The world twisted, white light swallowing the dingy gray of District 9, and then—silence.
Absolute, heavy silence.
The air that filled their lungs wasn't the recycled, ozone-tainted oxygen of the city. It was sweet, dense, and vibrating with mana so pure it tasted like spring water.
Eidon opened his eyes.
They were standing in a grand foyer. The floor was polished obsidian, veined with gold that pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light. Above them, a chandelier made of floating mana crystals cast a warm, sun-like glow, banishing any shadows.
A sweeping staircase led to upper balconies, and floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a view that shouldn't exist: a serene garden of impossible flowers under a twilight sky that never darkened.
[ DIMENSIONAL SANCTUARY (S-RANK) ][ CURRENT LOCATION: THE VOID (POCKET DIMENSION) ][ SECURITY: ABSOLUTE ]
"It's... huge," Moira whispered. Her voice echoed softly, absorbed by the plush velvet of the furniture in the adjacent lounge.
She looked at her hand, where the starlight ring sat on her finger. Then she looked at the house.
To Eidon, this was a tactical base. To Moira, standing in the middle of a literal palace that required a "ring" to enter, this was something else entirely.
"It has five bedrooms," Eidon said, breaking the silence as he walked toward the center of the room. "Training hall in the basement. Library on the second floor. The kitchen is fully automated."
Moira touched a vase on a side table. It was made of seamless pearl. "We live here? Just... us?"
"Just us," Eidon confirmed. "And the Sentinel, if we summon him."
Moira's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red. "Right. Just us."
She spun around, her eyes sparkling. "I'll take the Master Bedroom. I mean—I assume you want the one near the office? So I'll take the one next to it."
"Take whatever room you want," Eidon said, missing the subtext entirely as he opened his interface. "But don't get too comfortable. We aren't here to vacation."
He walked into the kitchen. It was sleek, metallic, and empty.
"Food," Eidon noted. "We can't survive on mana alone."
He opened the [ CONSUMABLES ] tab and checked his balance.
[ CURRENT SP: 735,000 ]
"Right," Eidon muttered. "The house ate the liquidity. We're broke until the morning revenue hits."
He couldn't afford the S-Rank luxury items yet. He filtered by [ B-RANK ] and [ READY-MEALS ].
"No raw ingredients," Eidon decided. "I'm not cooking, and you're a hazard near a stove."
He scrolled past the healthy options and found the "Magical Fast Food" section.
[ ITEM: Arcane Double-Cheeseburger (B-Rank) ][ EFFECT: Satiety +100%. Minor Stamina Regen. Flavor enhanced by illusion magic. ][ PRICE: 50 SP ]
[ ITEM: Void-Spice Pizza (B-Rank) ][ EFFECT: Spicy enough to wake the dead. Clears minor fatigue. ][ PRICE: 75 SP ]
"This will do," Eidon said. He mass-purchased five hundred units of various magical junk foods.
Flash.
The kitchen island was instantly piled high with steaming boxes of pizza and foil-wrapped burgers. The smell was intoxicating—savory, greasy, and magical.
"Fast food?" Moira blinked, picking up a burger.
"It's chemically perfect fuel," Eidon said, grabbing a slice of Void-Spice Pizza. "Eat. We're going into lockdown."
Moira took a bite. Her eyes widened. The illusion magic hit her taste buds, simulating the greatest meal she'd ever had.
"Okay," she mumbled with her mouth full. "This is way better than the cafeteria."
Eidon sat on a barstool. "One month, Moira. The world is going crazy outside. We let the chaos settle. By the time we step out that door, I want you to be untouchable."
"Level target?" Moira asked, wiping sauce from her lip.
"Level 100," Eidon said.
Moira choked on her burger. "100? The highest recorded level for a rookie in their first year is 20. The Guild Masters are only Level 150."
"You aren't a rookie," Eidon said, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "You're the Guardian of Heavens. Level 100 is the floor."
He navigated to the [ SPECIAL ITEMS ] tab.
[ ITEM: Instant Dungeon Key (Random) ][ RANK: Scalable (Matches User Level) ][ PRICE: 100,000 SP per Key ]
"100k a pop," Eidon murmured. "Pricey."
He checked his balance. ~700,000 SP left after the food.
"I'm buying five keys to start," Eidon said. "That drains the account. But by tomorrow morning, the revenue will replenish, and I'll buy the next batch. We grind, we sleep, we repeat."
[ PURCHASE: 5x Instant Dungeon Key ][ COST: 500,000 SP ]
"Downstairs," Eidon ordered. "We start now."
ONE MONTH LATER
The Training Hall in the basement had been reduced to a cratered wasteland, the Adamantine walls scorched black.
BOOM.
Moira Nyx moved faster than sound. She was a streak of silver and violence.
