Chapter 415: Covetous Counter

This was a greed trial, naturally there had to be more to it than met the eye.

It was a trial fashioned to test one’s true nature, and judge who among the candidates was worthy of the Greed mantle.

’I truly do hope this "Greed mantle" really is worth it...’ Seth thought while settling his balance on the second step, taking his time to adjust and adapt to the pressure.

His silver cells were in a dormant state, so it was actually more a matter of allowing his body to get used to the strain than adapting to it...

"Well then, let’s see what grand incentives this shop function has in store for me..." he muttered, focusing his attention on the new brilliant icon gleaming beside the Gilt balance bar...

[Shop]

Without wasting a moment of hesitation, he fixed his focus on the icon, causing it to expand into a wider screen, revealing the details of the new function.

[Welcome to the Covetous Counter!]

[Items will be displayed on sale based on the user’s balance...]

[Do you wish to proceed? Y/N]

Seth scrutinized the second notification block closely, a frown slowly growing on his face.

Like he stated earlier, it was only natural for incentives to be included.

He expected grand treasures and legendary items to be dangled before their eyes, but he was seeing otherwise.

Items would be displayed on sale according to the user’s balance...

That meant items on sale wouldn’t cost beyond what he had in balance.

And that didn’t seem like enough of an incentive to Seth.

His brows furrowed, but he accepted the system’s offer to proceed.

Maybe he was mistaken, and Gilt points were worth more than he imagined.

The system screen unraveled, warping into a detailed image list, carrying text of details and names of items listed along with their price.

"..."

Seth’s shoulders sagged as he stared at the list in dumbfounded silence.

This couldn’t have been further from luxurious if it tried...

[Item: Rusted Gloom Belt]

[Rank: Shackled]

[Grade: Common]

[Detail: An old belt with the capacity to cast "Gloom", causing temporary blindness on your opponent...]

[Price: 2G]

And that was only the first item on the shop screen, the list got worse the further down one read.

For an evolver of Seth’s level and background, such a treasure wasn’t even worth a second glance.

It had worse quality than the most worthless item in his possession.

The weakest item in his collection was literally a leader-grade sword of the awakened rank.

To him this offer was practically an insult, especially since his standard had been raised so high by the Primordial Flash Sale System.

He sighed, and dismissed the page, in the end he still hadn’t gone that far...

"Well then, let’s not judge yet... let’s still see what the hundredth step would offer me..." Seth muttered.

Not allowing his disappointment to affect his morale, he prepared to take the third step.

By this point one could say that he had been left behind, the other ancient race candidates rushing up the stairs and shrugging off the pressure like it was nothing.

A feat which currently sat beyond Seth’s capabilities, with how weak he now was, he had to proceed at a slow yet steady rate in order to allow his body to get used to the building strain.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting his gait, his feet rose and took the third step.

His Gilt balance lit up, the number it held doubling, along with the pressure...

The shop icon flashed, giving Seth the impression that its contents had probably been updated.

He paid little heed to this, instead focusing on getting used to the strain weighing on both body and mind.

While his mind was barely feeling the brunt due to his unaffected access to the intelligence stat, the pressure on his body was a different matter entirely.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear it, it was that his endurance was taking a constant dip, and very soon it would start declining faster than it could replenish.

Seth reckoned he would only make it to the tenth stage before this became the case.

Adjusting to the pressure, he took his fourth step, his balance doubling and the pressure climbing.

His muscles began to bulge, veins popping against his skin as perspiration began to trickle down his temple.

By this point Seth was dead last, while the figure second to last had climbed so high he could barely catch a glimpse of their distant frame.

Fortunately he was able to remain unaffected by the progress of the others and keep his focus on his own ascent.

Steadily advancing, Seth finally climbed to the tenth stair, his breaths growing ragged, his chest rising and falling erratically.

His entire body practically soaked with sweat, the pressure he was enduring right now was akin to 30-times the Earth’s gravity.

One had to recall that the current upgraded Earth’s gravity was far beyond what it had been back in Tier 0.

His skin was already flushed red from the pressure, and by this point the stress was affecting more than his muscles, it was beginning to make things unbearable for his organs to function.

Even his heart struggled to maintain the pressure needed for blood circulation.

Droplets of sweat splattered against the metallic surface of the tenth step, dripping from the seams of his armour. The air continuously grew humid as his lungs struggled to expand properly.

This was the threshold, where his body expended more energy than it could consistently provide.

This was meant to be his physical limit, because while his mind could bear more his body just couldn’t.

Heck, he couldn’t muster enough to take the 11th step...

Seth let out a pained grunt, bearing the pressure while his mind processed freely, pondering a possible solution to bypass this limit.

He had thought of it all, but apparently all means of replenishing force were currently beyond his reach since he couldn’t interact with essence-

"No wait! There’s that!" Seth jerked upright, a spark of realization cutting through the strain.

When it came to things that could replenish and boost his strength without him having to absorb the essence directly from the material, he had only one elixir that fell into this category.

This wasn’t a potion from the origin realm like one would think, no it was actually something he had plundered from one of his recent foes...

To think he had almost forgotten that he had such a treasure in his hands...

Instead of taking equipment directly from the inventory like he always did, this time he summoned an opening in space linked to his inventory.

A dark hole in space, from which a substance with a molten texture slowly dripped out, while Seth licked his lips and dismissed his helm...