Chapter 6

Lewis opened his eyes and became extremely irritated. The ceiling he was looking at was the glass dome of the Mall, but simply the fact that he was constantly opening his eyes after being knocked unconscious was beginning to piss him off.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Ariel leaned into view, she had her blue hair out, the wig was gone.

"Are you alright Lewis?" Joshua leaned into view as well.

"I'm fine. Where's that creep?" Lewis sat up and looked around. The entirety of the mall was crawling with people in stiff suits, fixing damages and writing down the statements of the witnesses. The moment Lewis sat up, he started spitting blood.

"Yeah, how about you stay laying down. That lung of yours was in literal pieces, held together by twine practically. We had a healer treat you earlier, but the blood remained inside the lung." Ariel explained. Lewis just turned to the side and began hacking up the blood.

"Yeah, that's a better choice." Joshua agreed with Lewis's choice.

"Ah! Is our star up and healthy now?" Vernon seemed to materialize from the swarm of suits.

"Well, healthier, sir." Joshua replied.

"Good, good! Is there any chance this will leak to the Garden?" Vernon asked.

"No. Francis deemed the kid a worthy, 'Target', if you catch my meaning." Ariel responded with a disgusted and sympathetic look.

"Oh… well at least we don't have to hide him in some remote location now. Ahem, anyways! I heard the fight was quite a sight to see?" Vernon turned to Ariel once more.

"His growth is outstanding, during the course of the fight, his control on his blessing improved and adapted to the situation almost flawlessly. He did manage to pierce Francis, it was quite something to witness." Ariel confirmed.

"Huhuhu! A D-Rank wounding an A-Rank, what a fun kid. Starting next week, I want him in raids as a porter. But, he has permission, off the books, to help in subjugations. You two can train him until then. His school is requesting him to be in tomorrow for their mandatory evaluations for the end of term exams. I'll be busy speaking with the Deans of a few Academies. There's really only one I want to see him get into, but that Dean doesn't care for special attention, so I'll do my best to get him into another that's not too far below their level." Vernon began rambling.

"Sir, you're rambling again." Joshua commented.

"Ahem, so I was. I'll be leaving now." Vernon replied before turning away and leaving. Lewis wiped the blood from his mouth and stood up. The clothes he was supposed to return were covered in blood and holes.

"Well that sucks." Lewis sighed.

"Yeah, luckily for you, they decided not to charge you for it, and are offering another set free of charge. The owner stated he enjoyed the show and replaced the clothes, good advertisement he stated." Ariel handed Lewis a bag, several others were around her.

"You went on a spree yourself huh?" Lewis took the bag and nodded towards the truckload of others.

"No, you were laying on my lap, these are all gifts from the owner. I may have given him preferences, but yeah, these are actually yours." Ariel replied casually.

"Right… h-how much would all this be normally?" Lewis began his calculations before she responded.

"A few million?" Ariel replied simply. Lewis simply turned pale and turned away towards the entrance to leave.

"Hey, where are you going? We're not done here. We still have the black market to go to in the back." Ariel grabbed Lewis's shoulder and started leading him towards the only section that was uncolored.

"How fucking random is this Mall?" Lewis complained.

"What malls have you been to that don't have a black market available?" Ariel asked as if black markets were normal.

"Why do they call it a black market if they announce they have one? Wouldn't that just be a normal market?" Lewis inquired.

"They don't announce it. Only members that are registered with the black market, know of the black market. Me bringing you to said market, means you'll be officially registered as a member." Ariel replied, with her skewed logic.

"I want to ask how they do that, but now I really just want to take my pills, my head hurts from this conversation." Lewis sighed as he held his head.

***

The black market was more extra than Lewis thought it'd be. They required them to put on masks and black robes to hide all distinguishable features and a scrambling item to disguise ratings and magic power. Then, to top it all off, they were put into a cubicle with simple chairs and a black glass window in front.

"The market will begin in ten minutes. We sincerely hope you spend a lot today." The indistinguishable bodyguard who processed the duo stated with a bow before he left, closing the door behind him.

"So now what?" Lewis asked as he sat down next to Ariel in one of the chairs.

"We wait for ten minutes to pass." Ariel replied plainly with a shrug.

***

After ten boring minutes, the blackened view Lewis had gotten used to, lit up and revealed an entire amphitheater with rows upon rows of the same cubicles, a dollar sign was lit up on each one, the number zero displayed next to it.

