My attributes are increasing infinitely - Chapter 438: Going to the Land of Ancients
Chapter 438: Going to the Land of Ancients
The Prince of the Daemons, watched him with an intensity that could melt steel.
Ethan nodded toward the prince.
His voice was calm and professional despite the cosmic stakes.
“If you just want to study my methods, then there is no problem,” Ethan said.
“But you see, these guests are here to fight for that technique.”
“I am a man of my word.”
“I cannot simply sell the technique to you without giving them the chance to bid as promised.”
The rulers in the room, beings who had lived for eons and crushed worlds, felt a sudden and profound surge of respect.
In a universe where power usually dictated morality, Ethan was sticking to the rules of a merchant even when faced with the terrifying Ancients.
They stood up as if moved by a single, invisible thread.
“Thank you, Mr. Hunt,” they bowed in unison.
It was a rare sight.
Source Authority level beings showing genuine gratitude to a merchant.
They realized Ethan was not just a supplier.
He was a man of integrity who would not abandon his clients for a shinier offer.
Prince Ryogu looked slightly surprised.
His eyes blinked in his pale, aura-less face.
“Is that so?”
He sounded a little disappointed, like a child told he could not have a toy until after dinner.
“But the offer you gave me is too good to let go,” Ethan continued.
A small smile played on his lips.
“The Tower of the Ancients interests me.”
“So, here is my counter-proposal.”
“I will help you create a bloodline refining technique specifically for the Daemon race.”
“How does that sound?”
The change in Ryogu was instantaneous.
The analytical coldness vanished.
It was replaced by raw, boyish excitement.
“Are you telling the truth?”
“You can create a technique for us?”
“Our biology is ancient, complex.”
“It is said to be unchangeable.”
“In my shop, nothing is unchangeable,” Ethan replied confidently.
“So, enjoy the auction.”
“Or, if you find the bidding boring, you can visit the Tower.”
“There are many fun things to do.”
“Amusements that even an Ancient might find refreshing.”
Ryogu bowed his head.
It was a gesture of genuine interest.
“We will do that then.”
“Please, give us a guide.”
Ethan signaled to the back of the hall.
A group of highly trained maids stepped forward.
Their movements were graceful.
Their expressions were serene.
They escorted the Daemons.
As the massive and terrifying figures of the Absolute Continuum guardian and the Source Authority attendants followed the “powerless” prince out of the hall, the atmosphere finally regained some semblance of a normal auction.
Ethan turned back to the remaining audience.
“The interruption is over.”
“Let’s get back to business.”
“We shall start the bidding for the Source Authority level weapons first.”
“After that, the Bloodline Refining Technique will be the final lot.”
The room ignited.
Now that the terrifying pressure of the Ancients had moved to the upper floors, the local rulers were ready to bleed their treasuries dry.
“One hundred billion Origin coins!” shouted the representative of the Origin Demon race.
His voice cracked with desperation.
“One hundred and twenty billion!” countered a Genesis Vampire.
His red eyes glowed.
“One hundred and fifty billion!” roared the Fire Dragon Elder.
His breath singed the air.
The numbers climbed into territories that would make entire galaxies seem poor.
Finally, after a grueling hour of back and forth, the Phoenix Race won the bid for the primary weapon at a staggering 1.5 trillion Origin coins.
They were breathing heavily.
Their pockets were light.
But their status as a top-tier power was secured.
“Now,” Ethan said, silencing the murmurs.
“The main event.”
“The Bloodline Refining Technique.”
“A warning.”
“This version of the technique is only effective for those who already possess at least fifty percent bloodline purity.”
“If your blood is too diluted, it will not work.”
The crowd tensed.
But Ethan raised a hand.
“However, once a race wins the bid, I will personally modify the technique on the spot.”
“It will be keyed exclusively to that race’s genetic signature.”
“This means only your people can use it.”
“Even if someone steals the manual, it will be useless to them.”
A collective sigh of relief echoed through the hall.
This was the assurance they needed.
In this world, winning a prize was only half the battle.
Keeping it was the other half.
With Ethan’s genetic lock, the incentive for other races to assassinate the winner was significantly lowered.
“Let the bidding begin.”
“One trillion!” the Vampire Progenitor shouted immediately.
He skipped the small talk.
The room gasped.
“What a bastard,” someone muttered.
“Directly starting at a trillion.”
But the competitors were not to be outdone.
“One point five trillion!”
“Two trillion!”
“Three trillion!”
The air in the room felt electric.
Coins were no longer just currency.
They were the bricks and mortar of a race’s future.
At the five trillion mark, several races dropped out.
Their representatives looked like they had aged centuries in minutes.
