Chapter 101: The Invisible Hand of Abyss

The news that the Abyss Squad had rejected every recruitment attempt from the various factions, maintaining an almost absolute level of independence and mystery, was like a depth charge detonating beneath a lake filled with turbulent currents. The ripple effect it created was far greater than Aiden had expected.

Their aloof attitude did not discourage the major factions from pursuing them. Instead, it made them even more curious. A group that possessed enough confidence to reject organizations such as Highmore and even Dragonspire clearly had something to rely on. The more difficult Abyss was to approach, the more valuable the resources and connections hidden behind the team seemed to become.

That curiosity eventually converged on a secret platform Aiden had quietly established.

Its name was Dark Abyss.

It was a black-market network operated through three carefully selected intermediaries: [Phantom Eyes], [Old Smoke], and [Coinlord]. None of the three knew the full extent of Aiden’s identity or capabilities, and that separation allowed the organization to operate without exposing its true owner.

For the time being, Aiden had transformed the basement of the villa into a temporary alchemy workshop and command center. [Alderton’s Alchemy Workbench] occupied the center of the room, its intricate mechanisms emitting a faint glow as it continuously processed materials. Rare ingredients were sorted and stored in the attached portable storage space, while completed products were carefully separated according to quality and purpose.

Aiden sat before his personal terminal and studied the rapidly increasing number of access requests and transaction inquiries appearing on the Dark Abyss channel.

The time had come.

Dark Abyss had accumulated enough attention and credibility to step out of the shadows.

"It is time to let Dark Abyss surface."

Aiden opened the private channel shared with his three intermediaries and issued his instructions.

"Raise the customer screening threshold. Anyone seeking access must possess at least one Rare-quality piece of equipment or equivalent assets. Then begin releasing the first batch of Special Supplies."

The three intermediaries immediately acknowledged the order.

The first batch of supplies consisted primarily of two categories.

The first was a collection of enhanced potions produced by Aiden using his [Ancient Alchemist] class and Epic-grade alchemy tools.

The first product was the [Primary Health Potion (Enhanced)]. Its effect was far superior to the standard version, immediately restoring 200 Health Points while also providing continuous recovery afterward. Aiden set the price at 5 Gold Coins per bottle. Considering that ordinary Primary Health Potions generally sold for around 1–2 Gold Coins and offered considerably weaker effects, the price was high, but the difference in effectiveness made the value obvious to experienced players.

The second product was the [Primary Mana Potion (Enhanced)]. Each bottle immediately restored 150 Mana Points while accelerating subsequent Mana recovery. It was priced at 4 Gold Coins per bottle.

The third product attracted even more attention.

The [Secondary Attribute Enhancement Potion] came in Strength and Agility variants. Each potion temporarily increased the corresponding attribute by 3 points for thirty minutes. The formula was based on Aiden’s improvements to the notes left behind by Alderton, and unlike many low-level enhancement potions currently available to players, its effects were stable and reliable.

A set of three bottles was priced at 15 Gold Coins.

The second category consisted of dungeon walkthroughs.

These were based on Aiden’s memories from his previous life. He carefully recreated information about several popular non-core dungeons from the current version, but deliberately removed the locations of hidden bosses and the most valuable optimization routes.

The information was still extremely useful.

The walkthroughs provided recommended routes, dangerous areas, monster distribution, common traps, and other information that could significantly improve the efficiency and survival rate of mid-sized teams. Depending on the dungeon, each guide was priced between 50 and 100 Gold Coins.

Once the three intermediaries quietly released the information through their respective channels, the response was immediate.

"What kind of potion is this? Those effects are ridiculous!"

"Dark Abyss? I’ve never even heard of this black market."

"It’s guaranteed by [Phantom Eyes] and the others. Their reputation is solid."

"Five Gold Coins for a health potion? That’s daylight robbery!"

"Maybe, but look at the effect. Five Gold Coins is nothing if that bottle keeps you alive during a Boss fight."

"Dungeon walkthrough? You’re kidding. There’s even a trap distribution map for the Abandoned Subway Station? Damn it, our team wiped there last time!"

At first, most customers were cautious.

The first transactions were relatively small, with players purchasing only a few potions or a single walkthrough to test whether the products were actually as good as advertised.

Then the buyers began returning.

The enhanced potions worked exactly as promised.

The dungeon walkthroughs were accurate.

The information was valuable.

Most importantly, Dark Abyss delivered what it promised.

That was enough.

Word began spreading through the high-end player circles of Ashford City.

Dark Abyss became a name people were willing to pay attention to.

Demand quickly exceeded supply.

The enhanced potions were particularly popular. Whenever a new batch appeared, they were almost immediately purchased. Aiden eventually had no choice but to limit daily production, introduce a reservation system, and gradually raise the prices.

Rather than reducing demand, the limited supply had the opposite effect.

The potions became more desirable.

Players who could afford them wanted to secure their supply before the next batch disappeared. The scarcity also gave Dark Abyss an aura of exclusivity, making its products increasingly attractive to high-end teams and wealthy players.

Gold Coins began flowing into Aiden’s anonymous account.

At first, it was a stream.

