<h4>Chapter 13 - 2 Star Treasure</h4>


    "Show me gauntlets with spikes, the ones with best endurance." Varian said.


    Thedy nodded and sorted thetest list.


    Varian took a quick look around. The store was spacious. The white ss tiles added elegance and the open ceiling with a defense barrier showcased their strength.


    Various holographic disys 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. Neverpromising.


    ''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 enoughbat experience and possession of a star treasure suitable to the pathway. Of the three, Varian only hadbat 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 closebat. With hisbat 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." Thedy at the counter disyed 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. Thetest regtions from head quarters state 2 star treasures and above must be brought in kp." thedy shook her head and appeared apologetic.


    The customers in the room heard the conversation and cursed quietly. ''Blood suckers.'' ''Greedy pigs.''


    The youngdy 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. ck 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 thews.


    Varian controlled his rage and nced 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 hism, 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} hism prompted and Varian logged into the ck 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 popr. Varian wore the gauntlets and felt more empowered than ever. Then he nced at his empty his karma points and drooped his head.


    All the exhration 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 Inds and get permission for entrance of Level 1 Awakener." Varian said to hism''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 reced by the sea waves. The neon light was reced by the sunlight. His fatigue was reced by vigour.


    Varian woke up to see himself on his hover bike, floating above a chain of inds 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 andnded on one of the ind.


    With his superhuman eyesight, Varian observed the inds below. They only had sparse greenery, and the bulk of inds were deste 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 ofnd survival. They were the superior power on earth due to their habitat and poption.


    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.'' Variannded on the ind 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 ind 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]