"Show me gauntlets with spikes, the ones with best endurance." Varian said.
The lady nodded and sorted the latest list.
Varian took a quick look around. The store was spacious. The white glass tiles added elegance and the open ceiling with a defense barrier showcased their strength.
Various holographic displays of 2 Star treasures enticed the customers in the store to buy more. Most of them were middle-aged men and women who stepped into Level 2.
'They couldn't reach beyond Level 2, huh.' Varian knew most of these people would stop at their current level. A few might reach Level 3, but Level 4 was almost impossible.
After his near death experience, Varian decided to change his outlook on life. Since he was an Awakener anyway, he'd strive to be the strongest he could. Never compromising.
'Peerless, Saviour, Emperor.' Varian thought back to his childhood dream. As he grew up, he narrowed it to 'Saviour'. After her death, nothing remained. Now, he felt maybe he could at least aspire to be 'Peerless'. He possessed a mystical system, perhaps he could afford to aim high. There was no harm in trying, right?
Maximizing strength meant mastering powers of one's divine path, having enough combat experience and possession of a star treasure suitable to the pathway. Of the three, Varian only had combat experience. He'd first buy a suitable star treasure and then practice his Divine path's powers.
The strengths of a Body Awakener were magnified in close combat. With his combat experience and new strength, Varian was confident to best most of the Level 1s.
"Here you go. You can customize one, but it'd cost more." The lady at the counter displayed a range of gauntlets with the best endurance.
Varian stared at the beautiful and strong gauntlets in the hologram before his gaze fell on their prices. His eyes widened as he noticed they were all in kp — karma points instead of cp, credit points.
"Can I pay in credit points?" he inquired, hoping to get a positive response.
"Unfortunately, no. Only 1 star treasures can be brought in cp. The latest regulations from head quarters state 2 star treasures and above must be brought in kp." the lady shook her head and appeared apologetic.
The customers in the room heard the conversation and cursed quietly. 'Blood suckers.' 'Greedy pigs.'
The young lady remained unperturbed and maintained her smile. Her professional smile that allowed no bargain.
Varian sighed in defeat and cursed Trade Union once more.
Credit point or cp in short was the currency of the Federation. It was the currency for most economic purposes.
An average citizen earned 5000 cp a month. A typical 1 star treasure costed around 12000 cp.
Then there was Karma point or kp. It was a special currency. An awakener gained kp through their service — fighting Abyssals, selling beast cores, serving in military, using their powers to solve the criminal awakener problems among others.
Kp were exclusively used to buy star treasures, rare medicine, request special awakener services such as protection, guidance and consultation of high awakeners.
Officially, only kp can be converted to cp. 1kp = 1000cp. Cp cannot be converted to kp. Black market, however, dictated 10000 cp = 1kp.
This was why the customers were angry at Trade Union. Without sufficient kp, they'd have to resort to converting cp. With a single move, Trade Union skyrocketed the price without breaking the laws.
Varian controlled his rage and glanced at the prices of 2 Star Treasures. They were around 30 to 50kp. This meant for the best quality he'd have to spend around 50kp.
'My savings are only 300,000 cp. That'd only be 30 kp.' Varian smiled wryly. 'But now that I'm a Level 1, I can earn more. I must give my best for the entrance. I don't want to risk my only chance due to a cheap star treasure.'
He could either save the money he got and continue to living a mediocre life or bet everything on something he needed to do and follow it without regret.
'I'll need 20 kp more.' Then he remembered something and clicked on his comm, and selected the kp section.
{Kp: 10. Reward for killing an Abyssal}
Him killing an Abyssal was reported during his sleep and he was awarded 10 kp.
'10 more. Right! I know.' Varian searched around and found the beast core corner. An automated box stood there with an opening. It read 'Put in the beast cores and get the kp.'
He brought out the 10 beast cores of demon rabbits he collected from the Dungeon and put them in the opening.
{You have received 10 kp} his comm prompted and Varian logged into the black market channel to convert his savings cp to kp.
Gritting his teeth, he clicked the final yes.
{You have received 30 kp}
Varian was officially broke. With a grudge and anticipation, he walked to the counter and selected a pair of red gauntlets. The spikes were made from the bones of a Level 2 magic beast and were blood red, a bit darker than the rest of the piece.
Spiked gauntlets were impractical in old Earth, but in the Era of awakeners, they were popular. Varian wore the gauntlets and felt more empowered than ever. Then he glanced at his empty his karma points and drooped his head.
All the exhilaration of buying an awesome weapon was doused by his newfound poverty.
'I want to punch someone.' Varian exited the Trade Union building in a foul mood and jumped on his hover bike.
It was almost midnight. His treatment time was over. That meant he could finally train.
"Go to Murloc Islands and get permission for entrance of Level 1 Awakener." Varian said to his comm's AI, Isha.
"Yes, sir." it said and the hover bike took off. Varian closed his eyes and felt fatigue wash over him.
The gentle music was gradually replaced by the sea waves. The neon light was replaced by the sunlight. His fatigue was replaced by vigour.
Varian woke up to see himself on his hover bike, floating above a chain of islands in the middle of an ocean.
The glittering sunrays of the two suns painted a beautiful picture. The ocean sparkled, and the wavelets shone. It was a scene out of a painting.
Looking around, a few more hover cars and bikes passed him and landed on one of the island.
With his superhuman eyesight, Varian observed the islands below. They only had sparse greenery, and the bulk of islands were desolate and damp.
Upon careful observation, he found a few humanoid creatures moving. They had blue scales and vertical pupil yellow eyes. A tail sprung from their back and they were around 4 feet tall.
'So these are descendants of Murlocs, huh?' Varian thought to himself and let the hover bike descend.
Murlocs were an intelligent aquatic species that first revealed themselves to humans in 80 YAB. They emerged from the oceans and were capable of land survival. They were the superior power on earth due to their habitat and population.
Humanity lost their dominance over Earth and it stayed that way until Murlocs fell into internal wars. Human Federation exploited this to full extent and weakened the murlocs.
After realizing Humanity's hidden motives, Murlocs destroyed all the cities on the coasts, killing hundreds of millions. This sparked into a fierce war and eventually led to the extinction of murlocs.
Many historians agree that had Murlocs never fallen into a civil war, there was a good chance that humanity would've been wiped out.
'These are just hybrids of Murlocs.' Varian landed on the island and looked at the murlocs nearby.
They just had the bloodline of the murlocs without their intelligence. However, they were smarter than Magic beasts. So they were kept alive on this island and used as a training ground for humans.
"I'll test my powers." He said with an excited smile and looked at the status.
[First Path:
Body Level 1: 5/100
Stats: 3% Greater Human]