[ Ding! ]
[ Pavilion Creation System Online ]
[ Reviewing Host Details ]
[ Updating Host Status ]
0%...20%...99%...
[ Update Complete...No issues detected except for the host's delusional personality ]
[ Main Mission: Find a building worthy of the host ]
[ Time Duration: 30 days ]
[ Rewards: ??? ]
[ No Penalties if exceeding the time, just lower rewards ]
"The fuck? Whose there!" Darius cursed aloud, his hands instinctively moving to fetch the decayed sword he had stored under his pillow, and getting ready for combat.
Yet, even after waiting for several seconds, there were no more sounds except for birds chirping and the casual sheep, leaving Darius momentarily dazed.
"Is this?" His heart beat louder by the moment as a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. Without another thought, he quickly closed his door and locked it using a wooden log on the side.
"System, is that truly you?" Although he knew it was most likely the case, the situation was so surreal that he still asked for confirmation.
[ Yes, Host is on the right track of thinking. ]
Darius's mouth twitched after hearing the system words. He could swear that for a second, he could feel a sarcastic tone. Shaking his head, he quickly focused on the important thing.
He had been too paranoid in these minutes that his life would be in danger and his journey over before it even began. Yet, he never once imagined that the golden finger he had dreamed about since his younger days in his past life would actually occur to him.
He had joked about unfairness, but to actually receive a golden finger was never a real thought.
[ That is indeed befitting the host. You always say things you don't believe.]
Hearing the casual remark of the system, Darius felt a stinging pain in his heart as he patted his chest confidently.
' You can hear my thoughts? Also, what do you mean by 'things I don't believe'? That's totally bullshit. I'm an upright person who never utters a single word that doesn't align with my morals.]
[ ... ]
Silence...
Tsk!
Clicking his tongue, Darius scratched his head,' You truly ruined the moment of my happiness.'
Although he said these words to the system, a wide grin was attached to his face as he knew that his boring life finally come to an end. From chasing recognition and building his ego inside a video game, he would instead do this in real life.
At that thought, he couldn't help but recall the system words, and a frown suddenly appeared on his face,' You said things about a building. What does that have to do with you? You're not one of those self-righteous control maniac system who use the host as a puppet and give him all of his power, right?'
Darius was too paranoid earlier that he failed to pay attention to the messages of the system. Just coming to this dangerous world, inside of this known scammer, made him feel that his life was in constant danger.
[ Host, can you stop daydreaming and focus? As for your answer, yes, this is a system to aid you in building the greatest pavilion that has ever existed, selling all kinds of services. ]
'About...' Darius was about to ask about the second part of his question when the system interrupted him.
[ About the puppet part. No, the power is yours; the system gives you an easy way of cultivation, but everything belongs to you, even the system itself. I'm merely a tool]
Darius was a bit skeptical hearing the reply, but knowing he could never know the truth nor change it even if he knew, he only took a deep breath, shook his head, and cleared his mind of all these ideas.
'What will I sell...' Darius's thoughts went back to that idea before he realised his mistake and scratched his head in annoyance.
'This isn't the time for this. I need to move to the city as fast as possible.' As he left the barely standing hut, he couldn't help but inquire,' You said something about finding a building, right? Doesn't matter if it's one floor or two, right?'
[ Yes, it doesn't matter, I'll be rebuilding it anyway. ]
Darius felt like the system sounded more human than a robot; despite its cold tone, it truly felt no different from speaking to a person.
[ Hint: Time is key.]
Seeing the following message, Darius furrowed his brows, and a serious expression appeared on his face. Without wasting a moment, he fetched his donkey from a nearby tree dozens of meters south and rode to the city.
***
"On a donkey with a sword, I for sure can't slack!"
"On a donkey with a sword, I for..."
Singing in joy as he rode to the city, Darius suddenly patted the donkey's head, ordering it to stop. A frown appeared on his face as sounds of wheels and horses could be heard from further behind.
'A caravan? Or...'
In the sanctuary, no one was entirely safe; bandits, demons, other races, and even fellow humans were all potential enemies if one had something valuable that he couldn't protect, given his weakness. This is the reason why Darius didn't bother to change routes; he had no valuables.
Chuckling, Darius slowly descended from his donkey's back, pulled him to the side of the road, and waited with patience.
After a while, an ordinary caravan being pulled with two horses showed up, controlling the caravan was a man in his forties, wearing a straw hat with a weird stick the size of a cigarette hanging down the tips of his lips.
'A merchant?' Without thinking any further, Darius waved for the man to stop.
"Young man, you looking for a ride?" The middle-aged man casually glanced at the donkey before looking at the plain face of Darius, seemingly being in such situations a lot of times.
"Guessed right, may I hop in?" Shamlessly, Darius didn't even wait for a response as he took off his donkey's leash, and with a casual hit on its back, it fled into the forest.
The man saw this and his expression slightly changed," Pity, it looked like a fine donkey."
"So… where are you headed, young man?"
"The city," Darius replied casually. "I need a building."
The reins in the merchant's hands suddenly tightened.
"A building?" he repeated, as if he had misheard.
Darius nodded confidently.
"I plan to open a pavilion."
For a moment, silence filled the road.
Then the merchant burst into laughter as he looked at the young man as though he were looking at a caveman who had never seen the world.
"Hahaha! Kid… do you even know where you are?"
He wiped the corner of his eyes before shaking his head.
"In the Sanctuary's various cities, even low-rank awakeners who came from another world spend their entire lives renting rooms. Guilds fight wars over properties. And you…" He looked at Darius from head to toe, "…want to buy a building?"
Darius frowned slightly after hearing his words.
"Is it really that impossible?"
The merchant's laughter slowly faded.
"Well…" he said, as his voice lowered and tone was more serious than before, "…unless you're crazy enough to live in the Ruined District, or what people refer to as the outer city."
Darius's eyes narrowed.