Chapter 402 - Money Makes the Devil Turn the Millstone

"It’s not just about simply scaring people, we need a plot with it, like ’Heather Leaf Tapping on the Window’, fully integrated into the performance, creating individual ghost themes. Estelle and her daughter will be natural actresses in this scenario." Mr. Gaven expanded upon the idea of a haunted house as he brainstormed with an Earthly twist.However, he immediately shook his head, dismissing the idea, "Let’s not do that, this would be like ripping open the wounds of Estelle and her daughter."

"Sir, it’s not a problem," Estelle’s figure appeared silently nearby, speaking calmly, "For us, that’s all in the past and it won’t affect us in any way. Reliving those moments will only make us more grateful to you. If not for you, we would never have such a rich and colorful life now. As long as it benefits the manor, feel free to use us."

"Amanda is still young, bringing this matter up repeatedly is not good after all." Mr. Gaven said thoughtfully after casting a glance at Amanda, who had emerged from his shadow.

"I’m fine," Amanda piped up softly.

Regina laughed from the side, "You guys don’t need to argue about it. Even if we really use ’Heather Leaf Tapping on the Window’, I won’t adapt it exactly as it was. Trust in my creative ability; I will definitely give the guests an extraordinary experience.

"However, that’s for later. Time is pressing and we can’t add new plots now. We will just upgrade the existing three stages, letting all the ghost servants join in the act. I guarantee by tomorrow half of the people will be scared witless in the Silent Courtyard, ahahaha..."

When it came to the topic of ghosts,

this sweet angelic Battle Valley Princess got a little abnormal.

If her ardent admirers saw her in this state, their jaws would drop for sure.

At first, she tried to hide her obsession with ghosts,

but after staying in Weizemay Manor for ten days, she started to let go.

She found that the atmosphere here was perfect for realizing her long-conceived ideas.

Once she revealed this special preference, Mr. Gaven felt relieved; some of the secrets of Weizemay Manor could be appropriately shared with her.

Mr. Gaven asked Estelle, "Come, help me feel how much these Fear Points really aid you."

Estelle hastily replied, "Sir, please don’t waste Fear Points on us for now. The Fear Points the manor currently has don’t help us much. Amanda and I would need thousands of Fear Points for a substantial increase in our abilities. These points would have a more visible effect on the lower-ranked ghost servants.

The Fear Points accumulated and condensed in the manor are just a part of it, another part has already been absorbed by us."

With that explanation, Mr. Gaven instantly understood what Fear Points were.

They were essentially a modified form of Experience Value, used to upgrade these ghost servants.

However, what they increased was probably not Professional Level but rather Life Dice, enabling them to gain stronger Special Abilities.

He just didn’t know how many Fear Points it would take for these ghost servants to increase their Life Dice by one.

Mr. Gaven took Regina and the others directly to the ghost servant in the manor with the least Life Dice—only two. He was once a boastful thief who thought he could loot Weizemay Manor with his subpar skills. As a result, he became the Shadow laborer of this place, the least efficient one.

Forget the appearance, even the basic outline was a bit vague, a pitiful creature of inefficiency.

A hundred Fear Points were smashed down, merely making his spectral outline a bit more solidified, but they didn’t increase the Life Dice, nor did they unlock any Special Abilities. At best, the work efficiency had improved slightly.

It seemed that this matter would require a voluminous approach.

One could only hope that with a generous reward, more brave souls would emerge.

"Have you heard about the happenings at Ghost Manor?"

"What happened?"

"Someone just successfully breached the three challenges of the manor’s ghosts, and the local Lord Mr. Gaven rewarded him with a bottle of even more potent Ghost Grape Wine. It’s said that a sip lets you see ghosts, and if you down the entire bottle, you turn into a ghost."

"That impressive? Ordinary grape wine is selling for a hundred and eighty per bottle, how much is that one?"

"I heard someone offered eight hundred for that vintage bottle of Ghost Grape Wine, but the owner wouldn’t sell, saying they wanted to keep it for their personal collection."

"Eight hundred? Hiss... I make just two Gold Coins a day, I couldn’t earn that much even if I saved for a year without eating or drinking. If I’d known, I would have also gone to check out Ghost Manor, try my luck."

"You’re telling me? I thought those rich merchants were just seeking thrills, entertaining themselves with a holiday adventure, never expected there to be such great benefits."

"You’ve got it wrong, the merchants who gathered there today were mostly thrill-seekers, interested in ghost events. They didn’t anticipate the extra rewards either. It seems like an unexpected event; even Mr. Gaven, the manor’s owner, hastily dropped his work to fly over there."

"What’s sudden today will be routine tomorrow, Mr. Gaven has already announced publicly that he’s going to adjust the challenges within the manor and has put out a new bounty. Whoever successfully completes the new Ghost Challenges will receive a Ghost Eye Blindfold."

"A Ghost Eye Blindfold? The kind that lets you see ghosts? The magical equipment that’s worth at least twenty-five hundred on the market?"

"Exactly, it’s the same one that was auctioned at the previous auction house. The person who cleared the challenges today was the winner of the blindfold at that auction. It is said that this unique piece of Magic Equipment was indispensable for his successful completion of the Ghost Challenges."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get ready with our best equipment, and head over to Ghost Manor tomorrow. Compared to those merchants, we Combat Profession Practitioners have an advantage. If they can do it, it should be a piece of cake for us."

