[Time Remaining: 44:10:00]
The Antique Row was a graveyard of ambition.
Unlike the roaring chaos of the Arena or the blood-soaked sawdust of the Beast Cage, this section of the Shadow Market was suffocatingly quiet. The air was cold, artificially chilled by preservation magic to keep the rotting scrolls and ancient bones from disintegrating.
Ren walked down the aisle, his footsteps swallowed by the thick velvet carpets.
He had 850,000 Yen.
He needed to spend 1,000,000 Yen to satisfy the System.
But simply throwing money away wasn't the goal. He needed to buy power.
He stopped at the most notorious stall in the row. It was run by a woman known only as "The Witch." She sat hunched over a table draped in black silk, her face hidden beneath a veil of spiderwebs.
On the table, there were only four items.
A Black Box: Made of obsidian, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic thrumming sound.
A Goldfish Box: A small lacquer box painted with swimming koi, sealed with red wax.
A Greenish Box: Covered in moss and smelling of deep earth.
A Card: A single, tarot-sized card facedown, its back intricate with silver filigree.
"One pick," The Witch rasped, her voice sounding like dry leaves skittering on stone. "Prices vary. No refunds. No touching."
Ren narrowed his eyes. This was the high-stakes table.
'Appraisal,' Ren commanded.
His vision shifted. The familiar blue interface attempted to overlay the items.
Bzzt.
Static filled his mind. A headache spiked behind his eyes, sharp and sudden.
[System Alert: Appraisal Failed.]
[Target is protected by High-Tier Anti-Scrying Magic.]
Ren didn't flinch. He had expected this. The Shadow Market thrived on scams. If everyone could see the stats, there would be no gambling.
But Ren wasn't everyone.
He focused not on the items, but on the invisible barrier protecting them. He pushed his mana into his eyes, straining the System to analyze the shield itself.
[Analyzing Magical Structure...]
[Barrier Type: Mind-Fog IV]
[Intelligence Requirement to Bypass: 100]
Ren paused.
'100 Intelligence?'
He did the mental math. A normal C-Rank Mage might have 40 Intelligence. A B-Rank Scholar might have 60. To have 100 Intelligence was the realm of A-Rank Archmages or specialized non-combatants.
Nobody in this market, not even the wealthy nobles who came here to gamble, would have a stat that high. The Witch was betting on the fact that her customers were blind.
Ren checked his status.
[Intelligence: 62]
He was short by 38 points.
He looked at the Witch. She was grinning beneath her veil, sensing his hesitation. "Too rich for your blood, boy? Move along."
Ren looked at his funds. 850,000 Yen.
'System,' Ren thought, his face impassive. 'Open Stat Allocation.'
The window flickered open in his mind.
'Purchase 70 Points of Intelligence.'
[Cost: 70,000 Yen]
[Confirm?]
It was a massive investment. 70,000 Yen just to look at merchandise. But if he bought trash, he would lose hundreds of thousands. Information was the most expensive commodity in the world.
'Confirm.'
[Transaction Complete.]
[Intelligence: 62 -> 132]
The headache vanished instantly.
The world sharpened. The dim lighting of the market seemed to brighten. He could see the dust motes floating in the air, the weave of the Witch's cloak, and the flow of mana circulating through the room like a complex circulatory system.
He looked at the table again.
The barrier that had been an opaque wall was now as clear as glass.
[Appraisal Successful]
He looked at the Black Box.
[Item: Cursed Heart of a Ghoul]
[Rank: D]
[Effect: Slowly poisons the owner. Worthless.]
He looked at the Goldfish Box.
[Item: Noble's Vanity Set]
[Rank: E]
[Value: 5,000 Yen]
Trash. Expensive trash designed to bankrupt fools.
He looked at the Greenish Box.
[Item: Seed of the World Tree (Dormant)]
[Rank: A (Growth Type)]
[Value: Incalculable if awakened.]
Ren's heart skipped a beat. An A-Rank growth item.
He looked at the Card.
[Item: Skill Card - "Shadow Step"]
[Rank: B]
[Class: Assassin / Rogue]
[Effect: Grants the User the 'Shadow Step' skill. Consumes mana to perform short-range teleportation via shadows. Skill proficiency scales with Agility and Speed.]
Ren suppressed a smile. A direct skill grant from the System, manifested as a rare item. Perfect.
"I'll take the Green Box and the Card," Ren said, pointing.
The Witch's grin faltered. She hesitated. Those were the only two real treasures on the table. "The price is—"
"Don't inflate it," Ren cut her off, his voice laced with his new mana pressure. "200,000 Yen for both. Or I tell everyone that your Black Box is leaking necrotic mana."
The Witch froze. She glared at him, her yellow eyes narrowing. She knew he had seen through her veil.
"Take them," she hissed. "And get out."
Ren paid the 200,000 Yen.
[Funds: 580,000 Yen]
He pocketed the items. He wasn't done.
With Intelligence 132, Ren was no longer shopping; he was looting.
He moved to a stall selling "Mystery Ores." A pile of rocky nodules, covered in dirt and grime.
"5,000 Yen per pick!" the merchant shouted. "Could be iron! Could be gold! Could be Mithril!"
Ren scanned the pile. Most were iron. But buried at the bottom, he saw veins of blue and silver.
[Item: Raw Adamantite Ore]
[Item: Condensed Mana Crystal]
"I'll take that one, that one, that one, and... those two," Ren said, pointing rapidly.
