Early morning.
Jasper Cole sat cross-legged, focusing on refining his willpower. After a long while, he frowned and opened the system interface.
The Willpower bar was still barely moving.
The Qi bar, too, was stuck—so close to a breakthrough that it was maddening, yet refusing to budge. Only Refining had crept upward a little.
"A bottleneck already?" Jasper muttered.
He'd pushed himself hard these past few days. Yesterday, he'd spent the entire day at Garrick Forge's place refining raw ore. When Garrick finally got tired and went to sleep, he'd casually tossed Jasper a new furnace and sent him home.
If Jasper hadn't cultivated the Raging War Method, he wouldn't even have been able to lift the thing.
Back in his room, he'd kept refining—Mystic Iron, raw ore, even the gold ore he'd mined. A chunk of gold the size of his fist had yielded only two gold ingots.
By the time he stopped, it was nearly three in the morning.
He'd slept for barely three hours before getting up again at six.
Stepping outside, Jasper glanced at his gear.
One short sword.
That was it.
"I need throwing weapons… and better clothes," he muttered. "Last time I came out of the mine, I looked like a beggar."
Though called a village, this place was closer to a small town. Strong cultivators gathered here—far more than normal. In most villages, a Bronze Tier, Rank 7 village head would be legendary.
Here?
Two Rank 7s—Elder Rowan and Tomas Trell.One Rank 6—Ronan Scarhand.Three Rank 5s—Garrick Forge, Ronan (whose combat strength rivaled Rank 6), and two of Tomas's subordinates, Brusk and Kerr.As for Rank 4s—five of them, all under Tomas.
That was why Tomas dared challenge the village head.
"Bronze Tier, Rank 1 longsword! Pure iron—perfect for killing! One silver coin!"
"Bronze Tier, Rank 2 Sunshot Bow! Guaranteed accuracy! Max range five hundred meters—only ten silver!"
Jasper looked at the bustling street stalls and shook his head. Too crowded—and the price jump between Rank 1 and Rank 2 gear was absurd.
Then he noticed a quiet corner.
Hardly anyone there.
"Let's check it out," he murmured.
The stall owner wore a black cloak, face completely hidden. Even their build was obscured. On the stall lay a murky crystal, cloudy and dull.
Beside it was a coat.
Not an ordinary coat.
The trim was white, the interior black. Inside were specially designed pouches for concealed weapons—like a multifunction combat rig. Matching boots came with it, clearly part of the same set.
Jasper picked up one boot and pressed the sole.
The force vanished like it'd been absorbed by cotton.
"Shock absorption…" he murmured. "And probably sound dampening too."
Looking closer, he noticed hidden slots along the sleeves for throwing weapons—and a pair of half-finger combat gloves tucked inside.
High-grade mountain goat leather. Anti-slip deerskin palms. Adjustable wrist guards. Breathable inner lining.
Durable. Flexible. Comfortable.
Jasper's eyes lit up.
Even here… half-finger combat gloves.
This set screamed professional.
"I have to buy this."
He looked up. "What tier is this outfit? How much?"
The cloaked vendor replied in a hoarse voice, "Purely cosmetic. One gold coin. Comes with a Divine Crystal as a bonus."
Jasper nearly laughed.
"One gold coin for decoration? And you're throwing in a Divine Crystal?" He glanced at the murky crystal. "That thing's obviously scrap—something dug out of impure ore."
No wonder no one stopped here.
Still…
This outfit was too perfect.
In this world, most armor focused on raw defense—heavy, rigid, restrictive. Knights and warriors clanked around like walking fortresses. Flexible gear was rare, and assassins here were practically suicide troops: fail the kill, die on the spot.
This set was different.
Modern. Efficient.
Pricy or not, Jasper had gold ingots now.
He pretended to reach inside his clothes, but in truth pulled a gold ingot from the system inventory.
The instant he did—
The cloaked vendor tilted their head slightly.
So subtly that even Jasper's keen willpower failed to detect it.
A whisper slipped from beneath the hood. "Interesting little one… don't disappoint me."
Jasper, unaware, handed over the ingot. "I don't have gold coins. Just this."
The vendor placed four gold coins on the stall, stood up, and walked away.
Only then did Jasper realize the vendor was a full head taller than him.
And somehow… far more alive than before.
He gathered the coins, slipped the so-called Divine Crystal into the coat, folded everything neatly, and stored it in his backpack.
Back in his room, Jasper changed into the combat outfit and strapped his short sword across his back.
Suddenly—
Ding.Absorbable energy detected. Auto-absorption initiated.Host aptitude evolving.
Jasper's heart skipped.
He opened the system and tapped Qi.
The silver-white aptitude display had turned pure gold.
Pure Gold…
Then he noticed something else.
At the core of the golden glow, a faint trace of red pulsed.
Curious, Jasper tapped it.
The world shattered.
Agony tore through him—as if his body were being split apart from the inside. Jasper screamed, consciousness snapping back under the pain.
The system interface had turned crimson, flickering violently, as though on the verge of collapse.
Time lost meaning.
When it finally stabilized, Jasper lay on the floor, drenched in sweat. The ground beneath him was soaked.
Ding.System update complete.New Class unlocked: Shadow Assassin.Equipment auto-adjusting.Host aptitude updated: Sky Blue.
Jasper stared blankly.
A new red slot had appeared on the interface.
Evolution — empty.
His cultivation had advanced to Bronze Tier, Rank 2 while he was unconscious.
And the Divine Crystal inside the coat…
Was gone.
"So… it wasn't a scam," Jasper murmured.
But the question gnawed at him.
Divine Crystals were priceless.
Why give one away?
And why to him?
His head throbbed.
Jasper looked down at his filthy, sweat-soaked body and sighed.
"…Whatever. First things first."
He headed for the door.
"I need a bath."