CHAPTER 128 - NO NEED TO STAR-ESS ABOUT READING MORE BOOKS!
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I forgot to haggle!
What a noob mistake!
I shuddered to think what my mother would say if she knew. Mentally apologizing to all of my Chinese ancestors back on Earth for my lack of street smarts, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t make the same mistake the next time I made a big purchase. Dang it, two hundred fifty thousand gold coins was the price of a house in Anwei, right? And I missed my chance to haggle the price down because I was too eager to get the books.
My staff were surprised to see me back so early, but it wasn’t a problem for the Demon Chef to prepare lunch for one more person. I collected a tray at the main house and took Cutie with me before retiring to my [Ranch House] for the rest of the day.
The front garden was now full of assorted colorful flowers from the Cash Shop, mainly peonies, tulips, and primroses. I left Cutie there to play among the blossoms that she loved with Mr. Bear in [Guard Mode] watching over her while I went inside my house to change into a T-shirt and cutoff jeans. Since I knew that I would be reading for quite some time, I had prepared a cozy window nook with a comfortable cushioned bench and pretty throw pillows.
Yawning a little even though I hadn’t even started studying Astrology yet, I curled up on the window seat and cracked open the first book. Soft, golden sunlight streamed through the window bathing me in warmth.
“Oh no,” I said out loud when I leafed through the pages of [Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars] and saw that it was full of star maps and complex mathematical formulas. “Astrology is the worst!”
Math, in Adventure Incarnate? This was exactly why people hated Astrology. Of course, in the game all that happened was that the player’s avatar was frozen in one place with a book in its hands, but this was real life and I had to read it for real. I wished that this was more like the cheesy comics I read where the main character only had to smash the book on his head to learn the techniques written on it.
What was the title of that comic? As I tried to remember which story had that scene, I absently rested my forehead on the top part of the book.
I could hardly believe it when a System popup appeared.
[Would you like to learn these Astrology concepts?]
[Yes] [No]
Was this for real? Reflexively clicking on the [Yes] button, I had a split second of regret when I suddenly remembered that in the comic, the main character’s mind was overwhelmed by a flood of information. I winced as I expected a torrent of foreign ideas to invade my brain, but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the System’s fireworks exploded around me and nine popups appeared with the same message: [Congratulations, you just advanced an Astrology level!].
I could hardly believe the final System message.
[Your Astrology level is now 10.]
[Bonus: +2% Farming exp and +1% all other skill exp]
Was this for real?
I mean, I was happy that I leveled up, but I still knew nothing about Astrology. This seemed almost too good to be true. Randomly opening a few pages of [Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars], I verified that I still couldn’t make heads or tails of the technical terms, drawings, maps, and formulas it showed.
[Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars:
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Unlock the secrets of the cosmos with Celestial Insights. Discover how the stars hold the key to understanding your destiny. Filled with ancient occult wisdom and esoteric equations, this book could change your life.]
My mind was definitely not filled with “Celestial Insights.”
The fact that I leveled up without actually understanding or even reading the book didn’t seem like a bad thing, but I was a little worried. I made some tea and nibbled on a biscuit to calm myself. After a few minutes of contemplation, I concluded that the skill’s weirdness was probably because it was meant to be just a money sink. Maybe the System only cared that I had used my gold to buy the books.
I finished my cup of tea and bonked myself on the head with the other nine books, smiling at all the [Congratulations, you just advanced an Astrology level!] messages. When I got the final popup, I whooped for joy and did a little dance.
“Twenty percent! Mighty twenty! Tremendous twenty!” I yelled.
[Your Astrology level is now 99.]
[Bonus: +20% all skills exp]
I also received ten upgrades for Mr. Bear as a special one-time bonus for getting my first max level skill. I put my robes back on and ran outside, grabbing Mr. Bear and excitedly shoving the ten ruby hearts from the System’s reward tab into its chest. The red heart at the center of the plushie’s torso sucked in the ruby hearts and grew lighter in color.
[Puppet Name: Mr. Bear
A magical plushie unlike any other. This cute and cuddly bear is made of a special type of plush cloth and magical stuffing that gives it special powers. When its owner is in danger, this bear will come to life.
Though Mr. Bear is a wizard type, this puppet is also equipped with hidden metal claws and teeth.
Type: Magic
Base spell: Fireball
Upgrades: 4→14/99]
Was it my imagination or did Mr. Bear somehow look cuter now? I fancied that his little black button eyes were shinier and his smile was a little wider. I kissed him on his little nose, and we did a little dance together with me holding him up in the air.
“Twenty percent! Can you believe it, Mr. Bear?”
I couldn’t get over it. How awesome was this? What a huge bonus! Giggling, I went to my front porch and sat down on my rocking chair where I relaxed and browsed the Cash Shop for some festive items. After all, I just got my first max skill and this called for a celebration. I took out lots of fireworks and decorated my porch with colorful balloons, bunting, and a festive banner with “Congratulations” written on it. I lit the fireworks and drank [Kola-Kola Soda] to replenish my energy bar.
Then I went outside to cut down some trees, giggling and mentally chanting “Twenty! Yes, twenty!” whenever I got some Woodcutting exp.
I spent the next few days in a euphoric haze, amazed at how much extra exp I was getting every time I watered the plants or cut down trees.
“Why does Teacher keep smiling creepily?” Lari asked Mo as we were all watering the plants five days later. “She’s been like that for days now!”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? She’s happy Prince Baiyu is moving in soon,” said Mo.
Mo and Kharli playfully elbowed each other, wordlessly daring one another to say something more.
“Soon it will be loooooovey-doooooovey time at the farm,” said Kharli in a singsong tone of voice.
“Ew!” Lari moved away from us, to the other side of the field.
With a twinkle in her eye, Mo turned to me and said, “Will there be a banquet when Concubine Bai joins your family, Teacher?”
I recoiled in mock horror and pretended to slap her cheek. She cooperated by whipping her head around as though she had been struck and falling to her knees dramatically.
“How dare you! Don’t call my honey bunny Concubine Bai!” I said, arms akimbo.
“Forgive me, Teacher!” said Mo.
Mo cowered and Kharli bent over her protectively. Lari just rolled his eyes at our little play.
“You’re forgiven. Get up and finish watering the plants,” I said.
Kharli helped Mo get up and said, “I can’t believe Teacher is so bold. Making a prince of the ruling White Tiger clan move into her side chamber…”
The two girls sighed.
“Hey now, I forbid you guys from referring to the Prince as Concubine Bai. As I have said at least a dozen times before, he will be moving here with some family members.” It went without saying that those family members would serve as his guards and chaperones. “He actually visits various families a lot, so this is just routine.”
That was true. Prince Baiyu often spent a weekend or two at the homes of various clans as his job as his mother’s only heir required him to meet with many people as her representative, and many clan villages were in far-flung places.
The kids continued to tease me about my romance with Prince Baiyu while I vigorously denied that we were moving in together “that way” until Yinuo came by with some news.
Yinuo ran over to me and said, “My lady! My lady! Prince Baiyu has sent his dowry over.”
Mo screamed, “I knew it! They’re getting married!”