I think about his offer and see only green mist coming off his aura from my lie detector skill.

Even so, the Lich King's calm demeanor and willingness to help me feels very out of character for a self proclaimed Dark God. Even if he is my summon, I want confirmation that whatever this True Core progression is, it is a safe direction to move toward.

The only person I'd trust to ask is Ember.

The last time I saw him, he was falling asleep while I opened my item storage beneath him.

While many days have passed in real time outside, in the depths of my storage, not a single fraction of a second has passed.

It may be possible to send a single message to him before he goes into full hibernation.

This seems like the best course of action now, rather than taking the Lich King's word at face value.

I stand in silence for a few seconds, thinking up a plan, then take a step back from my shadow summon.

"Possibly. Give me a moment to get a second opinion on the terms of your offer."

I walk away to be alone in the desert, then power up all my perception buffs, pulling out my sword and dagger to obtain as many stat boosts as I can, even triggering the activation of my greater form to push myself further.

I want to make sure my mind is running at the highest capacity possible because I don't know how much time to converse I'll really have.

I take a few deep breaths in and out, sensing the fractions of seconds passing in my improved perception. Then, I open up my item storage to allow Ember's body, in its human form, to fall out into the real world.

His eyes are closing, but I send a wave of telepathy into his mind the instant I see his body materialize and get to work.

In the simplest series of statements possible, I outline the turn of events that have transpired in the last few days.

It comes out in a jumbled bit of words through our link.

"Met purple construct creator, helped escape, faced yellow core director, too strong, need help from Lich King resurrected, is compressing core to True Core Safe? Help me confirm."

I try to explain further, but for every hundredth of a second he stays outside of my suspended animation, I feel him inching closer to a hibernation-like state.

I instantly share my skill [Mind Palace] with him, and a pulse of white light ripples over his body once it's activated.

To me, time is moving normally, but the moment Ember hits the desert floor, his mind has already organized my cryptic message and rationalized a response.

"True Core is the Optimal Path. Link me with Lich."

His words are calculated and cryptic too, making sure every millisecond counts. By his last words, our link is fading fast, but I instantly open up a channel with the Lich King standing close by.

Ember's next words come through with an intensity I've never felt from him before. His core pulses golden and silver, pushing out a last bit of power through his body to make his words clear.

"As a Supreme, I demand you, an Overseer, to teach my soul-bound the path to a True Core. Do not deceive me, or else I will make sure you disappear in the next Council Meeting."

By his second sentence, Ember's words start to fade as his mind and body shuts down. By the time he finishes saying 'meeting,' the three-way link goes silent, and Ember falls into a hibernation-like state on the desert floor.

I can feel mana being drained from the air as his body starts to glow red, and the golden and silver ore in his body spins slowly, looking similar to the dormant state of the Lich King's.

I power down my buffs and greater form, satisfied now that with Ember's wisdom backing the Lich King's words, this Dark Entity is not trying to deceive me after all.

I activate my item storage to allow Ember to fall inside again. The amount of mana he's absorbing from the atmosphere to heal is unsustainable; I sense even the mana from my body and my teammates being ripped away every second that I leave him out here.

If this time is anything like the last time he rested in the isolation pod beneath the guildhall after creating a divine limiter, it's going to take far longer than five days to heal him back to full health.

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It's best I keep him safe within suspended animation until I can find a better place for him to recover.

I then walk back to the Lich King with my hand outstretched and a smile across my face.

"It seems this is the best path to take. Let us make the deal. You help me achieve a True Core and kill the Sun God, and I let you die in peace."

From my opposite hand, I open a spatial magic portal to let a small amount of the orange leftover Soul Energy that I absorbed from its body after killing it in our major battle.

After showing that I'm capable of letting its essence back into the universe and am willing to do so, the black skeleton's bony hand grasps mine and we both shake on it.

–

[Body Double POV ~ A few hours ago]

Back in the guildhall in the Crimson City, my body double has been working out a new business with Bri that will bring us an exceptional amount of new profit and increase the strength of those loyal to me.

Many new signs are placed up in the guildhall for new buying and selling offers.

Bri announces them for everyone to hear.

