Chapter 894 - Ungodly amounts of wealth

POV Nathaniel

It takes a few days, and I'm forced into some meetings too. Well, not forced, but my presence there is appreciated, and it makes things simpler. For example, I meet with the guild master of Bloodline, who's accompanied by two A ranks and Lily, who's there with that blonde... well, I don't know what to call it. A child is likely wrong, as it has no consciousness at all. It's just a body, a vessel, or something.

And yes, I had to buy the low pristine passive skill through the shop. I totally couldn't use the low pristine passive token I have in my status. I totally didn't do it all to escape Lily and the Kindness clone.

Yet, here she is, smiling at me, not caring that she is scaring the shit out of her guild master and his bodyguards, who look at the clone with a horror that outdoes mine.

Kindness is someone who, if you're lucky, can be seen in Megacity. Well, not exactly her, but her using one of the vessels made by the Aurate Consortium that degrade quickly. And the bodyguards are also what feels like last year's tutorial attendees, likely on or past the 11th floor, so there's a chance they met Adjudicators.

On the other hand... that's likely a stretch, they would be dead then.

So their horror stems from just how closely this clone fits the image of Kindness. Or Lily just told them. That's probably what happened.

There's no trouble at all, and the guild master of Bloodline agrees to my request for information without much hesitation, only asking for one key in exchange for intelligence that probably only Silent Veil could gather through sneaking and stealing.

Sophie's in Frontier, so she also uses her influence, and they agree to it, especially as I promise to not attempt the Champion they plan to face. Tess does the same through Silent Veil, and the three mora lunatics just straight up say they'll leave Crimson Forge if that information isn't given to me.

Though I suspect they do it because of me threatening that I won't let them look at the talnium I have, plus our tightly knit cooperation on the chestplate that now, due to Adrian's performance I saw during the Games, requires further changes. But I'm confident it'll be done in a few more months.

Of course, there was that small guild that tried to just bunker down and apparently had an S rank in their ranks. Though I didn't notice that guy anywhere. Maybe he escaped.

Now I'm back to Big T, with my bank statements looking much better.

Eight million shards from Tess, meaning she added 3 million to the 5 million I gave her and likely kept some too. I don't exactly remember the deal we made back then.

If Group 4 wanted, they could scam me a lot.

How Tess made the shards is a mystery, though I suspect... gambling. It just has to be something illegal.

Then there are 8 million shards from fishing. It seems that annihilating and overharvesting the entire ecosystem really pays off. Now I understand the people that hunt fish with dynamite.

And that many shards is even after it's been split between the rest of The Boys. Apparently, Duncan was so responsible he sent the shards to Weslin and Morwag first as much as he could sell before their tutorial ended, so they could spend them before leaving.

Some people are just built different.

I already put up a recommendation to try to get him to Megacity and work for the Primordial Knights, though I think Duncan will decide to find a nice spot in one of the three cities on the second floor of Beyond.

After all, there's no safe zone on this floor, and Megacity is only as safe as the Pathfinder Thane can keep it. As for the Handlers defending it... I have no idea about all these rules, so it's hard to say.

All of these shards moving to my account feels like me gathering my investments. The kind where I sell my earthly possessions before I move to some cheaper country to live like a king there.

I don't need them immediately, but I'm already getting some shards from auctioning off the Corporations' property, and I didn't even sell a single packet of talnium. That talnium and the shards I get from selling keys of killed Champions should refill my bank account after I spend it all on the passive.

I might joke a bit, but I tried using the token before, and it just didn't offer me a passive that would be a nice combination with Cognitive Vector. So I just have to buy Memory Vault through the shop.

There'll be time to use that passive token as well as the active skill combination. I'll make sure to use up everything I can before going for level 450.

So, now here I am, getting my base annual salary of 5 million shards for being the guild master, plus 2 million in bonuses Big T got me.

He looks at me in a way that seems like he wants to hit the back of my head, rob me, and escape. He already got his 100 thousand cut, but he sadly watches me as I'm getting the transfer from the guild accountant and then follows me through the hallway.

As always, I don't bother trying to read his feelings from my kinetic or thermal senses. It's something I skip most of the time, mostly saving it for the people that annoy me or during fights. So it's interesting to try to guess what he feels.

Eight million from Tess, seven from my salary, and an additional 8 for the fishing, with more to come from there as Duncan sells the rest. I expect 2 to 4 more million.

So my shards look like this after also selling Mana Wavelength Tyrant.

Shards: 34,381,996

I almost allow this part of my status to be visible and show it to Big T, but at the last moment, I decide against it. It’s a tragedy that I can't broadcast this balance to some sort of global rankings, and watch the collective heart rates of all beyonders flatline simultaneously.

I then spend a good ten seconds debating if I should hire a personal herald whose sole job is to walk ahead of me shouting my current balance to everyone in Megacity.

At this point, my bank account has evolved past mere numbers and crossed into the realm of offensive psychological warfare.

Realizing that ungodly amounts of wealth are turning me evil, I quickly dump the shards into buying Memory Vault, and then admire that part of my status.

Passive skills (5/5):

Mana Wave Predation (Unique Arcane)

Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector (Low Pristine)

Adaptive Defense (Epic)

Heat Resonance Restoration (Low Pristine)

Memory Vault (Low Pristine)

After that, I scroll down to see my shards and give a saddened look at the number.