“Six trillion,” the Vampire Progenitor said.
A smug, cold smile sat on his face.
He had brought all the money he could.
He felt he was in the clear.
After several more minutes of agonizing silence, the hammer fell.
“Sold!”
“To the Genesis Vampire race for seven point five trillion Origin coins!”
“Congratulations,” Ethan said.
“You have just bought the wheel of destiny for your people.”
With a wave of his hand, Ethan channeled his Absolute Continuum power.
A holographic script appeared in the air.
It glowed with a deep, crimson light.
He shifted the runes.
He wove the specific frequency of the Genesis Vampire blood into the code of the technique.
He then handed a glowing jade slip to the Progenitor.
“Wait!” a voice cried out from the Dragon Race section.
“Sir Hunt!”
“We are willing to pay ten trillion!”
“Please, can you make a technique for us as well?”
The hall fell silent.
They now understood the true power of the Tower Master.
He was not just selling a product.
He was a Creator.
Ethan smiled.
This was exactly what he wanted.
By selling to everyone, he was not just getting rich.
He was ensuring his influence was woven into the DNA of every major power in the universe.
“Of course,” Ethan agreed.
“I am a businessman.”
“I don’t turn away customers who can pay.”
“If you bring the funds, I will craft a technique for your specific lineage.”
The cheer that went up was deafening.
The tension of the competition evaporated.
It was replaced by a feverish rush to secure funds.
“Sir, we will bring the money within seven days!”
“Please, do not leave!”
As the major rulers scrambled to their teleportation circles, a smaller group approached the stage.
These were the representatives of the lesser races.
Those whose bloodlines had thinned to the point of being nearly human.
They looked embarrassed.
They clutched small bags of coins.
Coins that would not even pay for a maid in this tower.
“Ummm… Sir…” a young fox-kin girl stammered.
She looked at her feet.
“We don’t have trillions.”
“Are we… are we doomed to stay weak?”
Ethan looked down at them.
Not with pity.
But with a merchant’s logic.
“Most of you originated from the Great Races, didn’t you?”
“A branch of the Dragons.”
“A sliver of the Elves.”
“You don’t need a ten trillion coin technique.”
“You just need to use the Bloodline Awakening Serums I sold earlier.”
“Once you awaken, go to your respective Original Race.”
“With the new techniques I’m providing them, they will be desperate for new members to bolster their ranks.”
“You are their untapped potential.”
The fox-kin girl’s eyes widened.
“You mean… they will want us?”
“In a world where everyone is refining their blood, every drop of kin-blood is a resource,” Ethan suggested.
“Go.”
“Reclaim your heritage.”
They left with newfound vigor.
Their heads were held high.
With the hall finally empty, Ethan vanished.
He reappeared on the 80th floor.
He found the Daemons there.
He expected to see them meditating.
Or analyzing the tower’s structure.
Instead, he found the Absolute Continuum guardian playing a high-speed game of Whack-a-Mole in the amusement park.
The Source Authority attendants were captivated by a 4D cinema experience.
Prince Ryogu was sitting at a cafe.
He drank a neon-blue soda.
He stared intensely at a holographic arcade game.
When he felt Ethan’s presence, he jumped slightly.
He looked a bit embarrassed.
“A fascinating world you’ve built here, Ethan Hunt,” Ryogu said.
He smoothed his robes.
Ethan sat across from him.
“Business is done for the day.”
“Now, let’s talk about your business.”
“Give me a sample of your racial essence.”
“I want to see why an Ancient race feels their blood is diluted.”
Ryogu’s expression turned solemn.
He pricked his finger.
A drop of blood that looked like liquid obsidian floated into the air.
It hummed with a sound like a distant choir.
“We are outcasts from a higher plane,” Ryogu whispered.
“Eons ago, our ancestors were cast down into this lower place.”
“The transition damaged our very essence.”
“We are powerful here, yes.”
“But we are shadows of what we were meant to be.”
“If we can regain our full purity, we wouldn’t just be rulers.”
“We would transcend this reality entirely.”
“Prince! That is a racial secret!” the guardian shouted from the arcade.
He finally noticed the conversation.
“It’s fine,” Ryogu waved him off.
“Ethan is a friend.”
“Or at least, I intend for him to be.”
Ethan studied the black blood.
It was dense.
Far more complex than anything he had seen in this world.
“How about this,” Ethan suggested.
“I want to see the Land of the Ancients for myself.”
“I need a vacation.”
“And I think it would be better to study your race in its natural habitat while I craft your technique.”
“What do you say?”
Ryogu’s eyes lit up.
“You would come to our lands?”
