Chapter 57: Getting Rich II
"Speaking of which..." he muttered to himself, voice low as he propped himself up on one elbow, careful not to wake anyone. "Didn't I get a reward for taking down the Kingpin?"
He raised his hand, and a soft crimson glow shimmered across his palm. With a flick of thought, his system interface appeared—semi-transparent and floating before his eyes. Notifications pulsed in a soft red hue, and he blinked through them until he reached the log from earlier.
He hadn't checked it at the time. Things had… gotten a bit chaotic after the fight.
First, Maria had thrown herself at him in relief. Then Cypher had slinked close, murmuring promises with glowing red eyes. Zephyra joined not long after, ever the stormy rival turned ally. And from there… well, one thing had led to another.
Frankly, it was a miracle he still had functioning legs.
He chuckled to himself. "Should probably thank my Regeneration Skill. Or whatever's left of my high human stamina."
The log flashed once as Alex selected it.
[ Boss Defeated: Kingpin ]
[ Host has accessed the following rewards: ]
1x S-Grade Ability Gacha
10,000 Gold Coins
1x Sin Core Fragment
Alex's eyes narrowed at the last part.
"Sin Core Fragment?"
He tapped the description, and the panel expanded with a quiet shimmer.
[Sin-Core Fragment: Greed – Rank Ex]
A fragment of a primal sin—extracted upon the death of a being who embodied overwhelming desire and power-hunger. Greed increases passive resource generation, enhances charisma, and enables access to latent Greed-based skill trees.
Collect 7 fragments to fully unlock the skill tree.
Another prompt flashed underneath.
[Boss-level characters have a chance to drop these Sin Cores.]
[Currently, host can absorb the fragment, but no skill will be unlocked until the full set is collected.]
Alex stared at the hovering text for a moment, letting the implications settle in. "Greed… fitting, coming from Fisk."
He could already feel the subtle aura leaking from the crystal. It wasn't overwhelming like some of his demon cores—but it was persistent. Greed didn't scream for attention.
It just sat… quietly demanding everything.
He brought the core closer and felt the system prompt blink again, waiting for a decision.
[Absorb now?]
[Yes] [No]
He hesitated for only a second.
"Let's take the first step."
He tapped Yes.
The moment he did, the fragment dissolved into golden-red energy and seeped into his chest. It wasn't painful—just… heavy. His heart beat once with a strange throb, and a soft glow pulsed beneath his skin.
A subtle, smooth feeling crept in—like ambition settling into his bones.
He felt more aware. Sharper. More in tune with the flow of value and worth around him.
"I guess absorbing it was a good move," Alex muttered, fingers flexing slightly as the last traces of Greed's energy settled in his core. "Though it didn't give me any direct skills… this intuition it gave me—it's real. I can feel it. Like I can sense treasures or anything with real value now. Maybe it's a precursor to something else... a kind of passive skill."
He sat back, thoughtful, letting the sensation simmer in his chest. It wasn't loud or flashy. But it whispered to him—whispered about potential in things that once seemed ordinary. A building, a coin, a person—he felt as if he could weigh their worth in an instant.
"Greed is subtle," he murmured. "But it sees everything worth owning."
Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the next reward.
[1x S-Grade Ability Gacha Available]
Alex exhaled once and tapped the option.
A glowing roulette wheel spun open in the system interface, bright symbols racing along the curve of the arc. His last spin had changed everything—he'd gotten Time Dilation Sphere, an S-Rank skill that let him slow time in an localized area.
That one roll had already saved his life more than once.
And now... another chance.
Another gamble with fate.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see what kind of power you've got for me this time."
He tapped Activate.
The wheel lit up like a starburst, spinning rapidly. The symbols were different this time—some glowing crimson, others deep gold, a few pure black. The tension built as the pointer slowed, clicking one by one past dazzling abilities.
And then—it stopped.
A system chime rang out, followed by a glowing message:
[Congratulations! You have obtained: S-Rank Ability —
Hellfire Serpent – Summons a massive snake made of living hellflame that tracks a target, devours him, and explodes when damaged too much, dealing secondary Aoe damage.]
"Hmm… a powerful attack-type ability. Good," Alex nodded with approval, his eyes scanning the notification.
He then glanced down at his current balance.
"Now I have over 23,000 gold coins."
"Let's see what I can buy," he muttered as he opened the System Shop and began to scroll through the various categories. His finger paused when he spotted something interesting.
"Wait… there's even a summoning function?" he whispered. "Damn, does this mean I can summon beauties of DMC?"
He scrolled quickly through that section until his excitement hit a wall.
"100k gold coins…?" His eyes twitched. He promptly skipped past it.
"I'm too poor for now," he mumbled, sighing.
Instead, he shifted to the Talent section.
"Damn… an A-Grade talent costs 10,000 coins, and S-Grade costs 20,000?" he winced slightly as he looked at the prices. "Well… these talents are legit, though."
After some hesitation, he tapped on one of the listings.
[Talent Acquired: S-Grade — Combat Mastery]
He read the description quickly:
Combat Mastery: Grants the host instinctive knowledge and real-time adaptation of nearly all known weapon styles, close combat techniques, and martial traditions. Automatically adjusts form to counter opponent's fighting style. Increases battle awareness and efficiency drastically.
"Yeah… this is perfect," he muttered, nodding. "Makes me a master in nearly all known fighting styles."
The glow of the talent integrated into his core.
"Useful upgrade… though I'm nearly broke again."
He checked his remaining balance.
[Gold Coins: 3,674]
"Not enough for another major purchase," he mumbled. "But I can at least look for something cheap but useful."
As the system confirmed the fusion of the Combat Mastery talent into his existing framework, Alex closed the menu and leaned back slightly.
His body felt subtly different already. Relaxed. Natural. Balanced. Every breath now flowed cleaner. Every minor shift of his limbs had purpose.
"This is gonna come in handy."
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