Chapter 11: Having Money, Indeed Impressive!
The members of the Brotherhood charged with such ferocity, yet halted with equal urgency.
They obeyed Scott's commands for two reasons:
One, Scott held numerous compromising materials on them, two, they feared the opposing formidable strength.
Yet, the members of the Brotherhood were no fools. Though Sila never flaunted his family background, the extent to which he squandered his wealth was far beyond the reach of an ordinary merchant's family.
Moreover, the strength Sila had just demonstrated completely outstripped Scott's!
If they could truly be bought over by Sila, his power and influence would suffice to back them up!
Life had hardly been easy for the Brotherhood members under Scott. He did not treat them with respect, to say the least, he was ruthless and unkind.
"Don't listen to him! Remember, I give each of you 1,000 gold coins a month for activity funds!"
"Five times? Sila couldn't possibly offer you that."
Scott shouted angrily.
He had coerced these people into joining the Brotherhood, and it was impossible for him to use them for free indefinitely.
Initially, he employed coercion, but eventually, he had to spend money to keep them in line.
It was like raising dogs: first, you catch them, then you feed them.
Sila's face twitched upon hearing the words.
In the academy, he had kept a relatively low profile, making significant purchases mostly at auctions like the Desire Pavilion.
However, he had never anticipated that, in Scott's mouth, five times the 1,000 gold coins per person would become an astronomical sum that he was supposedly too stingy to spend. It was an insult of the highest order!
Sila suddenly felt utterly disinterested and waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it. From now on, if you follow me, each of you will receive 10,000 gold coins per month. After all, my servants earn more than 1,000 gold coins a month."
"You are, after all, elite status experts."
As he spoke, Sila flicked his spatial ring, and in an instant, the 16 Brotherhood members present saw gold spilling out of Sila's hand like liquid mercury.
Sila looked utterly disgusted and patted his hands. "Alright, take Scott and leave."
He felt utterly disinterested.
Sila had intended to outbid Scott by five times the amount to buy the loyalty of the Brotherhood members and clip Scott's wings.
Little did he expect that Scott's offer had been so low, and his lackeys had never possessed much loyalty to begin with.
Sila felt like his enthusiastic efforts had fallen flat, like hitting a pillow.
His demeanor was cold and dismissive, but to the eyes of the Brotherhood members, it was entirely different.
"Is he serious?"
In an instant, their gazes were completely drawn to the shimmering gold, and they lunged forward like hungry wolves, scrambling to grab as much as they could!
Some among the Brotherhood had no spatial items, so they tore off pieces of their clothes to wrap the gold coins in fabric.
As for Sila's cold shoulder and abrupt departure, it didn't bother them in the slightest.
To them, it was simply a sign of Sila's power and wealth, the unique demeanor of a true master!
As for Scott, they had already forgotten about him.
Any leverage they might have had over him was now worthless in the face of 10,000 gold coins per month.
For a moment, the Brotherhood members were overjoyed, lost in their excitement.
Only Scott stood there, staring at the pile of golden coins, almost spitting blood in disbelief.
He felt like he was witnessing an absurd farce. Scott never imagined that the Brotherhood he had painstakingly built would crumble instantly within minutes, due to a few words and a pile of gold coins from Sila.
He was defiant, unwilling to accept it.
But...
Sila was not only wealthy, he was also more powerful than Scott!
Scott couldn't help but recall his provocative words to Sila back at the academy: "Do you think having money makes you someone special?"
"In my eyes, it means absolutely nothing!"
But now...
A member of the Brotherhood approached him.
"What do you want now?"
Scott frowned.
The man only said with pity, "Boss, this is the last time I'll call you that."
"Don't fight against Master Sila anymore, you can't win!"
Scott's face paled. "Why not?"
"Because he has money, and indeed, that's impressive." said several Brotherhood members nearby, counting their gold coins with delight and sincerity.
"Pfft!"
Scott actually spat blood this time, and his vision darkened.
...
Sila returned to his room with a calm expression.
The butler respectfully handed him a freshly made glass of sherry and retreated, looking at his young master with awe and reverence.
Masterful magic, elite status power.
Master Sila...
He had been hiding his true capabilities.
As Sila sipped his chilled beverage, he sorted through his recent acquisitions.
