Absolute Cheater

Valeris stepped beside him, her arms crossed, silver eyes glinting in the city's fractured light. "It's like standing atop a volcano of ambition. You can feel it—burning beneath everything."

Asher nodded slowly. "Everyone here is hunting something. Power. Blood. Freedom. Maybe even redemption."

Behind them, Veyra leaned against the balcony doorframe, her expression thoughtful but steady. "This place reshapes people. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes… not."

The wind shifted, carrying distant howls from the dungeons and the low hum of mana engines powering the city's deeper layers. Below, the streets had grown stranger. Shadowy figures darted through alleyways. Runes pulsed from rooftops. Cultivators clashed in duels sanctioned by binding contracts, their blades and arts lighting the sky like a private war.

"Tomorrow," Asher said quietly, "we split up."

Valeris arched a brow. "Oh?"

He turned, gaze sharp. "We cover more ground that way. Veyra can guide us through the auction circuits and relic markets. Valeris, you'll scan the forge halls and training districts—see if any Void-tier arts catch your eye. I'll go into the Gate Registry."

"The Registry?" Veyra blinked.

"Yes. To use the Hundred Mountain Dungeons, one has to register and book a slot. It's also done through an auction—the highest bidder gets priority access," he replied, and she nodded.

"But aren't all the gates here only Void Rank at most? We're aiming for World Rank dungeons," Valeris said with a frown. "Only Veyra is at Soul Rank now, just one step short of World Rank, so Void Rank gates won't matter much."

Asher responded, "The reason I'm going there is because each of the Hundred Mountain Gates has a humanoid boss. And each boss has a sealed aspect. What that means is—they're perfect set for my ability: Soul Reaper Monarch. If I can defeat all of the bosses, then I might be able to claim another powerful Reaper."

The others nodded, understanding his intent.

****

The next morning, the trio descended the obsidian stairwell of the Crimson Chain Inn. The inn's strange, sound-dampening aura faded behind them, replaced by the roaring thrum of Evolver's Paradise in full daylight.

The streets were even more chaotic now—hovering platforms zipped through the air, vendors hurled magical projections of their goods across alleys, and a band of duelists clashed mid-air, tethered by flying sigils and crowd cheers.

Veyra guided them through narrow alleys lined with murals made of living mana, up a spiraling ramp that ascended into the Heartward Annex—an elevated plaza filled with looming statues of ancient Evolvers.

At the center stood the Registry: a floating citadel of silver and opaline crystal, anchored in place by four enormous chains. Its lower halls buzzed with officials, rogue cultivators, and representatives of countless factions. Projection windows displayed dungeon gates, boss names, time slots, and bids in constant flux.

"Here we are," Veyra said. "Stay close. And don't sign anything until I read it."

A nearby board blinked with a rotating message:

GATE ACCESS REQUIRES:

Registered Identity (Soulmark)

Dungeon License Tier C or higher

Slot Token (Auction or Sponsored)

Minimum Combat Rank: Soul Tier Verified

A bored-looking elf at the counter glanced at them. "Applicants?"

"Yes," Veyra said. "One Soul Tier, two World Tier."

The elf arched an eyebrow, then gestured toward a glowing sigil on the counter. "Mark your aura. The gate auction opens in twenty minutes. Be ready to bid, or prepare for disappointment."

Asher placed his hand on the glowing sigil. A pulse of crimson light flickered, scanning his soul signature.

After a moment, the elf glanced at the terminal and nodded. "Alright. You're registered for the auction—Void tier Dungeon." He gestured lazily to the inner hall. "Proceed inside."

Asher gave a curt nod, and together with Valeris and Veyra, he stepped through the arched gateway leading into the auction amphitheater.

The chamber was vast—constructed of glimmering obsidian and layered with shifting holographic runes. Dozens of seats floated in concentric rings around a central platform where gate projections danced in midair. Bidders, cloaked and veiled, whispered from their private orbs, each protected by barrier spells and identity seals.

Asher took a seat with Valeris beside him and Veyra just behind. His eyes scanned the bidding rings briefly before he leaned toward Veyra.

"By the way," he asked under his breath, "what kind of currency do people usually use here?"

