

| Agility: 11

| Vitality: 20

| Intelligence: 15

[]

He invested all his ME in his primary stats and was left with just 80.

Farming ME didn’t seem that difficult, as long as he had strength and an endless supply of portals.

Investing in his own strength was the right decision in that situation, since the portals would keep appearing.

’Although I have to find a way to enter more portals,’ he thought, looking up.

While doing all that, he never stopped walking until he reached a magnificent, bustling building.

[Mercenary Guild: Fallen Ravens]

The country’s legendary mercenary guild. With a strong presence in the capital, it is led by the legendary hunter Fallen Raven, a highly esteemed hunter who has single-handedly cleared portals of extreme danger.

With his astonishing skill, "The Fall of the Raven," even Roger Zachary respects him.

He entered the mercenary guild, and the hubbub of mercenaries and contractors filled his ears with all sorts of information.

Before him lay a large reception hall with mission boards on either side and a variety of different people.

Locally renowned hunters worked as mercenaries here, providing an important source of income.

He walked up to the reception desk.

"I’d like to sign up as a mercenary," he told the receptionist who was attending to him.

The receptionist looked him up and down. Judging by his size, he didn’t seem to be a minor, but his voice...

"We don’t allow anyone under 18," the man said bluntly.

"I’m 18. You can check."

The man couldn’t make out anything because of the mask he was wearing, so he had to follow protocol.

"Do you have an ID?"

"I don’t have it."

"What’s your name?"

Zaid fell silent for a brief moment. He carefully considered what name to give in order to take advantage of one of the perks of a mercenary guild: he didn’t need to give his real name...

"Gio."