I finally walked out of the gambling house. In my hand was a sack of gold coins.
Opening it up slightly, my lips trembled.
Within an hour, I had gotten myself 100 gold.
That was enough to feed a regular family for nearly 50 generations.
I, of course, would get much more gold than that when Evelyn sorted out her own end of the deal.
Since aside from the Magic Stone mine information, I had also told her about a ruby mine, a sapphire mine, and a never-ending coal mine, all of which would give me a 20% royalty on every batch she sold for life.
That, of course, would put my earnings at least several thousand gold coins every week.
Just like that, I was now in the top 5% of all nobles.
I definitely felt like I was the shit for a solid five minutes until I turned into the alleyway and spotted five masked men staring at me with their swords drawn.
"Uhh... it hasn't even been five minutes. Are you sure you want to do this now?"
None of them replied, and before I could react, they kicked off the ground, approaching me.
They were incredibly fast, much faster than the current weak me.
But one of the terms that came along with the deal was that I'd get a bodyguard.
And as it so happened, Evelyn was kind enough to give me one of her shadows.
When the attackers were only mere inches away from me, they stopped in place.
Blood spurted from the sides of their necks.
They immediately clutched their necks, trying to stop their bleeding.
However, this shadow of Evelyn's was a little...
BOOOOOM!
Special.
Their heads exploded as their blood began to fizzle out. Shortly after, they lifelessly fell to the ground, their swords dropping with a clank.
I stared at the gruesome sight with trembling legs.
The world of this game compared to the previous world was too different.
People were ruthless, and because Gifts existed, everyone had special powers. Even I had Telekinesis, which I had no clue how to use just yet.
But most importantly, in this world, most kids started hunting monsters the moment they turned fourteen. Killing bandits was also not out of the question.
Amon was eighteen at this time, and he... had no experience.
Neither did I.
So I just stood there, frozen at the sight until eventually, a shadow emerged from behind me and turned my head away.
The shadow let go of my head, and then I heard fizzling below me.
I couldn't help my curiosity, but when I turned to look at the ground, I realized that aside from clothes, the bodies as well as the blood were gone.
The shadow was also nowhere to be seen.
"..."
It took a few minutes for me to calm down.
Honestly, it felt like reality had just hit me.
One moment, I was in the modern world, playing a game on my phone and relaxing in bed.
The next, I was thrust into a chaotic world where magic and miracles existed.
I... did I really die?
Am I really Amon Everness now?
If that was really the case, then why?
How?
I had so many questions yet close to no answers.
Still, I was rational enough to calm down and set those thoughts aside.
"I'm not sure what your name is, but thank you," I expressed to the shadow. "I'll be heading home now. It's not fancy, but I do have ten bedrooms. You can pick whichever you'd like."
That was the least I could do.
With the sack of gold coins in my grasp, I made my way through the streets.
My shoes were slightly torn, so I could feel the cold cobblestone pathway.
The smell of smoke and fire was even more overwhelming, though that did come with the territory of most of the citizens being inventors.
Chuckling inwardly, I recalled Amon's life before the academy, and after following a few landmarks in the city, I managed to reach my home by dusk.
It was a small old manor belonging to Amon's parents. It was obviously abandoned since Sebastian was the only attendant.
So now, I'd be all alone in a manor covered in moss and overgrown grass, and...
And...
Fuck.
At times like these, I wished I wasn't such a clean freak.
How was I supposed to live in this place when it looked like I'd get a disease just by going near it?
"Hey, I know Evelyn only sent you here so you could protect me, but is there any way you could do a quick little errand for me?" I spoke shyly, waving the bag around.
"I need a cleaning kit, five sickles or a scythe, shears... uhh, a shovel?" I began to list, and I didn't stop there.
But when I did stop, I thought the shadow wouldn't react.
After all, why would it? It wasn't in its job description.
Yet to my genuine surprise, I felt someone gently grab my sack of gold coins and vanish.
I was relieved, and so, I walked over to the only clean bench in the garden and sat down, waiting for Evelyn's shadow to get me what I needed.
Though, as I looked down at myself, I realized I was a total mess.
I needed food.
I needed clothes.
I needed everything.
Just thinking about what Amon had to go through angered me, but since I was now Amon, I'd make sure to avoid all the horrible routes.
There wasn't a single route where Amon ended up happy, but after finishing the game, I was sure I could make a route that would defy the others.
A faint smile appeared on my face as I relaxed for a few more moments.
But then, I stood up, a determined look on my face.
Lazing around would just get me killed.
At this current point in time, Amon was a weakling among weaklings. His stats were low, and his Gift's mastery was even more terrible.
If I recalled correctly, the first time Amon even activated his Gift was during the entrance exam, not before it.
And speaking of Gifts... it was about time I tried to use mine.
Telekinesis.