Chapter 14: Infinite Money Glitch

From the one hundred and seven successful tickets, this was his final haul, excluding the standard wood, stone, and iron rewards:

​Death Essence ×40 (Common ★)

​Withered Grass ×100 (Common ★)

​Spirit Fragment ×40 (Common ★)

​Soul Crystal ×9 (Common ★★)

​Bone Fragment ×50 (Common ★)

​Necrotic Timber ×60 (Common ★)

​Soulstone Shard ×10 (Common ★★)

​Deathsteel Ore ×14 (Common ★★★)

​Iron Ore ×120 (Common ★)

​Bone Dagger ×11 (Common ★)

​Bone Shield ×22 (Common ★)

​Bone Spear ×17 (Common ★)

Bone Blade ×15 (Common ★)

​Gravekeeper’s Armor ×4 (Common ★★★)

​Looking at the mountain of rewards before him, Cassian nodded in satisfaction. The total value far exceeded his original investment.

​Unfortunately, the one item he had truly wanted was nowhere to be found.

​Duskreaver.

​The Refined Grade ★★★ Battle Blade had completely evaded him. For a moment, disappointment flashed across his face, but it vanished just as quickly.

​’There’s no point dwelling on what I didn’t get.’

​After all... he possessed Fusion, a blessing far more valuable than a single weapon.

​"Let’s see if I can get something worthwhile out of this."

​Cassian immediately began inspecting the rewards.

​Fusion operated according to a simple principle: three identical components could be merged into a superior version. However, the process required a higher-grade version of the component to exist; if no superior tier existed, the fusion would fail.

​Thankfully, that didn’t appear to be a problem. As he checked each item through the Ledger, a smile gradually formed on his face.

​Every single reward could be fused.

​Admittedly, most of them only possessed a single higher grade, but that was still more than enough. More importantly, two resources stood out from the rest:

​Death Essence and Soul Crystals.

​Unlike the others, both possessed fusion pathways extending two grades higher. Their future value was significantly greater.

​Cassian wasted no time.

​The moment he gave the command, dozens of piles of materials began glowing. Bone Fragments floated into the air, Necrotic Timber rose from the ground, and Iron Ore shimmered with pale light. Even the weapons and armor started vibrating as Fusion activated.

​Golden streams of energy connected identical items together. Three became one, then three became one again.

​Within his vault, resources continuously disappeared and reappeared in far stronger forms. The same process repeated for timber, ores, weapons, shields, and every other compatible component.

​Notifications began flooding his vision:

​[Fusion Successful.]

[Fusion Successful.]

[Fusion Successful.]

[Fusion Successful.]

​One after another, the resources steadily decreased in quantity while their quality jumped with every cycle.

What had once been a scattered collection of low-grade materials was rapidly transforming into a smaller, significantly more valuable stockpile.

​As the golden lights danced throughout the territory, Cassian leaned back and watched with quiet anticipation.

​Compared to the lottery rewards themselves, the results of this mass Fusion session were what truly interested him.

....

Cassian carefully reviewed the results of the massive fusion session.

​What had once been a scattered pile of low-grade materials, resources, and equipment had been synthesized into something far more valuable:

​Refined ★★★ Withered Grass ×33

​Refined ★★★ Spirit Fragment ×13

​Refined ★★★ Bone Fragment ×16

​Refined ★★★ Necrotic Timber ×20

​Refined ★★★ Soulstone Shard ×3

​Refined ★★★ Deathsteel Ore ×4

​Refined ★★★ Iron Ore ×40

​Refined ★★★ Bone Dagger ×3

​Refined ★★★ Bone Shield ×7

​Refined ★★★ Bone Spear ×5

​Refined ★★★ Bone Blade ×5

​Refined ★★★ Gravekeeper’s Armor ×1

​Alongside:

​Elite ★★★ Soul Crystal ×1

​Elite ★★★ Death Essence ×4

​Refined ★★★ Death Essence ×1

​Looking at the final stockpile, with the few leftover unfused items pushed off to the side, Cassian couldn’t help but smile.

​Although he hadn’t obtained Duskreaver, the weapon he had originally set his sights on, the final outcome was still exceptional.

​After all, he had synthesized a Refined ★★★ Bone Blade. It wasn’t Duskreaver, but it sat at the exact same grade, and he had obtained five of them in a single sitting.

​More importantly, every single item won from the lottery had been upgraded through Fusion.

​Resources. Materials. Equipment. Everything had become exponentially more valuable.

​Then a sudden thought occurred to him, causing his eyes to widen.

​Normally, a Common ★ item sold for around ∆100. Meanwhile, a Refined ★★★ item could easily fetch anywhere between ∆6,000 and ∆10,000 depending on market demand.

​At peak value, that represented a hundredfold increase per unit. Even accounting for the reduction in total quantity required by Fusion, the profit margin remained absurd.

​At minimum... a thirty-fold return.

​Cassian’s breathing quickened.

​If he used his net profits to purchase cheap, low-grade materials from the market... fused them into higher-grade assets... sold the upgraded versions at a premium... and then repeated the cycle endlessly...

​His train of thought came to a sudden halt as the full weight of the realization dawned on him.

​"...An infinite money glitch," Cassian muttered in delight.

​For a brief moment, he could almost see Lord Coins raining down from the sky, mountains of wealth, endless capital, and trade listings vanishing the instant he posted them.

​Yet the surge of excitement lasted only a few seconds before he forced himself to calm down.

​Reality quickly reasserted itself.

​The Trade Market wasn’t infinite. Supply and demand still applied, higher-grade items moved much slower, and drawing immense market attention too quickly was an easy way to invite unwanted scrutiny from powerful factions.

​No. The method was world-shattering, but it had to be deployed gradually, carefully, and methodically.

​Cassian exhaled slowly and closed the Trade tab.

​His finances were no longer an immediate concern. His territory was established, his troops were summoned, his Champion stood ready, his infrastructure was functioning, and his future growth path was secured.

​At long last, there was only one thing left to do.

​Cassian turned his eyes toward the dark wilderness stretching beyond the translucent boundary of the protection barrier. The twin moons hung high in the purple sky, casting pale light over endless miles of twisted, dead trees.

​Somewhere out there lurked monsters, untamed resources, hidden opportunities, and lethal dangers.

​A faint, confident smile touched his lips.

​"It’s finally time."

​Time to conquer this Territory.

....

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you have any suggestions, ideas, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment or review. And if you enjoyed the Chapter, consider dropping a Power Stone to support the story. Thanks again for reading!