Chereads / My SSS-Rank Kingdom-Building System / Chapter 33 - Chapter 33

Chapter 33 - Chapter 33

"Take me back to my original world," Leon commanded.

In an instant, he found himself standing in the same spot in his house where he had first left for the other world. The familiar surroundings greeted him—modern furniture, muted lighting, and the faint hum of the refrigerator in the background.

"I'm back..." he muttered, his voice filled with a mix of relief and weariness.

He stretched, feeling the stiffness in his limbs from his time in the other world, and made his way toward the sofa. Collapsing onto it, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

"System, how much time has passed here?" he asked casually.

[Two weeks have passed in this world.]

His eyes snapped open at the reply. "Two weeks? What do you mean?" he asked, sitting up slightly.

"You said before that one month there equals one day here. If that's true, only a single day should have passed!"

[The earlier calculation of 'one month to one day' was inaccurate. The actual range is between two weeks to one month in your original world for every month spent in the other world. The previous estimate was an error caused by incomplete calibration during your initial transfer.]

Leon frowned, processing the information. "So you're saying the time ratio is between two weeks and a month? Why didn't you clarify this before?"

[The system's understanding of temporal synchronization has improved with use. Future deviations will be accurately accounted for.]

"Convenient," Leon muttered sarcastically, rubbing his temples. "So much for reliable information. Guess I can't trust everything you tell me at face value."

He glanced at the clock on the wall, its second hand ticking away steadily. "if I spend an hour here, how much time would pass there?"

[Based on the updated time range, approximately two to four hours would elapse in the other world for every hour spent in this one.]

"Two to four hours," Leon repeated, scratching the back of his head. "That's still manageable…"

"Let's go. The first thing I'll do after returning is…" Leon murmured to himself, leaving his thought unfinished as he pushed himself off the sofa.

He walked to the front door of his house, opening it to the quiet stillness of the outside world. Just beyond the threshold, a small cluster of rocks lay scattered near the sidewalk. His eyes scanned the pile until he spotted one that seemed about the right size.

Bending down, he picked it up and hefted it in his hand. "Should be around a kilogram," he estimated, turning the rock over to inspect its rough, uneven surface.

Taking a deep breath, Leon closed his eyes. A faint tingling sensation ran through his fingertips as he activated his ability: Transmuting Touch. He visualized the dense, dull stone transforming—its molecular structure reorganizing, impurities vanishing, and its composition refining into something far more valuable.

In his mind, he pictured gold: its brilliant luster, its unmistakable weight, and the way light danced off its polished surface. 

Moments later, he felt the texture in his hand shift. The coarse, gritty surface smoothed out. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the unmistakable gleam of pure gold.

A slow grin spread across his face as he turned the transmuted gold over in his hands, inspecting it under the sunlight. "Perfect," he muttered, satisfied with the result.

[The transmutation was successful. One kilogram of raw stone has been converted into approximately 1 kilogram of pure gold.]

"That's one problem solved," Leon said, pocketing the golden chunk.

Leon slipped the gold stone into a sturdy bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he prepared to head out. He checked himself in the mirror, making sure he looked composed—just another average guy running errands, nothing suspicious.

"Time to see how much this is worth," he murmured, grabbing his wallet before stepping out of the house.

The trip to the nearest jewelry dealer wasn't long, but Leon spent the entire walk rehearsing his story. He knew questions were inevitable, and he needed to sound convincing.

The shop he entered was small but upscale, the kind of place where high-end clients conducted their business. Behind the glass counters, rows of glittering jewelry and precious metals were displayed under warm lighting. The faint scent of polish lingered in the air.

A middle-aged man in a neatly pressed suit approached him, his practiced smile exuding professionalism. "Good afternoon, sir. How can I assist you today?"

Leon returned the smile, pulling the gold stone out of his bag and placing it on the counter with a soft thud. The man's eyes widened slightly at the sight of it.

"I'd like to sell this," Leon said simply.

The man adjusted his glasses, leaning closer to inspect the gold. "That's… quite the piece," he said, his tone cautious. "Do you mind if I test its purity?"

"Go ahead," Leon replied with a shrug. "It's as pure as it gets."

The man nodded and excused himself, carefully carrying it to a back room. Leon could see him through the glass divider as he ran a series of tests—scraping a tiny sample, measuring its density, and finally, using a spectrometer to confirm its composition.

When the man returned, his expression was a mix of amazement and suspicion. "It's 99.99% pure gold," he said, placing the bar back on the counter. "That's remarkable. May I ask where you acquired it?"

Leon chuckled, leaning casually against the counter. "Funny story, actually. My grandfather owned a small gold mine. When he passed, he left a letter instructing me not to open his safe until I turned twenty. Inside, I found this." He gestured to the bar. "Figured it was time to put it to good use."

The man nodded slowly, his professional demeanor returning. "I see. A family heirloom of sorts."

"Exactly," Leon said with a smile.

The man tapped a few keys on a calculator, glancing at the weight of the bar and the current market price for gold. "The market rate for gold today is approximately $86 per gram," he said, his voice steady. "At one kilogram, this piece would fetch around $86,000. However, as a business, we need to account for processing and resale costs. I can offer you $81,000 for it."

Leon nodded, pretending to consider the offer. "That seems fair. Let's do it."

The man smiled and quickly prepared the paperwork. "I'll just need to transfer the funds to your account, of course," he said, turning to his computer. After a few clicks, the man turned the screen around to show Leon the transfer details. "The total comes to $80,000. I'll send the money to the account you provided."

Leon quickly reviewed the details, nodded, and confirmed. The man entered the final data, and a moment later, Leon's phone buzzed with a notification confirming the transfer.

"Eighty grand," Leon muttered under his breath, glancing at his phone with a small smile. "That's more than enough to stock up on supplies and resources."

He tucked his phone back into his pocket and stood up. The man smiled again, his tone warm and professional. "If you happen to come across more gold like this in the future, we'd be happy to purchase it from you. We pay top dollar for high-quality gold."

Leon gave a casual nod. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, then turned to leave.

The man gave him a respectful nod as he walked out of the shop.

"Hmmm, where should I go?" Leon thought, considering his next move.

A moment later, he paused, remembering something. "I owe Emily $1,000. I should return that to her before going anywhere else." He muttered to himself, then stepped out to the street. He flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the address. "Please take me to this address," he said, handing over the details of Emily's location.