15 Devastated in Pursuit of Victory

Strolling back to the plaza where he first arrived, Foo was touching his pouch and felt the money that he had. One gold coin, ten silver coins and ten copper coins... Foo realized a mystery that he did not think on earlier. Where did the money come from? He was so used to games that he took the starting gear as a given, but this was no game! Although it looked like a game in some ways, it was a proper world.

This lead to a great confusion. Either it was some sort of greeting gift from the system itself, or it was from the self-proclaimed God. If it were the latter, then the value of the money surely must be almost nonexistent. There was no way that such a lazy and careless bum would be so reliable that he sent him a decent starting capital...

But was it the system? In that case why would it not help him awaken too? And then again, if this world were like a game, then the starting money should only cover a day's or a maximum of a week's expenses.

Although it was troublesome to figure out where the money came from, based of what he knew, both cases would mean that the money was almost useless.

As there was actually quite lot of money, he could probably assume that it was meant to suffice for a week. As a week's expenses would then amount to around one gold coin, the other denominations must not have that huge difference. It was likely that the difference between them was ten coins or so. In other words, the ten copper coins amounted to a silver coin, and the ten silver coins amounted to a gold coin.

In other words, he should have two gold coins and one silver. Or if calculated in coppers, it would be 210 coppers. And if you divided that with the seven days of a week, you would get 30 coins. As he was trying to figure out how much that should be for food, and how much for shelter, he was interrupted:

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Congratulations!

Your impressive counting ability have gained recognition!

Skill unlocked: ❰Calculation- Mastered❱.

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❰Calculation- Mastered❱

Ability to calculate numbers

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``The heck?`` Foo thought. ``Why does that feel like an insult? And what is the point of such a skill? What does it even do?`` At a complete lost, he wondered over this new skill. As far as he could tell, it did not do anything. But then again, he had always been good at counting. After a couple of more experiments, he came to the conclusion that he might have a minimal boost in calculation speed. It was hard to tell, as he could calculate really fast even before he gained the skill. If it was something he could say for sure, it was that he somehow felt more confident that his calculations was correct.

Although it felt like an insult, this one was much better compared to the earlier messages. The magnanimous Foo was even willing to forgive the system for this insult, as it gave him hope that the system might be more reasonable in the future.

In a happy mood, he strolled in the plaza, looking at the items for sale. Unfortunately, there was no price tags. Instead it relied on haggling. Although Foo tried to figure out prices, they seemed to rely mostly on using fingers to show the value, and the denominations were never mentioned. It seemed that the people was too experienced with the market that they knew the reasonable prices and could do a whole exchange with just a few words or gestures.

As he was lurking around and trying to gain knowledge, dodging the merchants that was approaching him, he noticed a commotion.

Following the noise, he reached a spot where people was standing in a circle around two persons. One person was a beautiful lady. She had an expensive dress that was just a tad too plain to be taken for a noble's clothing. Standing with a straight back, looking down with a despising expression on a man that was kneeling on the ground.

The man was also wearing expensive clothing, however they were worn and dirty. His hair was disheveled and he had a blank look, strikingly like a corpse. Seemingly frozen, trying to grasp the finely torn pieces of paper that was laying on the ground, unable to utter a word.

Seemingly taking joy in the despairing look of the man, the lady then announced: "Then let it hereby be known that I annul this marriage arrangement. My father must have been a fool to believe that you would be able to succeed in your family's succession competition. Just because you was successful in the beginning. But look at you now, having lost all your assets. Although you had some backing because of your grandfather, who would support someone that cannot even manage his finances?"

Seeing that he made no effort to answer, she continued: "You might have said that the others set you up, but being unable to protect yourself just shows your lack of skills! I cannot possible marry a trash like you! Just look at you! You cannot even afford food to eat!"

Smirking coldly, she turns and leave some words behind: "The competition is almost over. For both our sake, don't even bother to return." And soon she had left by using the teleportation circle.

The audience was looking at the man with pity. And was slowly starting to disperse, although some that had nothing better to do was still hanging around.

The scene sent Foo's main character senses tingling! This was the legendary marriage annulment! Anyone that reads novels knows that this is a typical template for main characters; a fiance coming to annul the marriage arrangement in a humiliating way after a loss in status.

Foo was definitely going to exploit this. A small favor when at the depths of despair, this could repay itself thousands times over after the ensured rise.

Happily beaming because of the thoughts of riches, Foo approaches the man and says: "Hey brother! I could not refrain from hearing that you have some financial problems. Here, take this." Foo says, and throws the gold coin to the man. "I am sure it will help you out!" Now, Foo was not a man that just threw money away. Even if there was a possibility that the other man had main character qualities, he would not empty his pockets to help him. After giving away the golden coin, he would have more than half of the money left. And with his F rank, there should not be that hard to find some more money within half a week. This money was basically not worth anything to him, and if it could be exchanged for a favor, it was a huge profit.

The man was started when he saw the coin. It was a gold coin! He picked it up with shaky hands to ensure that he had not seen wrong. And indeed, it was a gold coin!

The man then stuttered: "A-a-a-are you sure?" Looking up at Foo with eyes now filled with the vitality of a sun, threatening to burn away the darkness of the world. Lightly chuckling, Foo says: "It is most of what I have on me right now, but you seem to be in a greater need than I. Go ahead and take it, it is just a gold coin."

Looking conflicted, the man finally stands up, and says with a bow: "Thank you! Truly thank you!" Tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks. A pure look of worship, that was similar to the one of the woman he met in the encounter with the goblins, sent shivers down his spine. However, before he had even taken a step backwards in retreat, the man hurriedly rushed away. On the way he jelled: "I will remember this favor for life! With this gold coin, I will be able to salvage the situation, and archive victory in the competition! I will definitely repay you in the future!"

Greatly spirited, the man happily sprinted to the teleportation circles. As there was no queue today, he just had to flash his family emblem to prove his identity, and he was gone in a flash.

"How generous! He must be a true tycoon to afford to just give out money like that!" Someone in the crowd said, amazed.

"That's for sure! To give away a coin of gold just like that! A golden coin! It would cover my living expenses for over 90 years! I would not have to worry about work at all!" A merchant exclaimed.

Oh dear, might he have gotten the values wrong? Foo felt his heart bleed at that thought. But the final nail in the coffin was the system message:

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Congratulations!

Even despite your greedy and money grubbing personality, you willingly gave away your entire fortune to a stranger on the streets! A fortune that many would be willing to die for!

Title: [Philanthropist] earned!

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[Philanthropist]

One who thinks of others before oneself.

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