Shards: 9,381,997

I try to comfort myself by thinking how many beyonders would want to punch me hearing my thoughts right now.

It helps a little.

"Did you know there is an item belonging to the Ruler of Greed set to be auctioned in a few weeks?" Big T says out of nowhere.

"Oh, is there?"

"Yes," he nods. "They are promoting it everywhere, and I thought I didn't see people as excited as when they heard of your talnium."

"Well, that's too bad for me."

"It seems so. Apparently it’s a scrap of her sleeve, woven from Urasic Thread that’s only manufactured on a single planet under her direct control, and reserved exclusively for her wardrobe. People would happily kill just to get their hands on the fabric."

"So greedy to keep it to herself only."

Big T nods again, "But... there is a rumor that there might be her dried blood on it. Some say it's just from some liquid, and the auction house didn't confirm it nor refute it. But even if it is just the smallest chance there is a tiny bit of biological material from a Ruler, people will fight for it."

"How creepy."

"The seller also decided to remain very anonymous, though the auction house seemed to be confident in the claims of the material belonging to the Ruler of Greed and even had some Handlers confirm it, and-"

"Big T," I interrupt him, and he stops talking. Turning to him, I ask, "Would you ever risk getting punched in the face and beaten to death by someone crazy with movements of supersonic mantis just for A LOT of shards?"

"Of course I would."

"My man."

Not that much later, I find myself alone in my room back on the 12th floor.

"I want to combine Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector and Memory Vault," I say out loud.

A request for confirmation hits me, and then the token and both passives disappear from my status.

You have used your Passive skill combination token (Low Pristine) to combine Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector (Low Pristine) and Memory Vault (Low Pristine).

Analyzing passive skills used in the combination.

Analyzing user performance up until now.

Several options have been devised.

Adjusting for Absolute candidate status.

Further adjusting for current level of traits.

Reconfirming the length since the introduction to the system, reconfirming the remaining time in the tutorial, reconfirming current achievements in the tutorial and Beyond.

Reconfirming unusually high skill levels.

Recalculating state of the body and the trait synchronisation.

A new Unique Pristine passive has been created.

Congratulations, you have obtained a Unique Pristine passive skill!

Cognitive Vector Module (Unique Pristine) - Mental loads that should fracture lesser minds barely touch yours. Somewhere deep inside of you, a module for advanced mental architecture was created. A terrifying fusion of hyper-refined cognition and near infinite archival space. The larger your mana reserves, the faster your module processes the information.

I came prepared, so I am already on my bed, and as the darkness envelops me, I close my eyes while covering myself with a blanket and comfortably spreading out on my bed.

When I wake up to the rattling of a train and a blinding glare, a surge of confusion hits me.

Why is there a bright light?

As I open my eyes, my confusion grows even bigger as there is Lily's face right over me.

So I close my eyes and open them again to the exact same result. Slowly, I begin to realise I am getting a lap pillow from her, and we are currently in one of the gardens of the kindred's train.

"Before you start joking about me being a predator and taking advantage of your situation-" Lily starts.

"It wouldn't be a joke," I mutter.

"You were out for five days or so? If you think about it, you should thank us for your life. Kindred children would snuggle you to death."

I close my eyes, keep them that way for a bit, and open them again. Lily is still there, smiling.

She moves some hair off my face. "Why did you escape the last time when you saw the clone I grew?"

"I got busy. I forgot my keys and wallet in Beyond. I forgot I had an important meeting. I went to buy milk."

"Did you? I know you liked my lame joke. You appreciate that sort of thing," she taps the top of my head. "Did you get grumpy? Annoyed at me? Worried for me? How cute!" She continues to tap my head while I watch her, unbothered.

"All you said makes sense, and I thank you for saving me from kindred children, but what am I doing here?"

"I thought it would be nice to take you out for some fresh air and sun," she says.

"Don't worry, Nat, we kept an eye on you! There was no assault. So you are welcome!" somewhere from the background, Dennis shouts.

(Or we are sorry. We don't know what you would prefer.) Aaron adds.

With a sigh, I almost stand up, but then decide to remain lying down. The rattling, warm sun, and breeze created as the train moves, it’s all nice.

Without even realising it, I doze off and fall asleep.

When I wake up again and open my eyes, the sky is dark. The belt of debris and ice surrounding the planet is visible in the greenish light of the moon, and even now, through the quiet of the night, the train continues to move and rattle.

I am still getting a lap pillow, though as I look up, my eyes meet with Min-Jae, who is reading a book under the light of an orb he created and looks down at me after noticing I am awake.

"Before you get the wrong idea, it was a bet I lost against Maya," he says very quickly.

"I see," I say, and close my eyes, about to fall asleep again.

Min-Jae's cough stops me from doing that, and with a sigh, I stand up, an opportunity he uses to move away in case I decide to change my mind.

"Is everything okay?" he asks, to which he gets a short nod from me as I stand up and stretch.

After a big yawn, I reread the description of my newest passive, fire up some of my subminds, and begin to test it. I will give the conclusion of its usefulness only after that.

But if I had to say it now, after a few simple tests, it would be simple: How the fuck is something like this legal?