Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

"I'll use it well." Lancelot replied as he took the offering from Obsidian Howl's Clan Leader.

It wasn't much compared to others, but Lancelot knew that this was the best they could do with their current resources.

And finally, the Twilight Ember Clan Leader joined in.

This Clan was recruited alone by Lesley, the Vice Clan Leader of the Overlord Clan. Furthermore, since they were quite new, the other Clan Leaders didn't even know the exact location of their main shelter.

This was why they were the most mysterious of the new clans, and their leader, a masked figure known only as Solen, stepped forward and placed a pulsing cube on the table.

"That looks magical…" Lancelot commented, seeing how the cubeglowed erratically with shifting colors, almost as if alive.

"It's unstable…" Solen said. "But also priceless. If converted, the system will recognize it as a Rare Dimensional Catalyst. You can think of it as a way to create gate portals from one location to another."

"What?" Lancelot's eyes widened as he heard this. To be exact, even the other Clan Leaders were surprised by this matter.

Only Lesley was unsurprised by those words.

"Do you mean I can go anywhere with that Cube?" Lancelot asked.

"That would be amazing if that's true…" Grant, the Clan Leader of Thunder Roar Clan, said.

"That's incredible if that's true, Solen." Lady Miranel of Silver Lark Clan agreed.

This was definitely an item that should not be converted for additional points, no matter what!

"It's only a single node… If you install this in your shelter, and once activated, you can travel to any place where the cube is connected. Right now, this particular cube is connected to two of our shelters." Solen explained.

No one responded as they processed her words.

The value of this item was indeed priceless, just like what she said.

It would be such a waste to just turn it into a few thousand points! The strategic value of this item could not be compared at all.

"This…"

"This is amazing, Miss Solen!"

"How can you even obtain that?"

"Did it come from a Gold Treasure Chest? Just how many of them did you open to get that?"

"Wait… No! It must be the Platinum Treasure Chest. I've never seen one, but some members of the Eclipse Revenant boasted that their Clan Leader had such a Treasure Chest."

Everyone was amazed.

Gasps rippled across the chamber as the implications of Solen's words sank in.

The Clan Leaders then exchanged glances. They were calculating what kind of benefit it could give them. They were also envious and imagined that they could place a few of them in some key areas of their shelters.

It wasn't difficult to imagine anyway. In just a few moments, they knew what they could do with it.

Instant travel between shelters,

Direct access to distant mining zones.

Rapid reinforcement in case of an enemy raid.

This was beyond convenience—it was supremacy!

It must be a key in order to gain over large regions!

Brakka of the Crimson Shield Clan leaned forward first, unable to hide the hunger in his eyes.

"With something like that… I could move my garrison instantly to my western border against Stone Zombies. Our defenses would be unbreakable."

Lady Miranel of the Silver Lark Clan's tried to maintain her calm, but her gaze betrayed her interest.

"Such a device would cut our supply line risks to zero. I could deliver weapons and provisions to my outposts within minutes, not days."

Grant of Thunder Roar Clan let out a low whistle.

"And here I thought my Explosive Zombie Cores were a game changer… This is on another level entirely."

Even Zaros, who had just boasted about his Ember Crystal contribution, couldn't mask his curiosity.

"With this, my Arcane Dawn Clan could instantly relocate to any battlefield that matters. I must admit, Solen… your clan's potential just became very, very interesting."

No one could deny it anymore. Solen's Clan was definitely a lot better than the Blood Talon Clan.

Although the Blood Talon Clan was quite a powerful clan at first, it was only because of the three Legendary Talent Holders they had before. After those three were recruited by other Clans, they soon started declining until the Fourth Zombie Wave had truly destroyed them.

"I can tell that you all like my treasure." Solen muttered.

She said this calmly while her mask was still hiding her expression, though a faint curve of her lips was already forming.

Lancelot, trying to maintain composure, reached out and tapped one of the glowing artifacts. The System's interface instantly flared before his eyes as he appraised it.

