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Chapter 403: Returning the Essence of the God of Love's World
🕑 Added 2024-10-27 16:32:53 +0000 UTCTucker, Ryley, and Tyrus had been waiting there for some time, pretending to be casually wandering the streets. They secretly followed behind their father and mother, whispering to each other and snickering as they watched from behind.
As they entered the city, Nicole, still inexperienced in the ways of the world, looked around with wide-eyed curiosity, much like a country girl visiting the grand city for the first time. She was fascinated by the luxurious and dazzling decorations everywhere.
Coming from a remote, impoverished area to such a bustling capital city, how could she not be curious?
"Rhett, Rhett, slow down! Where are you going?"
Distracted by everything around her, Nicole suddenly realized she had fallen behind and hurriedly caught up with Rhett, calling out as she walked.
Rhett turned back with a smile. "I heard that a new shop opened recently in the city—the Purple Hibiscus Merchant Guild. They’re having some special promotions. Want to check it out?"
"That sounds great! Let’s go take a look!" Nicole’s eyes lit up with excitement.
The two of them weaved through the crowded streets, quickly arriving at a familiar sight.
A shop decorated with beautiful purple hibiscus flowers caught their eyes. Nicole clapped her hands in admiration, exclaiming, "It’s decorated so beautifully..."
"Let’s go in and take a look," Rhett said with a smile, gently pulling Nicole by the arm as they walked inside.
Nicole’s face flushed slightly as she symbolically tried to shake free, but she didn't succeed and willingly followed him inside.
The hall was filled with a dazzling array of goods displayed on various shelves.
Though none of the items interested Rhett, Nicole was overwhelmed by the variety. Rhett pretended to be interested, following her wherever she went, not buying anything, just browsing.
After about ten minutes of wandering, Nicole suddenly stopped in her tracks, her gaze fixed on a particular item in one of the display cases. Her eyes revealed a trace of infatuation.
Rhett glanced over and felt a jolt in his heart, his expression turning complex.
He took a deep breath and looked at a young woman with long purple hair standing near the display case. She was the shop's owner, Britney, and Rhett asked her, "How much is this ring?"
Nicole snapped out of her daze and looked at Rhett in surprise, her face full of disbelief.
Britney smiled politely, "Sir, this ring is a special item commemorating the opening of the Purple Hibiscus Merchant Guild. It’s quite affordable—just ten gold coins."
"Ten gold coins?" Nicole exclaimed. She was shocked that a simple ring could cost so much. She wasn’t surprised—after all, this was Twilight City, where prices were notoriously high.
Britney seemed to understand what Nicole was thinking, and her smile became even more charming as she patiently explained, "Miss, this isn’t an ordinary ring. It’s a type of battle energy ring. While its practical use may not be very strong, it’s still an alchemical product, and its cost reflects that. Naturally, the price won’t be low."
"Oh, I see..." Nicole said, realizing that there was more to the ring than she had initially thought. But even so, it was far beyond what she could afford. She tugged on Rhett’s sleeve, signaling that they should leave.
But just as Nicole was about to walk away, Rhett, ignoring her subtle hint, said, "I’ll take it. Ten gold coins, please wrap it up for me."
As he spoke, Rhett’s heart was filled with complex emotions.
The same scene, the same person by his side, but this time, he was no longer the poor boy who couldn’t afford even a ring…
After Britney wrapped the ring, she handed it to Rhett. Nicole, still dazed, followed him out of the shop in a state of confusion.
Just as they left, Tucker, Ryley, and Tyrus hurriedly approached the counter.
"Hey, beautiful lady, I’d like a ring too!"
"Me too!"
"And me! Here are ten gold coins."
Britney was momentarily taken aback by the three young men, who looked somewhat similar to each other. Feeling a bit strange, she quickly smiled and said, "Please wait a moment. We’ve run out of rings at the front, so I’ll go to the warehouse to get more."
"Alright, but hurry up!" Tucker glanced outside and saw that his parents seemed to have stopped on the street, urging Britney with a sense of urgency.
Britney smiled, swaying her hips as she walked away.
Outside on the street, Nicole finally regained her senses and grabbed Rhett’s arm. "Wait, Rhett... why did you buy such an expensive ring?"
For some reason, Rhett’s heart raced, and his chest felt like it was being repeatedly struck by a truck, making it impossible for him to calm down.