She was fighting a Level 110 Void Drake—a boss monster Eidon had summoned with the fiftieth key he had purchased.
"Die!"
She didn't use a skill. She just swung the Radiant Claymore.
The blade, now chipped and groaning under the stress of her strength, connected with the Drake's skull.
-850,000 CRITICAL!
The Drake didn't just die; it was erased from existence.
[ +2,400,000 XP ] (Double XP Active + Dungeon Bonus) [ +12,000 SP ] (Public Cut: 10%)
DING.
[ LEVEL UP! ][ LEVEL: 99 -> 100 ]
[ UNLOCKED NEW DIVINE MAGIC ]
Moira landed, the shockwave of her impact cracking the floor. She stood up, breathing heavily, her uniform tattered.
She looked at her hands. She felt... infinite.
[ STATUS: MOIRA NYX ][ LEVEL: 100 ][ STRENGTH: 13,500 ] (135 Stats/Lvl) [ AGILITY: 13,500 ][ VITALITY: 15,000 ]
13,500 Strength. A normal Level 100 Warrior had maybe 1,000 Strength. She was a walking calamity.
"Level 100," Eidon said. He was sitting on a floating chair in the corner, surrounded by holographic screens.
He looked tired, but his eyes were burning with triumph.
"You're done," he said. "Drop the sword."
"It served me well," Moira said, looking at the Radiant Claymore. It was barely holding together.
"It's garbage," Eidon said. "But before we gear up... we have a staffing issue to resolve."
He swiped his hand, expanding the [ ADMIN PANEL ].
The last month had been absolute madness for the global economy. The entire world was addicted to the Shop. Wars were being fought over SP farming spots.
[ CURRENT SP: 265,000,000 ]
265 Million. Even after buying fifty keys at 100k each throughout the month (a 5 million SP expense), the profit margins from global transaction fees were astronomical.
"We have money," Eidon said coldly. "Now we need eyes."
He navigated to the [ SLAVES ] tab. He found the Shadow Sentinel he had bought a month ago.
[ ITEM: Shadow Sentinel (Level 250) ][ PRICE: 1,500,000 SP ]
"One isn't enough," Eidon muttered. "I need a network."
He cranked the quantity slider.
[ QUANTITY: 100 ][ TOTAL COST: 150,000,000 SP ]
Moira stared at the total cost. She knew they were rich, but seeing a number that could buy a small country disappear in a single click was terrifying.
"Eidon," she asked softly. "Is that... too much? Are we going to be okay?"
"Information is the only thing we can't afford to lose, Moira," Eidon replied, not hesitating.
[ CONFIRM PURCHASE? ][ YES. ]
The shadows in the Training Hall didn't just boil; they screamed. The light from the ceiling was swallowed as one hundred pairs of glowing violet eyes opened in the darkness.
One hundred Level 250 assassins rose from the floor. The killing intent in the room was dense enough to crush a normal human.
They knelt in unison.
"Listen to me," Eidon commanded, his voice amplified by the Decree of Heavens.
"You are not here to guard me. You are here to infiltrate."
He pointed at the map of the world floating in his interface.
"Fifty of you to the major governments. I want to know every law they draft before they sign it."
"Forty of you to the S-Rank Guilds. Watch the Guild Masters. If they sneeze, I want to know."
The Sentinels nodded silently.
"And the last ten..." Eidon's expression turned grim. He zoomed out the map, pointing to the 'Red Zones'—the areas suspected to be strongholds of the Invaders who had attacked 140 years ago.
"Find the aliens. Find the Invaders. Do not engage. Just watch. I want to know when they plan to come back."
The shadows dissolved, shooting out of the Sanctuary like a swarm of bats, dispersing into the void to do his bidding.
"Done," Eidon exhaled. "Now we're safe."
He turned to Moira. "Now for you."
He spent the remaining fortune without blinking.
[ ITEM: Solaris Greatsword (S-Rank) ][ PRICE: 50,000,000 SP ]
[ ITEM: Valkyrie's Grace (S-Rank Armor Set) ][ PRICE: 45,000,000 SP ]
A pillar of golden light hit Moira. The tattered uniform vanished, replaced by white dragon-scale armor and a sword made of crystallized sun.
"And for me," Eidon muttered.
He spent 6,300,000 SP to push all his stats to 1,100.
He stood up, adjusting his cuffs. He felt the connection to the hundred shadows moving across the globe. He felt the immense power of the girl standing next to him.
"Open the door, Moira."
Moira smiled, her new wings of mana fluttering behind her. "Where to?"
Eidon checked his map. A B-Rank Dungeon Break was tearing apart District 1.
"To test the merchandise," Eidon said. "Let's go say hello to the neighbors."
Here is the revised Chapter 10, correcting the geography, SP mechanics, Valerius's intelligence, and the financial tracking.