[ Rare Dimensional Catalyst: Allows instantaneous travel between two linked locations, regardless of distance or terrain. Requires Catalyst Pair to function.

Restrictions: Can only maintain one active link at a time per cube pair. Linked locations must have adequate Dimensional Stabilization or risk of destabilization event.

Durability: Infinite unless physically destroyed.

Additional: Compatible with Shelter Core Systems for permanent installation. ]

[ Note: This item could not be upgraded. ]

Lancelot exhaled slowly.

"You weren't exaggerating… This isn't just priceless—it's a war-changing artifact. However, what's with the Dimensional Stabilization? Do you have something for that?"

Solen gave a small nod.

"Just throwing 10 Zombie Cores within the gate could help with the stabilization."

She then paused for a moment to look at Lancelot before she continued.

"These two cubes I am giving you are free, Sir Lancelot. Consider them a token of trust from Twilight Ember."

The room tensed. If she could give away something this valuable, what else could she do?

"But…" Solen muttered… "if anyone else here wishes to possess such a pair for themselves, I will sell them. The price is fixed—100,000 Zombie Cores per pair. I only accept Zombie Cores. No exceptions."

A stunned silence followed—quickly shattered.

Even for them, that price was too high! Furthermore, they couldn't even use other forms of currency or trade with another item instead.

"That's outrageous!" Brakka began, but his protest faltered as the weight of the offer settled in.

One hundred thousand Zombie Cores was steep, but the tactical advantage… the freedom to move armies, resources, or escape disaster instantly…

"I'll take one pair." Grant was the first to break. His voice was firm, without hesitation. Although it would probably take him some time to gather it, he had to immediately take the initiative.

After all, if something like this appeared in the Auction event, he would probably be too poor to win it.

In short, he knew that this was his only chance to obtain such a game-changing treasure!

Perhaps, with these cubes, he would be able to surpass Shane's shelters soon!

"I'll pay in full within the week… You know… That amount is just too big. We have to sell some of our items in order to convert them to Zombie Cores." Grant explained.

As a matter of fact, no one had a huge amount of Zombie Cores just lying around in their inventory.

Zombie Cores had a lot of uses after all.

"Make it two pairs for me," Lady Miranel said smoothly while her fingers drummed against the table. "One for my main shelter and mining site. Then, another for a forward base and my underground shelter."

Zaros's eyes gleamed.

"Twilight Ember… You've just become the most valuable trading partner in this room. I'll send the cores tonight. Give me a pair too!"

One by one, the Clan Leaders voiced their intent to purchase. Some tried to mask their eagerness, but all understood the truth—this was a once-in-a-lifetime advantage, and hesitation meant losing ground to their rivals.

Behind her mask, Solen smiled faintly…

Joining the Alliance led by the Overlord Clan was indeed the right decision. She didn't expect that they would be so rich…

Furthermore, because of their pride, they actually didn't bother to negotiate the price!

'This is awesome… I hope I can also communicate with Shane and sell these cubes to him. He probably wouldn't mind if I sell it to him for 200,000 Zombie Cores or more.' Solen thought as she believed that Shane was the richest Survivor on the Continent.

Even without meeting the man, she knew just how powerful he was. He even had literal robots under his control!

'That guy is loaded… Too bad he's not replying to any of my messages.' Solen thought to herself.

***

After this negotiation was over, by the time they were done, Lancelot had amassed a mountain of value in front of him.

Indeed, Lancelot had already completed the conversion process in front of everyone, and as expected, he didn't convert the Rare Dimensional Catalyst.

Soon, only he and Lesley were left within the chamber…

"Do you think it's enough?" Lesley asked.

Lancelot leaned on his chair as he looked at his accumulated points.

[ You have accumulated 905,245 Points. ]

"It will be," he said. "Because we're not just going to challenge Shane…"

He paused.

"…We're going to erase his name from the top."