Chapter 418: Currency Upgrade

Time passed...

Yet Seth didn’t notice, all his focus had been put on taking the next step.

By now he was on the forty-ninth step, bearing an unimaginable pressure, with his Gilt balance becoming such a long series of text after doubling 48 times since the first step...

One would think with the amount of Gilt he had gathered the shop would be listing some really high-caliber treasure by this point.

Yet the list rolling before his eyes depicted anything but...

[Item: Nightshard Dagger]

[Rank: Shackled]

[Grade: Monarch]

[Price: 304,649,782,537,109G]

...

[Item: Regis Tower Shield]

[Rank: Shackled]

[Grade: Monarch]

[Price: 502,891,095,367,712G]

...

[Item: Nox Jacket]

[Rank: Shackled]

[Grade: Monarch]

[Price: 91,405,678,098,240,236G]

...

While one could find their grades pretty decent, what was with this rank?

’Don’t tell me this shop doesn’t have any listing beyond the Shackled rank,’ Seth wondered with a scowl, the reflection of the list simmering over his purple irises.

He had endured so much to get to this point that the pressure was beginning to weigh heavily on his mind.

The pull on his mind was pretty much more noticeable now.

His thoughts not as fluent, the speed at which he could process the information relayed from his senses began to slow.

Meanwhile physically he had long dismissed the armour to get rid of the dead weight it brought.

His body glistening with a faint silver shade, sweat coating every layer of his body, dripping down his fingertips in a constant stream.

His foggy breath gathered before him, as his chest rose and fell laboriously.

By this point every action was torture, and no position could ever be comfortable.

As a matter of fact, what was keeping his body up was nothing but his mind...

That was how he had been able to resist such a strain to this point, surpassing his physical limit by vast margins.

He was using a fine level of control that only an awakened evolver with maxed stats at double the limit could display.

Not to mention the efficiency boost from his race’s binding trait to intelligence.

It was a scary level of control that split one’s consciousness to a fine degree, focusing control on every string of muscle, every fiber of his being.

With this level of control he could regulate the flow of nutrients provided by the elixir, pouring the primal force into areas that needed building.

And tactically blocking flow to other sections...

With this not only had he been able to prevent the cancer from growing even further, he was also able to select the attribute of his body he wanted to bolster.

Though this type of attribute building had real-life consequences.

Unlike essence attributes, if he increased defense it altered his molecular composition, making his cells denser and more compact.

Adding to his already ridiculous weight and mass, every point raising his height by at least 10cm.

It was almost like he was undergoing some form of ridiculous growth spurt... almost like puberty all over again.

But regardless the process got him to this point, standing and ready to advance even further.

Frowning hard, he dismissed the shop from view, his jaw tight as he stared at the next step, almost as high as another platform on its own.

The bronze radiance the grand stairway was giving off at this point flowed with an ancient allure.

This was meant to be a trial for the Mantle of Greed, yet it had yet to offer him an incentive worthy enough for the trial itself.

Sure, most of these items were worth something, he was sure most on the top of the list had an evolvable tag.

Meaning one could at least upgrade them to the awakened rank, making them a decent bargain to most.

But to Seth they weren’t one bit enticing...

One had to recall he had a functioning Primordial Flash Sale System.

With this in his arsenal there was no way he was ever going to suffer a lack of treasure and resources.

Especially since the currency was so easy to earn due to his overly exciting life.

So to him these items still weren’t worth the effort...

Though he still wasn’t considering giving up on the trial, he still feared that if the incentive couldn’t provoke his greed there was no way he’d be able to clear this thing.

Seth took his time to process his situation, while also opening an inventory gate before himself.

And feeding from the thick sludge of molten goodness that gushed out.

Waves of refreshing heat coursed through his system, revitalizing his organs and feeding his cells with more energy.

Seconds passed and he was done, he snapped himself out of his string of thoughts, dismissing every distraction.

And pouring all his focus unto himself, commanding a scarily precise level of control over his body.

His muscles clenching, his weight shifting, and his feet rising to scale the next step.

It felt like he was bearing the weight of several hundred mammoths upon his shoulders, his veins bulging visibly as he landed his foot.

Seth’s frame instantly experienced a dip, his joints squeaking as his marrow rattled and creaked, threatening to fold to the pressure.

Fortunately Seth’s mind was able to interact with marrow matter on a much more intimate level, sparing him the fate of broken bones.

A faint feeling of nausea hit, his vision spiraling for a bit as his blood flow was altered, his heart struggling to keep up with the pressure.

It was his manual control that allowed him to keep the organ in a functioning state, increasing his heartbeat to keep the blood pressure relevant.

And his blood circulation kept at a healthy level...

His vision settled and a notification banner unraveled before his gaze...

[Congratulations! Contestant, you have crossed the 50-step milestone!]

[As a reward you have received an upgrade in currency...]

[Gilt has been upgraded to Aurum!]

[1 Aurum is worth 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 Gilt]

[Recalculating Balance...]

Seth’s lips curled into a thin smile, "I see, so that’s how it is..."