BXBX NOVEL Chapter 40: I AM FUCKING RICH
It was like she wanted to see how long I could resist her allure and the bitch watched with glee as I struggle to resist. If I didn't know any better, it was like she treated it like a game. Well, since that was how she saw it, there was no reason why I can't play too.
"I don't want to."
"Huh? But why? Your woman is feeling hot, buy her a treat if you please."
"I can't I haven't gotten my paycheck yet. I am currently poor as fuck."
Just then Lilly, made a dumbfounded expression before laughing elegantly.
"Sweetheart, if you are going to make excuses use something believable. A reaper being poor is just too unrealistic."
"What? But its true! I'm an auditor for the Arizona department of transportation. I only make $35,000 a year! I have like twenty dollars on me right now!"
Lilly then made a sweet smile before she let go of my arm and moved in front of me.
"Sweetheart, I believe no one told you that souls can be sold right? Each soul is worth $20 dollars."
'A soul was worth $20 dollars? Hold up! If a zombie gives 10 souls, then a zombie is worth $200? I killed hundreds of them in one night. Wait! how many souls do I have right now?'
I then used {Code} to check, and the implications blew my mind.
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Souls Available : 7,852
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And this amount wasn't the only souls I earned. I used {Rewind} over ten times, evolved to level 3 on top of heavy use of the girl's {fates}. Repeatedly one after another.
'You mean to tell me I was burning money all this time? Each {Rewind} costs 100 souls, then I have been using $2000 per rewind? Holy hell! Just how much did I earn in a single night? Wait? Doesn't that mean I have over $150,000 now?' My thoughts remained scattered as it raced.
"Holy fucking shit… are you fucking serious right now?"
"Yes sweetheart, money is hardly an issue in the world of reapers, not having even money for a sundae is impossible," Lily confirmed.
Just from my ten {Rewinds} that meant I had made over $20,000. If you add my level ups and the number of {fates} I activated; the number would easily go over 15,000 souls… I made $300,000 — in a single night?
As she probably enjoyed watching my internal breakdown Lilly then made a devious smile as she asked.
"Feel like buying me a sundae now? Mr. big bucks?"
'I made $300,000 in one night... I made $300,000 in one night... I made $300,000 in one night...'
The sentence kept repeating in my head nonstop as I bought Lilly a sundae cone. We took our seats on a bench in front of MacAlpines.
"Thank you sweetheart."
I couldn't even appreciate her gratitude as my mind continued to think. If I went to Hellsgate every night and earn the same amount, then in a month I could make $9,000,000 right? And above all it was tax-free! What the hell could I do with that kind of money?
"Lilly, one question."
"Use the smartphone I gave you. [Goods and Services], [Graveyard services], [Souls], [Sell souls], then drag the slider. Go on I will wait."
Unable to stop myself, I eagerly took out the reaper phone and followed Lilly's instructions. When the moment to drag the slider came, I hesitated. Each level 1 {fate} except {Code} needed 50 souls per activation, each level 2 needed 100, while each level 3 250.
{Withstand} and {Endure} were even more expensive as each blow I took used up at much as 5 and 10 souls respectively in relation to the force negated.
That meant if I want to activate my entire pool of level 1s and 2s I would need over 900 souls per engagement. And that was without {Rewind} nor its branch of skills yet. I was basically using up money as fast as I earned it. Who ever heard of spending over $18,000 dollars for a single fight!
"Doesn't that mean I just need to kill more zombies? If I have more souls then I can use whatever I need and just convert the rest," I rebuked.
'For now, a few thousand should be fine. Let tomorrow take care of itself.'
I dragged the slider to the halfway point at 4000 souls and pressed sell. My cheap ass phone then vibrated as it received a message. My hands trembled in excitement as I fidgeted with the device. My smile grew wider when I saw who the message was from. It was from my bank.
[Dear Mr. Smith. $80,000 has been credited to your account ending in 457…]
"It's real." I murmured.
