A/N: Short chapter, sorry—this one mainly focuses on some long-awaited upgrades. But don't worry, I promise to make it up to y'all with a cool, epic chapter tomorrow… maybe two. No promises though.
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The tunnel opened into a vast, cavernous chamber, long since stripped of whatever purpose it once held. Now, it was a graveyard of broken rubble. King had just cleared it of its inhabitants—a nest of serpentine Tiger-level creatures that had thought to use the shadows for an ambush. Their dissolving remains shimmered faintly in the dark. The effort had been trivial, a slight flex of his Demon-level human Condition. A Kinetic Blast here, a shockwave-assisted backhand there. The system chimed its modest reward.
[Tiger-Level Threats Neutralized: x7. BP Awarded: +10,500. Total BP: 464,500.]
The number, impressive as it was, felt abstract. A currency with no immediate transaction. King did not move on. He stood amidst the silence, the deep, rhythmic thud of the King Engine the only sound besides the distant drip of water. The encounter with the shape-shifter, the brawl with the evolving Devourer—they were previews. The main feature was still to come. He could feel it in the increased density of malicious auras the deeper he went, a pressure building in the stagnant air. He was closing in on the core territories.
Ahead lie the Executives, he thought, his golden eyes scanning the dark archways leading out of the chamber. Confirmed Dragon-levels. Each a city-destroying calamity in their own right. My current power is substantial, but it is calibrated for Demons. He flexed his hand, watching the play of light over his knuckles. The Demon-level human Condition had been really usefull, lifting him from frailty into the realm of true power. But against Dragon-level monsters like the Elder Centipede he barely damaged? It was nothing.
He needed an edge. Not just a new technique, but a fundamental elevation.
With a final glance at the exits to ensure he was unobserved, King strode to a massive, fallen gear assembly, its rusted metal providing a semblance of cover and a place to sit. He settled onto the cold steel. Closing his eyes, he willed the familiar, blue-hued interface of the Legend Shop into his mind's eye.
The grid of abilities shimmered before him, a catalogue of potential. He scrolled past the Seismic Clap upgrades, the variations of Kinetic Blast. Those were tools. He needed to upgrade the craftsman.
His search was swift, his goal clear. He found it near the top, its icon pulsing with a more ominous, deep crimson light compared to the violet aura of his current Demon-level physique.
[Dragon-Level Physical Constitution]
Description:Transforms the user's physical vessel to withstand and exert forces on the scale of Dragon-level threats. Bone density, muscle fiber tensile strength, neural conductivity, and metabolic efficiency are elevated to superhuman pinnacle. Enhances all physically-linked abilities proportionately.
Cost: 220,000 BP.
The price was staggering. It represented weeks of grinding, of countless battles. It was more than half his current fortune. A jump from Demon to Dragon is not a step, he reasoned, his mind coolly assessing the cost-benefit ratio. It is a leap across a chasm. The price reflects not just power, but survivability. To take a hit from an Executive and remain standing… this is not a luxury. It is essential infrastructure.
The decision was clinical. He selected the upgrade.
Confirm purchase: Dragon-Level Physical Constitution for 220,000 BP? [Y/N]
Yes.
The BP counter plummeted. [BP: 244,500.]
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, it began.
It was not a painful wrenching transformation. This was deeper, more profound—a tidal wave of raw, refining power flooding every cell. He felt his bones not growing, but condensing, the marrow humming with a newfound vitality. His muscles didn't just bulge; they re-knit themselves at a microscopic level, each fiber aligning into perfect, hyper-efficient bundles that coiled with the potential energy of tectonic plates. His nerves fired with lightning speed, his senses of touch and proprioception expanding so that he could feel the individual grains of rust beneath his fingers and the faint vibration of distant footfalls through fifty meters of solid rock.
He let out a slow, controlled breath, watching the air mist before him. When he stood, the movement was different. There was no wasted motion, no shift in balance. He simply was standing. He picked up a fragment of stalactite, a rough shard the size of his torso, and squeezed. It did not crack. It powderized in his grip, silent as chalk dust, the fragments sifting through his fingers. The raw, physical might of the Devourer at its peak now felt… manageable. This was the baseline he needed.
