Unlike the other markers, there was something so unique and special about this one that he couldn’t quite get his head around it.
Right then, a line of text slowly appeared before him.
[Special Marker.]
[Target currently does not possess high potential.]
[However, the target will experience a major destiny turning point in the near future.]
[If the Host intervenes in advance, the target’s Destiny Rank may undergo a leap.]
Victor stared at the red point of light.
That was possible too?
In other words, the system was not limited to investing in people who already possessed high potential.
Under certain circumstances, he could even take someone ordinary and directly cultivate them into a high potential target?
Victor was just about to order the system to lock onto the target when rapid footsteps suddenly came from the entrance of the training ground.
A young female attendant dressed in a white and gold uniform hurried inside.
She ignored everyone else.
Her gaze immediately locked onto Victor.
Then she approached him and bowed slightly.
"Young Master Victor. Her Highness asked me to remind you of the meeting at four o’clock this afternoon. Seventh floor of the White Tower. Please do not be late."
’The princess?’
Gasp! At those words, several gasps echoed across the field.
Evelyn was the first person to shatter the silence that followed.
"Her Highness?" The smile on her face immediately became strange. "Which Highness?"
The attendant glanced at her.
"Her Highness Cecilia."
This time, everyone’s gaze landed on Victor. Even the usually composed Karl displayed obvious surprise.
The Third Princess? Since when had the Young Master been connected to the Third Princess?
"Understood." Victor nodded at the attendant.
After the attendant left, Evelyn folded her arms and looked Victor up and down.
"Young Master. What exactly did you do yesterday? First you suddenly start throwing hundreds of thousands of gold coins at us. And now even the Third Princess is personally inviting you somewhere."
She narrowed her eyes. "Don’t tell me smashing your head actually knocked some sense into you?"
Victor shot a cold glare at her. "You don’t want your Shadow Assault Step anymore?"
Evelyn instantly shut her mouth. Then she very naturally took one step backward.
"Please continue."
Several people nearby almost failed to hold back their laughter.
Victor ignored them, his gaze returning toward the distance.
But in the brief ten or so seconds they had been talking, the dark red target marked by the system had disappeared.
It had not moved beyond the scanning range.
Instead, it had completely vanished.
[Target Destiny Node has temporarily become hidden.]
[Hint: The target will return to an observable state within 24 hours.]
’So convenient.’ Victor’s eyes glinted when he saw the last line of text.
Even though he had lost it now, he knew how to find them again.
At the same time, another system countdown quietly floated at the corner of his vision.
[SS Rank Special Investment Event: The Princess’s Predicament]
[Remaining Time: 63 Hours 17 Minutes.]
Cultivate his subordinates in the morning and meet the princess in the afternoon. He made a mental note to himself as he withdrew his gaze from the system.
As for the red target that had suddenly appeared and disappeared, it would appear again before tomorrow.
Thinking of this, Victor turned around and looked at the remaining people on the training ground.
"Continue. I already said it. Everyone has an opportunity today. But you’d better remember one thing." His gaze slowly passed across every face. "I can give you resources. I can even give you far more than you can imagine. But I don’t raise useless people."
The morning wind swept across the training ground.
Not even a single word was spoken, but at that moment, the way those twelve people looked at Victor was completely different from yesterday.
What they did not know was that from this day onward, this small group, which could not even be considered one of the academy’s true elite teams yet, would gradually grow, through Victor’s repeated and almost insane investments, into a force that even the entire empire would eventually have no choice but to take seriously.
"Karl."
Victor spoke.
"Here."
"What’s your problem?"
Karl had clearly prepared his answer beforehand.
"Defense."
Victor raised an eyebrow. A Shield Warrior claiming that he lacked defense?
Karl quickly explained. "My main skill is the Rare Rank [Stone Armor], but the shield I’m currently using is only Level Fifteen Fine Rank equipment. Whenever I take attacks beyond Tier Two, it’s very easy for the shield to become damaged."
"I’ve already replaced three shields since last month’s practical combat class."
Several people nearby immediately wore strange expressions.
Victor lowered his eyes and glanced at the information.
It was true. Karl’s entire combat style was almost purely centered around frontal defense.
For professions like his, the most expensive part was not skills. It was equipment. The better he became at taking hits, the faster his equipment broke.
And although ordinary noble families were wealthier than commoners, they were still far from rich enough to casually purchase high tier equipment whenever they wanted.
Some time later, a translucent magic interface quickly unfolded before Victor.
[White Rock Bulwark]
[Type: Heavy Shield]
[Quality: Rare]
[Level Requirement: 15]
[Defense Amplification: 32%]
[Special Effect: When receiving frontal impact, a portion of the force can be redirected into the ground.]
[Price: 78,000 Gold Coins]
"Buy it."
[Payment Successful.]
Karl drew in a sharp breath. Although he had already known resources would be distributed today, when his turn actually came, he still instinctively looked toward Victor.
"Young Master..."
"What?"
"Nothing." Karl took another deep breath. "I’ll make good use of it."
Victor nodded. But this time, the system did not trigger an investment return.
The reason for this was rather simple.
Karl only possessed B Rank potential, and although the White Rock Bulwark suited him, it merely compensated for a weakness in his equipment. It did not alter any major growth node.
The system clearly did not give returns simply because he spent money.
The target’s potential, the value of the resource, the target’s current needs, and the actual impact the resource would have on their future all seemed to factor into its judgment.
’Good. That’s how it should be.’
At the very least, it meant that whenever a high multiplier was triggered in the future, he could be certain that the item in question truly had the power to change the target.
Next, Jerome received a Rare Rank spear worth forty six thousand gold coins.
Milo received two Tier Three potions that enhanced wind element perception.
Another Level Sixteen fire mage received one month of access to an Elemental Meditation Room.
The remaining members also received resources best suited to their current circumstances.
Some of them simply needed equipment that suited them. Some lacked skills. Some needed specialized training grounds. Others merely lacked enough mana potions to support their daily cultivation.
In less than an hour, Victor had already spent close to five hundred thousand gold coins.
If Noah, Evelyn, and Bruno from yesterday were included, in less than two days, he had spent nearly eight hundred thousand.
The original Victor might not even have spent that much in an entire month. However, for an effect like this, it was more than worth it.
[Karl Loyalty +2.]
[Current Loyalty: 95.]
[Milo Loyalty +3.]
[Current Loyalty: 86.]
[Jerome Loyalty +5.]
[Current Loyalty: 80.]
...
Victor watched the loyalty values continuously rise, and the smile on his face grew wider.
And this was only the first round!
The truly interesting part would begin once all these resources were converted into actual strength.
The system had already said before that if an investment target’s strength, loyalty, status, or destiny improved, it could potentially generate additional returns.
In other words, giving out resources once did not mean an investment had ended. As long as the target continued growing, the investment could continue producing value.
It was an endless cycle!