Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

Rowan's finger hovered over the YES button. As his hand moved closer, D'andre's eyes grew wider with alarm.

Time seemed to slow down comically at that moment.

In a last-ditch effort to stop Rowan from making such a reckless decision, D'andre shot up from his seat and sprinted toward him, his mouth slowly opening as he let out a loud "NOOO!!"

Time still moved comically slow as the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned tense.

Rowan's finger was just two inches from the YES button.

D'andre was seven feet away.

But despite his desperate attempt, he couldn't stop Rowan in time.

DING!

----

[ Purchase complete! ]

[ 2,075,000 Evolution points have been transferred to merchant (D'andre Draegorath) ]

[ Purchased items have been transferred to Inventory ]

----

These messages flashed before Rowan's eyes.

----

[ Trade completed ]

[ 2,075,000 Evolution points have been received from customer (Rowan Winterseed) ]

[ Congratulations, you have received a 'Transmigrator business reward' ]

----

These appeared in front of D'andre, who was now only a foot away from Rowan.

Time resumed its normal pace, yet the tension in the room remained palpable.

Rowan blinked as the notifications vanished from his view, a satisfied smile forming on his lips. "All done," he muttered, clearly pleased with himself.

D'andre, however, stood frozen. His arm remained outstretched mid-sprint, and his face was a twisted mixture of horror, disbelief, and betrayal.

His mouth hung open like a fish gasping for air, yet no words came. It was as though his brain was still trying to process the sheer absurdity of what had just occurred.

Rowan casually turned toward him, completely unaware of the internal meltdown happening just a few feet away. "What's up with you?" he asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

"How did you afford all that? You're only an FF-rank territory Lord!" D'andre's voice trembled, a mix of awe and horror, as though Rowan had just revealed a treasure trove of gold.

Rowan gave him a puzzled look. "Does being an FF-rank Lord come with some kind of curse that makes them poor?"

D'andre could only stare at Rowan, dumbfounded. He alone knew the true value of what Rowan had just spent.

In the world outside Winterseed, currency was based on coins, with the lowest denomination being the copper coin. One copper coin held the same value as a $1 bill on Earth and was equivalent to 1 evolution point.

Ten copper coins made a silver coin, and ten silver coins equaled one gold coin. A single gold coin was enough to feed a family of four for two weeks, with some copper left as change. Rowan had just spent the equivalent of feeding over twenty thousand families of four for two weeks!

Ignoring the dumbfounded D'andre, Rowan continued to select more items to purchase.

As the merchant and owner of the system window Rowan was operating, D'andre could see all his choices, and his eyes widened with every purchase.

His earlier arrogance had vanished. He was no longer confident that Rowan would run out of funds after a few purchases. Initially, he expected Rowan to beg for credit, which would have allowed him to make more money by adding a 10% interest every month.

"This can't be happening," he thought with a deepening frown.

He recalled Rowan telling the ladies that he had recently recovered and hadn't been in this world for more than a week. This meant his transmigration was less than seven days old.

Naturally, D'andre hadn't expected Rowan to possess even half the evolution points he had just spent. Even if Rowan was a grinder who slaughtered monsters and completed quest as many and fast as he could, his total points should still be under ten thousand by now.

Yet here he was, spending over two million like it was nothing.

At this point, D'andre—once a figure shrouded in mystery—began to find Rowan even more enigmatic. What was his secret? How did he accumulate such an absurd amount of evolution points in such a short time?

Thoughts raced through D'andre's mind, but he managed to calm his heart. "Maybe he got a huge bonus from his newbie rewards and has already spent them. Surely he can't afford anything else after that first purchase."

However, not even two seconds after thinking this, Rowan clicked on his second purchase.

[ Confirm to purchase food items for 800,000 evolution points – YES/NO ]

Just like before, Rowan wasted no time and made the purchase. The usual notifications were sent to both of them.

When D'andre saw this, a sharp pain shot through his chest as his last shred of arrogance crumbled!

This time, he didn't even react. He just stood there, watching Rowan.

Rowan, for his part, ignored the overdramatic merchant in front of him and continued with his purchases.

[ Confirm to purchase 100 skill books for 435,000 – YES/NO ]

[ Confirm to purchase 100 common-grade food pills for 10,000 – YES/NO ]

[ Confirm to purchase 3 blueprints for 600,000 – YES/NO ]

[ Confirm to purchase 20 F-rank monster cores for 50,000 – YES/NO ]

One by one, Rowan confirmed each purchase, a calm smile playing on his lips.

Thankfully, he had the Inventory feature in his system. Otherwise, the room would have been filled to the brim with all the items he had just bought—especially the food, which was far more abundant than the other goods.

He made sure to buy everything he needed without worrying about how many evolution points he had spent. He knew he could earn more than that within the week.

In fact, he could hardly wait to see the positive reactions he would get from his followers tomorrow morning when he miraculously presented them with the food he had bought. In his mind, he was already calculating a profit of over five million evolution points, which would easily cover all his expenses in one go.

Rowan turned to D'andre who was frozen in place. He wondered why he was acting too much.

A few minutes passed and D'andre came back to his senses.

He immediately told Rowan that he wanted to go back to his carriage to sleep as he could afford to get more shocked than he already was.

Rowan narrowed his eyes. "Just remember, my women are in your carriage. You'll have to find somewhere else to crash."

D'andre gave Rowan a really annoyed look, "Excuse me? Since when do you get to make rules about my carriage? And for the record, do you think I'd touch your women without permission? What do you take me for?"

Rowan shrugged and replied, "You don't exactly seem like the type to be interested in women but still, they need privacy."

D'andre's eyes bulged. "What?! I'm a guy. Of course I like women! What are you insinuating? Are you calling me gay?"

Rowan shrugged once again. "I didn't say that, but if you say so, then so be it. Thou art gay!"

D'andre jaw dropped and he was short for words for a few seconds, he tried to argue back by giving out points but was quickly interrupted by Rowan.

"Say no more, your secret's safe with me."

The next five minutes was spent with D'andre trying to clear himself of the new title but it was impossible. Each time he makes a point, Rowan uses it against him.

After arguing for a few more minutes, he realized Rowan was only joking and finally relaxed. Afterwards, both of them made a deal and D'andre was given the room of one of the soldiers on duty to sleep on.

After settling the whole issue, Rowan went back home to sleep for the short time left till the next morning arrives.