"Money can't buy happiness? Which fool uttered such nonsense?"
A tall young man with dark circles around his eyes and a bitter frown muttered hatefully. Although he was dressed properly, with one hand puffing a cigarette and the other squeezing an empty can of beer, he looked completely out of place.
He wasn't in a good mood.
After all, his girlfriend had just dumped him.
Reason?
Of course, the damn money which he didn't have.
He still remembered her words as clearly as a day.
"Lucian, let's be honest. The world is cruel and unforgiving. Love can be pure, but without money, it quickly withers."
"You can barely survive, how can you promise a future to me? We should end this now rather than dive into misery."
And just like that, she walked away from his life as if she wasn't there to begin with.
Years of so-called love went into the gutter just because he was broke.
"Bitch. If you're so pure, why don't you sponsor me, then?"
"Damn Gold digger!"
Lucien shouted aloud, showing his impotent rage, drawing attention from the pedestrians.
However, Lucian didn't care as a vixen broke his heart. Where did he have time to care about others' opinions of him?
But after having a fit, bitterness faded a bit, as Lucien finally calmed down.
"Sigh…a misery, huh! She isn't wrong."
He mumbled, looking at the neon sky of the city.
Although he hated to admit it, he couldn't deny that there was some truth in her words.
He was a dirt-poor guy in this 21st century, who struggled to even survive.
Which girl would marry him for so-called love?
Certainly not his girlfriend.
Feeling and love they shared since high school?
Screw that.
Handsome with a charming personality?
Without money, were you supposed to cook it and eat it?
Priorities were shifting in the world, and he was stuck in the old-fashioned, good old concept rather than trying to settle first.
Honestly, this breakup was probably a guaranteed outcome.
He should be grateful he didn't get greened.
"I was immature!"
Lucian muttered, taking one last long puff of his cigarette before flicking the butt aside with his finger.
Then, he flicked the beer can up in his hand and, with a sharp kick, sent it flying, forming a beautiful parabola and landing directly in the trash can with precision.
"SCREW LOVE. From now on, my only wish is to become rich," he suddenly declared loudly as if trying to motivate his dying heart.
"So rich that even the sky will owe me interest."
He threw his arms dramatically toward the heavens, not realizing he didn't look mature one bit this way.
"Watch out, world! I—"
"LOOK OUT!"
"VROOM—!"
"BANG!"
"KUKK!"
Poor guy, he never finished his sentence before a truck steamrolled him.
…
…
…
"Ugh… my head!"
Lucien groaned, grabbing his head. His head felt heavy, while his body felt light, when suddenly a strange aroma tickled his nose.
'Where am I?'
He opened his eyes, looking around, only to find himself in a completely different place. He was actually seated in a luxurious room on a cushioned chair.
In front, a circular table piled with delicacies he didn't recognize was wafting the sweet aroma of food throughout the entire room.
And across, he saw a middle-aged man in fine robes leaning forward and talking as if they were in the middle of a conversation.
"....So, what do you think, Sir Lucein? As long as I get the necessary funds, I guarantee that I will make it into the Alchemy guild this time and make sure to find an Elemental Pill that can increase your talent."
He spoke as earnestly as possible while looking at him with hopeful eyes.
'What the… who's this geezer? And where the hell am I?'
Lucien blinked his eyes in pure confusion.
But he didn't need to wait long as a sudden flood of memories surged in his mind, causing him to unconsciously grab his head.
"Sir Lucien? Are you alright?"
The middle-aged man asked a little nervously.
"Wait a minute… just a headache."
Lucien grunted, waved the man off, and then quickly tried to focus, digesting the new memories.
'Lucien Goldveil? A talentless dandy who is an heir to a noble house and is obscenely rich. He has nothing except money and is famed for burning gold faster than a gambler.'
The more he recalled the memories, the more he was stunned. Because, the memories didn't feel right.
Not only memories, but the place he was in and the luxury around him didn't feel right either.
More importantly, his fingers that were adorned with gemstone rings and the thick golden chain wrapped around his wrist, suggested one thing to him loud and clear,
'Did I transmigrate? In a fantasy world?'
His surprise was beyond words, as this was a world brimming with magic. However, when he recalled that he was someone born without mana affinity, his excitement dimmed a bit.
'Well, at least I have tons of money now,' Lucien thought, trying to stay positive.
"Umm… Sir Lucien, can you hurry up a bit? It is kind of getting late."
His thoughts were interrupted by the middle-aged man, who looked impatient. It didn't look like someone who wanted help from him at all.
Lucien wasn't surprised by his behaviour, though.
'Damn, with all the money in the world, you decided to squander on these scammers?'
Lucien couldn't help but feel speechless.
Alchemist Deavan. Wasn't he the guy who took 500 gold coins to enhance his Alchemy skill last month with the same promise?
Now, he was here again, with another demand of 1000 gold coins that too he was asking as if his own money.
Even Lion wouldn't open its mouth that big.
From the memories he got, 1000 gold coins were about $200,000 in his previous world.
'With that much, maybe, that bitch won't even break up with me.'
He couldn't take this stupidity anymore and questioned with a stern tone,
"What about the gold coins I gave you before? Didn't you promise you would surely enter the Alchemy guild at that time?"
"Hmm?"
Alchemist Devan was stunned by the sudden change in Lucien. But he didn't think much, smiled slyly, and replied,
"Come on, Lord Lucien. You and I both know how hard it is to enter the Alchemy guild. All I can do is try hard."
He showed a helpless look,
"Honestly, I think it must be because money wasn't enough. Mere 500 gold coins can only do so much."
He didn't forget to divert the topic to money again, though.
Typical scammer.
"Oh? Is that so?
Lucein raised his eyebrows at his shameless look and suddenly extended his arm.
"Lord Lucien?"
"What? Didn't you say mere 500 gold coins? Why don't you return it to me then?"
He blinked his eyes, looking at the guy to take out what he had given.
His demand wasn't much, was it?
He just wanted his money back and didn't even demand any interest, like those loan sharks in his previous life.
"Haha… Lord Lucien is joking."
However, Devan didn't seem to think he was serious. Instead, he conveniently took his words as a joke.
"For you, what 500 gold and 1000 gold, aren't they the same? I don't think your esteemed status will even look back at what you have spit out. Why joke with a lowly being like me?"
He replied with no intention whatsoever to return the money he owed.
'Good guy! Is my reputation that high?'
Lucien twitched the corner of his mouth speechlessly.
Poor him. Because of his fierce reputation outside, any guy on the road had the guts to embezzle his funds.
"Umm… Lord Lucien, I really need these 1000 gold coins. What about this? This time, I guarantee that I will enter the Alchemy guild without failure."
Devan once again asked for money shamelessly, feeling that it was quite hard to get it out this time.
'Didn't that guy, Glen, get 1000 gold coins from him just yesterday? Why is it so hard for me to get it now?'
He couldn't help but look at Lucien with doubt, as if asking why he was so slow today.
Could you just throw the money already?
"Your mother…"
Seeing his look, Lucein was so mad that he cursed.
Did he think he was stupid? Why would he waste 1000 gold coins for nothing?
However, before he could fly in rage, a neutral voice suddenly sounded in his mind, making him stop,
Ding!
[Synchronization Complete!]
[Debt Collector System has been successfully bound.]
[Detected a failure to collect debt from the target: Alchemist Devan.]
[Analyzing transactions…]
[Target received a debt of 500 gold coins and was unable to return anything.]
[Penalty triggered.]
[Automatically extracting compensation of equivalent value…]
[Extraction complete.]
[Congratulations! You gained: Minor Mana Sensitivity (Passive), +1 Intelligence.]