Chapter 617: Sid’s One Request
Four... Five... Six.
Six.
Even when Luca closed his eyes and opened them again, there was no escaping it. He stared straight at the screen.
Six zeroes.
Oh, and a seventh number right in front.
He blinked again.
It was still there.
Still very much real.
Each item listed cost a whopping two million CP. Each. Not for a set. Not for a pack. Just one. One single thing.
Yeah.
Apparently, an SS-grade beast core was enough to give two entire corporeal bodies to someone who was nothing but bones and good intentions. No skin. Just bones. And a lot of luck.
Luca sucked in a deep breath, trying to talk himself down from the rising swirl of panic and awe. To be fair, he could sort of understand the price. After all, fighting something like Tortie got him nearly a million CP. And that was without turning Tortie into CP. Mostly. So if this mysterious, clearly suspicious shop could sell a core at two million, someone, somewhere, had to be making a profit. Probably a terrifying one.
Still, Luca wasn’t defeated by the price itself.
No, what defeated him was the fact that he couldn’t test the cores. Couldn’t figure out which one was applicable. Couldn’t preview anything. Not that there were even a lot of choices. Just three.
Three whole options. And he needed two.
Which meant only one would be left behind.
He was pacing now. Back and forth. Then back again. His brother was right about checking the Trove; he’d actually been nervous while searching because what if there was none? But then again, he didn’t expect to find something like this, only it was apparently going to be some sort of guessing game.
A very expensive guessing game.
Luca groaned and rubbed at his temples before forcing himself to sit down cross-legged on the floor. The screen shimmered faintly in front of him.
Three options.
First up:
[SS-Grade Beast Core: Serpent Wraith]
[2,000,000 CP]
[Type: Phantasmal Serpentine Core]
[Item Description: From a spectral serpent that slithered through fractured dungeon fissures. It strangled prey with coils of shadow, weaving through darkness before lashing out with impossible reach.]
Luca squinted at it.
He tried, really tried, to picture what the original monster looked like. It was easier with the Deathworms. They burrowed, they chewed through things, they were straightforward in their monstrousness.
But a giant shadow snake?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t imagine it. He could.
He just couldn’t imagine it for this purpose.
Frankly, it sounded like something he’d want to use. Not Xavier. And definitely not his father.
But that core... That core would probably look great attached to a swordwhip. Or maybe a mobile cloak system. Still, Luca had already set aside the S-grade core of the ancient arachnid for himself.
That was a gift—a reward for all his hard work. In fact, it was one that took a lot of time. Not with the construction, but with convincing himself to use the only S-grade beast core they had at that point!
He’d already hyped up the weapon in his head. He couldn’t just abandon it now because something newer and shinier came along!
That would be betrayal. And a giant waste.
"I’m not betraying it," Luca muttered, standing up again only to resume pacing. He stomped a little at the end of each turn like a frustrated goose.
Out of context, anyone walking in on this scene would’ve assumed he was upset about the price.
Fair. That would be most people’s first guess.
After all, spending money on others? That was noble. That was selfless. But spending millions on himself? That was something else entirely.
Still, somewhere deep inside him, a strange new voice had emerged.
It wasn’t saying no. And that was new.
It was just saying, maybe later.
Yes. That was the plan.
Luca nodded to himself, resolute. He would save up. He’d buy the two necessary cores first, for Xavier and his father. Once they were safe and stable, then he’d come back for this.
That way it wouldn’t feel like a reckless, indulgent splurge. It would be a calculated risk. Very practical. Very mature.
D-29 hovered in silence, quietly noting the shift in his host’s decision-making style.
The system had just begun wondering whether they’d see more SS-grade cores after reaching Dungeon Level 4, but it didn’t get the chance to voice it.
Because Luca turned to the screen again, eyes narrowed, and asked:
"Hmm... D-29, what do you think about the remaining two?"