He had imagined this scene in his mind countless times. Taking a deep breath, he opened the ring box, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "Nicole, do you... like it? I wanted to give it to you as a gift..."
Nicole’s expression shifted from tension to disbelief. She covered her mouth with one hand. "Huh? We’ve only known each other for a short time, Rhett. You… I..."
Her heart pounded wildly, her face flushed with embarrassment. She didn’t know how to respond.
Over the past month of traveling together, Rhett’s constant care and his warm, cheerful personality had greatly increased Nicole’s affection for him.
But they had never reached the point of breaking through that last barrier, and she hadn’t given it much thought.
Now, Nicole’s mind was a blank, and she was at a complete loss for how to react.
"Think of it as a token of my appreciation," Rhett said, gently taking her hand and slipping the ring onto her finger. "When we first met, you gave me the food I needed most, but I had nothing to give you in return. Now... I think there’s nothing more fitting than this ring."
In this world, there was no tradition of proposing with a ring as there was in Rhett's previous life, so his action didn’t carry the same implications.
Nicole, too, hadn’t thought that far ahead. Still, she was deeply moved. "Thank you, Rhett. The ring is beautiful. I mean, I really like it."
"Huh? Why are you crying?" Nicole asked boldly, raising her head to look directly at Rhett.
To her surprise, she saw tears at the corners of Rhett’s eyes and asked the question, confused.
Rhett quickly wiped away the tears. "It’s nothing."
"I’ve got a ring too."
"So do I."
At that moment, two loud shouts echoed from the entrance of the Purple Hibiscus Merchant Guild.
The simulation ended.
Boom, boom, boom.
The world around him began to shift rapidly.
The colorful world transformed into a twisting, rainbow-like void.
“Phew, it’s finally over.”
Rhett stood in the void. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream, but the vivid memories were deeply etched into his mind.
It had fulfilled one of his greatest dreams.
Still feeling the emotional ripples, Rhett took a deep breath and glanced at the newly appeared screen in front of him.
【The simulation world has ended. Please choose which family member to bestow attributes upon.】
【1. Constitution】
【2. Battle Energy】
【3. Spiritual Power】
【4. Others】
In this simulation, Rhett had undoubtedly reaped the greatest rewards, but his three sons had also benefited significantly.
After nearly two decades of continuous training, each of them had made tremendous progress.
At this moment, Rhett chose to bring everything back.
As expected, Tucker, with his exceptional talent, would reach the pinnacle of a Level 5 Earth Knight, Ryley would be on the verge of becoming a Level 4 Grand Magus, and Tyrus had just broken through to Level 4 as well.
After making his selections, Rhett assumed the calculation was over.
But to his surprise, the screen in front of him twisted and transformed into a new display.
【The simulation world has ended. A source material for enhancing your homeland’s world origin has been detected. Would you like to use Destiny Points to return the essence?】
“Huh? There’s a source material?”
Rhett’s attention was immediately drawn in, and his expression turned serious as he looked at the ethereal projection of three heart-shaped stones.
They were the black and white angel stones, as well as a larger heart-shaped stone that contained the so-called power of the God of Love.
“What?! These can be used to strengthen my world’s origin?”
Rhett frowned, his expression uncertain. He harbored no goodwill toward the God of Love’s world, as the grudge of killing his wife was one he would never forget!
But after thinking it over, he realized that he had no reason to hold a grudge against the origin material itself—it wasn’t the stones that had committed evil, but the real villain behind them!
Using the enemy’s resources to strengthen himself—what harm was there in that?
Suppressing his discomfort, Rhett glanced at the Destiny Point costs for each stone.
The black and white stones required only a few dozen Destiny Points, a trivial amount. However, Rhett was shocked to see that the stone containing the power of the God of Love required over a thousand Destiny Points!
“This… this is way too expensive…”
With only a little over a thousand Destiny Points left, Rhett’s face turned dry. This would completely drain him.
Initially, he had thought that even after the tens of thousands of Destiny Points spent on this simulation, he could keep about a thousand in reserve for emergencies.
But this "emergency" had come far sooner than expected…
Sighing to himself, Rhett’s face soon hardened with determination. He would go through with it. Destiny Points could always be earned again, but opportunities to return origin material were rare and not to be missed!
