Kaelen stood before the old man's stall, his pulse steady despite the chaotic noise of Sub-Sector 9. He had already secured the black stone—the Dragon-Bee Amber—for 500 credits. But as he turned to leave, a faint, rhythmic pulse caught the edge of his vision. It wasn't a glow; it was a ripple in the air, like heat rising from a desert.
He looked at a tangled pile of rusted chains and broken watches near the back of the table.
[View Activated: Analyzing Target...]
[Item: Tarnished Chain of the Silent Moon]
* Public Rank: D (Damaged Accessory)
* True Rank: A
* Worth: S (High-Level Synergy)
* True Market Value: 80,000,000 Credits (Once Awakened).
* State: [Sealed/Hibernating] — The mana core is encased in layers of oxidation and 'Void-Rust'.
Kaelen's breath caught. Eighty million. It was a staggering jump from the five thousand he had started with. While it wasn't the billions needed for Aya's SSS-grade materials, it was enough to buy her comfort, safety, and the first stage of her medical suppressants.
"How much for the rusted necklace?" Kaelen asked, his voice intentionally flat.
The old man squinted at the tangle of metal. "That? It's been sitting there for three years. It doesn't even have a stat boost. Give me 4,200 credits and it's yours. That's the 'pity price' because I want to close early."
It was almost everything Kaelen had left. He didn't hesitate. He swiped Aya's card, watching the balance drop to a measly 300 credits.
"Pleasure doing business," the old man grunted, tossing the necklace into a scrap bag.
The Secret to Awakening
Kaelen walked back to the rundown apartment, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, gripping the stone and the chain. As soon as he locked the door, Aya rolled toward him, her eyes wide with anxiety.
"Kaelen? You're back... Did you lose it? The money?"
"I spent it," Kaelen said. He sat on the floor in front of her and laid the two items on the low coffee table. To any other eye, it looked like he had bought a piece of coal and a piece of trash.
"Kaelen... that's... that's 4,700 credits of junk," Aya whispered, her voice trembling. "The school auditors... if we can't show a profit by Friday..."
"Look closer, Aya," Kaelen said. He focused his Sovereign's Eye on the items, letting the "Truth" bleed into his words. "The world is blind. They see a shell. I see the soul."
[System Insight: Awakening Conditions]
* Dragon-Bee Amber (Rank A):
* Condition: Requires 10ml of Low-Grade Mana Fluid and a temperature of exactly 180°C for three minutes to crack the fossilized shell without damaging the larva.
* Chain of the Silent Moon (Rank A):
* Condition: Requires immersion in Pure Moonlight (or a 200W Lunar-Frequency Lamp) while being polished with Void-Salt.
"I don't need a lab," Kaelen said, looking at Aya. "I need a kitchen stove, a cheap lamp, and the salt from the Rift-Scrubbers in the basement."
The Transformation
For the next three hours, Kaelen worked with the precision of a master craftsman. He used the kitchen stove to heat the amber, watching his View timer count down to the second.
Crack.
The soot-covered stone split open, revealing a translucent, golden honey-comb structure that hummed with a deep, vibrating energy.
[Item Evolved: Living King-Bee Amber]
[Current Value: 8,500,000 Credits]
Next, he sat by the window under a makeshift lamp, scrubbing the necklace with the grey salt used to clean the building's air filters. As the rust fell away, a pale, silver light began to leak from the metal. The chain didn't just shine; it seemed to absorb the shadows around it.
[Item Awakened: Necklace of the Silent Moon]
[Current Value: 80,000,000 Credits]
Aya watched from her chair, her jaw dropped. The dim apartment was suddenly glowing with the radiance of high-tier items. The "trash" had become treasures that could buy a skyscraper in the mid-city.
"Eighty... eighty million?" Aya choked out, reading the data-signature now emanating from the necklace. "Kaelen, we're rich. We can buy your way into a higher class! We can get out of this dump!"
"No," Kaelen said, his eyes cold and focused. "This is just the bait. We're going to hold an auction. But we aren't selling to the hunters. We're selling to the Starlight Academy Elites."
He looked at the necklace. "By tomorrow, the students who looked down on 'Student 402' and the 'Cripple' will be begging us for a chance to bid."