10,000x Rebate System: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

Amon sat on the sofa while eating his breakfast, occasionally glancing toward the empty seats around him.

The apartment was unusually quiet this morning.

Ambrosia had already left for the courthouse, while Sidney had gone to the academy for her own classes.

Amon, however, had decided to skip the academy.

There wasn’t much happening these days, and he had more important things to deal with than sitting through classes he could barely pay attention to.

’I’ll make up for it later.’

He finished his food before reaching for the old laptop sitting on the table.

Ambrosia had lent it to him after he explained that he needed to research something.

The machine was several years old, and it took almost a full minute just to start.

Amon patiently waited before opening the browser. His first search was simple.

Mana-rich land symptoms. Several results appeared almost immediately.

Amon leaned closer to the screen and began reading.

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Common Signs of Mana-Rich Land:

Unusually dense mana in the surrounding atmosphere.

Plants growing faster or larger than normal.

Naturally occurring magical herbs.

Small monsters appearing near the area.

Animals developing minor magical traits.

Increased concentration of ambient mana during the night.

...

....

...

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Amon scrolled down, and there was another section explaining the reliability of these signs.

Most of them weren’t reliable on their own.

Plants could grow unusually well because of fertile soil, while strange temperature changes could simply be caused by underground water or geothermal activity.

Even magical herbs could appear in ordinary areas if the surrounding conditions happened to be suitable.

Some of the supposed signs were even dangerous.

Amon found several reports of adventurers entering areas that showed unusually high mana readings, only to discover that the concentration came from a monster nest or an unstable mana vein.

’So most of these are either false positives or traps.’ He rubbed his chin while continuing to read.

There were also reports of people buying land after believing it was mana-rich, only to discover that the readings had been caused by temporary magical phenomena.

Amon closed the page. ’That’s why people need specialized equipment and professionals.’

Unfortunately for them, he didn’t need either.

He opened a map of the surrounding region and began searching through different areas.

The map showed several cities, towns, villages, forests, and undeveloped stretches of land.

Amon enlarged the map around the outskirts of the city.

”Let’s see...”

He started marking locations that matched some of the symptoms he had just researched.

The first was an abandoned farming area north of the city.

The second was a small forest near the western outskirts.

The third was an old mining settlement where several workers had supposedly discovered small mana crystals beneath the ground.

The fourth was a stretch of undeveloped land near a river.

The fifth was a hill several kilometers away.

The sixth was an abandoned village where adventurers had reported unusually dense ambient mana during the night.

The seventh was a large patch of empty land near an old road where several people had reported seeing strange lights beneath the soil.

Amon stared at the seven locations. ’Seven places worth checking.’

He opened a document and carefully wrote down the addresses and nearby landmarks.

If even two or three of these places turned out to contain concentrated mana, his business plan would have a strong foundation.

But there was another problem. ’I’ll need transportation.’

Checking seven different places on foot would take far too long.

Amon leaned back against the sofa and thought about it for a while as he reached for his phone.

He opened his messages. The first message immediately caught his attention.

It was from the Duke of Edinburgh.

Amon opened it and stared at the attached notification.

[Federal Bank Transfer: 1,000,000 Federal Notes]

Amon remained silent, and for several seconds, he simply stared at the number.

Then a massive grin slowly spread across his face. ”One million.”

He leaned back into the sofa with a satisfied expression. ’It’s probably nothing to someone like the Duke.’

To him, though, one million was still a huge amount of money.

He had gone from constantly worrying about every gold coin to suddenly having enough capital to actually start thinking about investments.

’Things are finally looking up.’

Amon quickly opened his next message, and this one was from Richard.

The contents immediately made his smile disappear.

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Richard: We investigated the Ice Dungeon as you requested. So far, we haven’t found anything noteworthy.

---

Amon frowned. ’That’s impossible.’

He was certain that the hidden section existed.

He had personally seen the ancient ruins beneath the dungeon, along with the enormous chamber and the elf sealed inside the crystal pillar.

’Did something happen to it?’

Amon immediately typed a response.

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Amon: Were you able to enter the collapsed section beneath the dungeon?

---

The reply didn’t take long.

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Richard: No. Don’t attempt to enter it yourself.

The dungeon is showing signs of structural instability. There are several indications that it may collapse in on itself.

---

Amon stared at the screen. ”Fuck.”

He rubbed his temples as the information only made things more confusing.

The dungeon had been melting from the inside, and now the Adventurer Bureau was saying that its structure was becoming unstable.

’Could the ancient ruins have disappeared?’

Amon couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation.

If something had happened to that place, he had no way of knowing what it was.

He eventually closed the conversation. ’I can worry about that later.’

His gaze returned to the list of seven locations on the laptop.

If he wanted to build his business, he needed to start somewhere.

Amon stood up from the sofa. ”I’ll check them today.”

He picked up his phone and looked at the map again.

Amon thought about it for a moment before an idea came to him.

’Maybe I should just buy a bike.’

He had the money now, and unlike renting one every time he needed transportation, owning one would save him plenty of trouble in the future.

Amon grabbed his jacket and walked toward the door. ”First, a bike.”

---

Half an hour later, Amon stood in front of a large showroom.

A massive sign above the entrance displayed several different models of Mana Bikes.

They ranged from cheap beginner models to expensive high-performance machines.

Several bikes could be seen through the glass windows, their metallic frames reflecting the afternoon sunlight.

Amon was about to walk inside when something on a television caught his attention.

A news channel was broadcasting live.

The female anchor looked unusually serious.

”Breaking news. The Kingdom of Valoria has officially declared war against the Kingdom of Draven following last night’s attack on the border fortress of Redfall.”

Amon stopped as the screen showed footage of soldiers gathered behind enormous defensive walls.

The anchor continued. ”The conflict between Valoria and Draven has existed for more than three decades, with tensions beginning after the disputed territory of the Eastern Vale of Gold and Silver was claimed by both kingdoms.”

Amon quietly listened as the footage changed to soldiers riding through a ruined settlement.

”Both kingdoms have begun preparing for what military officials are calling the largest conflict between the two nations in a generation.”

The television showed a map of the two kingdoms.

Valoria occupied the northern territory, where Amon’s kingdom was their neighbor, while Draven controlled the lands to the south.

Amon stared at the screen for a few seconds. ’Another war.’

He didn’t know enough about either kingdom to have an opinion on who was responsible.

Still, the timing didn’t feel right to him.

Before he could think about it any further, someone approached him from behind.

”Looking for something?”

Amon turned around.

A young man wearing a neatly pressed uniform stood beside him.

He gestured toward the showroom with a friendly smile. ”We have several Mana Bike models available. What kind are you looking for?”