Chapter 35: 10 Soul Stones
So ti later, Zich woke from a light doze, and the interface greeted him with a flood of notifications that made his eyes narrow slightly.
There were 847 unread ssages, over 12,000 views on his listing, and a steady stream of incoming requests that had not slowed even while he slept.
’Too many,’ he thought, and his first reaction was not excitent but suspicion, because such attention usually ant one of two things: either he had mispriced the item severely, or he had stepped into sothing he did not fully understand.
He opened the ssage panel.
The chat was chaotic, moving too fast for a normal reading pace.
"Is this real?"
"No way a Level 1 summon performs like that."
"That clip looks staged. The system cannot record from a summon’s perspective."
"You are trying to scam people, Master Shroud, and I hope the system bans you."
Others argued back, so defending the listing and pointing out that the system did not allow fake recordings. A few tried to dissect the clip fra by fra, debating whether the movent patterns were too coordinated for a low-level entity.
Zich read through it calmly, not reacting to the accusations. Most of the ssages were useless anyway. He was searching for sothing else—soone who was willing to act rather than talk.
He found it soon enough.
A user nad Kessa had entered the thread. Unlike the others, her ssages were direct and focused on negotiation rather than argunt.
"500 gold coins per hour," she posted.
The chat slowed for a mont, as if the number itself had forced people to reconsider the situation. Before anyone could respond, she raised it again.
"700 gold coins per hour. Imdiate contract. Verification required."
’Serious buyer,’ Zich’s eyes flashed.
While the others were still arguing about whether the listing was real, soone had already decided that the risk was worth taking.
He did not respond imdiately.
Instead, he adjusted the listing.
[1,000 gold coins per hour]
He confird it without hesitation, and the mont the update went live, the ssage stream surged again—not slowing but accelerating as more users joined, so reacting to the increase while others interpreted it as proof that the listing had value.
"Who raises price mid-argunt?"
"This is not fake anymore."
"Soone already offered 700, and he went higher. This is real."
"Fucking greedy bastard!"
Zich watched the reaction with a calm gaze.
Was he greedy? He wouldn’t call it that. He was simply adjusting to demand, and if the market was willing to pay more, then lowering the price would only be a mistake.
Although the numbers were still abstract without an actual transaction, the behavior of the market was enough to tell him that the summon’s utility had been underestimated—not only by him but also by the players who had dismissed summoners as weak.
Another notification appeared.
[Incoming Rental Request — Crimson Chain Guild]
Zich opened it.
The request included a brief mission description, and while it was not overly detailed, the key points were clear enough: a transport operation through a toxic zone, a ti limit of 48 hours, and a recent loss of their frontline tank, which had forced them to look for alternatives under pressure.
The request did not include negotiation.
It accepted the listed rate.
Zich tapped confirm without hesitation.
---
A few seconds later, the Silverback Grunt appeared in a different location, standing among a group of armored players who watched it with cautious interest.
The Crimson Chain Guild was a small guild in Layer One. They were located in one of the four shelters belonging to the human side.
Mora, the guild leader, stood at the front, her eyes fixed on the summon while her vice leader checked the system verification panel.
"It is real," he said quietly. "The system confirms the bond, and the override authority remains with the owner."
"Then we use it," Mora replied, and while she had expected negotiation, the instant acceptance from Master Shroud unsettled her more than a rejection would have.
’Either confident or careless,’ she thought.
The mission began shortly after.
The toxic zone spread before them, a field of unstable ground and lingering fus that made prolonged exposure dangerous. While the guild advanced cautiously, the Silverback Grunt moved ahead without hesitation, taking the lead position that their lost tank would have occupied.
Soon, an enemy erged from the haze.
The grunt reacted first.
BOOM!!!
Its club struck the creature’s head with precise timing, creating a deep impact in the ground as the body collapsed.
Without waiting for instruction, it shifted its stance and positioned itself between the next threat and the weaker mbers of the group.
"It is not acting randomly," Mora said while adjusting her grip on her weapon.
Her vice leader nodded. "It is flanking."
The summon moved again, intercepting a second attack within a milliter of contact. Instead of trading blows blindly, it redirected the force and countered, creating an opening for the guild’s attackers to finish the enemy cleanly.
For the next hour, it continued.
The grunt did not rush, did not panic. It held formation, protected the backline, and adapted to threats with a consistency that made several mbers glance at each other, unsure whether to be impressed or concerned.
It died a few tis, but by burning through his mana, Zich was able to revive it.
As more ti passed, the more impressed Mora beca.
The mission progressed smoothly, and ti passed quickly.
At exactly the three-hour mark, the grunt raised its club to intercept another attack.
But then it vanished.
The space it occupied beca empty within a fraction of a second, leaving the incoming strike to continue forward, forcing the guild to react instantly or suffer damage.
Mora’s eyes widened slightly as she stepped forward to fill the gap.
The line held, but the pressure increased imdiately, and without the summon absorbing the impact, the difference beca obvious.
Once the imdiate threat was cleared, the group regrouped.
"Damn it, I hate to admit this, but that monster was very helpful!"
"Yes... to think things would beco difficult the mont it disappeared."
Hearing those words, Mora frowned.
Although the spirit Silverback was low level, its near-immortal nature made it far more reliable than expected, as it could return again and again as long as the owner had mana.
"The mission had been progressing smoothly because of it," she said under her breath.
She opened the marketplace interface again.
Without hesitation, she sent another request.
This ti, the offer was higher.
[3,000 Gold Shards per hour]
She didn’t wait long before the next ssage ca, but what she saw left her speechless.
[10 Soul Stones for 12 hours]
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