Limitless Fortune: I Collect SSS-Rank Skills as Payment-Chapter 61: Deflated Malcolm

"A direct heir thrown into some wasteland to conduct trade? Tch... the Goldveil family is truly ruthless, aren’t they?"

But Lucein didn’t stop.

"Maybe they thought you were useless."

"Or maybe they wanted to train you harshly in this barren land."

"But still, that’s too cruel, if you ask me."

Seeing Lucien continuously pour blame while actually insulting him in disguise, Malcolm’s face grew darker and darker.

"Even if you had no talent, even if you made mistakes you shouldn’t have, shouldn’t the Goldveil family have been a little more lenient?"

"After all, they lacked nothing."

"Why send you to such a barren place?"

Lucien kept rambling nonstop, but then suddenly stopped.

As if something clicked, he stared at Malcolm, who stood frozen with a dark expression, and asked suspiciously,

"Wait a minute... Grandfather, maybe... did they throw you out... because you’re an... illegitimate child?"

He said it.

In his excitement, Lucien really said it.

He even managed to bring up lineage, making Malcolm directly erupt in fury.

"Enough, you bastard! Where did you learn to talk like that?!"

Malcolm was so angry that he slapped Lucien’s shoulder, accidentally breaking the Stone Barrier Lucien had conjured in advance.

Only then did he realize that his grandson had already predicted how he would react and even used a defensive spell to protect himself beforehand.

’When did this kid get so smart?’

Malcolm stared, dumbfounded, at Lucien, who was calmly rubbing his shoulder while looking back with an innocent face, as if unsure what he did wrong.

"Sigh... what did that Cedric teach you? Is this how you raise a son? When I get back, I’ll have to remind him how a son should be taught."

Malcolm grumbled, venting his frustration at his own son, then lightly reprimanded his oversmart grandson.

"Okay, okay, no need to use this low-level trick to get back at me. You’re just angry that I said you’re wet behind the ears, aren’t you?"

Rolling his eyes, Malcolm ignored Lucien and operated the platform again.

This time, though, the speed was noticeably faster than before, and he didn’t bother explaining anything to Lucien like he had earlier.

"..."

"..."

"Grandpa, but...you didn’t tell me why you were thrown into the Carag continent, though."

Lucien just couldn’t stop and had to ask Malcolm again.

Swoosh!

Sure enough, Malcolm suddenly turned around and looked his grandson dead in the eyes as if warning that if he asked once more, he’d throw him into the void below.

"Cough... I’m not making fun of you... I was just curious."

Lucien realized maybe he’d gone a little far. So, he lowered his head and said,

"Sorry!"

"...you kid seems to have grown wings after awakening your class."

Malcolm could see that if he didn’t answer, Lucien would probably pester him in all sorts of ways.

So, he simply sighed, directed the platform toward the central chamber of the entire dimensional vault, and said,

"I wasn’t thrown out of the family, nor was I forced to train in this barren place."

First, he cleared up the useless accusation.

"As for being illegitimate..."

Malcolm once again looked at Lucien and asked,

"Where did you learn these kinds of words? Did your father tell you?"

This seemed to irk him as he looked at Lucien curiously, to which Lucien just smiled sheepishly.

Honestly, with all the time he’d spent today with Malcolm, his care, banter, he realized he liked this feeling.

He was beginning to realize that having a grandfather wasn’t so bad.

At least you could joke around and laugh together, right?

"Forget it. I just want to say it’s none of those reasons why I am here. It was my own decision."

"Your decision?"

Malcolm’s words piqued Lucien’s interest.

"Yeah... for the Goldveil family, talent was never an issue. After all, before the appearance of the World of Origin, there was no such thing as class awakening in this world."

Malcolm paused slightly and continued,

"So, with the treasures and foundation of our family, for a direct lineage, reaching the rank of Sage was extremely easy. Even reaching Realweaver was possible. But..."

"...once the World of Origin appeared, those who couldn’t awaken a class could never increase their realm no matter what treasure they used."

When he said this, Lucien could feel the thick hatred in Malcolm’s eyes.

"Anyway, returning to why I left, it was none other than to prove myself to my family."

Malcolm showed a proud look on his face.

Then he looked at Lucien and advised seriously,

"Lucien, remember this: for millennia, we humans have never truly appreciated something that comes to us too easily."

"As time passes, we take it for granted... until it’s gone."

He paused for a moment, letting the words sink in before continuing,

"So, don’t rely too much on something handed to you. Just be yourself, and strive to achieve things on your own."

"That way, whatever you gain, you’ll cherish it, protect it, and never let it slip through your fingers."

Malcolm showed a rare smile, causing Lucien to think deeply.

He couldn’t help but recall the words spoken by the Mother Origin during his class awakening:

’Those who steal the abilities of others often lack the power of their own.’

Although Malcolm’s words weren’t exactly the same, the essence was strikingly similar, something Lucien took seriously.

Malcolm didn’t stop, though.

"In my youth, I wanted to prove that the Goldveil blood in me could shine anywhere, even on the most barren continent. Only..."

"...what happened later changed everything..."

He sighed then waved his hand, trying to diffuse the serious topic.

"Anyway, let the matter of the past rest for now. We are finally here. Let’s first register your blood so that you can access this vault whenever you want."

By this time, Malcolm had already taken Lucien into a small chamber floating at the center of the void.

Unlike the others, it was unremarkable, with no treasures in sight. Only the orb at the center stood out, hovering slightly above the ground, smooth and dark like obsidian.

It pulsed faintly with shifting lights, each flicker seemingly representing one of the treasure chambers scattered throughout the void.

"This is the Core Orb," Malcolm said calmly.

"For now, it’s under my control. But let’s register your blood too. If something like this happens again, at least it won’t be lost."

The reason Malcolm decided to take Lucien here, despite not even showing it to his son, was because of this.

Previously, he thought it wasn’t necessary since his own access to the vault was enough.

But after nearly losing his life in the Domain Dungeon, he felt he should be careful.

So, he wanted Lucien to have his imprint so that if anything ever happened to him, Lucien could take over.

’At least, the heritage would remain.’

Malcolm thought, looking at Lucien, who was curiously scanning the floating orb. He seemed quite interested in this treasure vault.

’But who wouldn’t be? I should be grateful he didn’t outright ask me for the vault.’

Malcolm smiled, joking to himself until he suddenly saw Lucien turn around and look at him directly.

"Grandpa, I was thinking..."

He began to talk with a slight smile and looked at him with his innocent eyes just like before, causing Malcolm to abruptly stop smiling.

He had a bad feeling about this.

"I say, rather than just leaving the imprint of my blood, why don’t you..."

Lucien suddenly rubbed his hands like a typical merchant and said,

"...transfer this entire Treasure Vault to me?"

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