Chapter 989: Alternate Timeline: The Black Knight

With ten luck points active, there was not even the slightest trace of nervousness on her face.

The wheel spun rapidly.

Faster.

Faster.

Then eventually—

It stopped.

[Ding! Congratulations on acquiring the Peak Potion as a reward from the lottery wheel. The item was sent to the inventory.]

At the same moment, the lottery wheel refreshed itself.

The third batch of rewards appeared.

Kiara immediately whistled softly.

"Well..."

A faint grin appeared on her lips.

"Now this is an upgrade."

The seven items displayed before her were:

[Random Unique weapon]

[Random Bloodline]

[Rank-1 Android (Weapons Research Specialist)]

[Upgrade crystal (Superior grade)]

[Ungraded Main Battle Tank (Merkava Mark IV)]

[Peak potion]

[Mysterious box (????)]

Kiara genuinely liked this batch.

In truth, she had worried the system might alter the wheel after realizing she continuously abused the ten-luck-point strategy for guaranteed rewards, yet thankfully, the mechanism remained unchanged.

That alone relieved her slightly.

But then her eyes fell on that grey button below the wheel that had a timer. Her facial expression changed when she saw the timer had changed from 7 days to 14 days. The cost also changed from 300 to 1000.

"Two weeks per reward? Ugh, that sucks, but these are all superior products anyway."

She came to terms with it quickly.

Soon afterward, she closed the lottery wheel and opened the Statue of Velkazar interface instead.

Two weeks ago, the statue upgraded her dismantling technique into something absurdly powerful.

Naturally, her expectations rose tremendously because of that experience.

Unfortunately...

Luck could not bend reality endlessly.

[Ding! You received the blessings of the Divine Dragon Velkazar. Your agility stat is temporarily increased by 1 point for 24 hours.]

Kiara stared blankly for several seconds.

Then sighed deeply.

"What a useless blessing..."

Closing the notification, she opened her inventory and examined the newly acquired Peak Potion.

It looked identical to the previous one.

However, unlike before, she was now already a five-star rank Summoner, meaning the effects would likely be far greater.

Still, one question lingered inside her mind.

Would the Amulet of Magic continue boosting her intelligence after consuming the potion?

Soon, another notification answered her.

[Ding! Amulet of Magic loses its effect once your intelligence stat reaches 8.]

Kiara clicked her tongue softly.

"So I truly have to rely on my lightning clone afterward..."

With nothing else demanding immediate attention, she resumed absorbing ether crystals.

However, her current method differed drastically from before.

Rather than slowly refining each crystal individually, she now continuously absorbed raw ether energy directly into her body without bothering about refinement immediately.

During the past ten days, she discovered something unusual.

Her body possessed virtually limitless ether storage capacity because of the system.

The system itself quietly refined everything afterward in the background.

So every night before sleeping, Kiara would absorb massive quantities of ether crystals, go to sleep normally, then wake up with increased ether points after the automatic refinement finished.

Simple.

Efficient.

Ridiculously overpowered.

As for why she did not consume every remaining crystal all at once...

It was purely for mental comfort.

Nothing deeper than that.

After absorbing the final batch of ether crystals and ores from her inventory, she stored the empty white shells back inside instead of discarding them and finally closed her eyes for a short nap.

Yet not even two minutes passed.

[Ding! A message from Zion: A customer wishes to meet Big Sister.]

Kiara frowned slightly.

"Who now..."

There were still fifteen minutes remaining before lunch break ended, and everyone familiar with her habits already knew she hated meetings during break hours.

Usually, afternoons were empty anyway.

That made this interruption irritating.

Assuming it was probably some stranger, Kiara got off the bed and headed downstairs.

The moment she entered the store, her eyes landed upon the visitor.

At first glance, the person appeared completely unfamiliar.

Average height.

Average build.

Entirely covered in shining black platinum-grade armor.

Even the helmet concealed the face fully.

The stranger looked less like a customer and more like a silent knight carved from black steel.

Then suddenly, the armored figure raised one hand.

Ether energy gathered around the fingertips before transforming into glowing letters floating in the air.

"Hello, Miss Kiara. I apologize for taking a long time."

The words lingered briefly before dispersing into particles.

Kiara immediately recognized the identity.

Still, for confirmation, she activated Sage Eyes discreetly.

A faint smile appeared on her lips afterward.

"I was waiting for your arrival, Mister."

Her voice remained calm.

"I trust you will protect my fiancé with your life."

The armored man silently nodded.

Then Kiara tilted her head slightly.

"By the way... What should we call you?"

Nearby, curiosity immediately surfaced across Serestia’s face.

The stranger once again gathered ether energy into floating words.

"The Black Knight."

*

Sometime later, after the brief exchange downstairs had finally settled and the strange tension surrounding the armored stranger eased into something calmer, Kiara decided it was time to formally introduce him to Arceus.

"This is Black Knight," Kiara said while gesturing toward the armored figure standing silently nearby like a dark pillar carved from iron and shadow. "He is a peak-stage six-star rank expert from the Kingdom of Celestra, and I hired him to protect you during my absence."

Arceus blinked in surprise.

Even though he could not sense the exact cultivation through the heavy armor, he had once been the heir of House Silver, and that background alone gave him enough knowledge to understand how terrifyingly expensive the services of such an expert would normally be.

His gaze unconsciously lingered upon the black armor for a moment.

The heavy plates reflected dim light quietly.

Not a single unnecessary movement escaped from the mysterious knight.

Even the atmosphere around him felt stable and restrained, like a sleeping beast hiding beneath still water.

Arceus then looked back at Kiara.

"How much is it going to cost for his protection?"

The question caught Kiara off guard.

For a brief second, her expression stiffened almost invisibly.

Originally, she assumed Arceus would question the necessity of hiring an outsider when Zion and Noah already existed inside the store.

Money was the last thing she expected him to ask about.

As Kiara quickly began calculating a believable amount inside her mind, somewhere around three to four hundred gold coins monthly, Wester moved first.

The armored knight slowly raised one hand.

Ether energy gathered at his fingertips before transforming into glowing words floating in midair.

"I owe Miss Kiara my life."

"As repayment for her favor, I will protect you for the next six months, Young Lord Silver."

The glowing letters lingered quietly before dispersing like smoke.

Naturally, Wester deliberately placed a time limit on the arrangement.

He could not exactly announce that he intended to serve his own son for life like a hidden servant.

In his mind, six months should be enough.

Enough time to slowly earn forgiveness.

Enough time to protect Arceus from the shadows.

Enough time to somehow repair the ruins he himself created.

And if six months proved insufficient...

Then he would find another excuse to stay longer.

Fortunately, Arceus accepted the explanation without suspicion.

A warm smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you."

His happiness came from two completely different reasons.

First, the arrangement costs nothing.

Second, Kiara had apparently saved another person’s life again.

As for why that naturally pleased him...

Arceus never even questioned it.

To him, it simply felt obvious.

Meanwhile, Kiara inwardly sighed in relief.