"Yes, sweetheart it is real. Congratulations you are no longer part of the low-income class." Lilly teased in a loving voice.
Unable to keep my feelings in check I tightly embraced the phantom beside me as I roared.
"IT'S REAL!!!!!!!"
Surprised at my sudden skinship Lilly froze like a deer caught in a pair of headlights. Despite her dull reactions, my emotions overflowed, and happiness gushed out of me like a tsunami.
I let go of the woman and instead jumped around with both arms raised to the sky and bellowed at the top of my voice.
"I'M FUCKING RICH!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOHHOOOOOOOOOO!"
The people around me gave me chastising looks of annoyance, jealousy and disbelief. Lilly who remained by my side still had an elegant smile on her face as she continued eating her sundae. It seemed my intense reaction pleased her. But who cared about her I WAS FUCKING RICH!!
All my life, I have been poor. Despite doing my best I hardly had enough money to spare. I couldn't afford a house, a car or even a gaming pc. I already abandoned the thought of having kids, and even retiring with money it just seemed impossible. But now?
I possessed the potential to make over $100,000,000 dollars in a year! Hell! That beat even large businesses. My ambition and dreams began to fill me up with positive aspirations.
'I could buy a car, a house, start a family! I could even afford to buy a yacht or a plane and travel around the world! Eating the most expensive food, the best clothes and latest gadgets would be cheap as fuck!
'Marrying a beautiful wife is now on the table! And I could spoil her and our kids rotten.! Wait! Why do I even need to settle for just one? I could just get a supermodel or movie actress every night If I wanted!'
My delusions of grandeur started to spiral out of control at the thought of the money I could earn. If anyone could kill zombies for such an amount, wouldn't everyone be charging for Hellsgate? But then Bella's words awoke me from my reverie.
'Look honey, becoming a reaper isn't all sunshine and rainbows. You get to live temporarily at a cost. While we do get to return to earth every day, we are also forced to return here every night to fight. As long as Hellsgate remains open, reapers will never truly be free.'
At her words I then remembered the number of times I almost died and the insane amount of pain I had to endure. All so I could return back to earth, the realization made my excitement vanished.
Like I was splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water, my emotions rapidly started to cool down and the clarity of my mind returned.
'Think of it this way. The Reapers only have one goal: closing Hellsgate. The fact that Hellsgate remains open today means every reaper since time memorial has either died or is still out there fighting. If this were a game, it would mean no one has ever cleared this game. Not even once.'
There was no way out. Every night had only two outcomes, to die to the undead, or live and dive again the following night. What the hell would the point of having so much money be then?
If I had a family and I died in Hellsgate, wouldn't that just scar them for life? A nice car, a fancy house, an eight-digit bank account, what purpose would it all serve if I died the very next night?
My arms dropped to my sides like heavy shackles. The high I had earlier made the low I was experiencing even the more bitter. Why? Just why did I have to remember Bella's words? Couldn't I have remained stupid just for a little while longer? It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
And now it was gone.
"Fuck this shit."
A gentle voice from the beauty which I forgot was with me entered my ears.
"Amazing! It did not even take you five minutes to understand the situation. I am impressed John."
"Could you please not rub it in. I feel like crap right now," I confessed.
"I give credit to where credit is due. A reaper blinded by money has no chance of surviving for longer than a month."
"Is that a fact?"
Lilly wiped her lips with a napkin as she stood up. "Why yes. Reapers who become too greedy take on more than they could handle, whether because of avarice, honor, status or recognition. Plenty die for the most foolish of reasons."
Before I could even ask further Lilly continued.
"Such a reaper would be prime pickings for Trinity. Even if IRIS tried its best, it is impossible to protect all the reapers. The number of those who died to assassination and greed outnumber those that passed due to defense and assaults combined."
"Trinity? IRIS? You lost me."
Lilly then made a sad smile full of melancholy as she looked towards the distance.
"Let me tell you more about the world you entered sweetheart. And why even after thousands of years no reaper has yet to succeed in our task."