After informing everyone about tomorrow’s verification, Rave finally found time to open the trade channel.
Right now, he was sitting on the balcony’s railing, hoping that Grandpa_Hot_Pot had at least seen his messages.
But as soon as he opened the trade channel, opening the chat section, he saw something that shook him from head to toe.
[Messages – Grandpa_Hot_Pot: 6 UNREAD]
"Six?" Raven croaked, his soul briefly leaving his body.
It showed that the messages arrived three hours ago, raising his heartbeats.
’Fuck, did I anger him again?’
Raven could still remember how this Grandpa got angry because he didn’t reply, so without waiting, he tapped, or rather, smashed the chat open.
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"...I’m alive," Raven breathed as he read the chat.
He realized that his ass-licking had saved his ass.
He didn’t mean a single word from the last chat, but at least this old man got happy because of that.
He wasn’t going to get cursed now.
Yeah, his pride was gently folded and drop-kicked into a ditch, but it was bearable.
He glanced again. The old man was online.
A grin cracked across his face. "He’s still here."
Thinking his message into existence, he mentally typed, something he had forgotten he could do last time.
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Before the message could finish sending, a new reply popped up.
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Raven sighed. "That’s good."
But the codger wasn’t done. He was just getting started.
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Raven’s brain stalled.
’Is this... is this guy just casually narrating a divine massacre like he’s recounting his grocery list?’
Did Grandpa even think about how his words seemed?
It was as if a farmer were talking about his harvest.
Well, in a way, it wasn’t far from the truth...
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’Man, he really doesn’t care how big this is all for me, does he?’
Raven couldn’t believe the guy who had committed a massacre in the divine realm—the guy many labeled as a mysterious monster—was talking to him like a rich friend flaunting his achievements.
But as someone who could be called a certified bootlicker by now, Raven knew exactly what to say.
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’Yes,’ Raven thought, ’this is what I’ve become. A divine bootlicker. But I don’t regret it, as I’m a smart one.’
Raven could see that Grandpa was happy from all the buttering. After all, he was sending emojis.
But Raven wasn’t done yet.
It was hard for Raven not to stutter in his chat, as now, he knew that Grandpa was strong enough to delete even gods from existence.
However, with a deep breath, he finally decided to get to the point.
He needed to ask about it at least once.
He bit his lip—
’Now or never.’
—Before the message was sent.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Grandpa’s typing bubble disappeared.
There were no incoming messages, and after a short wait, Raven’s heart dropped into his stomach and flipped twice.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Before he could send anything else, Grandpa finally replied.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The moment he saw that message, Raven paused.
’...is this for real?’ He pinched his cheek, and feeling the pain, he snapped back to reality.
’Fuck, it’s real!’
His mind churned.
He needed to think fast.
Raven had never thought Grandpa would actually agree; he was simply trying his luck.
So, now that the old man had decided to grant him a wish, he couldn’t say anything.
’Okay. Think, Raven, think!’
He only had one wish, so he needed to be careful.
However, he couldn’t ask for something too grand.
He already has one of the most common divine artifacts, and even though the goddess nerfed it, it was still completely locked.
So, a divine artifact would be wasted on him.
Something lame like "infinite money" or "muscles" was useless.
Worse yet, he couldn’t ask for something too powerful or greedy, or the old man might think he was some system-dependent psycho thirsting for power. (Which he was, but still...)
He furrowed his brows, deep in thought. His mind rifled through options.
Many thoughts flashed past his eyes, but none of them were something he needed right now.
They were all something he wanted.
But then, something flashed before his eyes.
Crisaius’s crooked grin.
Crisaius’s voice.
"Boy, complete my technique before I die."
Raven’s eyes grew soft.
’That old man...’
From the plot’s information, Crisaius didn’t have long to live.
He had reached a very high power level, yet he was dying before he became 150 years old.
People who reach his level could live for 500 years.
A slow smile crept over his lips as he thought about it.
’This is it.’
Now he knew what he needed.
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Raven was again trying to do something that deviated from the plot, but he didn’t care.
After all, he had already messed up the plot when he became Crisaius’s disciple.
Grandpa, on the other hand, didn’t answer right away, and looking at that, Raven’s nerves flared again.
’Was I too specific? Did I ask for something sacred? Something forbidden?!’
But then—
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Raven almost choked when he saw the things Grandpa listed out.
’What the hell?!’
But then he remembered how, in Grandpa’s eyes, he was also a god, although minor.
It was only fair to think that he would ask something like that.
His body, however, didn’t have the power to handle those powers... probably.
He didn’t want to test it out, so he quickly replied, trying to sound righteous.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In less than a second, a message appeared, making Raven blink in confusion.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
’Does it matter?’
He didn’t ask out loud, though.
He trusted his instincts and replied.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There was a pause, making Raven sweat as he stared at the screen.
’Was my lie caught?’
He didn’t know, but he hoped not.
But before he could drown in panic, a new notification arrived.
Ding!
[You have received a gift.]
With shaking fingers, he tapped on the notification and saw something that almost made his eyes pop out of their sockets.
[Gift from Grandpa_Hot_Pot: Soul-Kiln Purification Method (Heaven Grade)]
’Heaven rank?! How high is that?’
Raven didn’t know, but as soon as he clicked on the technique, the file glowed faintly as it burned into his mental sea.
Before he could even register this series of shocks, Grandpa’s messages arrived.
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For the first time, while reading Grandpa’s chats, Raven’s chest rose with something warm and heavy.
It was gratitude.
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The reply came after a pause.
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Grandpa’s tone was annoying as always, but, unlike usual, Raven smiled this time, finding it cute.
Soon, Grandpa went offline with a bye, and Raven sighed, leaning back on the balcony railing, the glow of the technique still humming in his mind.
’It went better than I thought.’
He asked for a loaf of bread and got a full meal from the most expensive five-star restaurant; what else could he ask for?
He looked up at the sky and smirked, only to freeze as he saw a very familiar Old Man hanging upside down from the shed, staring at him with a strange look.
"Brat, tell me the truth. You’re constipated, right?"
"Huh?"
That was the only sound that came from his mouth as he heard Crisaius’s words.