He shook off his thoughts and focused his vision on his new acquisitions. Now that the physical items were in his grip, the "blindfold" of the Auction House was gone.
[Dire Wolf's Canine]:
[Grade]: Common
[Durability]: 12/15
[Essence Properties]: Inferior Bone Essence, Standard Penetration
[Description]: Though the bone is slightly weathered, the tip remains unnaturally sharp, designed by nature to pierce through thick hide and muscle.
[Rusty Iron Short Sword]:
[Grade]: Common
[Durability]: 3/20
[Essence Properties]: Inferior Iron Essence, Inferior Sharpness
[Description]: A discarded relic of a foot soldier, now a pitted mess of orange oxidation.
Akash stood amidst the pristine, white jade walls of the Auction House, the blue flames of the Architect's Crucible roaring with anticipation as he prepared a radical experiment. He wasn't just upgrading a tool; he was attempting a "cross-material" infusion that defied the conventional logic of the Trail Realm.
He picked up the [Dire Wolf's Canine] and placed it into the center of the Crucible. Immediately, a small interface floated above the flames:
[Target]: Dire Wolf's Canine[Options]: Extract / Infuse
He chose "Extract"
The interface expanded and new options displayed.
"Choose Essence Property to extract: [Inferior Bone Essence] / [Standard Penetration]"
You selected [Standard Penetration]. "Cost: 2 Spirit Coins. Material will be destroyed. Proceed?"
"Yes," Akash muttered.
The blue flames flared white. The wolf's canine vibrated violently before disintegrating into dust. A thin, jagged sliver of silver light floated into the air.
[Notification]: Extraction Successful. [Standard Penetration] has been moved to Essence Storage.
Next, he placed the [Rusty Iron Short Sword]into the crucible.
Again small interface floated above the flames:
[Target]: Rusty Iron Short Sword[Options]: Extract / Infuse
He again chose "Extract".
The interface expanded and new options displayed.
"Choose Essence Property to extract: [ Inferior Iron Essence] / [ Inferior Sharpness]"
You selected [ Inferior Iron Essence]. "Cost: 2 Spirit Coins. Material will be destroyed. Proceed?"
"Yes."
The flames turned a deep, earthy brown. The Short Sword vibrated for a moment then faded away, leaving behind a dense, pulsing orb of dark colored light.
[Notification]: Extraction Successful. [Inferior Iron Essence] has been moved to Essence Storage.
Finally, Akash took a long breath and placed his [Crude Stone Pickaxe] into the Crucible.
[Target]: Crude Stone Pickaxe [Options]: Extract / Infuse
He chose [Infuse].
"Please select essence(s) from Storage to infuse."
He selected both [Inferior Iron Essence] and [Standard Penetration]. A final, high-stakes warning appeared: "Cost: 4 Spirit Coins. Warning: Incompatible infusion destroys both item and essences. Proceed?"
"Yes," Akash hissed, the word fueled by a capitalist's hunger for a high-tier product.
[Notification]: Insufficient Spirit Coins. Infusion aborted.
The prompt didn't just stop the process; it extinguished the glow of the Crucible, leaving the room in a cold, mocking dimness. The silence that followed was deafening. It was a brutal reminder of his current reality: in the Trail Realm, even genius required a permit in the form of currency.
He checked his balance. 3 Spirit Coins. He was exactly one coin short.
A sharp curse burned in Akash's throat, but it never broke the surface. Years of his rigorous discipline had forged a strong temper. He didn't waste time. He spun on his heel and bolted out of the Auction House. The evening air bit at his lungs, but he barely felt it. He reached the wood clearing where Bala was wiping sweat from his brow, his axe resting against a freshly fallen trunk. Without a word, Akash swept the haul into his inventory.
[Notification]: Collected 42x Wood. Total Inventory: 46x Wood.
He turned and sprinted back to Auction House, his boots thudding against the stone. Arjun who just came out of the [Lord`s Manor], watched his Lord—usually so composed and calculating—racing back and forth like a man possessed.
Arjun opened his mouth to offer his strength, his voice catching as he prepared to ask if some unseen threat was closing in. But the sheer, cold intensity radiating from Akash's eyes acted like a physical barrier, cutting the words short.
