“$150!
Robert, are you going any higher?”
“Two hundred!”
“Alright, $200 from Robert!”
The auctioneer rattled off the bids at impressive speed before looking toward Lucifer.
“Two hundred.
You still in?”
Lucifer narrowed his eyes at Robert and casually raised his hand.
“Two-fifty from the young man!”
Edward, the chubby guy standing beside Lucifer, immediately looked worried.
“Lucifer, didn’t we agree we were only here to try our luck?
Rent is due next month.”
“Trust me.
We’re making money on this one.” Lucifer patted his friend’s arm with complete confidence.
During the brief inspection period earlier, he had spotted something inside Storage Unit No.
13 that none of the other bidders seemed to recognize.
Robert hesitated.
The unit didn’t look valuable enough to justify pushing the price much higher, but he clearly hated the idea of letting a newcomer walk away with it cheaply.
After thinking it over, he finally decided not to risk getting stuck with a dusty storage unit full of junk.
He looked at Lucifer and sneered.
“Enjoy losing your money, rookie.
That place is nothing but dust and garbage.”
“Then bid or keep quiet, Robert,” the auctioneer snapped.
Robert folded his arms and stepped back, still wearing a smug expression as though he expected Lucifer to regret the purchase within minutes.
Lucifer simply shrugged.
He had only been living in this version of America for a little over a month, and dealing with obnoxious strangers had already become one of the least surprising parts of his new life.
“Two-fifty going once!
Going twice!
Anybody else?”
No one raised a hand.
The auctioneer clapped.
“Sold!
Storage Unit No.
13 for $250.
Good luck, kid.”
He immediately moved on with the other bidders toward the next unit.
Edward watched them leave before pulling out a box of donuts.
“Lucifer, lucky donuts.
We eat these before opening the unit and everything goes our way.”
Under Edward’s expectant stare, Lucifer reluctantly took one bite before putting it back.
“How do you eat these things?”
Edward happily took another.
“They’re good.
Maybe they’d be even better with cream puffs.”
Lucifer gave him a disgusted look and walked toward Storage Unit No.
13.
As he grabbed the metal handle of the roll-up door, excitement rose in his chest.
He had arrived in this world broke, buried under bills, and carrying student debt that belonged to the body he had inherited.
If he was right about what he had seen inside, this miserable financial situation was finally about to change.
My road to getting rich starts here.
The metal door rattled upward.
Dust filled the stale air as Lucifer immediately headed toward the corner he had noticed during the inspection.
Several ugly grayish-white lumps rested beneath a pile of forgotten belongings, giving off a faint marine odor.
Lucifer crouched and picked one up.
“Ambergris.”
He squeezed the waxy material and inspected it carefully before confirming his guess.
Genuine ambergris could be extremely valuable in the perfume industry, and whoever had abandoned this storage unit clearly had no idea what they possessed.
Lucifer grinned.
“Rent problem solved.”
Hopefully, the sale would also put a respectable dent in his student loans.
That part still irritated him.
Other protagonists arrived in another world with legendary bloodlines, divine weapons, or systems waiting to make them rich.
Lucifer had arrived with an empty bank account, overdue expenses, and enough student debt to make him wonder whether transmigration had actually been an upgrade.
While he was silently complaining, Edward called from behind him.
“Lucifer, come look at this.”
Lucifer placed the pieces of ambergris into his bag before turning around.
Edward was holding a red-haired doll wearing blue overalls and a striped shirt.
Lucifer stared at the familiar face.
The doll had freckles, bright blue eyes, and the unmistakable appearance of a Good Guys doll.
Something about it bothered him.
Edward, however, looked delighted.
“You seriously don’t recognize him?
This is Chucky.
Good Guys dolls were huge when I was younger.”
He squeezed the doll’s face.
“It’s in pretty good shape too.
Might be worth something.”
Lucifer frowned at it for another second before dismissing the uneasy feeling.
“Keep it.
Anything else we sell is just extra profit at this point.”
Edward placed Chucky into one of their bags, and the two began clearing out the rest of the unit.
After nearly an hour of digging through dusty boxes and worthless household junk, Lucifer wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Looks like that’s everything.
Let’s load the useful stuff into the truck.”
He turned toward the entrance.
Then stopped.
Chucky was sitting upright on a shelf.
Lucifer stared at the doll.
“Edward.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you put Chucky in the bag?”
Edward walked back into the unit and frowned.
“Yeah.
Why?”
Lucifer pointed toward the shelf.
“I said—”
CLANG!
The roll-up door suddenly crashed shut.
The storage unit plunged into darkness.
Edward jumped.
“Lucifer!
What happened?”
“The damn door probably broke.”
Lucifer pulled out his lighter and flicked it on.
A small flame appeared, barely illuminating the cluttered unit around them.
Then something metallic flashed at the edge of his vision.
Lucifer immediately turned.
Chucky was no longer sitting peacefully on the shelf.
The doll’s face had twisted into a vicious snarl, and a sharp knife gleamed in its tiny hand.
Lucifer froze.
“What the hell—”
Chucky let out a horrible laugh and lunged.
Lucifer barely had time to react before the doll crossed the distance between them.
The knife drove straight into his chest.
Pain exploded through his body.
Lucifer’s breath vanished as he stumbled backward, one hand instinctively pressing against the wound.
Warm blood poured between his fingers while his strength disappeared far too quickly.
His knees gave out.
As his vision blurred, one ridiculous thought crossed his mind.
I haven’t even paid off the damn student loans yet…
Darkness swallowed him.
Then warmth appeared.
The cold sensation of death gradually faded beneath a golden glow, and Lucifer felt as though something enormous was floating before him.
His fading consciousness sharpened just enough for him to open his eyes.
A radiant crystalline being hung within an endless golden space.
Fragments of light surrounded a brilliant central core.
Lucifer stared.
He knew that shape.
“Naaru…?”
He had spent enough years playing World of Warcraft to recognize one instantly.
Back in his previous life, he had played a Paladin since the early days of the game, but seeing something resembling a Naaru after being stabbed to death by Chucky was not how he expected that hobby to become relevant.
A gentle ancient voice echoed around him.
“My faithful believer…
do not lose your way.
The Holy Light will guide you through the darkness.”
Lucifer stared at the glowing figure.
Is this seriously my reward for playing Paladin since vanilla?
Before he could think any further, the Naaru-like being released a brilliant beam of golden light.
Warm, overwhelming energy flooded Lucifer’s body.
[Host’s body is being repaired.]
[Holy Power System is initializing.]
As his consciousness sank into darkness once more, the corner of Lucifer’s mouth slowly rose.
My cheat finally arrived.