[Ti until Auction: 20 Minutes.]
I sat in the VIP suite of the Gilded Rose. It slled like lavender and... corruption. I wasn’t watching the door, but I was staring at the holographic interface that was burning in my retina.
[The Fusion Forge]
It was a swirling vortex of grey gears and screaming faces. "System," I muttered. I then popped a grape into my mouth. "Open the hood."
[Fusion Forge: Active.]
[Slot A: Skill ’Fireball’ (E-Rank - Magic)]
[Slot B: Skill ’Heavy Slash’ (C-Rank - Physical)]
Incompatible. Magic requires intelligence. anwhile, physical requires strength. Trying to use both usually results in "Mana Backlash" or else your brain would be fried and bled out of your ears.
"Fuse them," I commanded.
[Warning: The prediction success rate is 10%.]
[Failure Result: Skill Deletion.]
I laughed maniacally. "I have [100% Drop Rate]. That applies to Luck rolls too, you stupid calculator."
[Fusion is being Initiated...]
CRACK.
My body seized up, it felt like soone was knitting my muscles together with hot wire. My right arm (Sword) and my mana circuits (Magic) were forcibly being welded. I gritted my teeth and didn’t scream. Screaming is for victims.
[Fusion Complete.]
[New Skill Acquired: (B-Rank).]
[Description: Coats your weapon in condensed, volatile mana. On impact, the mana detonates, dealing 200% Physical Damage 100% Fire Damage.]
[Cost: High.]
I looked at my hand. I summoned the Void Fang Dagger. Whoosh. The blade didn’t just glow. It ignited. Purple fire wreathed the black tal.
It wasn’t hot, instead it was cold, an entropy-fire. "Beautiful," I whispered. I had a magic nuke attached to a knife.
Knock. Knock.
The door opened. Mr. Vix walked in. He looked pale and was wiping sweat from his green forehead with a silk handkerchief. "My Lord," Vix stuttered. "They... they are here."
"Who?"
"Everyone."
Vix gestured to the one-way glass overlooking the auction floor.
I stood up and looked down. The main hall was packed. The front row? The "VIP" seats?
[Target: Guild Master Iron-Jaw]
[Leader of ’Iron Blood’. Tank Class. Net Worth: 5 Billion.]
[Target: Lady Vesper]
[Leader of ’Nightshade’. Assassin Class. Net Worth: Unknown.]
And there, sitting in the center, looking like he owned the place.
[Target: Lord Azure]
[Father of Julian. Leader of ’Azure Dragon’. The Richest Man in Oaklan.]
He was angry. I could see the vein was throbbing in his forehead, he was probably mad at . His son, Julian who was wearing borrowed pants whispering in his ear while pointing at .
"They want blood," Vix said nervously. "Lord Azure threatened to burn the building down if we didn’t hand over the ’thief’."
"Let them wait," I said. "Did they bring the Crystals?"
"Yes. They liquidated their vaults. The scarcity panic you caused... it’s working. Mana Crystal prices have tripled in the last hour."
"Good." I checked my inventory. I had the Void Core. I also had a pile of trash loot I picked up from the Spider’s minions.
"Start the show, Vix. And rember..." I grabbed Vix’s collar, then pulled him to my eye level. "If you sell for less than a million, I feed you to the ring."
Vix gulped. "U-Understood."
————————————————————
[The Auction Floor]
"Ladies and Gentlen!" Vix stood on the stage, the spotlight hitting his sweaty bald head. "Tonight, we have a surprise lot! An item that defines the future of whole humanity!"
The crowd murmured. "But first! An appetizer!" Vix unveiled a tray. On it lay the [Void Spider’s Venom Sacs]. "Potent neurotoxin! Apply to weapons for paralysis! Bidding starts at 500 Gold!"
"One thousand!" shouted a rcenary.
"Two thousand!" yelled a rchant.
I watched from the balcony while sipping wine. I looked at the Azure Dragon table. Lord Azure didn’t move, he was saving his money for final item.
Smart, but not smart enough. The auction went on. I sold the armor, the skill books, and more. My gold count went up.
[Wallet: 150,000 Gold.]
It was enough to buy a mansion, but I didn’t want a mansion. I wanted an empire, this kingdom even.
"And now!" Vix’s voice reached a fever pitch. "The Main Event!"
The lights dimd. A magical barrier raised around the stage. Vix pulled the cloth off the pedestal. The Void Core sat there. It pulsed. Thump. Thump. Purple light washed over the audience.
The mana density was so high, people in the front row started coughing. "The Heart of a Void Boss!" Vix scread. "It contains pure concentrated Evolution Energy! And..." He held up the fake map. "The location of the First Hidden Dungeon!"
————————————————————
Pandemonium.
Chairs fell over and people stood up.
"It’s real!"
"I can feel the mana!"
Lord Azure stood up in a heartbeat. "Fifty thousand Mana Crystals!" he roared resoundingly.
