Free Web NovelChapter 51: The Eternal Night Palace
"It seems this points system is almost identical to the System’s own points system."
"We’re here."
The fox man suddenly stopped, pulling Rios out of his thoughts.
Rios looked ahead and found a vast open space with not a single building in sight... except for one palace standing at its center.
The palace was colossal, supported by countless pillars and completely devoid of statues.
Its crystal walls looked as though they were formed from layers of dimensional space containing countless stars and galaxies, were enough to make anyone who gazed upon them feel insignificant and awestruck.
As for its ceiling, it was made of clouds with shifting colors, filled with millions of stars and moons in different stages and phases.
Unlike every other palace...
This one didn’t have a single entrance.
Thousands of visitors weren’t entering and leaving it every minute.
And unlike the others, its name didn’t begin with Palace, such as The Palace of the Azmir Empire or The Palace of the Cerberus Sect.
Instead, it possessed dozens of gigantic gates.
And the number of people entering and leaving wasn’t measured by the hour... or even by the minute.
It was measured by the second.
Millions.
As for its name, it was written in bold letters that immediately drew the attention of anyone who looked upon the palace.
The Eternal Night Heaven.
"Whoa... look at this. What kind of outrageous extravagance is this?" Rios widened his eyes as he took in the palace’s overwhelming grandeur and the countless visitors flowing in and out every second.
"Well, that’s only to be expected from the sixth richest organization in the universe." The fox man sighed while watching the endless stream of visitors. He was practically drooling as he imagined the fortune the Eternal Night Heaven had earned in just the past few seconds.
"What?! Are you saying there are five other forces wealthier than this place?" Rios exclaimed in shock.
When he thought about it...
The Eternal Night Heaven welcomed billions upon billions of visitors every day.
Every person paid one hundred points for just one hour inside.
A simple calculation meant they earned trillions of Prime every day from entrance fees alone.
And that didn’t even include the countless transactions taking place every day—from the smallest pieces of information being sold to deals worth billions.
Nor did it include the taxes regularly collected here.
Just thinking about those numbers was enough to give someone a headache from envy.
Yet now this fox was telling him this organization ranked only sixth in wealth.
Then what about the other five?
What exactly were they doing to accumulate such unimaginable wealth?
"Should I count that as a question?"
The moment Rios spoke, the jealousy vanished from the fox man’s face, replaced once again by that sly, irritating smile of a swindling merchant.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Rios looked at him with disgust.
"Get lost, you bastard."
"Come now, don’t give me that look, my friend. I’m just a little fox with a delicate heart. I can’t bear such frightening gazes." The fox waved a hand before placing it dramatically over his chest while his tail swayed behind him.
"Aren’t you embarrassed saying that with a straight face?" Rios felt even more disgusted after seeing the fox’s strange act, a cold shiver running down his spine.
"Hehehe. Nope, not at all. My skin is thicker than fortress walls." The fox laughed shamelessly, placing his hands on his hips.
"Tsk... shameless." Rios spat to the side, feeling his stomach ache from just how unapologetically shameless the fox was.
"Well then, my friend, my job ends here. All you need to do is walk through one of those gates, and someone will naturally guide you."
The fox extended his hand toward Rios with a fake smile.
"Oh, and by the way... you can call me Kai."
Seeing this, Rios smiled faintly and shook Kai’s hand.
"Is that your real name, or just a fake one?"
"Hahaha. Of course it’s my real name, my friend. No one here can fake any of their basic information." Kai laughed, withdrew his hand, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Hehehe. Of course."
Rios laughed as well while sneering inwardly.
"You can call me Ozir."
"No one can fake their basic information, huh? Well, I’ve faked everything—not just my basic information."
"Well then, Ozir, I hope we meet again soon." Kai waved before leaving.
Tsk... I hope we don’t, you bastard.
Rios spat to the side, cursed inwardly, then turned his attention back to the magnificent palace before him and walked toward it.
He calmly climbed the black glass staircase, its surface filled with stars and colorful nebulae. Every step felt as though he were walking across the surface of a trembling lake.
After climbing the final hundred steps, he arrived before an enormous black gate.
Standing there, Rios felt no larger than an ant facing the entrance to a giant human palace.
Although millions of people passed through the dozens of gates every second, there wasn’t the slightest sign of congestion, thanks to the enormous entrances and the magical technology operating them.
After staring at the gate for a few moments, Rios took a deep breath and stepped forward.
The moment he passed through it, his vision disappeared for an instant before returning.
But before he could even process the scene before him, a voice echoed inside his mind.
<Welcome, honored guest. Would you like assistance from a guide?> freeweɓnøvel.com
A blue screen appeared before Rios.
[Do you want an assistant guide?]
[Yes / No]
At the bottom were many portraits, each labeled Free.
Seeing that it was completely free, Rios smiled, pressed Yes, and selected one of the portraits.
Countless lights began gathering before him, and slowly, a tiny girl no bigger than the palm of his hand appeared.
She had four transparent wings, golden hair, and a featureless face except for a pair of long-lashed eyes.
The little girl looked at Rios, seeming to smile gently, then bowed slightly.
"Greetings, sir. My name is Lily, and I will be your AI guide."