Silenced by that aura of absolute purpose, Arjun didn't follow him inside. Instead, he took up a vigilant watch near the Auction House entrance. He stood there with a hesitant but unwavering vigilance, eyes scanning the darkening perimeter.
Akash didn't hesitate. Time was a resource more precious than wood, and he refused to wait on the whims of the Auction House for a single coin. He pulled ten pieces of wood from his inventory and fed them directly into the System Store's interface.
[System Notification]: 10x Wood sold for 1 SC.
[Spirit Coins]: 4 Spirit Coins.
Without a second of wasted movement, he summoned Crucible and repeated the process.
[Notification]: Infusion Successful.
Excited, he immediately focused on the item to check its details.
[Iron-Veined Ravager Pick]
[Grade]: Uncommon
[Essence Properties]: Inferior Iron Essence, Standard Penetration
[Durability]: 30/30
[Abilities]:
[Crag-Splitter] : Every strike has a 1% chance to find a natural fault line, instantly cleaving the stone node into a manageable stone.
[Description]: A heavy stone pickaxe reinforced with dark, metallic veins that pulse with a faint light. Its tip is exceptionally sharp, allowing it to pierce through hardened rock and dense minerals with minimal effort.
As Akash sat in the silent, ivory-white hall of the Auction House, he wasn't looking at a tool—he was looking at a miracle of engineering. The [Iron-Veined Ravager Pick] rested across his knees, its metallic veins shimmering under the ambient light of the terminal.
Even without swinging it yet, the sheer presence of the [Crag-Splitter] ability on the panel was enough to make any laborer's heart stop. To a man like Arjun, who spent his days fighting the mountain with brittle stone, this wasn't just equipment. "This is a divine relic," Akash murmured, his voice echoing in the empty hall.
The excitement of the craft quickly cooled, replaced by the cold, rapid-fire calculations of a capitalist. His eyes darted across the transparent screens, cross-referencing the "Buy" prices in the Auction House.
[Dire Wolf's Canine]: Purchase Price 2 SC + Extraction 2 SC = 4 SC Total
[Rusty Iron Short Sword]: Purchase Price 2 SC + Extraction 2 SC = 4 SC Total
[Crude Stone Pickaxe]: Purchase Price 2 SC + Infusion 4 SC = 6 SC Total
Total Production Cost: 14 Spirit Coins
He stared at the final number. To create this "Divine" tool using only the parts scavenged from Auction House, cost him 14 coins.
The internal tug-of-war was brief but agonizing. On one hand, handing the [Iron-Veined Ravager Pick] to Arjun would turn the mountain into a resource goldmine. On the other, Akash was financially paralyzed. In the world of high-stakes development, liquidity is oxygen, and Akash was currently suffocating.
He calculated the "opportunity cost." If the pickaxe sat in the Auction House for four hours without selling, he lost four hours of Arjun's hyper-efficient labor. To mitigate this risk, he decided on a High-Volume, Low-Margin play. He wouldn't get greedy; he would bait the "Whales" of the sector with a price they couldn't refuse.
Stepping back to the terminal, Akash's mind moved with the cold precision of an architect finalizing a blueprint. The math clicked perfectly: a total production cost of 14 SC subtracted from a 21 SC net return—after the mandatory 1 SC listing fee—would leave him with a 7 SC profit. It was a solid 50% margin, a foundation upon which he could build a skyscraper of wealth.
He placed the [Iron-Veined Ravager Pick] into the spectral auction slot. He set the auction price and buyout price to an identical 22 SC, fixed the timeout for a lightning-fast 1 hour, and mentally commanded "Submit". He was already visualizing the future, seeing his two subordinates transformed from ragged survivors into a vanguard armed to the teeth with divine armor and weapons.
Shuttering his dreams of a rapid ascension, the terminal's familiar, mocking chime cut through his ambition.
[Notification]: Insufficient Spirit Coins. Submission aborted.
Time seemed to freeze. Akash stood paralyzed, his eyes locked on the blinking text.
The silence held for a heartbeat, two, then the pressure snapped.
"F*ck! @@**##%%$$!"