In the end, Vaelor's clone couldn't resist the sheer generosity of the offer.
There was simply no rational reason to refuse. The terms Scarlet proposed were extraordinary—one billion points annually as guaranteed income, completely separate from dungeon earnings. Complete freedom of activity with zero binding obligations beyond voluntary participation in guild expeditions.
Signing this SSS-Rank contract carried literally no disadvantages.
After finalizing the three-year agreement—complete with authentication seals and magical verification protocols that confirmed both parties' commitment—Scarlet's face lit up with genuine satisfaction. She extended her hand toward Vaelor with a radiant smile.
"Welcome to Crimson Rose, Vaelor."
"One billion points will be transferred to your account within the next business cycle."
"If you require anything—martial techniques, alchemical preparations, equipment, specialized training resources—simply inform me. As long as the request isn't at the absolute apex tier, I can arrange acquisition."
Her crimson eyes met his directly, conveying sincere commitment. "During your Martial Aptitude Examination period, we will not disturb you under any circumstances. Similarly, if you're admitted to a Combat University, we'll respect your academic schedule completely. No forced participation—only voluntary cooperation when your schedule permits and you choose to join dungeon expeditions."
The clone nodded, releasing her hand.
Through the consciousness link, Vaelor's main body—still peacefully cultivating at the Draeth residence—processed this development with deep satisfaction. Just days ago, he'd been concerned about funding his cultivation expenses. Now he was technically a billionaire.
The surreal nature of the transformation left even his enhanced mind momentarily disoriented.
"Alright! Without further delay—as celebration of our newest member joining—let's head to an Abyssal Rift immediately!" Raina declared with infectious enthusiasm.
"I'm afraid that's not feasible yet," the clone said apologetically. "I haven't acquired my Warrior Badge from the Association."
"Ah... right." Raina's excitement deflated instantly, her shoulders slumping with disappointment.
Lyanna spoke softly, her gentle voice cutting through the moment. "I recall that Elara works at the Warrior Association headquarters."
Kieran's eyes brightened. "Yes! I'll contact her immediately. Vaelor, you can visit her directly when convenient—she'll expedite your registration."
"When are you planning to handle this?"
"Probably today, but before I go..." The clone turned toward Kieran. "I'd like to utilize the gravity chamber."
"Of course! Absolutely no problem!" Kieran's expression turned slightly apologetic. "However, our martial hall operates on limited funding. We only possess a basic model capable of six times normal gravity."
High-grade gravity chambers were extraordinarily expensive. Basic six-times models cost tens of millions of points. Advanced systems with adjustable settings reaching twelve or fifteen times gravity ran into hundreds of millions—affordable only to major institutions or wealthy organizations.
"Six times is perfect," the clone assured her.
Free access to any gravity chamber is valuable. No sense being picky about specifications, both bodies thought in unison.
As Kieran led Vaelor toward the facility, the other guild members gathered near the office.
Lyanna looked at Scarlet with quiet curiosity. "President, weren't the contract terms perhaps... excessively generous? Is he truly worth such investment?"
"Absolutely worth it. Don't question my assessment." Scarlet's eyes gleamed with absolute conviction. "Do you genuinely believe he used his full strength during that demonstration?"
Raina's eyes widened. "That wasn't maximum output?"
Scarlet shook her head firmly, confidence radiating from her posture. "I'll stake my reputation on this: Vaelor Draeth will be the biggest dark horse in this year's Martial Aptitude Examination. He'll shock everyone who underestimates him."
"By binding such exceptional talent to Crimson Rose with an SSS-Rank contract, I've secured an enormous advantage for our guild's future."
None of the women doubted Scarlet's judgment—her talent evaluation skills were legendary. But they remained genuinely shocked by the implications of Vaelor's demonstrated power.
"President, when should we arrange for Marcus and Elise to meet him?" Kieran asked.
"Wait until our next full guild event. I recently received intelligence about a newly discovered Tier 4 dungeon manifesting in the suburban sectors. Multiple guilds are investigating. First-clear rewards are always substantial."
"Tier 4 might be challenging," Kieran said with slight concern.
"The danger remains within acceptable parameters. Regardless—wait for my signal. I'll coordinate timing."
After the conversation concluded, the women departed to handle various guild responsibilities.
Gravity Chamber - Crimsonpeak Martial Hall
Vaelor's clone stood alone in the sealed chamber, completely unaware of the discussion happening elsewhere in the building.