"Welcome, distinguished Blessed of all backgrounds, to our monthly auction! Today we have many mystical and unusual items along with some of the same items we usually hold!" An announcer began his introductions.

"How did you know there'd be an auction today?" Lewis asked, hearing it was only a monthly thing.

"Oh, I didn't. I was told while I was getting some things for you in the red section." Ariel replied.

"Ah." Lewis replied.

"Now, without further ado, let's bring out our first product!" The announcer stated enthusiastically as a cart with a glowing blue ball was rolled out.

[Insect Soul Blessing Detected. Goliath Bird Eater (Basic Tier)]

Lewis sat up immediately and stared at the orb with intense interest.

"Hmm, oh, interested? Don't be. It looks like a really low class, likely a plant or insect." Ariel dismissed the product. Lewis wasn't listening to her, his only concern was getting his hands on that spider, his favorite spider, his first pet as a child, as well as the most violent and aggressive.

"This product is of an unknown lower class insect. We will start the bidding at five thousand!" The announcer announced. Lewis immediately hit the green button on his chair, earlier explained to him by Ariel that it was a bidding button for any items he wanted.

"Why do you want that?" Ariel looked at Lewis in confusion.

"Well, for one, I didn't know you could buy blessings, and for two, don't worry about it." Lewis replied.

"Buying blessings isn't normal, for your information. Yes, blessings can be harvested from nature, but it's a delicate process and is typically done by governments and guilds to increase their own strength. People who awaken with multiple have no need for buying any, it's typically done by those who have only one and need more strength and power. You don't learn about this until your junior year in high school, so it makes sense you weren't aware of the secondary systems for becoming a higher ranked blessed." Ariel explained a little bit more about the world's hidden functions.

"Well, thank you for bringing me here." Lewis smiled excitedly as he won the spider for only fifteen thousand.

"Oh, uhm, yeah." Ariel looked at Lewis's genuine smile and blushed from surprise. A slot opened in the chair and Ariel slid her card into it before Lewis had a chance to ask what it was. As soon as she did so, there was a beep and the item that had just been bought and rolled off stage, appeared again right next to Lewis as it rose on a cushioned pedestal from the floor. Lewis looked down to see that a panel had opened to allow such a feat.

"What interesting technology… wait, did you just buy this for me?" Lewis looked over at Ariel.

"Consider it a gift, for your help today with Francis. You stood up to him without any hesitation or concern for his strength, it was impressive." Ariel smiled. Lewis looked at her, then at the orb, and then smiled in return.

"Well, thank you very much. This is a wonderful gift." Lewis replied. Ariel's face reddened again but she quickly shook her head and turned back to the auction. Lewis ignored the trinkets that came out one after the other and focused on the orb.

[Absorb Goliath Bird Eater (Basic Tier)? Abilities are not available until absorption. User is advised to remain cautious until Soul Companion inside orb is analyzed for safe integration. Do you still wish to proceed? Absorbing Goliath Bird Eater (Basic Tier)... Successful. Integrating Companion Blessing into the Users database… Successful. Hidden abilities now unlocked. Affection towards particular Companion detected, affinity increased significantly, raising tier by one to Normal Tier.

Goliath Bird Eater (Normal Tier)- Adds x3 to DEX x5 to STR x4 to CON +20 INT. Skill gained; Barbed Needle: Can shoot needle like mana that prevents opponent from clear thinking. Damage is applied through major irritation and pain. Does not need Blessing active to use this skill.]

"Goliath Bird Eater, that's a good spider." Lewis nodded to himself. Ariel looked over at him but then looked back at the auction. Lewis turned his attention to the item being auctioned as well, but lost interest when all he saw was a sword. The auction continued to be uninteresting for the next hour until they reached their final three products. The atmosphere changed and Lewis realized this was the real part of the show, everything else was just a warm up.

"The first of our top three appraised items today, is a vial of 'Soul Upgrade'. This vial only appears once a month, but it's always the top selling item! The rumors around it are numerous, but the one remaining fact is, it can increase the power of blessings. How much it increases, differs for everyone! The auction will begin at one hundred thousand!" The announcer stated with much excitement. The price paled Lewis in an instant. Ariel did not bid on this item either, instead she waited for something else to appear. The vial sold for three point eight million, and Lewis's soul was leaving his body at the mere thought of spending such an amount of money.

"Once again, the 'Soul Upgrade' never disappoints. Next up, is something that almost made it to the Main HQ's Annual Auction Masquerade! We were lucky enough to be graced with the opportunity to sell it to you, and here it is! Dubbed 'The Mysterious Orb' No one knows what it is, what it does, or if it's even a Blessing! Even our appraisers couldn't decide its worth! Bidding starts at twenty thousand!" The announcer revealed another orb, but this time it was a deep purple color.

