The Aethelburg City Awakener Market was a riot of noise and color. Stalls lined the streets, hawking everything from glowing potions to "guaranteed" level-up guides. Awakeners of every stripe haggled, shouted, and inspected wares.
I, on the other hand, walked straight past them all. I was Level 13, but still in my pristine starter robes. I probably looked like a lost rookie, but I didn't care. I went directly to the massive, sterile, government-run building in the center: the City Official Trade Hall.
Inside, it was quiet, like a bank. I went to a private appraisal booth and spoke to the bored-looking woman behind the reinforced glass.
"I have some monster parts to sell," I said.
She nodded, not even looking up. "Put them in the scanner."
I opened my inventory and deposited the Ogre hides and clubs. Her expression didn't change. "Total: 4,500 Credits."
"Okay," I said. Then I deposited the loot from the Wyvern.
The scanner chimed, and a red light flashed on her console. Her bored expression evaporated. She looked up at me, her eyes wide.
"A... a [Wyvern Scale (Rare)]? And a [Wyvern Talon (Rare)]? A [Wind-Stone (Uncommon)]?" She looked at my Level 13 status, at my starter robes, and then back at the items. "Where did you get these?"
"Area D. It was a field boss," I said flatly. "Are you buying or not?"
"Y-yes! Of course!" She scrambled on her console. "The Talon is... 800,000 credits. The Wind-Stone, 300,000. But the Scale... the scale is in perfect condition. It's high-grade. The Blacksmith Guild will pay a premium. We can offer... 1,795,500 credits for the lot. For... for everything."
I did the math. 800k + 300k + 1.795M + 4.5k. "No," I said. "That's 2,900,000 credits for the Wyvern parts, plus 4,500 for the Ogre junk. Your total is 2,904,500."
She paled, realizing I'd caught her trying to bundle the cheap items in. "My apologies, sir. You are correct." Her fingers flew. "Total: 2,904,500 Credits."
"I'll take it," I said.
The transaction was instant. A moment later, she slid a plain black credit chip and a different card toward me. This one was also black, made of a heavy, metallic alloy, with a single gold insignia.
"What's this?"
"A... a complimentary VIP card, sir," she said, her voice now respectful. "For any Awakener who completes a single transaction over 2 million credits. It gives you access to our private catalogues, auction house, and a personal trade manager. Please... have a nice day."
I pocketed the cards and walked out, my hood still up, leaving the stunned appraiser behind.
I was now a multi-millionaire.
I walked through the market, the 2.9 million credits feeling heavy in my pocket. My mind was already on my next goal.
The university entrance exams were in one month.
Before, I was just hoping to pass and get into a decent city-run university. Now? I was aiming for the "Big Ten." The Imperial Academy, the Tower of Knowledge... the best of the best. The resources those academies received were based on their ranking; the higher the rank, the better the skills, dungeons, and artifacts they had access to.
But I wasn't just going to pick the #1. I'd pick the one that suited me. The one with the biggest library. The one that could get me what I needed.
My eyes scanned the stalls I had passed earlier.
[Skill Scroll: Ice Spike (Uncommon)] - 500,000c [Skill Scroll: Chain Lightning (Rare)] - 1,200,000c [Skill Scroll: Summon Imp (Uncommon)] - 800,000c
I wanted them. I wanted them all. Ice, Thunder, Summoning... I wanted to add them to my arsenal. I also wanted to find more Wind, Fire, and Earth skills, just to see what my system would do with them.
As I was thinking, I passed two Awakeners in heavy plate armor, arguing by a potion stall. "I'm telling you, it's not worth it!" one said. "Why would I learn [Shield Bash]? I have to spend 5,000 SP just to get [Heavy Smash] from Basic to Intermediate! It's a waste!"
The other one sighed. "But the Tier 2 upgrade is what matters! I just finally saved up the 50,000 SP to get my [Heal] to Tier 2. It's a lifesaver!"
"Fifty... thousand..." the first one groused. "That's a month of grinding, man! A whole month!"
Their words hit me like a physical blow. Fifty. Thousand. SP. A month.
I stopped walking. I pulled out my own status. In the two minutes I had been standing there, I had generated 120,000 SP.
I leaned against a wall, a strange, dizzying sensation washing over me. They were right. 50,000 SP was an insane amount. To them, SP was the single most valuable, hard-to-get resource in the world. It was the bottleneck that defined their entire lives. They had to choose one skill and pour everything into it, just to make it to Tier 2.
My common sense was warping.
I hadn't even noticed. The cost of SP was so trivial to me, it didn't even register as a "cost." It's only the first day, and I'm already planning to add three new elemental trees to my arsenal.
Normal people, even powerful ones, save their entire careers for one or two "trump cards." I wasn't building a trump card. I was building a deck of them.
A new, thrilling thought struck me. My 10x Multiplier System turned a [Basic Fireball]—a skill so common you could buy the scroll for 1,000 credits—into a [???-Rank] skill tree of overwhelming power.
What would happen if I bought that [Chain Lightning (Rare)] scroll for 1.2 million? What happens when you multiply a Rare skill by ten? What about a Unique skill?
I turned on my heel and left the market. The skills could wait. I needed to get stronger now. I had a taste of that sweet, sweet EXP, and I needed more. My mana pool was my only true limitation. I had to level up.
I arrived back at the Dark Forest and strode past the Area A, B, and C entrances, heading straight for Area D, the Wyvern area. I needed their EXP, and I needed their loot.
I moved fast. An Ogre (Lv 18) burst from the trees. "Appraisal." [...Weakness: Head...] "Skill: [Gale Slicer (T1)]." A paper-thin sliver of wind flew. The Ogre's head slid cleanly off its neck.
[...10x Multiplier... 22,000 EXP!] [Progress to Level 14: 12.72%] [Loot Acquired: Ogre Hide, 2x Credits] I didn't even stop walking.
A new monster, a Forest Troll (Lv 19), burst from the bushes. It was taller than the Ogre, with green, warty skin that was already bubbling and healing from a gash on its arm. "Appraisal." [...High Health, High Regeneration...] My T1 [Gale Slicer] wouldn't be enough. It would heal before it realized it was dead. I needed to one-shot it. "Skill: [Flame Lance (T3)]." Mana Cost: 100. The cobalt-blue drill of fire screamed from my hand and hit the Troll in the chest. It didn't just burn; it vaporized the entire upper torso. The legs stood for a second, then crumpled. Regeneration couldn't fix that.
[...10x Multiplier... 25,000 EXP!] [Progress to Level 14: 18.24%] [Loot Acquired: Troll Blood (Uncommon), 4x Credits]
I was a machine. I was a god of this forest. I spent the next hour like this, walking a clear, methodical path through Area D, atomizing every monster that came near me. My level climbed. Level 14. Level 15. Level 16.
My mana pool was now over 2,000. It was time.
I heard it before I saw it. A shriek from the air. A crashing roar from the left. A guttural growl from the right.
I stepped into a large, blasted clearing. And I saw them. An Adolescent Wyvern (Lv 20) was circling in the air. On the ground, a massive Ogre Chieftain (Lv 21) with an axe and a Mossy Troll (Lv 19) were standing side-by-side, growling at... me.
"Appraisal."
[Monster Pack (Rare Event)] [Ogre Chieftain (Lv 21, Field Boss)] [Mossy Troll (Lv 19, Field Boss)] [Adolescent Wyvern (Lv 20, Field Boss)]
A/N: Thanks for reading, and if you like it, plzz add it in your collection.