The room was relatively small—perhaps ten meters square—with reinforced metallic walls designed to withstand intense training impacts. Control panels near the entrance allowed adjustment of gravity multiplication settings.
But before beginning, the clone had something specific planned.
Main body, I'm switching now. You should experience the gravity chamber personally.
Agreed. The physical tempering won't transfer properly through our connection—my body needs direct exposure.
Through their consciousness link, the main body and shadow clone executed a seamless exchange. The clone's body transferred back to the Draeth residence while the original Vaelor's body arrived standing in the gravity chamber.
For an outside observer, nothing would appear different. The switch was instantaneous and left no detectable trace.
Vaelor—now personally present—examined the chamber's controls and activated the system.
The gravity multiplier engaged immediately.
Six times normal gravity.
THOOM
The increased gravitational force slammed down on Vaelor like a physical weight. His knees flexed slightly, adjusting to the dramatically increased load. Every movement suddenly required six times the normal effort. Even breathing demanded conscious attention as his chest worked against the enhanced pressure.
For an ordinary person, six-times gravity would be instantly crippling—probably lethal without proper conditioning. Even most Tier 2 Warriors would struggle to move effectively under such conditions.
But Vaelor's Eternal Cosmos Physique—still developing but already far beyond normal human parameters—adapted within seconds.
Perfect training environment, he thought with satisfaction. Time to cultivate seriously.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the chamber and activated the Eternal Cosmos Cultivation Scripture.
The moment his cultivation method engaged, everything changed.
The oppressive gravity that had felt merely heavy suddenly became a refining tool of exquisite precision. Rather than resisting the pressure, Vaelor's technique embraced it, incorporating the gravitational force into his cultivation cycle.
His cells—each one a micro-universe containing vast potential—began their transformation.
Under the intense pressure, they expanded and contracted in rhythmic cycles. With each expansion, they absorbed ambient energy from the environment and his own qi reserves. With each contraction, they compressed that energy into increasingly dense forms.
Within his cellular structure, illusory universes began manifesting.
They weren't real universes yet—that would require advancement to realms far beyond his current Foundation Establishment stage. Perhaps at Nascent Soul or higher, these illusory constructs would solidify into genuine pocket dimensions.
But even as mere illusions, they served a critical function: Each illusory universe acted as a storage matrix for massive quantities of refined qi. His cells were becoming not just stronger, but transformed into living batteries of cosmic energy.
His physical body underwent simultaneous refinement. Muscles compressed under gravity, then expanded stronger. Bones absorbed pressure, their crystalline structure reorganizing into more efficient lattices. His skin—already approaching A-Grade alloy hardness—was being tempered into something even more resilient.
But the physical transformation was only one aspect.
His soul—housed within his spiritual sea between his brows—came under tremendous pressure as well. The gravity didn't just affect his physical form; it created corresponding stress on his consciousness itself.
His soul began tearing at its edges, microscopic fractures appearing in its structure.
Then healing immediately.
Then tearing again.
The cycle repeated endlessly—each tear followed by regeneration that left his soul slightly stronger, slightly more refined than before. Like steel being folded thousands of times to remove impurities and increase resilience.
His spiritual sea—the vast consciousness realm that contained his soul—underwent similar tempering. The space expanded under internal pressure, then contracted as gravity compressed it from outside. Each cycle increased its capacity, strengthened its boundaries, made it more stable.
Most crucially, his dantian—the energy center where his qi accumulated and circulated—was being fundamentally restructured.
The pressure forced his dantian to compress, squeezing the qi within to higher and higher densities. As the pressure released momentarily, the dantian expanded, creating space for more refined energy. Then compressed again, forcing even greater refinement.
Each cycle purified his qi further, removing impurities and elevating its quality by incremental degrees.
The process was agonizing.
Every cell in his body screamed with the strain of continuous expansion and compression. His soul felt like it was being ground between millstones—torn apart and rebuilt in endless repetition. His dantian burned with the intensity of compressed energy reaching critical densities.
But Vaelor endured.
His Absolute Insight allowed him to monitor every aspect of the transformation in perfect detail, adjusting his cultivation technique in real-time to maximize efficiency and minimize actual damage. The pain was intense but controlled—never quite crossing into genuine injury.
Hours passed.
Time became meaningless as Vaelor lost himself completely in the cultivation trance. His Eternal Cosmos Cultivation Scripture operated at maximum capacity, the Divine-Grade technique demonstrating exactly why it transcended normal classification.
