Jack Carter gritted his teeth. "Boss, lend me a few thousand more gold coins!" After failing the rocket-leveling attempt, paying back the debt through his own efforts seemed hopeless. The only option was to borrow more money. As the saying goes, 'A heavy debt does not crush a man.' As long as he got the Supreme Second Ring, debt was nothing to fear!

Oswald said solemnly, "I can, but I can only lend you 1,000. In one year, you must pay me back 20,000. Including the 1,000 I lent you this morning, that means you must pay me back 30,000 in a year."

Jack Carter couldn't help himself. "Why has the interest doubled again? That's not how this is supposed to work!"

Oswald replied coldly, "It's not supposed to work like this in the first place. Others are struggling for dozens of silver coins, while you suddenly get 2,000 gold coins. Does that seem fair?"

Jack Carter began to calculate anxiously. Since the Supreme Second Ring could only be exchanged for one per day, the sooner he graduated from the skill, the better. But now that the interest had doubled, how much profit would be left from graduating early? Was it still worth borrowing the money? No, it wasn't! Wait! The value of the initial startup capital, with its infinite potential for creation, couldn't be calculated like this! I was being foolish. Besides, whoever is the first to reach the advanced skill system will be rewarded with an A-rank mercenary contract! That book could be sold for a lot of money! I don't believe anyone at this stage can reach advanced before me with 2,000 gold coins! Yes, for the sake of being first!

Jack Carter gritted his teeth again. "I'll borrow it!"

Oswald broke into a smile. "Then carefully review this contract. If you have no objections, sign it."

After signing, Jack Carter felt a strong sense of exhaustion and powerlessness.

Oswald spoke seriously again. "Listen, this is the last time I'll lend you money. Make good use of it."

"Thank you for your support, boss... Huh?" Jack Carter suddenly remembered something and asked, "Boss, there's something I don't understand. While others are struggling for a few dozen silver coins, why did you favor me and lend me 2,000 gold coins?"

Oswald chuckled. "Do you know how precious the pearl coral from Echo Island, Red Coast, is?"

Jack Carter said, "You even sent two regiments of regular troops to guard it, so its value must be extraordinary."

Oswald said, "Exactly. And that's just the raw material. After being meticulously crafted by a master-level jeweler, carefully enchanted by a master-level enchanter, and inlaid by a master-level blacksmith, the final equipment produced is truly exceptional. After so many processes, its value increases by more than a hundred times!"

Jack Carter was stunned. "Its value increases a hundredfold? Then why did you only reward me with less than a gold coin in total for all that I gave you?"

Oswald said solemnly, "It's the rules. I have to follow them and can't overstep."

What is this? The jewelry of beauties and the seals of kings all come from the sands and waves. Sigh, well, he's an NPC after all, just following the program. Can't blame him.

Oswald changed the subject. "However, with such huge profits, given our personal relationship, even if I gave you 2,000 gold coins as a procurement fee, it wouldn't be too much! But because of the rules, I can't give it to you—at most, I can only lend it. Now do you understand? Others beg me to lend, and I still refuse."

So even NPCs have such high emotional intelligence! Crossing over was really worth it!

Jack Carter said gratefully, tears in his eyes, "Thank you for your support, boss. I won't let you down!"

Oswald patted Jack Carter's shoulder. "Alright, alright, you've worked hard leveling your skills today. Be sure to rest. Jewelry crafting, especially making high-level accessories, should never be done when you're tired. It's easy to fail that way. On the other hand, when you're full of energy, there's a chance to create items with attributes beyond the recipe!"

Jack Carter exclaimed, "There's actually such a thing?"

Oswald chuckled, "I don't tell this to just anyone. The more you fail, the more materials you buy from me, after all. Go get some rest."

"Okay." Jack Carter left to find an inn and log off.

Oswald watched Jack Carter's departing figure and muttered, "Kid, right now you're not worthy of her. I can only help you this much. If you don't succeed, then die trying..."

Although Jack Carter's game character was offline resting, he himself did not rest. He had already taken screenshots of all the jewelry recipes in the skill list and was now carefully planning a materials list for leveling up offline.

The materials for intermediate skills were all quite expensive. Buying directly from Oswald's shop would be a huge loss. With only 1,500 gold coins, it was impossible to reach advanced. Jack Carter decided to buy cheaply from the player market, and only consider buying from the shop if players couldn't provide the materials. Some of the materials needed for intermediate jewelry could drop from bosses, regular monsters, or wild treasure chests, and intermediate miners had a chance to dig them up. But with most players still only in their 20s and not yet level 30, these materials were still considered high-end. Jack Carter didn't have high hopes, but decided to check the market first—save money where you can.

After logging in again, Jack Carter traveled tirelessly to the auction houses in all the main cities to post long-term material purchase requests. The purchase price was only one-tenth of what Oswald's black market shop charged. Even so, Jack Carter believed that, given how poor most players were from rushing to level up, this would still be a decent income. He deposited 1,000 gold coins as purchase funds, plus a 10% credit deposit of 100 gold coins, and kept 400 gold coins on hand for daily expenses.

Chapter 8: Unexpectedly Unlocking Paladin Reputation