Yet, as he looked at his remaining points—still a king's ransom by his old standards—he knew one foundational upgrade remained. The heart of it all.
He returned to the shop and scrolled, past the flashy attacks, to the core of his legend. There it was, glowing with a steady, royal gold.
[King's Aura - Level 5]
Description: The culmination of legendary presence. The user's aura ceases to be merely an emanation and begins to interact with reality as an extension of their will. Dramatically increases the potency, range, and psychological weight of the King Engine. Serves as the supreme amplifier for all other aura-based and perception-based abilities (King's Armor, King's Eyes, Royal Acceleration). Note: Synergistic effects may manifest uniquely.
Cost: 200,000 BP.
He stared. Level 4 cost 25,000. This is an eight-fold increase. The sheer jump was audacious. But the description… "Interact with reality as an extension of their will." This was no simple boost. This was a qualitative change. His Aura was the source. It fueled his intimidation, hardened his armor, sharpened his sight, and propelled his speed. Strengthening the source would amplify everything downstream. Against foes who could shatter mountains, a tougher shield and faster reflexes were not just beneficial; they were the difference between a fighting chance and oblivion.
The doubt was a ghost of his old self, whispering of caution, of saving points for an emergency. He exorcised it with a focused thought. An emergency against a Dragon will be over in seconds if I am not fundamentally prepared. This is the preparation.
Confirm purchase: King's Aura - Level 5 for 200,000 BP? [Y/N]
Yes.
[BP: 44,500.]
His remaining wealth evaporated, leaving a modest sum. The transformation was instant and internal.
The King Engine in his chest did not just grow louder. It changed its note. It was no longer just the sound of a mighty heartbeat. For a single, deafening DOOM that resonated through the cavern, shaking dust from the ceiling, it became the sound of sovereignty itself, a fundamental law of physics declaring its presence. The wave of pressure that erupted from him was invisible but tangible, flattening the dust on the ground in a perfect circle around him for twenty meters.
As the sound faded, the new normal settled in. The King Engine's perpetual thrum was now a quieter, more profound vibration, one he felt might resonate in the bones of anyone who came near.
He turned his attention inward, testing the synergies. He willed the King's Armor to life. The familiar golden luminescence cascaded over him, but it felt different. It was not just a harder shell; it had a palpable density to it, as if he were clad not in light, but in a millimeter-thin layer of neutron star matter. It felt less like donning armor and more like willing a section of space around him to become impervious.
Puzzled, he activated his King's Eyes. The world resolved into hyper-clarity, but again, with a new dimension. He could still see heat signatures and structural stresses, but now he also perceived… pressures. The flow of the foul air currents wasn't just visible; he could intuitively sense their force and direction. The malicious auras of distant monsters weren't just blips; they had a texture, a weight of intent he could almost feel pushing against the edges of his own amplified aura. The enhancement was there, sharper, faster, but why did it feel like... he wasnot seeing enough?.
A final test. He triggered Royal Acceleration. He didn't aim for a full sprint, just a micro-burst to the other side of the chamber. There was no golden blur. One moment he was by the gear, the next he was fifty feet away, having perceived the journey not as a rush of movement, but as a simple decision to be elsewhere. The air didn't whoosh; it parted silently around him, as if afraid to offer resistance.
He stood in the new silence, the last of the dust motes settling in the gloom. The upgrades were complete. He was physically a Dragon-level entity. His legendary aura was now a tangible force field and amplifier. His remaining 44,500 BP was a pittance, but it didn't matter. He had invested in the core. The Ultimate Hellfire Burst Wave Motion Cannon remained unbought, a distant dream. It no longer seemed urgent. The weapon he needed was now his own refined body and will.
The oppressive atmosphere of the lair hadn't changed. But King's relationship to it had. The lurking dread, the fear of the unknown Executive around the next corner, had been metabolized. It was now merely a tactical variable to be calculated.
He took one last look at the broken chamber, now a silent witness to his ascension. The King Engine beat its new, deeper rhythm.
He turned towards the darkest, most aura-choked tunnel leading downward, and resumed his walk.