“A merchant seal?” Nylea asked as he drew it from his bag.

“Mhm. I’ve gotta prepare, we’re going out for a hunt soon. Tomorrow, actually.”

“My, how exciting…”

At the edge of the lake, Nic drew out the Seal of the Wreckrunner and dropped it into the water. The moment it sank below, a dark space opened up. Abyssal waters rose, churning upwards to the surface in a cold froth of salt and brine.

A hand emerged, and Old Ben Thick hauled himself up, swinging himself onto the docks. The shark man was a mass of corded muscle underneath tattooed blue skin, wearing simple clothes of sackcloth bound with hemp rope. Barnacles and crabs clung to him, falling away as he leaned back against a pier-post. Reaching into the bags around his waist, he took out a cigar wrapped in waterproof papers, unrolled it, and planted between his too-sharp teeth. A stub of flamestone provided the light, cherry-red cinders puffing with his each and every breath.

Idly, in his own time, he addressed Nic. “The fair tides bring us to meet once more, cappy-tan.” He said, with a tilt of an imaginary hat. “And a fair lady too, more’s the pleasure.”

“Good to see you’re alive, Ben. I’ve got a few things for you.”

Nic dropped the rucksack at his feet. Aside from the Hydra Mist Gourd and the lump of stone, which turned out to be a rare crafting material called Cloud Jade, Nic intended to sell the lot. Right now getting credits to buy something off the bounty list took priority…

From his own bag he took out the red armor and green-flag spear he’d won in Makepeace. He took out the cultivation mat he'd taken from the dungeon. It had served him well, but his new cultivation room was far superior, and simply being portable wasn't worth enough to make up for the credits he lost by not selling it.

The same could be said of the Ring of Night-Into-Day. It was exceptionally useful for stealth, but its drawback meant severing his own finger whenever he blundered his way into battle. As for the day form, it was basically useless now…

They both went in the bag.

“Now that’s a fine haul, from a lad who keeps himself proper busy. Lessee here, then. By my count, an bein’ as always a gentleman eager to provide his clientele with satisfaction… Fifteen-thousand for the lot seem fair?”

“Seventeen thousand.” Nylea cut in. “That ring is undervalued due to its curse, but for the right buyer…”

Nic was surprised. She had some kind of appraisal skill too, apparently.

Ben just smiled a crooked grin. “Seventeen thousand, for I won’t gainsay such an alluring beauty…”

Seventeen thousand…

Nic was almost at his goal. He had struggled and struggled to accumulate money, avoiding spending any of his growing wealth, all to chase the top prizes of the First Wave.

The Four Directions Sacred Beast pill would let a human create a Warform for themselves. It was a tremendous increase in killing power, even if the Warform that resulted was more limited than one belonging to a true beast.

The Aeon-Soaked Patriarch Pine Sap? It could let you meditate for years in a single moment, potentially reaping deep spiritual rewards.

The Blood-Kindling Marrow was for awakening hidden talents with bloodlines, like the newt-folk’s regeneration. Nic’s very survival showed how valuable that could be. The Heavenly Serpent Lacrimal Gland would cleanse all impurities, but even more importantly, permanently make the body more resistant to toxins from pills. To an alchemist it was an invaluable treasure that would strengthen them over the course of a lifetime.

These weren’t just powerful treasures, but foundational ones that would help set a cultivator’s path. They enticed the young prodigies of Earth to risk everything and seize their future.

As for Nic, he had set his heart on the Mist-Vapor Spirit Cordial. Costing a ‘mere’ 100,000 First Wave Credits, it would grant an innate ability akin to his Regeneration, one that would follow him as he evolved and be able to grow for as long as he did.

What made it so suited for him was the ability was a movement Technique, with a focus on stealth.

“Now. Perhaps, bein’ a man of honor, you’ll give me fair chance to win back some of that prize.” With a flick of his fingers, Old Ben was holding his deck of cards. As broad and clumsy as his hands looked, they performed acrobatically in cutting and shuffling the deck, making the cards cascade from hand to hand in an almost gravity-defying way.

“How’be this? A brace of djinn-rifles, bound fer empires unknown. Each’n every one fueled by a captive spirit. I’ll sell in bulk, for a song.” As he spoke on the cards flipped into view, displaying a crate loaded with ornate redwood rifles loaded in among packing straw. “Arm yer whole village.”

“A bell of mutiny.” The next card displayed a black iron bell covered in snakes. “To warn when those beneath ya think disloyal thoughts an’ dream disloyal dreams.”

“Newt? Or, Nicolas. Would you mind I spent a little of that two-thousand I saved you?” Nylea asked, cutting in on his salesman’s spiel.

Nic nodded.

“Alright then. Sir, I will need the following. Hollow-Tongue Lark Extract, Three-Colored Marrigold Root, Baobab Wood aged twenty years…” In moments she had rattled out a brutally long, exhaustively detailed list. She glanced back to Nic and clarified, “Basic alchemy ingredients, for teaching my skills. Although, that cook woman, she actually refused to be my pupil…”

Her voice was frigid with shock and anger.

Nic was just grimacing, his mood sinking lower the wider Old Ben smiled. “All that comes in under two thousand, right?”