Then it became a river.

Within only a few days, Aiden’s net profit from the black market exceeded 5,000 Gold Coins.

And that figure did not include the rare materials acquired through barter.

Coinlord watched the account balances rise every day, and his eyes practically transformed into Gold Coins. His admiration for Aiden had reached an almost unreasonable level.

Old Smoke used the enormous influx of funds and resources to quietly expand Dark Abyss’s hidden supply channels. He began establishing connections with additional suppliers and gradually infiltrated several important raw-material production areas.

Phantom Eyes also benefited tremendously.

With sufficient funding, his intelligence network expanded at an astonishing pace. Information that would previously have required considerable effort to obtain could now be acquired through multiple channels, while his network of contacts continued spreading throughout Ashford City.

Dark Abyss was no longer simply a place where a few rare items changed hands.

It was becoming an underground network.

Aiden supplied the goods.

The three intermediaries handled distribution.

Money and resources flowed in.

Information flowed back out.

Like a creature growing beneath the surface, Dark Abyss began quietly influencing the movement of resources within the high-end player community of Ashford City.

Then, one day, a new encrypted message appeared.

It came from [Phantom Eyes].

"Boss, people from the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s procurement department have approached us through three layers of connections. They want to purchase our Enhanced Health Potions in bulk and are offering twice the current Dark Abyss market price. Do we accept?"

Aiden read the message.

A faint, cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Damien couldn’t sit still anymore.

He could already imagine the reason behind the purchase.

The Dragon Sovereign Guild wanted to use his potions to strengthen its core members and maintain its position within Ashford City.

Aiden leaned back slightly before typing his response.

"Reply to them. Limited supply. Triple the price."

He paused for a moment before adding another condition.

"Settlement must be made using [Star-Patterned Steel Ingots] or [Void Amethyst Powder]."

These were resources the Dragon Sovereign Guild had been quietly acquiring.

If Damien wanted his potions badly enough, Aiden would simply take those materials directly from him.

Why settle for Gold Coins when he could make his enemy pay with resources he desperately needed?

As expected, the Dragon Sovereign Guild went silent.

Triple the black-market price was already painful enough. Requiring strategic materials on top of that made the transaction even more expensive.

For a faction as large as Dragon Sovereign, such a purchase could not be treated casually.

After some hesitation, they eventually gritted their teeth and purchased only a small quantity.

Clearly, the potions were being reserved for their most important members.

The transaction itself was not particularly large, but its significance was far greater than the number of Gold Coins involved.

The Dragon Sovereign Guild had been forced to pay an excessive price through an anonymous black-market network just to obtain a resource it considered valuable.

And the owner of that network was the very person Damien regarded as an enemy.

Aiden did not need to confront Dragon Sovereign directly.

He could influence its development simply by controlling what resources reached its hands and how much the guild had to pay for them.

The effect was still limited.

But it would accumulate.

Resources had always been one of the most important foundations of any faction. As the game progressed and equipment, potions, materials, and other consumables became increasingly valuable, the ability to control their distribution would become increasingly important.

Aiden looked at the rare materials and Gold Coins that had once again increased in his account.

His expression remained calm.

This wasn’t merely an accumulation of wealth.

It was the accumulation of power.

By controlling the supply and pricing of high-end resources, he could indirectly influence the development of powerful players and major factions without ever revealing himself.

He opened his personal panel and glanced at the enormous number of Gold Coins in his anonymous account. His warehouse was also filling with rare materials acquired through both purchases and barter.

A faint sense of satisfaction surfaced within him.

This was only the beginning.

As his Alchemy proficiency increased, he would eventually be capable of producing even more powerful potions and elixirs. With enough advancement, his Ancient Alchemist class could potentially allow him to create products that were completely unavailable to ordinary players.

And Alchemy would not be his only source of income.

As he explored more regions and remembered more information from his previous life, he could sell increasingly valuable intelligence, dungeon routes, hidden locations, Boss mechanics, and other forms of information that could not be obtained through ordinary means.

Dark Abyss would eventually become far more than a black market.

It could become an economic empire hidden beneath the surface of Ashford City—an organization capable of influencing the distribution of resources without ever appearing openly on the battlefield.

Aiden glanced toward the alchemy workbench.

The crucible continued operating steadily, filling the basement with the faint scent of medicinal ingredients as another batch of potions slowly took shape.

Beyond it, his terminal continued flashing with transaction requests and increasingly polite messages from various factions.

The foundation had been laid.

The economic engine of Dark Abyss had begun to turn.

Now it was time to convert that wealth into something even more important.

Strength.

Aiden needed to accelerate the growth of Abyss.

He needed better equipment, stronger consumables, more information, and greater control over the resources that would determine survival in the coming stages of the apocalypse.

And, of course, he needed to prepare a few more surprises for his good old "big brother," Damien.

Aiden’s gaze gradually became colder.

The prototype of an underground kingdom had already taken shape within the shadows.

It had no grand headquarters.

No army marching beneath its banner.

No public leader.

But Gold Coins, resources, information, and influence were already flowing through its invisible channels.

And at the center of it all stood one man.

Reaper.