[Warning! Unknown energy detected! Analysis of orb in progress… analyzing… analyzing… successful! New Mythological Class discovered. 10,000 CP awarded. User advised to buy. System will provide necessary funding… converting 10 CP to known currency onto known expenditure device… Successful. 10 CP converted to 10 million Arcanaca Eons.]

Lewis stared at the message and jumped up, hitting the green button accidentally as he did so.

"Cubicle Seven Beta bids two million!" The announcement followed.

"You really like blessing orbs that much? There's nothing known about it though? I'm not buying this one." Ariel crossed her arms and stated.

"Ah, no, uh, never mind." Lewis sighed and sat down. The more he learned about the system, the harder it was to understand. How did it convert to money from CP? Lewis continued bidding against the many people who were interested in the properties of the orb, but Lewis felt an obligation to the system and refused to back down against the dizzyingly high bids. After the fierce battle, the orb went to Lewis for a grand total of eight million Eons. The card slot opened and Lewis swiped without hesitation. The chair beeped and the orb was next to him in a familiar fashion.

"How did you buy that?" Ariel looked at Lewis in pure astonishment.

"I don't know yet. I'd love to tell you, but I have no clear answer." Lewis replied distractedly as he picked up the orb and began the absorption process.

[Absorbing… successful. Integrating… failed. Integrating… failed. Integrating… failed. Sacrificing 100CP… Integration Successful. Anubis Jackal A.K.A Death Dog (Epic Tier)- Adds x10 to INT and MAG x3 CON. Skills gained; Shadow Manipulation- Manipulate Tendrils of Shadows to do your bidding. Anywhere with shadows is your home ground. Blessing does not need to be active for use of this Skill. Caution advised when using this skill with other Blessings, as they will take on a shadow property that will remain for a week's time, can be a debuff on certain blessings.

Touch of Anubis- Function 1; Any target you touch will be marked, giving you their precise location at all times. Function 2; When used for an attack, cuts opponents stats in half.

Replacing constant activation from Garter Snake to Anubis Jackal. Pain may ensue.]

True to its word, the minor headache Lewis was feeling vanished and was replaced by a full body pain that was so antagonizing, Lewis actually fell and began writhing while all the veins in his body popped and his skin turned red.

"Lewis?... What the hell!" Ariel stood up abruptly and then fell back a step in astonishment as she watched Lewi's body change again as the new Blessing took active. His hair darkened to black with some purple hues, his eyes became neon purple that had a violently calm and calculating look to them. His teeth sharpened and his ears elongated and became pointed. His skin paled a shade and his nails became black and sharp like claws. After the pain had subsided and Lewis sat up, breathing heavily, he looked at the new stats.

[INT: 48->480

MAG: 47->470

CON: 44->132]

Lewis sighed a breath of relief as the pain had entirely subsided, leaving only a powerful surge of energy behind.

"What kind of Blessing did you absorb?" Ariel looked at Lewis in pure curiosity and concern.

"Anubis Jackal." Lewis replied as he stood up. His hands caught him off guard and it showed by the way he jerked back from the sight of them.

"You should see the rest of you. But, Anubis Jackal? What does it do? How does it feel?" Ariel began asking.

"It feels extremely clear. My senses are beyond heightened, and I can feel magic coursing through my veins. But, other than that, I'm not more powerful than that of a mid D-Rank." Lewis looked at his remaining stats that were all forties except charisma, which was thirty-nine.

"That's still incredible, the way it looks so menacing. But, is that really all it did? It seems so useless." Ariel pondered.

"Well, I also gained skills." Lewis used the shadows in the room to demonstrate. Tendrils of shadow began to emerge and approach Lewis, on his skin, dark purple Egyptian hieroglyphs glowed with the use of the shadows.

"That is perhaps the coolest shit I've ever seen." Ariel looked at Lewis with the most awe struck look in her eyes. For a brief moment, Lewis had forgotten she had a thing for dark stuff, and the look on her face made him remember.

"Are we done here?" Lewis canceled the summons and everything went to normal, except his appearance, which had no incognito form.

"Oh, yeah, of course. We better put the uniforms back on before we leave though." Ariel placed the robe and mask on, Lewis did the same. As there wasn't much left for them to do, the duo simply left with the items they bought in the actual mall and went home.