The gravity chamber's environmental sensors registered steadily climbing internal temperature as his cultivation generated waste heat. Energy readings spiked repeatedly as massive quantities of ambient qi were absorbed and refined.
Outside the sealed chamber, Kieran occasionally glanced at the monitoring displays with growing concern.
The energy consumption is enormous. What is he doing in there?
But she didn't interrupt. Whatever Vaelor was practicing clearly required intense concentration.
Twelve Hours Later
Inside the gravity chamber, Vaelor finally reached his absolute limit.
His qi reserves—despite being vastly larger than any demigod warrior should possess—had been depleted to critically low levels. His cells had undergone so many expansion-compression cycles that they temporarily lost the capacity for further refinement. His soul, while significantly stronger, could endure no additional tearing without risking genuine damage.
Most importantly, his dantian had reached a critical threshold. The compressed qi within had achieved such density that attempting further compression without advancing his cultivation realm would cause dangerous instability.
Vaelor's eyes slowly opened, glowing with golden-white light that gradually faded to his normal luminous amber.
He stood carefully, his body trembling slightly with exhaustion but feeling fundamentally different. Stronger. Denser. More refined in every possible way.
He checked his status panel.
Status Update
[Physical Strength: 6,822 → 8,547]
[Strength: 6,822 → 8,547]
[Speed: 6,822 → 8,547]
[Spirit: 6,822 → 8,547]
[Cultivation Progress: 1,247/10,000 → 6,892/10,000]
[Estimated Battle Power: 940,000 (approaching peak Tier 5)]
"Over seventeen hundred points gained in each attribute from twelve hours of cultivation," Vaelor breathed, his voice rough with exhaustion. "And my cultivation progress increased by over 5,600 points."
With Limit Break's passive amplification, those gains translated to effective increases exceeding 17,000 points in each stat.
"The gravity chamber's efficiency is extraordinary. If I could cultivate here continuously..."
But even he had limits. Twelve consecutive hours of such intense refinement had pushed him to the edge of collapse. He'd need time to recover before attempting this again.
But now I understand why wealthy families and major guilds dominate the power rankings, Vaelor thought as he deactivated the gravity multiplier. Access to resources like this makes such an enormous difference.
Good thing I now have one billion points annually. I can commission a private gravity chamber eventually.
The chamber doors unsealed with a hiss of equalizing pressure. Vaelor emerged, his clothing drenched with sweat but his posture steady despite the exhaustion.
Kieran looked up from the reception desk, her eyes widening as she sensed the subtle but undeniable changes in his presence.
He feels... stronger? How is that possible after just twelve hours?
"Thank you for the access, Kieran," Vaelor said with genuine gratitude. "The facility was exactly what I needed."
"Of course! Anytime you want to use it, just let me know." Kieran smiled warmly despite her confusion. "The guild resources are yours now."
"I appreciate it. I'll be in touch soon about dungeon expeditions."
Vaelor walked toward the exit, raising his hand in casual farewell as he stepped into the evening air.
The moment he cleared the building and confirmed no observers were watching—
He activated his Spatial Displacement Intent.
His consciousness fixed on a spatial coordinate he knew intimately: his bedroom at the Draeth residence. Through his mastery of Level 9 spatial comprehension, he could perceive the dimensional "shape" of that location despite the distance.
Vaelor didn't just teleport. He stepped through space itself, folding the intervening distance into nothing.
One moment he stood on the street outside Crimsonpeak Martial Hall.
The next moment, he materialized in his locked bedroom fifteen kilometers away.
The transition was instantaneous and completely silent. Not even a whisper of displaced air marked his departure or arrival.
Space Intent is incredibly useful, Vaelor thought as he immediately collapsed onto his bed, finally allowing his exhaustion to show. Instant transportation anywhere I can clearly visualize. No limits except my qi reserves.
His shadow clone—which had been handling duties at home while Vaelor's main body was in the gravity chamber—dissolved back into shadow and reintegrated with the original.
Memories merged seamlessly. Vaelor now possessed both the clone's experiences of peaceful cultivation at home AND his main body's intense twelve-hour gravity training session.
"Perfect synchronization," he murmured, his eyes already closing as sleep claimed him. "Tomorrow, I'll register at the Warrior Association and start serious dungeon farming."
"But for now... rest."
Within minutes, Vaelor was deeply asleep, his Eternal Cosmos Cultivation Scripture continuing its work passively even as his consciousness rested—refining qi, strengthening cells, expanding his spiritual sea in slow but steady progression.
The path to absolute power accelerated with each passing day.