Unholy Player-Chapter 88: Rank 5 Spark

The tent looked large from the outside, but inside, it was something else entirely—vast and almost surreal, as if some illusion had been cast to bend space itself.

From the entrance where he stood, Adyr could see long rows of shops stretching out to either side. Their front displays were lined with strange objects, most of which he didn’t recognize, clearly arranged to draw the attention of anyone passing by. In some cases, there were cages and reinforced chains, displaying various Sparks like exotic merchandise.

He tilted his head upward and noticed additional floors above. From what he could tell, there were four levels in total, reaching all the way to the tent’s towering ceiling. The structure reminded him of a colossal shopping mall, though everything here was grander—and far from ordinary.

Around him moved beings from all sorts of races, each one unique in appearance. None of them looked ordinary. Even the weakest among them, at a glance, gave off a subtle but unmistakable sense of danger that Adyr didn’t ignore.

But what truly seized Adyr’s attention stood at the very heart of the tent. When he first stepped inside, he had wondered why there were no guards stationed at the entrance, no one checking identities or asking questions.

Now, as he looked ahead, he understood.

There was no need.

A skeleton towered in the center, so vast its spine seemed to rise endlessly, and its cracked skull pressed against the peak of the tent like it was too big for the world that now held it. Its bones were a deep, petrified blue, etched with scars and fractures that told of battles beyond mortal scale.

Adyr’s breath caught in his throat.

His body stiffened, not from fear, but from something older—something deeper. His instincts screamed to lower his head, to avert his gaze, to kneel before a presence that should no longer exist. Every cell in him vibrated with a quiet command: submit, respect, remember.

There was no life left in it, yet its presence swallowed the air.

"That’s the corpse of a Rank 5 Spark," Malrik said, his voice quieter now, like speaking too loud might wake it. "It belonged to the Wanderer Merchant. Died during a battle. He left the body here to stand guard—to remind people what kind of power he once controlled."

Stand guard, huh? Adyr thought.

Even in death, it still had the presence to make lower-rank practitioners surrender without a fight. He couldn’t help but wonder—if this thing were alive, would simply looking at it be enough to tear his soul apart?

It felt like it.

No wonder no one here dared to act arrogantly or cause trouble. The reason was simple—plain for all to see.

"What’s the highest rank a practitioner can reach?" Adyr asked. Rank 5 was already so powerful—it seemed like the pinnacle. But according to what he’d learned from Vesha, even Rank 8 Sparks existed.

Malrik gave a faint smile. It was the kind of question every practitioner asked eventually, and one that had sparked endless debates.

"I don’t know," he said, lifting his head to meet Adyr’s gaze, his tone steady. "So far, the highest confirmed Spark is Rank 10. Don’t bother asking about its traits—I’ve got no clue. All I can say is, the source is reliable."

"And the highest-ranked practitioners..." He paused for a breath, cleared his throat, and adjusted his stance.

"They’re not even considered practitioners anymore. They’ve reached Rank 8. Demigods. And as far as we know, only a handful exist."

Adyr felt the world still had far more to offer—he had only just begun to grasp how high the sky truly reached.

He forced down the weight pressing on him, both from the Rank 5 corpse and the revelation he’d just heard, and began walking. His eyes scanned the surroundings, quietly studying how the place functioned.

Beside him, Malrik kept talking.

"Each floor represents a rank. This one—the ground floor—is Rank 1. You can find anything here, even Sparks. The top floor, the fourth, is where the Rank 4 items and Sparks are traded. Of course, you can’t just stroll into any floor you like. To access the top level, you need to be at least Rank 3. Right now, as a Rank 1, the second floor is the highest you’re allowed to enter."

"I see," Adyr said with a nod.

The second floor, where Rank 2 Sparks were sold, was more than enough for him. He likely didn’t have the energy crystals or strength to deal with anything meant for Rank 3 anyway.

"Okay, let’s split up here. There are a few things I need to pick up. Let’s meet back here when you’re done, alright?" Malrik said.

"Sure," Adyr replied, and with that, they went their separate ways.

He decided to explore the first floor for a while.

If there was one thing he’d learned so far about Sparks, it was this: as their rank increased, so did their power. But for a practitioner, raw strength wasn’t everything—what mattered most was how that power could be used.

Adyr wanted to start by examining Rank 1 Sparks to get a general sense of what kinds of abilities they offered. If he found something useful, it might end up being more practical—and far cheaper—than the Rank 2 Sparks he already possessed.

As he moved from shop to shop, one detail stood out immediately: each place had its own distinct atmosphere. One felt dry and earthy, filled with cracked soil and brittle straw. Another was coated in frost, the air turning icy before he’d even stepped inside.

It quickly became clear that every shop specialized in a different type of Spark.

Thinking about the current state of his Dawn Land, Adyr looked for something more aligned with its neutral, temperate nature. Eventually, he found a shop with a mild, spring-like air and stepped inside.

The interior was enormous—far larger than it looked from the outside. In the center stood a small, curated forest, with a variety of trees arranged as if part of a natural grove. It was another illusion, one that bent the rules of space.

On both sides, towering shelves reached all the way to the ceiling. Some held glass containers filled with strange, shimmering liquids; others were lined with soil, plants, even living insects and small animals that moved within confined environments.

In another section, he spotted a sealed-off area where Sparks were clearly being held—chained, caged, and secured under heavy containment.

As he walked among the contained Sparks, Adyr observed the diversity in their appearances. Some resembled small animals—birds, squirrels, even dogs and cats. Others were closer to insects: worms, mantises, and beetles. In a few places, he even spotted those that looked entirely inanimate—resembling stones, or shifting pools of liquid.

"What the fuck is this?" Adyr muttered, stopping in front of a massive Spark, unsure if it even was one.

He had already come to accept that Sparks could take on countless forms. But this... this made no sense.

The thing stood over three meters tall and nearly four wide. It looked exactly like a small house—complete with a wooden frame, windows, a door, even a chimney.

If the system message hadn’t appeared in front of him, marking it as a Spark, he would’ve assumed it was just part of the decoration.

Up until now, he had only skimmed through the system prompts, barely giving them more than a glance. But this one held his attention.

Drawn in by the sheer absurdity of what stood before him, Adyr focused and read the Spark’s description carefully. And once again, he was reminded how little he truly understood about this world.