"Hmm?" He was slightly surprised when the system provided him with a new prompt.
[The host successfully used money to turn enemies into friends during an impending violent incident, demonstrating wisdom. This consumption earns double integral bonuses.]
"Double?"
With a casual glance, Sila noted that he had spent 160,000 gold coins on the Brotherhood members and now had 3,200 integrals credited to his account.
"An unexpected delight."
He said with a smile, having gained another method to acquire integrals.
Investing in Elina had its limits.
She possessed an independent personality and would not blindly obey or accept gifts without restraint. Furthermore, according to the system's mechanics, investments could yield a fourfold reward.
However, providing Elina with excessive resources, especially if wasted, would likely only yield a singlefold integral return.
Upon learning of this rule, Sila pondered, "Following this logic, it might be better to prioritize financial means in handling various situations in the future?"
Thinking about this, his lips curled slightly, unsure whether to feel happy or helpless.
The main issue was that he simply didn't have enough money.
With the additional 3,200 integrals, Sila rubbed the buttons on his outer robe, contemplating his options but not rushing to redeem new equipment or magic.
In terms of single-target damage, what currently limited him was his elite first-tier status.
It was more important to exchange for some perfect-quality mana crystals to increase his magical energy.
With a B-grade talent, Sila could theoretically reach the level of a master or grandmaster, and he shouldn't encounter significant obstacles during the elite status phase.
Incidentally, Sila checked the system again. With the newly arrived 3,200 integrals, the next level of the store had successfully unlocked.
Unfortunately, the store interface clearly stated, [Requires the host to reach elite sixth-tier to open.]
"It seems I have one more reason to enhance my strength."
Sila said as he sat on a bench and casually took out a mana crystal to absorb its energy.
He had been slacking before, but now that he had the opportunity to grow stronger, he was immediately ready to study diligently!
...
Sila immersed himself in his training and only reappeared at dinner time.
He dined with Elina and Kent.
Elina had intended to enjoy her meal peacefully, but she froze when she saw the lobster wrapped in gold foil on her plate.
After struggling to compose herself, she lifted her knife and fork, only to be startled again by the luxurious feel of tiny diamonds embedded in the cutlery. She then glanced around, taking in the pristine white silk napkins, the truffle soup served by the butler that seemed to swim with fresh fish and shrimp, and the elegant melody of a piano and violin sonata playing somewhere in the background, weaving an exquisite tune.
Such opulence was beyond Elina's ability to estimate its cost.
She could only do her best to awkwardly imitate and pretend to be at ease, trying to blend in with everything around her.
Seeing this, Sila remained silent, merely glancing in another direction and saying, "Grandfather Kent, I have avenged the Dragon Hunting Family for you." Sila briefly recounted how he had defeated Scott.
"Excellent!" The old knight was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered.
Kent once again failed to maintain his image as a stoic and powerful figure. "Young master, I knew you had been hiding your strength when you declined Scott's challenge before. Now you no longer need to hide!"
Amidst the melodious music and Kent's excited shouts, Sila smiled as he cut the pastry on his plate in half with his knife and fork and popped it into his mouth.
...
The next day, Sila rose early and arrived at Victoria Magic Academy by carriage.
He headed straight for the library.
Sila intended to use the practice rooms within the academy.
This special environment could accelerate magical energy absorption and was not in conflict with the magical talismans. To quickly reach the sixth tier of elite status, he wanted to maximize all possible bonuses.
However...
The practice rooms required reservations, and many students in the academy came for this special perk.
According to the rules, it wasn't Sila's turn to use one today.
Fortunately, just as Sila was slowly closing "A Brief History of Dragons and Magic." a clumsy-looking student suddenly dashed past the practice room and stumbled, causing his steaming teapot to crash against the wall.
The high-temperature liquid completely soaked and stained the reservation schedule for the practice rooms.
Leaving only one legible entry:
[Inferior Practice Room - Magic Department, First Year - Sila, Reserved].
The specific reservation time behind it was no longer readable.
Sila seized the opportunity to step forward, but was met with some discordant voices from the sidelines.
"Young Master Sila, what's this? Are you even buying your way through time now?"
In the next instant, an icy chill suddenly assailed Sila, causing a stinging sensation on his skin as if cut by a blade.