Luna leaned against the corridor railing, watching Liline prepare the auction hall.
"I wonder what kind of hack Master gave those beasts…"
Loreia stretched her arms overhead, yawning. "Don't know. Just let him be."
Luna raised her eyebrow. "Co on. You're not curious?"
Loreia tilted her head. "It's Lucius. His hacks are always overkill."
Luna smirked. "True. But still… suddenly telling Liora to capture that many beasts in a few hours.
Luna glanced at the room. "And now he's sealing himself inside with three of them? He's definitely cooking sothing."
Loreia plopped down onto a sofa. "Yeah, well, whatever it is… it's probably going to scare soone."
Luna tapped her chin, eyes still fixed on the closed door. "I just wonder what kind of idea he ca up with."
"One minute it's just a standard auction, the next he's got Liora sweeping the fog zone clean."
Loreia shrugged. "Beats . We'll probably find out the sa ti the crowd does."
Luna gave a small laugh. "Guess we should just ask him."
Loreia grinned. "You first."
Luna chuckled and turned away. "I value my life."
Then, the door to Lucius' room was suddenly opened.
Lucius ca out and was a bit surprised to see them both. "You're here?"
Loreia stood up. "Yeah. We were curious."
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Curious?"
Luna crossed her arms. "About your plan. You've been in there a while."
Lucius smirked. "I see. Then let's not waste ti."
He glanced upward. "Liora."
Without a sound, Liora dropped from above, landing beside them with a light thud.
Luna blinked. "So you were nearby the whole ti."
Liora said nothing. Just crossed her arms and stared at Lucius.
Lucius gave a slight nod. "Good. You're all here."
He turned to them fully. "After hearing what Zephyron said—about only wanting to be sold to soone worthy—I decided to change the format."
Loreia leaned forward. "Change how?"
Lucius looked toward the far wall. "I'm going to make the forest harder. Deadlier. A proving ground."
Luna's eyes widened slightly. "So that's why you had Liora sweep the area."
Lucius glanced at her. "Exactly."
Luna nodded. "You wanted a variety of beasts… so you could hack them. Amplify their strength. Make the forest a challenge."
Lucius smirked. "You could say it like that."
He turned. "Liline."
Liline phased out of the wall with her usual graceful silence. "Yes, Master?"
"Summon the cages. The large ones."
Liline nodded. "As you command."
She raised her hand.
In a blink, three massive cages containing Mistvex, Velgrith, and Silphra appeared from the side.
Lucius walked toward them slowly, raising his hand.
He smiled coldly.
"Now… it's ti to hack you all."
He turned his head slightly. "System. Hack all targets. Upgrade their stats to A-Rank."
"And also, add a one-day temporary boost only for today auction."
---
[Hack Initiation: Temporary Boost and Mass Stat Enhancent]
[Targets: Silphra, Mistvex, Velgrith]
[Total Beasts: 268]
[Effect: Upgrade All Stats to A-Rank for Each Beast]
[Effect: Apply Unique Boost Separate from Stat Enhancent]
[Duration: 24 Hours]
[Boost Effect: All abilities are amplified by 200%, reaction speed doubled, and resistance to elental attacks significantly increased]
[Cost Required: 15,000,000 Hack Points]
[Status: Executing...]
---
Each beast flinched slightly as they were being hacked by the system.
Lucius's smirk widened. "With this… half the clients who think they're strong won't make it past the first pack."
Luna tilted her head, watching the beasts being hacked.
"It's impressive… but are you sure this is enough?"
Lucius glanced at her.
She continued, "So of the ones coming tomorrow are experienced. S-Rank beast tars. They've fought in arena matches."
Loreia stepped forward. "Yeah… boosting A-Ranks is cool, but if soone walks in with a Sovereign, they'll breeze through."
Liora stayed quiet, but her eyes narrowed slightly as well.
Lucius didn't even flinch. "That's the point."
He looked at the girls.
"If they can breeze through… they deserve to et Zephyron."
Luna crossed her arms. "And the others?"
"They won't even get close to the auction floor."
Loreia raised a brow. "That many filters? You're gonna piss people off."
Lucius turned back toward the cages. "Good. Let them be angry. Let them fail. It'll make the final round even sweeter."
Luna smirked faintly. "Brutal as always."
Lucius's eyes stayed fixed on the beasts.
"Only the strong will pass. That's exactly what Zephyron asked for."
He then turned back toward them, smirking.
"But this is not the end of the plan."
Luna blinked. "There's more?"
Liora raised her chin slightly. "Another beast?"
Loreia narrowed her eyes. "Wait… don't tell . It's one of the three from your room."
Lucius smirked, impressed. "You're sharp today, big sis."
Loreia grinned. "I've been paying attention."
Lucius looked to the side. "Liline."
She bowed down. "Yes, Master?"
"Create a containnt cage. Large. Secure."
Liline gave a slight nod. "Of course."
She lifted her hand, and the ground in front of them split open.
From below, a massive cage rose.
It was twice the size of the others.
Lucius raised his hand again. "Now… co forth."
A mont later, the beast appeared from the Eternal Vault.
It landed silently in the center of the cage.
A massive creature.
Its body cloaked in thick, shifting fog. Its silhouette seed to blur at the edges.
All three girls tensed.
Luna took a step back. "Wait. This is…"
Loreia stared wide-eyed. "This was your actual plan?"
Liora narrowed her eyes. "You fused them?"
Lucius nodded. "Correct. This beast is the fusion of Silphra, Mistvex, and Velgrith."
He stepped closer to the cage, arms behind his back.
"And after the fusion… I evolved it into a Sovereign-tier."
Luna muttered, "Master… you're insane."
Loreia was already scanning the beast with her system.
"Damn, its ability set looked stacked. Look at these.
Liora's eyes locked onto the beast. "This is their leader."
Lucius nodded. "The Sovereign Mist Beast. Their commander."
Luna let out a slow breath. "So… even if soone survives the other mist beasts…"
Loreia finished it, "They still have to fight this thing to reach Zephyron."
Lucius turned, his eyes gleaming.
"Now tell …"
He smiled.
"Do you really think those so-called S-Rank tars are going to make it through?"
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