INFINITE MONEY - I Will Buy Everything

Chapter 248: Chapter 248 - Three Conditions

"Oh, really?"

William could discern that the voice was utterly devoid of emotion, and he sensed that if he nodded in agreement, he might lose another invaluable ally, just as he had lost Anne. Nevertheless, despite this intuition, he nodded— because, at that moment, it seemed the only option available to him.

William braced himself, awaiting the impending verdict. To his astonishment, however, the Goddess— who had moments before been so emotionally detached— suddenly smiled warmly and said, "Alright, I forgive you."

William's head snapped up in disbelief. He saw the radiance of her smile, and although he found it difficult to accept that she could forgive him so easily, something about her presence compelled him to believe it.

"Just like that... with no repercussions?" William blurted out, immediately regretting his words.

The Goddess nodded, then paused as if reconsidering her stance. "Yes, you're right. I should set some conditions for you to adhere to."

William nodded eagerly. "Of course, I'm willing to accept whatever you want."

The Goddess nodded thoughtfully before continuing. "Alright, I have three conditions."

"First, you will visit me at least once a year— no, make that twice a year."

"Second, you will bring me foods from your world. Don't worry about the logistics; I'll guide you."

"Third, you will share with me interesting stories from your world— and from your own life."

"Those are my conditions. Do you accept?"

William regarded her with a contemplative expression, thinking to himself, 'She really is that lonely here, isn't she?'

The Goddess's smile darkened instantly, and William realized with a start that she could hear his thoughts. A bit unnerved, but trying to salvage the situation, he smiled sheepishly and said, "O-O-Oh! Such delightful conditions! I accept them without hesitation, of course, if that's what you want, hehe."

The Goddess still wore that dark expression as she responded, "You're sure you don't want to back out of these 'boring' conditions?"

"H-How could I- why would I, when these three conditions allow me to visit such a beautiful Goddess and engage in conversation with her? These are truly great conditions for me."

The Goddess understood that while his thoughts might have been less flattering, his words were sincere. The darkness lifted from her face, replaced by the most exquisite smile William had ever seen. "Oh! That is so kind of you to say."

For a moment, William forgot everything else, completely entranced by her smile. It took him a full minute to pull himself together and stammer, "Y-Yeah..." Then he remembered the matter of how to get here and asked, "Not to sound ungrateful, but I don't know how to return here on my own."

"For you to come here by your own volition, you must cultivate as you usually do, delving into the deepest recesses of your mind. But there's a twist— you must not open your eyes when you feel you've arrived at your inner mind.

Instead, you should clear your mind once more and focus on nature— trees, water, air, anything connected to the natural world. Then I can teleport your soul here. But remember, never think about your old world— NEVER do that. The Gods don't appreciate it when a soul, once belonging to them, escapes their grasp to aid other gods from different dimensions."

William didn't fully grasp the significance of the last part, but he nodded and said, "Alright, I won't think about my old world."

"Even though it may be challenging, you must focus on the joy this world has brought you and what it has granted, rather than dwelling on what the other world has neglected." The Goddess's words seemed to carry a double meaning, but William couldn't quite comprehend it.

"So, Miss Goddess, not to sound rude or anything, but could you explain why you brought me back here?"

"There are two reasons," the Goddess replied, and William focused his attention.

"Baphomet was attempting to connect with you again." William felt a headache forming at the mention of this. "And just as she was about to succeed, I intervened and erected a barrier between her and you. To truly protect you, I had to bring you to my domain."

William nodded, then asked, "And the second reason?"

The Goddess smiled. "It's time for you to receive another ability."

William froze for a moment before asking, "Another ability? Like the Penetration one?"

"Yes, but it won't be the same or even similar. This time, the choice will be random, and you won't have a say in it."

William grinned widely. "As long as it's something powerful, I'm happy to receive such abilities for free."

"I can see your greed is growing," the Goddess remarked. William's smile faded as he focused on her next words. "It's not yet a concern, but you'll need to curb it. Otherwise, Baphomet or another dark entity could easily target you."

"Alright, I'll try to be less... greedy," William said, though he wasn't entirely convinced by his own words.

The Goddess didn't press the issue. Instead, she snapped her fingers, and a spinning wheel materialized beside her. The wheel was inscribed with numerous names— some familiar to William, most unknown.

Names like Power Lord, Guns Ablaze, Speedy Fingers, Lightning Oil, Vigor Nights, and Kannon Punch adorned the wheel. They seemed bizarre, yet potent, though some were hard to imagine using in an actual battle.

But what William truly understood at that moment was, 'Wow! She really is that lonely, huh!' He regretted the thought as soon as it crossed his mind, seeing the Goddess looking back at him with those dark eyes.

"Wo-Wow, such creativity! Whoever crafted this spinning wheel must have had a lot of time—SKILLS, skills, to create something so impressive." he stammered, trying to avoid her gaze.

The Goddess relented and let it pass, saying, "As you can see, this is a spinning wheel that rotates rapidly until it decides the right moment to stop, pinpointing a skill that I will bestow upon you."

William nodded thoughtfully, then scrutinized the 20 or 30 names on the wheel. "So the wheel will assign me a skill from these twenty or thirty names?"

The Goddess shook her head, deepening William's confusion. "No, it won't. The names you see here are just a small selection. There are many, many more. When the wheel spins, not only does it rotate, but the skills on it also change until it stops."

"Oh! So the skill I receive will be entirely unknown to me," William realized. The Goddess nodded, and then asked, "Are you ready?" William nodded eagerly, excited to acquire another potent ability.

The Goddess stood up and approached the wheel, giving it a gentle push. It began spinning rapidly. The force of its rotation could have generated a small hurricane, but nothing of the sort occurred. The wheel simply continued to spin.

As it spun, William had a thought and asked, "Goddess, does luck influence this?"

The Goddess nodded. "Yes, this selection is influenced by luck, so there's a slight bias." Hearing this, William checked his luck stat.

[Luck: 50]

Seeing the double digits brought William some relief. He knew that no matter what skill he gained from this unusually fast-spinning wheel, it would be something suited to him.

The wheel spun for a while before it suddenly came to a halt. Both William and the Goddess examined the result and frowned.