"Don’t oversimplify things. Do you think the owner of Ghost Manor, Mr. Gaven, is a fool?"

"If he were a fool, then all of us here would be the greatest of fools. I haven’t met anyone smarter than him. He managed to drive the price of a type of grape wine to a hundred and eighty in just two months. If someone had told me this before, I would have spat in his face and cursed him for bluffing. Yet, he has indeed achieved it."

"Since he is not a fool, he definitely won’t just give magical equipment away for free. Thus, the Ghost Challenges aren’t as simple as we think, especially after being readjusted. The difficulty is undoubtedly beyond imagination."

"Indeed, it’s not as simple as we thought. I’ve just inquired, and Ghost Manor is not just simply haunted by ghosts. It has been specially designed by experts, fully utilizing sound, mental suggestion, terrifying atmosphere, and other similar techniques. Many people have been scared to collapse by this environment alone without ever seeing a ghost."

"Hiss... That’s harsh. Isn’t that just scaring people?"

"It’s not just scaring people; it’s ghosts scaring people. One thing is for sure, there really are ghosts in the manor, and not just one. But at the moment, there isn’t much information collected on this aspect. Many who have faced a ghost directly are still in a coma, and the few who have woken up don’t remember what happened before they passed out."

"I’m sure you’ve all heard of Heather Leaves tapping at the window, do you think the ghosts in this manor have something to do with it? Could they be the Estelle mother and daughter?"

"Didn’t the opera say that the mother and daughter were resurrected?"

"You believe in operas? Who knows how much they’ve been altered or embellished? The opera does say that the Estelle mother and daughter were brought back to life, and that they willingly served as maids to their new master, but so far, who among you has seen them?"

"Could it be that they are serving the new owner of the manor as ghosts?"

"It’s not impossible."

"Even if we know it’s them, it’s useless, since we still have no knowledge of their abilities."

"Even without knowing, are you saying you would give up?"

"Of course not, definitely not"

"Hehe, have you guys noticed a problem?"

"What problem?"

"There’s no limit set on the number of times we can enter the Ghost Manor. Even if we don’t succeed the first time, we can enter a second, third, and even a fourth or fifth time, until we succeed. After all, the worst that can happen is fainting. Do you think the difficulty of going in a second or third time will be the same as the first time?"

"Of course not, it’ll definitely be different, because we’ll get a feel for the workings of Ghost Manor and its danger points."

"Anyone interested? Let’s form a team and explore it together tomorrow."

"Having a lot of people might be useless, we’ll still end up getting separated, especially during that game of Ghost Hide and Seek. Numbers aren’t an advantage, but a disadvantage. Maybe those ghosts will disguise themselves as one of us and take their place."

"You’re overthinking it; could a scheme so underhanded like that come from a human?"

"I think you’re insulting me."

"Hahaha... No, absolutely not."

"If I can think of it, surely the others can too."

"Having more people may not be an advantage in the final round, but in the first two rounds, merchants say it’s useful. Why don’t we work together in the first two rounds, and go our separate ways in the last? That should work."

"Good idea, it’s settled then. Count me in."

"Have you guys ever wondered why the manor owner would do this? What’s in it for him? Is he simply doing it for fun?"

"I don’t know, I’m not sure, and I’m not interested. All I need to know is what I can gain from it."

"Exactly, we can’t fathom the thoughts of such a high-profile person; we just need to take care of our own affairs."

"If we could figure out his true intentions, we wouldn’t be here." The most update n0vels are published on ɴovᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet

It is said that wealth moves the heart.

It is also said that with money, one can make a ghost push a millstone.

Two thousand five hundred Gold Coins are enough to make many people ignore the risks at arm’s reach.

The news about Gaven’s generous reward inviting people to challenge the new three challenges at Ghost Manor

spread among the merchants like a bolt of thunder, instantly.

Many merchants who had completed their trades and were ready to leave docked again, deciding to linger for another two days to try their luck at assembling a team to pass the challenges and claim the day’s prizes.

With the setting of the prizes, the entire nature of the event changed completely.

It was no longer just about casual entertainment but planned challenges.

Many who had little interest in the event were now thoroughly intrigued.

Especially the guards and mercenaries, they were rubbing their hands in eagerness.

Among them were Combat Profession Practitioners with not insignificant Professional Levels, who believed their courage and abilities were beyond what the merchants could compare to.

Many who were acquainted with each other shared news, gathered together, and formed Adventure Teams, ready to explore the Ghost Manor together.

Many were prepared for long-term engagement, ready to enter and exit the Ghost Manor repeatedly until they cleared it.

By early the next day when the sky was still dim, the area outside Weizemay Manor was already bustling with people. The number of people who had gathered there had exceeded hundreds, and more were still converging on the place.

Mr. Gaven, the owner of Weizemay Manor, was already waiting there with a smile on his face.

In his eyes, the crowd converging towards him was not a group of people, but a collection of living, Fear Points generating tools.

If dozens of people could provide hundreds of Fear Points yesterday, then thousands shouldn’t be a big problem today.

As long as there are enough people, the earnings are still considerable.

After the sun had risen, Gaven cleared his throat and said, "Here, I would like to announce several new rules to everyone."