The room went silent.
Fifty thousand. That was the entire monthly output of a Mana Crystal mine.
"Sixty thousand!" Lady Vesper countered, her voice was like silk and poison.
"Seventy!" Iron-Jaw bellowed.
"One hundred thousand!" Azure slamd his fist on the table. "I am the Azure Dragon! Do not test !"
I smiled wickedly. Dance, puppets. Dance.
Julian was tugging behind his father’s sleeve. "Father! That’s too much! We need those crystals for the Guild Hall!"
"Shut up, boy!" Azure backhanded his son. "If we get the First Clear on a Dungeon, we own everything! This is an utter investnt!"
[Bid: 150,000 Crystals.]
[Bid: 200,000 Crystals.]
They were draining their liquidity and emptying their treasury. They thought they were buying power. Instead, they were buying a paperweight.
The Void Core was useful, sure. It could power a city block, but without the [Voidwalker] class that which I only know how to unlock, it was just a fancy item.
The Map? It led to a dungeon filled with Soul-type monster. Physical attacks were useless there. Iron-Jaw (Tank) and Azure (Swordsman) would walk in there and get slaughtered. They are buying their own graves.
"Three hundred thousand!" Lord Azure scread. His face was purple. "Final offer!"
Silence.
No one could top that.
"Going once!" Vix yelled. "Going twice!"
BAM.
"Sold to the Azure Dragon Guild!"
The room exploded in applause. Lord Azure raised his hands in victory, looking like a smug gentleman.
I checked my balance.
[Transaction Complete.]
[Fee deducted (10%).]
[Received: 270,000 Mana Crystals.]
[Wealth Ranking Updated.]
[You are now the richest individual in the Kingdom.]
I stood up. "Pleasure doing business," I said to the empty room.
I walked to the private elevator. I had the crystals. Now I needed to leave before they’d realize the map was written in Ancient Draconic. It was in archaic language which none of them could read.
Ding.
The elevator opened at the ground floor... rear exit. I stepped out into the alleyway. Cool night air with the sll of filth and rain. I pulled up my hood.
"Going sowhere?"
I stopped. I didn’t turn around. "System," I command internally. "Scan."
[Alert: Hostiles Detected.]
[Count: 20.]
[Grade: Elite.]
Shadows detached themselves from the walls. They were assassins. The person who was in front of blocking the alley exit? It was Lady Vesper, The Guild Master of Nightshade. She wore tight leather armor that left little to the imagination and held two green daggers.
"You sell to Azure," Vesper purred while walking closer. "But you didn’t give us a chance to negotiate privately."
She licked her lips. "We know who you are, Cain Cross."
"Julian talks too much," I sighed.
"Hand over the money," Vesper said, her eyes narrowing. "And the Ring too. Maybe I’ll only cut off one hand."
I looked at the 20 assassins surrounding , and Vesper who was at Level 40. A real threat.
I checked my inventory. I looked at the 270,000 Mana Crystals. Mana Crystals weren’t just currency, but they were Fuel. "You made a mistake, Vesper," I said softly.
"Oh? And what’s that?"
I raised my right hand. The [Fusion Furnace] humd in my soul. I grabbed a handful of crystals from my inventory about 1,000 of them. I crushed them.
Pure mana exploded into the air. "You assu I need to save my ammo." I activated my new skill.
[Skill: Infernal Guillotine.]
But I didn’t cast it on my dagger. I cast it everywhere forming Mana Cloud. "I am the Economy," I muttered. "And the market crashed by ." I snapped my fingers.
BOOM. The alleyway turned into a blast furnace. Purple fire, fueled by 1,000 crystals worth of mana, expanded and exploded instantly. The assassins didn’t even have ti to stealth. They were completely incinerated.
Vesper scread, diving backward, her aura flaring to protect her.
The explosion blew the windows out of the Auction House. It shook vehently the whole city block.
I walked through the flas. My Void Ring absorbed the excess fire.
[Ring Satiated.]
[Growth: 10%.]
I stepped over a charred corpse. I looked at Vesper. She was coughing, burned, and terrified. "Tell the others," I said, my voice was distorted by the heat. "This is only beginning."
I turned and walked into the smoke.
————————————————————
As I disappeared into the night, a System ssage flashed up in my vision. It wasn’t a Level Up, but it was a Global Announcent.
[World Event: The First Wave.]
[The ’Monster Horde’ has spawned.]
[Target Location: Oaklan Capital.]
[Ti until Impact: 5 Minutes.]
I paused. 5 minutes? It was supposed to be 5 days. "Butterfly effect," I muttered. "I killed the Hero, so the difficulty went up probably for that reason or just mad that I killed him." I shrugged.
I looked at the city lights. Among millions of people, the only person who could stop it... was the guy who just blew up an alleyway for fun. I grinned wickedly. It has to be .
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