novelbin Chapter 1078: The Wondrous Trove
Chapter 1078: The Wondrous Trove
Everyone stood there marveling at the clearly upgraded structure before them.
The new Purification Chamber looked far more refined and imposing than before, its towering pillars radiating an almost sacred atmosphere that made it difficult to look away for too long.
Ollie, in particular, absolutely could not contain himself.
"Dang," the blonde breathed out while practically running laps around the chamber, his hair antenna bouncing with every step.
"Two million CP really does make everything look cooler, huh?"
He craned his neck upward dramatically before narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"But surely it didn’t just change aesthetically, right? Because if all it did was take up more space and look cooler, then wouldn’t that basically be a scam?"
At that exact moment, as though the heavens themselves had prepared the perfect stage for it, one little system proudly seized the opportunity to shine.
"Of course not!" D-29 declared immediately.
Virtual fanfare exploded all around the projection, along with an alarming number of celebratory poppers.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the little system continued grandly, "if you must know, this Advanced Purification Chamber is now capable of accommodating twice the amount of input and even simultaneously, too!"
"With the addition of two purification vortices, the chamber can now process twice the number of containment cubes simultaneously for significantly faster purification!"
"!!!"
Marshal Julian visibly stiffened.
Meanwhile, the rulers and other leading figures of the Empire standing nearby looked just as shaken.
But how could they not be affected after hearing such information?
Because to the people burdened by an ever-growing corruption crisis, those words practically sounded like divine intervention itself.
However, the great D-29 still wasn’t done.
After all, the hardworking manager absolutely refused to believe it had subjected itself to seemingly endless nonstop calculations merely for what amounted to simple efficiency upgrades.
If that was all it had to show for after being gone for so long, then wouldn’t it be embarrassing?
Shouldn’t it just resign?
And so, with dramatic rumbling drums suddenly playing in the background for absolutely no reason whatsoever, D-29 proudly continued its announcement.
"As for the containment cubes," the little system said grandly, "I am pleased to announce that not only have we received five complimentary Advanced Containment Cubes with twice the previous saturation limit—"
Another explosion of poppers erupted.
"—but both the standard and advanced containment cubes can now officially be purchased directly from the Trove!"
Luca, who had been quietly staring at the upgraded chamber until now, immediately froze upon hearing those words.
"What?!" Luca practically jolted out of his daze upon hearing the announcement.
Honestly, it sounded almost too good to be true.
So good, in fact, that he nearly missed D-29’s equally important follow-up explanation regarding the availability of blueprints for both containment cube models.
"!!!"
However, nothing could have prepared him for what happened the moment he hurriedly opened the Trove for the first time since the dungeon upgraded to Level 4.
Naturally, Luca rushed to search for the containment cubes.
At this point, he was already mentally preparing himself to spend an outrageous amount of CP just to secure enough cubes for everyone.
Possibly even for their pets.
Well, maybe that wasn’t the most reasonable financial decision—
But dreaming was free.
Unfortunately for him, instead of the familiar shop interface he expected, the frantic dungeon owner was suddenly assaulted by a barrage of entirely new prompts.
[PURCHASE LIMITS REFRESHED]
[PURCHASE LIMITS INCREASED]
[STOCK REFRESH AND PRODUCT UPGRADES AVAILABLE]
[NOW AVAILABLE: ADVANCED TROVE SKILLS]
[NOW AVAILABLE: ROTATING LIMITED-TIME ITEMS]
[NOW AVAILABLE: RESOURCE EXCHANGE PROGRAM]
"..."
Luca completely froze.
His golden eyes darted frantically from one holographic prompt to another as though trying to process an entirely different language.
"D-29..." he breathed out weakly. "What exactly happened to the Trove?"
At that, the little system—who had clearly been waiting for this exact moment—finally got the opportunity to brag proudly.
"Host!" D-29 chirped excitedly. "Please look at the most important thing first! This is specifically why I wanted to rush the upgrade!"
Now thoroughly alarmed and curious, Luca obediently followed the little system’s instructions.
And then—
He saw it.
The very first thing listed under the newly unlocked category labeled Skills.
[DISCOUNT]
"!!!"
At the sight of such a sacred and beautiful word—
The universe’s number one money-grubber immediately started tearing up.
The others panicked instantly.
"Brother?!" Ollie practically lunged forward before grabbing his already fragile friend by the shoulders. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"
But the golden-eyed cadet merely shook his head while tears visibly shimmered in his eyes.
"Brother, n-nothing’s wrong..." he choked out emotionally.
"Actually..." Luca whispered while staring reverently at the screen before him, "Everything suddenly feels perfectly fine..."
But the blonde looked even more horrified.
How could things possibly be fine when Luca looked like he had just witnessed something extremely shocking?
But the dazed chipmunk simply continued staring ahead with the expression of someone who had been spiritually enlightened.
"It’s nothing bad, Brother. If anything..." the little money-grubber whispered emotionally, "it’s simply shocking..."
But really, who wouldn’t react that way after seeing the description?
[DISCOUNT:]
[SKILL INFORMATION: Allows buying items at reduced prices from the Trove. The discount is based on skill level. The final price is always rounded up and has a minimum value of 1 CP.]
[MAX LEVEL: 5]
[SKILL LEVELS ARE UNLOCKED BY SPENDING CP ON PURCHASES THROUGH THE TROVE.]
[UNLOCK DISCOUNT LEVEL 1: 10% DISCOUNT]
[1 / 5,000,000 CP]
This was definitely something Luca had to share with everyone so they would properly understand the magnitude of what they were looking at.
But just when everyone thought the overly elated cadet was finally done, instead of checking the cost of the containment cubes like most of them would expect, Luca immediately moved on to inspecting the other newly unlocked skills.
And what do you know?
Aside from the already shocking function they had just discovered, there was another skill labeled:
[VENDING]
"?"
That alone already sounded suspicious enough to instantly capture the attention of the resident money-grubber.
But right beside it—
The thing that genuinely made Luca go weak in the knees was something even more unnatural.
[OVERCHARGE]
"!!!"
Forget every tragic event leading up to this moment. Forget the fifty million CP. Forget the emotional devastation, the stress, and the horrifying progress bars threatening his sanity.
Because right now—
Luca was probably the happiest dungeon owner alive.