The Primal Hunter

Jake collected himself as he entered the booth again, shaking his head.

“That is that same thing…” Felicia muttered once he was inside.

“Yeah, it is,” Roman nodded.

“Is that the personification of the system?” Miranda asked curiously.

“Thinking about it is a waste of time… it simply is,” Jake just answered. “Trying to understand the ununderstandable will only lead to understanding what it wants you to understand.”

“That made no fucking sense,” Roman muttered.

“Neither does an omnipotent system taking a human-like form to hold an Auction for a bunch of D-grades,” Jake countered.

“Good point, I guess,” he answered. “But why is that damn thing not talking?”

“Because we are,” Jake guessed. When no one else said anything… the system entity began talking.

“This auction round has been awarded to the denizens of Earth due to exemplary performance during the Treasure Hunt event. All bidding will take place using Credits. All possibilities of borrowing Credits are no longer available. Only individuals who participated in the final phase of the Treasure Hunt will be allowed to bid during this round. Without further delay, let the auction begin.”

The moment it stopped talking, Jake registered it was as if everyone attending the event had heard it at the same time, even if clearly some like their group had made the entity delay. Time… does not work as it should. Perhaps reality itself is entirely controlled.

But focusing on the matter at hand, Jake was happy to see that the bidding was limited to participants of the final phase and that the borrowing option was gone. Hopefully, it would allow Jake not to waste as much money if something good did appear.

He was unsure what to expect as the being down on the central platform summoned the first item.

“The first item is a Heart of Darkness. This item can be used to improve skills of the dark affinity and works best with ones using purely the dark affinity. The bidding starts at two hundred million Credits.

This time, it appeared that they would not be shown simply through a system interface but be shown in reality. Due to this, Jake considered leaving the booth to get a better feel for the item, but just when he thought it, it was as if the entire frontal window of the booth disappeared and mana washed in. It was still blocking the outside from looking in, but it seemed like it allowed everything else to enter.

The first item looked like an impossibly black fruit about the size of an apple, and the mana that washed into the booth from the outside was purely black mana, far denser and potent than anything he had ever felt before, even than in the chamber with the Umbral Lotus.

Jake identified the item on offer… and it truly set the stage for this part of the auction event.

[Heart of Darkness (Unique)] – A Heart of Darkness offered directly by the system due to Earth’s performance during the Treasure Hunt event. Consume the Heart of Darkness to be filled with an intense amount of dark energy and experience potent Records of the affinity itself. Will greatly assist in improving any skill using dark mana. Uses remaining: 3/3

Requirement: D-grade

Without knowing for sure, Jake had a feeling this kind of item wasn’t just valuable by Earth standards, but on a multiversal level. The potential to upgrade a skill was nearly invaluable, especially considering how much the Viper praised Jake’s Path of the Heretic Chosen. To consume an item that would allow one to do that, not just once, but three times?

himself a little. However, while Jake could use it for sure… then he wasn’t going to bet on it.

The top one was Caleb, but a few independent factions were also bidding, as well as the undead also wanting it. Jake just sat back, a part of him feeling lucky one could no longer borrow money, as if one could, then Priscilla would

part were those that had chosen not to leave when given a chance to before the Monarch appeared. This still left thousands to bid, but as people couldn’t borrow money, then, in reality, it was only a select few with enough resources

a second item appeared. This one was a floating crystal,

a hundred and fifty million Credits.

Core is of

Requirements: Soulbound

joke. Jake knew the value of Dungeon Cores simply due to random talks with Villy. A Dungeon Core allowed one to create their own true dungeon. Not just a subdimension, but one with all the dungeon features, including all of the different dimensional versions-shenanigans found in natural

within… but that was still more than enough for any faction

to buy

just shook her head. “We have no Dungeon Engineers among us,

don’t mind if I give it a

the price climbed, soon reaching over a billion. At that point, Sultan had already bowed out, too stingy to truly invest. It was down to the Holy Church and the Risen bidding against each other, with Casper facing off against Jacob. In the end, Casper won, with the price reaching one-point-seven, the most expensive item sold

master of vital energy. Bidding starts at fifty million Credits,” the system being said the moment it had sold the core. A necklace that looked to just be a small crystal on a chain appeared, glowing

aimed at specific people,

store incredible amounts more. Allows the user to use this vital energy to create a shield around the soul, protecting against soul and mental attacks. Infusing the vital energy storage with power is

any humanoid race.

at it as he just laughed out loud. He couldn’t help himself at the ridiculousness. Jake had a lot of health

of assholes forcing you to spend more Credits on items you would obviously need. It was a no-brainer that the madman would buy it. His biggest weakness was mental magic, and now he was offered a way to use his vital energy to create a barrier to

Eron

treasure their blades above all else. Bidding starts at fifty million Credits,” the system said as the second shameless display appeared. It was a simple-looking scabbard that appeared far too large for any sword,

repair it from any damage taken, and consistently keep it in peak condition. While the blade is sheathed, it will be infused with energy from the scabbard based on the blade’s properties. This energy can be released all at once when drawn for a mighty blow,

Requirements: N/A

bid. However, this was not an item only he could actually use, contrary to the necklace. In fact, there were many sword-users. Heck, even Jake could use it as it did not specify it needed to

up going for three-hundred and seventy-seven million Credits. Jake now sat with high

had just gotten something, so

curse master, while only a burden

to improve the power of any curse channeled through it and could even replicate itself. It looked like a perfect weapon for the Risen and his curse powers in all ways. He also learned that using curses wasn’t

made for those who prefer to use their fists, viewing their

fight too. The gloves were also great, just like the spike, and made all melee attacks better, but more than that, they would originally reform if the hands or arms were damaged, along

Surely, it

those willing to give up

anything blocked releases a pulse of healing energy, restoring health to everyone around the user. Does not heal the user. As a true martyr, sacrifice your own life energy to restore the

Requirements: Soulbound

serious damage to the Monarch, so Jake recognized his contribution for sure. It was brief but powerful, so it was only fair he also got an item. Though Jake found the entire naming and sentiment of the shield a bit funny… is it really martyrdom to sacrifice yourself when you can just resurrect

they did have to spend over two hundred million on it because the undead wanted to be assholes back. As far as Jake knew, they didn’t even have health points, making the shield

now, Jake was certain it was

eighth item