Damon's Ascension-Chapter 87: Worldly Essence Transfer 1

Damon entered the VR lobby’s personal staging area before diving into any of the various Seed Worlds. In true Damon fashion, he had kept the design for his simple, a modest cottage perched on a cliffside, offering a perfect, uninterrupted view of the sea.

He didn’t waste any time and stepped into the VR hallway, which functioned like a search interface for most digital platforms. As he walked, he simply thought of his destination, the Trust and Trades Official World, and the system began guiding him there.

The hallways spun rapidly before him, eventually leading to a doorway that was labeled with the destination he sought. With a smile, Damon pushed the door open and walked in, entering the lobby of the Trust and Trades company.

The Trust and Trades Official World resembled a massive marketplace, which was a surprise given its scope of business.

Damon entered a sprawling digital metropolis built into the VR network, where buyers and sellers from across the universe met to purchase and make orders for Worldly Essence Trade.

Towering skyscrapers of shimmering data stretched into a sky woven from code, while streets of pure light pulsed beneath the feet of thousands of virtual avatars. Beings from every race in the universe moved through the space, though Damon didn’t show any surprise on his face, despite encountering many of those species for the very first time.

Despite his growing fame on a universal scale, Damon’s arrival went largely unnoticed. Then again, he was wearing a simple outfit, nothing flashy, just a sleek black coat with gold trim.

In a universe where appearances meant little, that was to be expected. The ’person’ beside you could just as easily be a human-sized bunny, someone with multiple heads, or a creature so non-humanoid it defied basic anatomy. In such company, subtlety was the norm, and extravagance was just noise.

Happy about the lack of attention, Damon calmly approached the nearest transaction counter, where a group of goblin-like clerks sat behind glowing terminals, their fingers tapping furiously as they processed trade requests with surprising severity, treating it as life and death.

One of the clerks, a sharp-eared goblin with a badge that read Teller No. 48, glanced up lazily, barely interested.

"Please state your business, Sir. I will be happy to assist you in any way I can," the goblin greeted him with a carefully maintained customer service smile.

Damon spoke clearly. "I’d like to purchase 1,000,000 units of Worldly Essence."

Silence.

The room didn’t freeze, but the atmosphere shifted noticeably as Teller No. 48 blinked, then slowly turned to glance at his coworkers. Though the environment remained outwardly calm, only the client and the clerks could hear the request, strict privacy protocols ensured that no one else in the room was privy to learn about the business of others.

His fellow goblins at the counter paused mid-task, their fingers hovering over their consoles as they subtly glanced in his direction, curiosity flickering behind their practiced expressions.

A request of this size was not unheard of, but it was rare enough to warrant immediate attention because the price of Worldly Essence kept skyrocketing literally every month as new races continued to be introduced into the IUAS and needed to ’skip’ the training phase.

"Certainly, Esteemed Sir. Please wait a moment while I process your request," the goblin spoke, his tone suddenly more formal.

He turned slightly in his seat, tapping a discreet sequence on his screen to send an internal alert up the chain. It wasn’t to report Damon, but to quietly summon a manager, someone authorized to handle high-tier clients and ensure their satisfaction. As much as he would’ve loved to claim the commission for this task, it was unfortunately far above his pay grade.

One of the other goblins leaned in slightly, purposefully not looking at Damon as he spoke to Teller No. 48.

"Did he request a million?" The leaning Goblin, Teller No. 46, asked with a hiss.

Teller No. 48 nodded subtly, slightly dazed. "He did."

Another Teller also leaned over slightly while handling the client before him, as he inquired. "And his details?"

"Checking now... oh. Oh!!!" Teller No. 48 performed a VR scan of Damon’s avatar and checked his public information. Teller No. 48’s expression shifted from mild surprise to something much sharper.

He was trained to recognize high-profile clients, and though Damon was still a fresh face in the wider universe, his name and racial affiliation was causing storms on the Galactic Network on a daily basis.

Before he could answer his co-worker, a private communication alert flashed across his screen: "Emperor Godin will handle this personally. Stall the client."

Teller No. 48 swallowed and turned back to Damon, putting on his best customer service smile. "Apologies, sir, but for transactions of this magnitude, we need to process some verifications. It will take just a few minutes. Would you like some refreshment while you wait?"

Damon simply nodded, folding his arms, having already anticipated that his request would prompt them to call in someone higher up. It wasn’t the kind of treatment most people ever experienced, and even he had only seen it when accompanying his father.