"Attention! Hunters, Merchants, and Citizens all around! We have a few new items that are going to be up for sale. As you are all loyal to the Flame Emperor, and are within the Crimson Dome, these will be sold to you at a discounted rate, and we have a very limited quantity of them..."

All attention in the guildhall turns to her, as many know her as the craftsman inside the Flame Emperor's Inner Circle. Not many people other than very strong fighters from the army ever get to meet her.

Whispers of what this new product could be start to spread, and in the few seconds that pass, rumors and speculation already start to arise.

Bri smiles while a few of the workers update their signs by their booths.

"We're going into the Skill Trading market. There is only a very limited stock, and these prices will not last for long. Ten gold a piece, and you can add a permanent skill to your status. We have Body Hardening, Swordsmanship, Team Buffs, Dagger Arts, and many other common hunter skills all at the legendary grade status. These could be considered a priceless item, sold off to the leaders of the 8 Great Nations, but after the horrific failed attack last week; the Flame Emperor has decided to cancel this option and give these treasures to you all at an affordable price."

Bri distributes about a hundred skill orbs to various booths while hunters surround them with gold in their hands.

While 10 gold is a lot of money, enough for a family of four to live off for a year or two easily, any knowledgeable hunter or citizen knows that a legendary skill, especially combat-related ones, can set up a hunter for life.

With the farming options available to everyone in Crimson City, giving out multiple platinum worth in payouts every day; anyone with a good enough skill can make this ten gold investment back in no time.

The idea of having even a temporary skill added to a status is unheard of; the option to pay a small price and have a legendary one added to their status permanently is a dream come true for those that have lived a life disappointed in their awakening.

One of these orbs could easily be sold at private auctions for hundreds of gold, but my goal is to grow the power of those loyal to me; not just make endless profit off of them.

Some merchants and workers are stuck with non-combat skills, and this is the break they finally get to become a monster hunter.

However, this is exactly the kind of person that is most likely down on their luck, a refugee from a poor surrounding city, that doesn't have enough gold to buy a skill at such a high price.

Bri and I talked this over too, and she speaks up again once the lines start to form to buy skills.

"If you cannot afford to buy a skill, but still are interested in obtaining one. We have a few options for you. The first, is to volunteer to join the Crimson Army. After being put through rigorous training with one of the captains, you will be given an extreme-grade elemental skill of your choosing. That is two levels above normal elemental skills, and you may choose between any you like; ice, water, fire, earth, and air are what we have available. Form a line here if this is the route you wish to take."

Bri points to one side of the guildhall and the room erupts into more commotion at these words, but Bri speaks above them all.

"The second option is if you have a skill unique to humans. Whether that be inspect, appraisal, craftsmanship, conceal, or any other unique abilities that are not found in monsters, we are willing to pay you up to 50 gold to purchase it. Free of charge, we will grant you a legendary combat skill in return as well. This too will be a limited-time offer, and this transaction must be scheduled for another date. So if you wish to sell your skill and obtain another, please form a line here and put your name on the list. You will be appraised and have a meeting scheduled later this week."

She points to the opposite side of the room, and far fewer people join this line. However, ideas of friends and merchants that wouldn't normally come to the guildhall pop into a few hunters' minds, and they run out to fetch them from their businesses or day-to-day life.

Bri speaks up one more time.

"You should know, once a skill orb is eaten, this is a permanent change to your status. Only one skill orb per status screen works, so think carefully about which skill you wish to take. This may be a limited-time sale, but there will be many more skills and options to pick from in the future. If you don't get the skill you wanted today, next week may have what you're looking for."

Satisfied with her sales pitch, she leaves back up the stairs to her office, and my double continues the conversation with her

as more and more people flock toward the center of the guildhall.

My double nods and smiles.

"Very good. This is exactly how I wanted people to react. I look forward to finally upgrading many of my human skills to mythic grade without having to kill anyone..."

Bri chuckles.

"Yeah, and I think word about this is going to spread further than just the 8 Great Regions. The cat is really out of the bag now, are you sure you want the world to know this secret?"

I just smirk back and start to walk down the guildhall steps away from Bri.

"Yeah, I'm ready now. I'll go check on the Army to make sure they can handle training up some new recruits, then I have to charge up that isolation pod for Ember and deliver it to my main body. He's pretty worn out after helping me during the B-Class Exams."