Veyra didn't take her eyes off the projection screens as she answered. "Anything valuable to Evolvers—primarily core fragments, especially high-purity ones. Soul Cores, Law Seeds, Voidmarks, even crystallized insight. Anything that can help push someone closer to their next rank."

"Not coin?" Valeris asked, mildly amused.

Veyra gave a faint shrug. "Coin only matters in surface markets. In Evolver's Paradise, it's all about resonance potential. If what you offer can shift someone's foundation, it's worth ten times its weight in gold."

"Well, the only thing I don't lack," Asher said with a casual smile, "is resources and treasures."

He strode forward through the grand hall, the soft thrum of arcane engines humming beneath the floor. Suddenly, a striking elven woman approached. Her outfit was scandalously short and woven from silk strands that shimmered like moonlight—designed to tempt and ensnare.

"Young master," she said sweetly, leaning in just enough to reveal the deep curve of her cleavage. "Would you like a private room to yourself? Or perhaps… with company?"

Asher didn't flinch. "Get me a VIP room," he said plainly, his tone neither cold nor interested—just absolute.

The elf blinked, surprised by his lack of hesitation. Then her lips curved into a wide smile. "Of course, my lord. Right this way."

She led them down a side corridor veiled in floating curtains of mana-light. Eventually, they reached a tall obsidian door carved with shifting runes.

"Here we are," she said with a practiced gesture toward the silver inlay box at the entrance. "To activate the VIP seal, you'll need to deposit ten Void-Rank cores. Once the energy signature registers, the room is yours."

Asher nodded. Without hesitation, he reached into his spatial ring and withdrew ten glowing cores—each one heavy with power, pulsing with the essence of monsters long slain. In this realm, cores served as both currency and cultivation fuel—dropped by beasts of all level upon death, harvested by the everyone in this world as this is how people rank up here by absorbing these cores.

He placed the cores into the box. The runes lit up instantly, verifying the energy before pulsing with acceptance.

Just as the elf was about to open the door and welcome them in, someone stepped in front of them. From his clothes it was clear he was an guard, he coldly looked at Asher and his company and then pointed at hallway " My young master will take this room, leave " He said in commanding tone causing Valeris to narrow her eyes in anger.

Asher on the other hand looked at so called young master.

A tall, dark-skinned elf with silver hair stood in the hallway. He was dressed in expensive robes stitched with gold thread and carried two women on each arm, both clinging to him and giggling drunkenly. His eyes, hovered lazily as he looked Asher over.

"I want that room," the elf said with a sneer, his voice thick with arrogance. Without waiting for a reply, he walked forward and threw down his own ten Void-Rank cores—matching the offering Asher had just made.

The attendant hesitated, clearly unsure.

Then, as if some silent signal had passed, a few guards began shifting in the background—as though ready to prioritize the man's request. After all, he was likely some noble or the son of a major faction's elder. But before the situation could escalate—

A blur of motion.

Asher reached forward, grabbed the dark elf by the collar, and yanked him backward with such force that the air cracked. The arrogant noble didn't even have time to scream. He flew through the hall like a broken arrow and slammed into the far pillar with a deafening impact.

Except he didn't just hit it.

He splattered.

Blood, bone, and shredded cloth exploded across the wall. The man's body didn't crumple—it ceased to exist in anything resembling one. Whatever safeguards he carried, whatever backing he had, none of it mattered in the face of raw, dominant power.

The hallway went deathly quiet.

Asher turned, his gaze cold as winter. "Step aside," he said evenly. "Or you'll meet the same end."

The previously posturing guards froze. The dark elf attendant who had once stood tall immediately bowed low, trembling. He scrambled to the side without a word, kneeling as if to apologize through posture alone.

Valeris passed beside Asher with a faint smirk, while Veyra kept her gaze ahead, unblinking. They entered the VIP room without another word.

Behind them, the servant girl who had led them there stared in wide-eyed fear, then quickly stepped back and closed the door behind them—this time, with absolute silence.

The Auction guards looked at each other and saw horror in each other eyes, the reason was simple, the moment Asher moved he leaked his a genuine World rank Aura and it was not even lower level but high level.

" We should inform manager" one said as they rushed back to inform the manager.