[SS-Grade Beast Core: Dreadcolossus Titan]
[2,000,000 CP]
[Type: Colossal Predator Core]
[Item Description: From a towering beast that embodied dominance itself. It crushed landscapes underfoot, its every swing shaking the ground, and its armored body turned aside all but the most devastating blows.]
Luca tilted his head and squinted. He read it again just to be sure.
"Would a Dreadcolossus be okay?" he asked seriously. "Do you think a titan sounds good enough for my father?"
The little system whirred, considering it.
"Host, with the type listed... doesn’t it sound like a guardian beast?"
Luca gasped. "Oh! That’s true! Or if not, maybe it’s something at least as large because it does say it was a colossal predator!"
He nodded to himself, arms crossed. "Now the question is whether or not it would match Papa’s fighting style."
But unbeknownst to the concerned son, everyone else would’ve told him not to bother with it. Because if one day he decided to give the Duke a bow and arrow, the eager father would likely just switch up his entire fighting style to be able to use his son’s gift.
Not to mention showing up the next day with a brand-new fighting stance and a signature move named ’Son’s Gift Arrow.’
But that was everyone else; for Luca, it was a matter for serious consideration.
"It might be useful, Host," D-29 said. "I’ve checked, but there’s no record of it in the database. Nothing is known about this creature. But if Tortie were to be used as the basis..."
Luca nodded. "Then it would probably be a win."
At the very least, it felt strong—ground-shakingly strong. And it wasn’t like he had fifty options to choose from. There were only three. So far, this one made decent sense. And Luca really wanted to see the difference when people were equipped with the correct grades.
Then he finally looked at the last core.
And for some reason, his heart thumped.
[SS-Grade Beast Core: Umbral Skyhunter]
[2,000,000 CP]
[Type: Predatory Avian Core]
[Item Description: From a legendary sky beast that stalked the upper corrupted rifts, cloaking itself in shadows before striking prey with unseen resonance bolts from impossible distances.]
The words made his pulse race.
This one... this one actually felt right.
Like it was close to what he needed. Maybe not exact, but close enough that he could make it work. At the very least, he was hoping to capitalize on the cloaking part. That alone was already great. Fantastic, even.
Luca gripped the back of his neck. "At least there’s one that makes sense," he muttered to himself.
But this time, unlike the other weapons he had crafted, there was one other being whose opinion mattered most.
So Luca reached out—mentally.
"Sid?"
The voice responded immediately.
"Yes, little master?"
"Sid, do you have a moment? I wanted to discuss something with you!"
This time, he had done the responsible thing. He had informed Xavier ahead of time. There was no sneaky component. No suspicious kidnapping.
He had approval!
Sort of.
So, he figured, it was fair to ask Sid now. After all, Sid was sentient. He had every right to know if he was about to be embedded with something ridiculous and terrifyingly expensive.
What Luca didn’t expect was Sid’s immediate confusion.
"Little master," Sid said gently, "I am already grateful for the changes we’ve discussed. And the artillery we have now seems to be good enough..."
"I see," Luca said slowly, before tilting his head. "But Sid, won’t it be better to be able to unleash all your abilities properly? Wouldn’t it be better to protect everyone more easily?"
There was a long pause.
Then, finally—
"Then, little master... if it’s like that, then I understand."
"Really?!" Luca bolted upright with sparkles in his eyes.
"Y-yes, little master. B-but please... please make it white! W-whatever it is, please keep it white!"
"...Huh? White, too? Won’t that be too plain?"
"It won’t, little master! I—my favorite color is white!"
Luca blinked. "Oh! Do you think Xavier would like that too?"
"Definitely! It’s the color of the master’s hair!"
"!!!"
That was true. And his hair was beautiful.
Luca clasped both hands in front of his chest as he thought about it. While white was great, he couldn’t help but feel something. It was just too bad. So, so sad.
Because now he wouldn’t be able to paint it sky blue.
And that was Luca’s final thought...
...before gutting their CP.