The news of the "Great Vault Robbery" hit the Awakened world like an earthquake. In less than ten minutes, the Atlas Hunter's Guild had lost 30% of its strategic reserves. But it wasn't just the theft that terrified them—it was the note. Someone had treated the most secure vault in North Africa like a local grocery store.
Inside the Sovereign Emporium, Omar was busy. He wasn't just placing items on shelves; he was "tuning" them. Without the System's restrictions, he could combine items. He fused a Star-Iron ingot with a Mana-Crystal using his own willpower, creating a weapon that pulsed with a raw, unstable energy.
"The balance is different now," Omar muttered, his eyes reflecting the purple glow of the forge. "I don't need a blueprint to tell me what works. I can feel the 'value' myself."
Suddenly, the shop's bell rang. It wasn't the chime of a customer entering a door—it was a heavy, rhythmic thumping, like someone striking a drum with a sledgehammer.
The black door didn't open. Instead, a shimmering gold portal appeared in the center of the room. Out stepped a man who radiated so much power that Laila instinctively reached for her daggers and hid in the shadows.
He was tall, with silver hair and eyes that looked like molten gold. He wore the formal white cape of the Continental Council of Hunters.
Name: Director Marouane.
Rank: S-Rank (The "Shield of North Africa").
Status: Legend.
Omar didn't bow. He didn't even stop polishing the blade in his hand. "Director. You're far from your office in Rabat. Did you come to arrest me, or are you here to complain about your empty vault?"
Marouane looked around the shop, his gaze lingering on Kaelen, who stood silently in the corner like a mountain of dark steel. "The vault was a message, Omar. A loud one. But I'm not here as a policeman today. I'm here as a desperate man."
The S-Rank Director sat on a wooden stool, his heavy presence making the furniture creak. "The 'Architects' you rebelled against... they've pulled their support from our world. Since you broke the System, the Portals aren't closing anymore. They're staying open, vomiting out Rank-S monsters that we can't kill with our standard gear."
Omar stopped. He looked at Marouane and saw the truth. The Architects were punishing Earth for Omar's rebellion by letting the monsters overrun it.
"And you want me to help?" Omar asked, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"I want to buy everything," Marouane said, slamming a suitcase onto the counter. Inside wasn't money. It was 'Origin Shards'—the raw material used to create World-Gates. "The Council authorized me to trade these. They are useless to us, but I suspect they are the 'food' your shop needs to grow."
Omar's eyes gleamed. He could feel the Emporium vibrating with hunger at the sight of the shards.
"I have something better than your standard gear, Director," Omar said. He reached under the counter and pulled out the weapon he had just finished—a spear made of fused Star-Iron and Void-Essence. "This doesn't just cut monsters. It 'erases' their mana-signature. It's a weapon made without the Architects' permission."
Marouane touched the spear, and his eyes widened. "The power... it's unregulated. It's wild."
"Exactly," Omar leaned in. "But the price isn't just the shards, Director. I want a seat at the Council. I want the 'Infinite Realm Emporium' to be the only legal supplier for every Hunter in the region. No more Guild taxes. No more Shadow Market interference."
Marouane looked at the spear, then at the young man who had transformed from a porter into a sovereign. "You're starting a monopoly, Omar. You're becoming the very thing you fought against."
"No," Omar countered. "I'm just making sure that when the Architects come back to finish what they started, I'm the one holding the bill."
[Contract Initiated: The Sovereign Alliance.]
[Payment Received: 50x Origin Shards.]
[Shop Evolution: Tier 2 Sovereignty.]
As Marouane left with the spear, the shop began to expand. The walls pushed back, and new floors began to grow upward into a spiraling tower of dark wood and silver light.
"Laila," Omar called out. "Get ready. We're not just a shop in an alley anymore. We're the capital of a new world."