Master of the System

Chapter 35

Eula sucked on the tips of her chopsticks while staring at the entrance to the store. She was savoring the remnants of the pickled radish she had just eaten, trying to make the flavor drag out as long as possible. The door to the restaurant opened, and a familiar figure appeared. Eulas eyes lit up. Wasnt that Paul, the bodyguard for hire? She had been looking all over for him, but who knew shed find him when she least expected it. Eula raised her hand and waved, catching the ex-interdimensional mercenarys attention.

The first thing Paul noticed when he walked into the store was the overenthusiastic girl who he had promised would be his first client. What kind of business would he be running if his customers werent satisfied? Halfway to the girls table, he realized the weakling chef ran a business that left his customers unsatisfied. Who would be satisfied with eating only one serving of a delicious dish? It was like him going to a brothel but being forced to leave after taking his clothes offnot that he knew what that experience was like. With that thought in mind, Paul finished his trek and sat in front of the overenthusiastic girl. Since he was now an entrepreneur, he would run an honest business that left customers pleased with his service. He wouldnt be like the weakling chef.

Speaking of the weakling chef, Smith Jr. came out of the kitchen with a knife in his hand. He had seen Paul enter through the one-way walls, and when the mercenary went straight for Eula, Smith Jr. knew he had to take the reins, so he decisively abandoned the radish he was slicing, knowing the system would hold it against him and add a spirit stone to his debt. Are you loitering? Smith Jr. asked, gesturing at Paul with his knife. Without waiting for the mercenary to respond, the chef shouted, Tutor Golem! Theres a loiterer!

The faceless golem appeared without a sound, standing next to the table with the three users. Young martial chef, the next round of training you partake in shall train your eyes. The woman is an eating customer, and the man already has spirit stones out ready to make an order. If theres anyone loitering, its you.

Smith Jr. slumped down as his shoulders were latched onto by the golem. He didnt resist as he was dragged back into the kitchen. On his way, he heard Paul calling out, Id like an egg fried rice and pickled radish.

While the unhappy chef was forced to cook at the cost of being stabbed by Tutor Golem 3000, Paul pulled out a piece of paper and slid it across the table to Eula. This is my business card.

Eula picked up the card and gave Paul a shy smile. Thank you. Ill be sure to use your services.

Paul nodded. At that moment, the door to the restaurant opened once more. A guard shambled into the restaurant. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his skin looked unusually saggy around his cheeks. The two customers stared at him, but the guard didnt seem to notice them. It was as if he were reading an invisible block of text in front of his face.

Max looked around, and his gaze landed on the blackboard by the door. This was clearly the place. No other restaurant charged spirit stones for egg fried rice and pickled radishes. In fact, no other restaurant charged spirit stones at all. Upon confirming he was in the right place, a block of text appeared in his vision.

[Great detective work, Max! I knew you could do it. All you had to do was believe in yourself, see? Now you just have to meet the owner.]

Max sighed through his nose and walked over to a table far away from the only two customers in the restaurant. He took a seat and waited. The shop had a grand interior, but there werent any waiters. Max found it a little odd, but he didnt question it. The last time he questioned something, he was given a mission, and as the saying went, once burned, twice shy. As long as the words continued to parasitize his vision, he vowed to never question anything again. Soon, his patience paid off. A chef came out of the back corridor with a tray of food and walked over to Max. The chef placed the tray down on the table beside Max and said to the other customers, If you want your food, youll have to sit over here.

Clearly, the customers did not come to this restaurant for the service. Max assumed the chef was the owner judging by the mans attitude. Are you the boss?

Smith Jr. glanced at the weary guard. Yes. Read the blackboard. What do you want?

[Owner confirmed! Excellent job, Max!]

[Mission: Observe the Source Completed]

[Reward: Sword of Justice]

A bright light appeared in Maxs hand, and a swords blade shot out, extending towards Smith Jr.s neck. Before it could make contact, a dagger blocked it. Paul was holding the dagger in one hand, and the tray of food in the other. He had moved so fast that Max couldnt react. In fact, the reward had appeared out of nowhere so fast that he couldnt react to it either. What had just happened? Without him knowing, there was now a glowing sword in his hand. Anyone who saw it would realize it was special thanks to the aura it was emitting. However, that wasnt what Max was concerned about. To the other people in the room, it mustve looked like he had made an assassination attempt on the owner of the store.

[He blocked my Sword of Justice? Max, I think you might be screwed.]

Gee, thanks, Max thought as cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He dropped the sword and raised his arms. I-Im not sure how that happened.

***

Pravos slammed her hand down on her table, causing her display to shake. You evil god! Not only do you hypnotize people, but you steal my user too!? The god of justice ground her teeth together. Although it wasnt difficult to find someone with a heart of justice, it wasnt easy either. Fine! The evil god had a strong user, much stronger than she had anticipated, but so what? She was one of the four cardinal virtues!

Pravos opened up her messenger app and entered a group chat. She tapped on the screen, her fingers becoming a blur. Soon, a message was sent to the three other members within the chat. I found a new god straying on the wrong side of the line. Help me correct this newb before he travels too deep!

A new god caught your attention? Another message appeared under the first one coming from someone named Blagora. Did you immediately plant seeds nearby and attack them? What did I tell you about the importance of waiting for information?

A third user named Umerennost responded. We all know Pravos isnt great at waiting.

Dont just pick on me! Pravos snorted and slapped at her display, sending messages in the blink of an eye. I didnt expect a new god to have a user on the level of a false immortal! Not only does this guy hypnotize people, but he steals their users too!

Aww, did our little Pravos lose another heart of justice user?

Sila! Pravos wanted to rip her hair out. These people were supposed to be her allies! Im not a masochist like you, okay? I dont like losing things! If we dont take care of this new god soon, hell be noticed by those evil guys and adopted by them, so stop making fun of me and actually contribute something, you boob.

Calm down. Blagora sent a message before anyone else could. What are the coordinates of the new gods users? Poisk still owes me a favor. We can locate the god once we capture a user. I just hope Kosmos doesnt overcharge us for the teleportation fee. For some reason, her prices jumped by fifty percent.