It was funny, really, that this wasn’t unique to human society and that other species shared the same line of thinking when it came to deferring to higher authority. So, he had no intention of making things difficult for anyone.

A few moments later, the sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed through the marketplace. The goblins behind the counter straightened up immediately, some even bowing slightly as Godin, the Goblin Emperor, approached.

Godin was a diminutive figure, even in the virtual space with various species, his VR avatar styled like a typical 80’s nerd, a white shirt, black suspenders, and brown khaki shorts that reached above his knees.

His green eyes hidden behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses locked on Damon instantly, and a small smile touched his mouth, which was lipless, showing his sharp teeth.

"Ah, Mr. Arnan, it’s so good to see you again!" Godin greeted him smoothly, his shrill voice quite amiable.

Damon nodded. "Likewise, Godin. Let’s make this quick."

Godin chuckled, appreciating the directness. "Straight to business, I like that. Now, about purchasing one million units of Worldly Essence... that’s quite the investment. I assume you already know the restrictions regarding collection?"

Damon smiled strangely. "I know, I was the one who put them in place. I have to leave the solar system to claim it with my real body."

Godin stepped forward slightly, his eyes gleaming. "Indeed, but that brings us to an interesting topic... something that may be of use to you. The nature of this transaction is digital, yes? You’re making the purchase through a VR account. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Worldly Essence itself must be bound to the real world first."

Damon raised an eyebrow, intrigued but silent.

Godin continued. "There’s a loophole, a simple one. Normally, all Worldly Essence must be collected in the real world by the person’s real body by a virtual account within an Essence Instance, no? But... if a VR entity obtains the Worldly Essence within a designated virtual world, it can still work."

Damon’s mind moved quickly, analyzing the meaning. "So, you’re saying that instead of picking it up outside the solar system, I could receive the Worldly Essence within an Essence Realm as I am now. From virtual reality account - the one sacrificing - to my virtual reality account. Then I can sacrifice my virtual reality account to my real body."

Godin’s smirk widened. "Exactly. Normally, this method isn’t used because most people don’t have the ability to operate a VR account and their real body at the same time, but if I understand your Avatar Ability properly, this should be doable for you."

"Normally, this method isn’t used because most people don’t trust VR-to-physical transfers as they could be robbed or killed. We train our own agents to handle the sacrificing, but we also employ third parties who want to sell their Worldly Essence and those are a mixed bag, to say the least. Luckily, for someone like you... well, let’s just say you have the means to ensure the process is secure." Godin said to buttress his point.

Damon thought about his second Avatar on Earth that was currently traveling to the Bermuda Triangle to oversee the construction of the Human Embassy. "And once I acquire it in that space, I assume I can transfer it to myself later? I mean, will the sacrifice method work for everyone?"

Godin nodded. "Correct. I have a monopoly on the business, not on the methodology. It’s perfectly fine if a person wants to open a VR account to grind out Worldly Essence and then transfer it to their real body, though that process is markedly slower than just fighting yourself. Still, some do it, if only for the safety it brings them."

Damon considered this, weighing the advantages. It was a minor loophole, but one that could save him time and risk. He wasn’t really scared of someone killing his Avatar, and he had been curious about the consequences of an Avatar dying concerning the rest of his Avatars and real bodies.

However, if someone captured his Avatar and sealed it away, not allowing him to unsummon it or call it back, and then used something akin to Nicholas’ Mental Manipulation to probe his mind, he would be finished.

Damon had just reached Level 10, which meant he had only benefited from increasing his base stat by a total of 9 points. Meanwhile, Ambrose, still considered a youngster by his race and someone who hadn’t even benefited from the 20-year grace period to farm Worldly Essence, was already at Level 78.

The Vampire Lord had therefore spent over eight times as many stat points, and that wasn’t even accounting for the natural gap in their races’ base stats on the universal scale.

A breath from him and Damon might atomize in an instant.

"Fine then, Godin. Set it up." Damon stated, folding his arms behind his back.

Godin’s grin was all business. "Of course. Right this way, Mr. Arnan."

For the Goblin Emperor, nothing was more important than setting a good example with Damon and gaining his favor because even though the 1 trillion Essence Coin agreement had not come to pass due to the interference of the others, as long as he could get something even worth 10% of that initial deal, the goblins would be set for life!freewёbnoνel.com