Drawing in air, he prepared himself. There was no point in waiting any longer.
'Alright, let's do this.'
Walking inside, his footsteps echoed on the worn wooden floor.
There, sitting on the desk, was a phone-a big, old-fashioned bronze one, the kind that looked like it had been built at least fifty years ago.
The phone had a rotary dial, something he hadn't seen outside of movies or old shows.
ring ring ring
Slowly, he reached out, unsure whether answering it would be a mistake.
The strange situation he was in only made him more wary, but he did not have much of a choice.
He placed his hand on the receiver, hesitating for a heartbeat before picking it up.
"Hello?"
(Are you enjoying your new property?)
A sweet female voice echoed from the other line.
His heart skipped a beat. The voice was familiar—the same girl from the cemetery, the one who started all of this.
His grip tightened on the phone
"You..." he tried to keep his voice steady but failed. "What did you do to me?"
(Nothing, really. I just helped you get your inheritance,)
She said casually, as if trapping him in this nightmare of a motel was some kind of favor.
"Help? This doesn't feel like help. You trapped me inside a haunted motel with no way out."
Yuki chuckled, the sound making him angrier.
(You're a super smart guy. You'll figure it out. Besides, it's not all bad-think of it as a fresh start.)
"A fresh start? Stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no idea what I'm supposed to do?"
(You'll thank me one day... and here's a little hint,] she continued, her voice dripping with amusement,
(You should start by cleaning the motel, because you might have some guests soon.)
ВЕЕЕЕЕЕР!
The line went dead , leaving him holding the receiver.
THUD!
"Damn it!" He slammed the phone back onto the cradle, his blood pressure rising.
'First you tell me to come, and now I have to clean this dump? I'll make you pay for this a hundred times over. Just wait...'
That was the plan, but when he looked at how messy and dirty it was, his head hurt.
Just thinking about it drained most of his energy. She underestimated how lazy a shut-in could be when it wasn't about gaming or watching anime.
'Is there a way to hire a maid here?'
He paused, then slapped his forehead. 'Right, I'm broke!
Running a hand over his chin, he pushed his resentment aside. His ability to move on quickly helped him stay focused.
'I saw an icon that looked like a market. Maybe I can sell stuff to earn more E-coins. But everything here look cheap,'
He muttered, tapping his chin. Then it hit him—the crystal the old man dropped when he suddenly turned to ashes. It looked very expensive.
Realizing this, he ran outside. To his relief, it was still there. He grabbed it and hurried back to his laptop.
Click!
The online shop had a simple interface where he could buy and sell items.
"Let's see," he said, opening the sell menu. Instructions told him to hold the item up to the camera above.
He did exactly that.
WOOOSH!
The item disappeared from his hand and instantly showed up on the screen.
=====
Damage Soul Stone
Race : Greater Dragon
Age : 5,000 Years old
Rarity: Super Rare
This soul stone belonged to a Greater Dragon feared across the land—a beast that commanded the wind itself and could reduce entire cities to rubble with a single breath.
=====
'Holy crap, that old guy's a big shot!'
But then he remembered how that so-called dragon turned into fine powder.
That meant his grandfather—the one who trapped it here—was even more terrifying.
'Maybe I should stop badmouthing that old geezer out loud,'
If even a Greater Dragon ended up like that, someone overweight like him could turn into corn syrup—or worse, grease oil—if he wasn't careful.
'Okay, at least now I have a way to earn E-coins. This should make things easier.'
When he clicked the button, a new window popped up.
(Your account is very new, so you can only access the basic selling function with fixed prices.)
(Sell Damaged Soul Stone for 200 EC?)
Just by reading it, he knew he was being lowballed hard.
How could a Greater Dragon's soul stone cost only 200 EC, even if damaged?
That was just 20,000 USD in real money—a cheap car would cost way more.
But right now, he didn't have any other choice.
'Sell'
[10% tax deducted]
[180 EC credited]
By this point, he didn't even react. He was numb to it.
To others, it looked like he had given up. But in reality, this was just the beginning of his masterplan.
Thanks to the system's constant pressure, his mind—long rusted—was starting to wake up again.
It wasn't close to what it used to be, but with time, his genius brain would reach its full capability again.
'You think I'll let you make a fool out of me forever? I'll show you who's really in charge, you stupid motel.'