Chapter 88

As the person holding the box announced that the registration was complete, I approached with the diamond payment box. It contained the fees for the purchase amount and the service charge for the transaction. Before I could even buy a random box, which costs 15 diamonds each, a thousand diamonds had already been deducted from my account due to the transaction fees. The purchase amount itself goes to the seller, but since I tend to buy items at high prices, the service charge was quite substantial. Honestly, if people who spend rationally saw my current state, they would probably scold me severely.

I thought the attendant would frequently bring the diamond box to me for purchases from the exchange or for promotional service re-registrations. Pouring diamonds into the box isn't a particularly time-consuming task, but it was a bit bothersome to do it every time, especially because of the dwarves.

I had clearly called the dwarves frequently by tapping my phone and waking them up while visiting shops. This was because many times, the diamonds they playfully threw into my pocket weren't enough to solve the problem. Despite this, the dwarves were a bit moody.

At first, they were happy because I called them often. The issue wasn't the frequency but the amount of diamonds I took each time, which never satisfied the dwarves. The thought of waking up the disgruntled dwarves again made me sigh.

[Master! Take more!]

[Master! If you don't take more, the dwarves who shovel diamonds for you will lose their jobs!]

Originally, the dwarves only mined diamonds and moved them to carts or warehouses. However, with the increase in consumption outlets like the World Tree's straw and the diamond jackpots periodically burst by the Elder, all the dwarves inside had various jobs.

I thought they would just mine more diamonds, but the costumes I had given them were gone, and I started seeing dwarves wearing glasses and dwarves in gowns and mortarboards.

Of course, in "Infinite Diamonds," the dwarves' goal was to build a diamond empire, and they worked, ate, and slept within it. However, this was the first time I saw dwarves in roles other than miners or cheerleaders who used support tools during occasional buffs.

"Infinite Diamonds" was a very simple game where the dwarves only mined diamonds. It was impossible for new costumes to be released in a game that was about to end.

Curious about what they were up to, I saw dwarves introducing themselves as those who modified carts and those who designed them. When I asked for a small amount, they were the ones who shoveled diamonds into my pocket.

Even the position of shoveling diamonds into my pocket was highly competitive, and only the best dwarves could do it.

[Master! I'm fine! I'm still shoveling diamonds into your pocket even if you don't call me!]

These were the dwarves who threw diamonds into my pocket. They were small, so their shovels were small too, but they threw them quickly, and sometimes I felt a handful when I put my hand in my pocket.

[Master! Look at this hose! You don't use it much, so we're using it as a slide!]

I saw small dwarves sliding out of a hose that was many times their size, like a water slide. The hose would rarely be used except when the Elder rained diamonds.

[Master! There's a problem! A dwarf on the slide fell into the diamond warehouse!]

[Master! If you don't take out more diamonds quickly, the dwarf will die!]

[Master! Use diamonds to save the dwarf!]

"I don't need that many..."

[Master! Please be generous!]

[Master! The warehouse is too full and dangerous because you don't take out enough diamonds!]

They seemed to have thought of a solution to their grumpiness, even if it was a bit absurd.

When I looked down at the diamond warehouse underground, I saw a dwarf swimming leisurely on top of a pile of diamonds. Noticing me, he quickly changed his posture and waved his arms, signaling SOS.

It doesn't look dangerous at all. There's a ladder on the wall. Besides, using so many diamonds is now considered an act of kindness?

"Alright. Then open the hose for 3 seconds."

The attendant, holding the diamond box, wobbled as I placed my phone on top of it. The box was small but must have contained a significant amount of diamonds, as I could feel the weight. I quickly turned off my phone.

When I saw the number on the diamond box, I realized I had made a big mistake. I thought it would be a few thousand diamonds, but it was in the tens of thousands. This was a unit used only when the Elder rained diamonds.

I quickly covered the number on the box with both hands. If anyone saw, it would be a disaster. Daisy, who was next to me, placed her small hand over mine, and Barog stretched out his arm. They probably didn't know why I was doing this.

"Wh-What is this...?"

"Shh, be quiet. I have my reasons."

I dragged the attendant to a less crowded wall, with Daisy covering for me. I also brought the tall personal shopper to block the view.

"From now on, don't come to me for individual payments. Deduct from the diamonds I've given you. I thought, as a large workshop in the 10th tier, you would have a system like this, but I'm disappointed. Pre-payment systems are common. I want to focus solely on shopping. Even the process of asking for the price is embarrassing!"

"I apologize for not checking in advance, Jay."

The personal shopper suddenly apologized to me. I had just made up a story and acted to hide my embarrassment, but it made me feel guilty.

I thought of the pre-payment system in a beauty salon, which saved me from a bigger mistake. This amount was too large to be a mistake, and any random statement could have been disastrous.

But no one else had seen the number on the box except me. If the personal shopper had seen it...

"Next time, I want the same. I want to pick and take things without the hassle of checking the price. It's a bit frustrating."

This might have been a bit obvious. It's not a habit; I always check the price tags and look for 1+1 discounts. I even check the payment notifications!

"I will do my best to ensure that Jay can focus on shopping. I will also consider Jay's feedback to improve our service for valuable customers."

"By the way, about the golden apple tree on the list. I have a child who likes that kind of thing. Can you make one in a similar style? It's a normal field, tree-shaped, and a healing type! Of course, the price is no issue. The pre-payment is already done."

I made the personal shopper leave to avoid seeing the box. She quickly disappeared to prepare a recommendation list.

"Understood. And please send all the purchased items to the synthesis alchemy commission office. The commission fee is, of course, included..."

"Yes, I promise to ensure that you can enjoy the service without any unnecessary processes."

"Is there a place where I can rest comfortably? It's too crowded here. A quiet place would be nice. If it costs more for my comfort, that's fine..."

The attendant's eyes gleamed dangerously. She seemed to have taken my hint and planned to add tips to all the services I received to encourage spending. It had to be this way. My dwarves had gone too far. I needed to give the impression that I could easily spend this amount to avoid any danger.

Just the leftover fees from the exchange made me a VIP level 8. The alchemy commission fees brought me to level 9, and the VIP room, drinks, snacks, and personal trading board brought me to level 10.

When I ordered the maximum number of random boxes available at my level, I quickly reached level 12, far exceeding my goal of level 10.

I had taken the top spot in the VIP ranks before the service cooled down. At this point, I wondered if anyone else had reached such a high level.

The VIP room, hastily prepared, didn't look like it was for that purpose, but it was satisfactory.

Actually, I preferred wandering among the artifact furniture, but the whispers about who had caused the explosion in the exchange, who was manipulating the market, who was stockpiling, and who was really a tycoon made me want to hide.

When we reached a less crowded area, Barog stopped being anxious.

I sprawled out on a plush sofa, grinning widely as I examined the Temple of the Sun I had just bought. The attendant had brought it to the room personally, and I was sure the transportation fee wasn't included.

Next to me was a golden card proving my VIP level 12 status. Daisy was looking at it curiously.

There was no special notification like when the gardener level in the terrarium increased. The attendant simply brought a gold card the size of a business card and announced the VIP level increase. All I had to do was show this card like a nameplate.