He paid 25,000 Yen. The merchant laughed. Ren walked away with 300,000 Yen worth of materials.
He moved to the "Junk Witch" stall. A table covered in rusted daggers, broken amulets, and stained scrolls.
"Everything is 5,000 Yen!"
Ren scanned.
[Item: Rusted Dagger] -> [Appraisal: Sealed Dagger of Venom (C-Rank)]
[Item: Cracked Amulet] -> [Appraisal: Ring of Minor Regeneration (C-Rank)]
Ren picked five items out of the seven on display.
"I'll take these."
He paid 25,000 Yen.
[Funds: 530,000 Yen]
Ren stopped. He had acquired incredible gear and materials. The Seed, the Shadow Step Skill Card, the Adamantite, the Regeneration Ring.
But he still had a problem.
He had 530,000 Yen left.
The Task required him to spend 1,000,000 Yen.
He had spent:
70,000 (INT)
200,000 (Witch)
50,000 (Misc)
Total Spent: 320,000 Yen.
He was still nearly 700,000 Yen short of the spending goal. And he was running out of things to buy that were worth the money.
He needed more cash. To spend a million, he needed to have a million to blow on something massive—like a house, or a custom weapon commission.
He needed one big score.
Ren turned back toward Zone 1: The Arena.
The Arena was louder than before. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of spilled ale.
Ren walked to the registration desk. The bookie was the same woman with the scarred face, Vex.
"Back for more, Champion?" Vex said, not bothering to sit up. "The odds on you are terrible. 1.05x return. Nobody wants to bet against the guy who one-shot Goliath."
"I'm not betting on myself," Ren said. "I want to fight. But I'm betting on the opponent."
Vex paused. She slowly sat up, a single eyebrow raised. "You... want to bet against yourself? That's match-fixing, kid. We don't mind, but if you throw the fight too obviously, the crowd will riot and tear you apart."
"I won't make it obvious," Ren said. "Who is the challenger?"
Vex checked the list. She snorted. "Some newbie. 'Timmy the Terror.' Level 9. He's shaking in the corner over there."
Ren looked. Timmy was a skinny guy in leather armor that was two sizes too big. He was holding a spear like it was a poisonous snake.
"What are the odds on him?" Ren asked.
"On Timmy?" Vex laughed. "50 to 1. Nobody thinks he'll survive ten seconds."
"Put everything on Timmy," Ren said.
He slammed his entire remaining fortune onto the counter.
530,000 Yen.
Vex's bored expression finally cracked. "You're betting half a million on a 50x payout? If you lose, you're broke. If you win... that's 26 Million Yen. The House can't even cover that."
"Then cap the payout at what you can afford," Ren said. "Book it."
The cage door slammed shut.
The crowd roared. They were chanting Ren's name. "ONE PUNCH! ONE PUNCH!"
Ren stood in the center of the arena, his cloak billowing.
Across from him, Timmy the Terror was trembling so hard his spear was rattling against his knee guards.
[Appraisal]
[Target: Timmy]
[Level: 9]
[State: Extreme Fear / Panic]
Ren calculated. 'I need him to hit me. I need to make it look like a lucky critical hit. I'll lower my defenses, take a dive, and cash out.'
The referee, a masked executioner, raised his hand. "FIGHT!"
Ren waited.
Timmy didn't move. He dropped his spear.
"I..." Timmy squeaked.
Ren's eyes widened. 'Don't you dare.'
"I can't do it!" Timmy screamed, tears streaming down his face. "He killed Goliath! I don't want to die! Mommy!"
Timmy raised his hand to the referee. "I give—"
Ren moved.
He did not use Shadow Step; he hadn't even absorbed the skill card yet. He pushed his Speed (26) to its absolute limit, creating a vacuum in his wake as he appeared instantly in front of Timmy. To the crowd, it looked like teleportation.
They cheered, thinking Ren was about to decapitate him.
"Don't say it," Ren hissed, his voice low and terrifying, audible only to Timmy. "If you surrender, I will find you."
Timmy froze, his mouth open, the words "I give up" stuck in his throat.
"Pick up the spear," Ren whispered, his eyes glowing with the intensity of 132 Intelligence. "Stab me. Do it now, or I'll make Goliath look like a massage."
Timmy sobbed. He was caught between a monster and a forfeit.
"I... I..." Timmy picked up the spear with shaking hands.
"Aim for the chest," Ren coached him, sweating. "Come on. You can do it. Just a little thrust."
The crowd was confused. Why wasn't Ren attacking? Was he toying with his prey?
"KILL HIM!" the crowd screamed.
Timmy squeezed his eyes shut and thrust the spear forward blindly. It was a weak, pathetic attack. It moved in slow motion to Ren's eyes.
Ren had to actively suppress his Agility. He had to force his body not to dodge. He leaned into the tip of the spear.
'Just a scratch. Then I fall down. Then I get rich.'
The spear tip touched Ren's cloak.
"I GIVE
The referee blew the whistle.
"Winner, by knockout... TIMMY THE TERROR!"
The arena was silent for a second, then erupted into a chaotic mix of boos, shocked laughter, and the sound of thousands of betting slips being torn to shreds.
Timmy puffed out his chest. He raised his spear in victory. "I told you all! I am the strongest! I am Timmy the... the KING!"
He was so engrossed in his newfound fame that he didn't see the arena guards carry Ren's "unconscious" body out of the cage on a stretcher. He didn't see the cold, calculating smile that briefly touched Ren's lips as he was carried into the shadows