"Lady Rona."
A golden puppet, its entire body shimmering like polished metal, emerged from the gleaming golden wall and knelt before the girl, pressing its forehead to the ground.
The girl gave the puppet beside her a cold look: "Youâre the one guarding my treasury, arenât you."
"Yes."
"Then why is my Eize Soulstone missing?"
The puppet lowered its head and replied: "Lady Rona... the Eize Soulstone was just here. In accordance with the maintenance treaty you establishedâone inspection every five hundred yearsâI performed maintenance adjustments moments ago."
"The Eize Soulstone appears to have activated itself."
"I was just about to report this matter to you when you arrived."
Ronaâs voice was cool and delicate: "Activated itself? In this palace, how far could it possibly go by activating itselfâ"
Whooshâ
As Rona spoke, her voice suddenly stopped.
She spotted a scroll drifting across the floor.
"A Random Teleport Scroll? Who brought this thing here? Shouldnât this have been sealed away in the scroll vault?"
Even as she spoke, Ronaâs gaze directly examined the past of the entire treasury.
Everything that happened within her divine kingdomâ
Should have been impossible to escape her eyes. But she had just been in the middle of a transaction with another important client. As a god bound by the worldâs rules, crossing beyond her divine kingdom to trade with others was no easy task.
And Ronaâs extremely high professional ethics meant she was accustomed to focusing all her attention on the transaction itself when dealing with clients.
She naturally didnât keep her eyes on her divine kingdom every second of every day.
Ronaâs divine kingdom had a very high security rating. It was the least likely divine kingdom to be infiltrated... Rona herself believed that the security of her divine kingdom was second only to Juyaâs.
Juyaâs light could illuminate everything, leaving nowhere for anything to hide.
If someone could truly infiltrate her divine kingdom without a sound, then no amount of vigilance on Ronaâs part would make a difference.
So Rona didnât usually pour all her energy into watching over her divine kingdom.
Yet...
As Rona looked back at everything that had happenedâ
She saw the puppet make its final round through the gemstone treasury, then enter the maintenance hall for Overhaul and servicing. And precisely at that moment, the Eize Soulstone had awakened to consciousness.
And by sheer coincidence, a shipment of goods had arrived that very dayâpurchased from a new client. The shipment included Tier 9 magic scrolls.
Among them were quite a few Random Teleport Scrolls.
The puppet responsible for delivery happened to pass by that area. And by chance, a burst of wind from the neighboring Wind Cave Stone exploded outward. The wind scattered the scrolls. And by chance, a scroll landed on the Eize Soulstone.
This newly awakened, barely conscious creature now possessed its own soul and life.
By chance, it triggered the activation condition for the Random Teleport Scroll.
In an instant, it was teleported away.
The Tier 9 Random Teleport Scroll was able to cross directly over the divine kingdomâs Blockade and Prohibition teleporting outside.
And because it was going from the inside out,
The divine kingdom placed no restrictions on it whatsoever.
After allâwhat was inside the divine kingdom was her own property. Generally speaking, without her permission, nothing could leave. Rona had never placed any restrictions on that front.
She never imagined something like this could happen.
After reviewing the cause and effect, Rona flicked her hand!
The puppet beside her exploded violently into pieces, leaving only golden coins fluttering through the air like scattered snow.
"Maintenance."
"Wind Cave Stone. Scroll delivery."
"Hah... what a coincidence indeed."
Ronaâs heart burned with rage.
This single small collectiblesâfor her, the God of Wealth, it truly meant nothing. She had many things like it.
What irritated Rona was the sheer chance and coincidence of it all.
So coincidental thatâ
It made one involuntarily think of a certain name.
"YakatikutĆ."
"Was it you?"
"You still love taking other peopleâs things. Still love stealing my treasures..."
Rona gritted her teeth slightly.
"Donât think that just because you have luck on your side, you can run wild without consequence."
"Your position in the Moon Calendar was originally mine. It should have been mine by rights."
"Just wait. Iâll tear you down from that Moon Calendar position sooner or later."
Rona ground her teeth, tears glistening in her eyes.
But she wiped the tears away in one swift motion.
The teardrops scattered to the ground, falling as colorful gemstones.
"Lady Rona, the appointed time has arrived. Your next client is waiting for you..."
"The one you are to trade with this time is Egmisaâthe Moon of Chaos and Madness."
A maid in a black dress with golden trim appeared behind Rona. The maidâs features bore a striking nine-tenths resemblance to the mortal-world statues of YakatikutĆ.
One could almost be certain this was deliberate on Ronaâs part.
"Tch... that madman."
"Hahâno. I cannot insult a client. Maintain a smile. Take this seriously." Rona hooked her fingers at the corners of her own mouth, forcing a professional smile onto her face.
She stepped forward.
A golden light gate appeared before her... and Rona vanished from her divine kingdom once more.
...
"From... Ronaâs treasury?"
Kanzaki Rei had tamed the Eize Soulstone.
He sat atop the Eize Soulstone, investigating its origin.
This thing had truly appeared out of nowhere at the Boundless Mountains.
After exploration and tracing, Kanzaki Rei finally learned the full origin of the Eize Soulstone.
"Rona, the God of Wealth."
"If you pray to her and request a trade, there is a chance you can truly summon her..."
"She is said to be the god who has manifested most frequently in the world."
"Also the god worshipped by merchants across the globe."
"Legend says that as long as you make a request to her, she can sell anything that is not uniqueâeven lifespans can be traded..."
"Furthermore, her prices are extremely fair. She does not demand life or soul as payment."
"She only accepts gold coins. And when gold coins are insufficient, you can pawn any item on your person to exchange for gold coins to complete the transaction. But generally, she does not accept life, soul, spirituality, or similar collateral."
This was the extent of Kanzaki Reiâs knowledge about Rona.
Compared to those obscure gods or certain infamous evil gods, there were quite a few legends about Rona in the worldâand they were all fairly positive.
"So that means..."
"This thing fell out of Ronaâs treasury."
Unbelievable.
Something falling out of a godâs treasury by itself.
Kanzaki Rei glanced again at the ăSupreme Luck Scepteră . So this is luck?
This enormous chunk of Eize Soulstone couldnât be put to immediate use. For now, Kanzaki Rei could only store it away.
According to his original plan,
He should now go hunt the Forbidden Zone Lordsâkill the Old Gods in the Boundless Mountains who had been identified as enemies.
As long as he had enough god-tier death spirits, his combat power should allow him to face gods without losing. Even if he had to confront the Nest Lord inside the Nest itself, he would have some confidence.
"Supreme Luck Scepter... since youâre so impressive."
"Then letâs just go for it."
Kanzaki Rei stood up.
His feet didnât move, but the scene before his eyes changed in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, he stood before a pitch-black forbidden zone.
And the moment he arrived, the death spirit formed from countless soulsâăSoul Porteră âemerged from Kanzaki Reiâs shadow as well.