After all, returning world origin material would benefit him the most as the master of his homeland.
His family and descendants would also be among the most favored.
Moreover, Rhett was intensely curious about what this God of Love’s origin power could achieve.
Making up his mind, he quickly acted.
The thousand Destiny Points he had left were swiftly consumed, disappearing like water.
In return, the heart-shaped stone’s projection solidified, becoming more and more real until, at last, it was fully materialized. Then, without pausing, it shot into the sky like a meteor, vanishing from sight in an instant.
Rhett gazed into the distance, lost in thought for a moment. Then, shaking his head, he recalled the final scene of the simulation—Tucker and Tyrus rushing forward, seemingly intent on causing trouble, cutting short his last heartfelt words.
If it weren’t for the ability to reload the simulation at that moment, he might have planned to punish those two properly.
Even so, he glanced at them with a stern expression, walked over, and placed his hands on their shoulders. “You two… Why were you rushing at the end? What were you trying to do?”
Tucker and Tyrus exchanged guilty glances, shrinking under his gaze. “We… we just wanted to give Mother a gift too! Why should Father get to give a gift, and we can’t?”
Hearing this, Rhett’s anger quickly subsided.
His lips twitched slightly, and after looking them over, he sighed.
Oh well, they were just kids.
At that moment, Manu and Ming appeared, flying over.
The bright red glow of Ming’s wings was striking, and the bat’s body had grown significantly larger since before the simulation, almost as if it had advanced from its juvenile stage to adulthood.
“Wow, Ming, how did you get so big all of a sudden?” Tyrus exclaimed in amazement.
“Haha, it’s all thanks to Lord Rhett’s blessings,” Ming replied, his joy evident despite his humble tone.
Tucker and Ryley also looked at the massive bat in awe, their gazes full of admiration as they studied its now larger and more solid form.
Rhett didn’t dwell too much on Ming, instead turning his attention to Manu and asking, "Manu, in the past ten years, have you made any new discoveries regarding those three heart-shaped stones?"
Manu quickly shook his head. "Although I’ve never given up on studying those stones, the strange thing is, we can’t unlock their power. The material is extremely tough, resistant to corrosion, destruction, or any kind of transformation. We can only confirm that they contain some kind of energy, but beyond that, we’ve learned nothing."
“Hmm… we might learn more soon,” Rhett said, thinking aloud.
“Why’s that?” Manu asked, puzzled.
“Those heart-shaped stones contain world origin. When I completed the simulation, I returned them to the world. I’m curious to see what kind of changes they might bring…” Rhett replied with a smile, his thoughts running wild.
“Oh? Containing world origin? That’s interesting…” Manu squinted. "I’m curious as well. When you find out, I’d like to hear all about it."
"Of course," Rhett replied with a grin. After chatting with Manu for a bit longer, they said their farewells, and the simulation officially ended.
The scene around him shifted rapidly once more.
Back in reality, Rhett stood on the rooftop, gazing out at the endless horizon. The wind brushed past his ears, bringing him back to the present, his eyes momentarily lost in thought.
“Phew, so we’re finally back?” Tucker called out, sounding as carefree as ever.
Only to be met with a smack on the back from Tyrus, who signaled him to quiet down with an annoyed gesture.
"Oh, right, I forgot. We have to keep it a secret." Tucker shrank back, embarrassed, glancing at his father to make sure he wasn’t about to be reprimanded. When he saw no sign of punishment coming, he sighed in relief.
Ryley’s hair gently fluttered in the breeze as she gazed at her father’s back. In a soft voice, she asked, “Father, will we have the chance to go back again in the future?”
Rhett’s heart stirred, and without hesitation, he replied, “Of course. Whenever you miss it, you can return and take a look…”
They were, of course, talking about the last simulation. Rhett had paused the simulation at the final moment of his conversation with Nicole.
As long as he had enough Destiny Points, he could return to that very moment at any time.
Hearing this, Tucker, Ryley, and Tyrus all felt reassured. Noticing that their father seemed somewhat pensive, they tactfully stepped back, quietly leaving the rooftop.
“Tyrus, stay behind.”
Rhett quickly shook off his melancholy. Seeing that his sons were about to leave, he called out to his youngest.
“Father, is there something else?” Tyrus asked, turning back in surprise as he approached.
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