“Just.” Old Ben said, his smile sharp and yellow.

---

In the end, Nic spent another three thousand as well on his own purchases. At Sofia’s suggestion, he bought substances known as alkahest and sovereign solution, two ‘sacred elixirs’ used by craftsmen. The latter could meld any two materials seamlessly, while the former would break apart substances into their components. They were both limited by the Class of the solution, but even E-Class wasn’t too precious.

Each came in a metal flask stamped with the triplicate bronze symbols of a dawnburst, a hammer, and an ornate eye. The actual flask was much of the cost - the containers had to be reinforced with a web of repulsive runes to keep the substances within from touching the sides.

He’d wanted to buy Tarquin a magic bag like his own, but it turned out to be nearly impossible. It wasn’t the expense but rather how popular they were; whenever one appeared it was quickly bought up. He settled for an agreement that Ben would sell him the next one he found, for a small finder’s fee.

In addition, Nic bought up another cask of gunpowder, for the fun kinds of emergency, and an inscribed box made of fragrant-scented green wood. This last item was meant to help preserve ingredients from rot and loss of their internal Essences, and Nic intended to use it to keep his kills fresh, ensuring a steady boost to his cultivation from devourin E-Class meat.

It was easy to see how monsters fell behind. Humans only needed to meditate, while Nic had to devour increasingly rare flesh and natural treasures...

As he thought, Nic walked with Nylea to the center of town, chatting in an idle way. Honestly he just enjoyed hearing her speak and making her laugh. As they reached the Totem in the town square, Sofia flickered into view, the starry otter floating behind her and giving them a small wave.

"All is good so far with the rift. The energy it’s releasing is slowly spreading, and I've noted your trainees are training faster. Interestingly, that's not just with cultivation. They're learning everything faster..."

"Yes, what is that thing? Why did it appear? Are we under attack?" Nylea asked with concern.

"Nobody knows." Nic said, shrugging. "Except that it’s part of a bargain I made with the System." A bargain he would never entirely trust, but was too valuable to throw away.

"I can say for sure now that it’s an opening to a spiritual plane of some sort." Sofia noted. "It’s possible we'll discover more as time passes, but currently, I'm thinking of ways we can reinforce its bindings."

"Good, work on that." Nic cut in. "But I want you to make an announcement. Tomorrow, I'm taking a group of our best to the hunting grounds. We're going to try and take Nodes along the way, snatching up as much territory as we can..."

"And the city is coming with us."

It was something he'd considered carefully. Moving the city meant bringing everyone closer to danger, but at the same time, it would keep them close where he could defend them. Nic wouldn't put it past the nearby Invader Settlement to launch an ambush after the hunt began. In addition, it would let the hunters sweep the surrounding areas for supplies. After only a few days the woods surrounding Winterhome were threadbare, fast running out of any value.

Moreover, they'd be moving towards the dissolved town of Makepeace. There would still be plenty of people in the area, and now that time had passed and the situation had become clear, hopefully some of them would be willing to join Winterhome. If he could absorb the old town's resources, the more the better.

But most of all...

He wanted the city where he could defend it - and where it could defend him. Winterhome wasn't shaped like a beast for no reason. It had a terrifying amount of strength it could unleash as long as it was in claimed Territories.

When the other Settlements came to try and claim their share of the hunt, Nic wanted to be ready.

“You seem to have thought this one out.” Sofia agreed. “Very well. I’ll inform those I think are ready to contribute, rather than hold you back. Training is going well; in fact I want you to attend. They could do with seeing their leader train alongside them.”

Nic smiled. She meant that she wanted to show him off. “Fine by me.”

“Oh oh!” The otter piped up. “And congratulations!”

Raising an eyebrow, Nic asked, “On what? Developing the skill?”

“Well, yes, of course that, but also, also, on breaking through to the thousands rankings!” The otter announced, clapping its hands together enthusiastically. “Really, fantastic work boss. A-Plus. Excellent.”

Sofia stared at him until he stopped talking, and then swept a far kinder, less frosty gaze back to Nic. “Yes, Nicolas, I was getting to that. You’ve breached the thousands places and should enter the hundreds soon. You’re not just growing faster than others, but accelerating in how fast you grow.”

“However. The prize is somewhat of a burden as well.”

Nic didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. The System really was predictable; the more power you gained the more gifts it would rain from the heavens.

He was close to reaching the point where his growth would be unstoppable. Where each new power he acquired would lead to winning another.

There were less than ten-thousand people left on the planet who could compete with him.

She glanced towards the otter and waved her hand for him to hurry up. With a nervous cough, the star-otter swum forward. “Yes yes. I bestow upon you the gifts of the System. By breaking into the thousands rankings, you have earned an insignia of power. The System watches your advancement and grants you its blessings.”

From the otter’s upturned palm came a swirling disk of stardust. It condensed slowly, forming a single droplet of shimmering gold. Across that golden raindrop’s surface ran shimmering, shifting lines of white fire, constantly in motion.

“Whatever weapon you bestow this on will begin to grow, Nicolas. But it will also be a beacon to every other cultivator in the thousands rankings. The primary way the weapon will grow? Collecting the insignias of others…”