West lay back on his bed with one arm tucked behind his head, staring at the faint glow of the system interface hovering above him like a second ceiling.
For the first time since the ruins incident, his mind wasn’t racing because of danger, fear, or adrenaline.
It was racing because of possibilities.
"...There’s a lot to do," he muttered in an excited, slightly unhinged way.
He mentally counted them off, lifting a finger for each point like he was organizing his life on an invisible whiteboard.
First.
He needed to make another summon. A proper one this time. Not a god with an ego the size of a continent who treated him like lint on her divine robe.
He needed a summon he could actually contract with.
Something that wouldn’t erase half a ruin chamber just to make a point.
Second...
The shop.
That cursed, beautiful shop.
He had over three hundred Cuck Points now.
Now he could get more skills, passives, enhancements, stat boosts... if he planned it right, he could push himself far beyond what a normal Tier 1 should look like.
And judging by how Raze and the Iron Chain boys reacted earlier?
He already was.
Third...
The inventory.
West’s eyes sharpened.
This one wasn’t just about power... it was about money.
He reached out mentally and tapped the familiar option.
> [INVENTORY OPENED]
Items unfolded before him in neat, glowing rows, hovering slightly as if waiting to be judged.
West sat up.
"Alright," he murmured. "Let’s see what I dragged out of hell."
---
<[ Inventory Overview ]>
Rotars Florks ×13
Dusk Crystal ×5
Helo Metal Scrap – 6kg
Drifting Ash – 1kg
Affinity Stones ×2
Chalice of Vitality
Dark Menace (Ruin Guardian Weapon)
West whistled softly.
"Yeah... that’s a lot of loot."
Even without knowing exact prices of some of these materials, his instincts told him this was the kind of haul gangs killed each other over.
The Affinity Stones were the only things he was already confident about. Even the lowest-quality ones could sell for absurd amounts, and these had come straight from a residential ruin... meaning purity was likely high.
He planned to keep at least one but the other... would certainly fetch him insane money.
His gaze drifted to the Chalice of Vitality, hovering calmly like it knew it was special.
"...You’re staying with me," he said decisively.
That thing wasn’t just valuable... it was game-breaking. Continuous regeneration. Long-term bodily enhancement. Something like that wasn’t meant to be sold casually.
If it ever left his possession, it would only be in exchange for something equally absurd.
Then there was the sword.
Dark Menace.
Even just the name radiated menace.
West flexed his fingers unconsciously, remembering the weight of it. The way his arms had trembled. The way a single careless swing had cut a monster in half like paper.
"...Yeah. You’re not normal either."
But the truth was simple.
He couldn’t keep everything.
He needed liquidity.
He needed options.
And most importantly—
He needed information.
West closed the inventory and reached for his phone.
It was time to go down the Awakened Internet Rabbit Hole
The moment he typed keywords like "ruin materials value," "rotars flork uses," and "selling awakened loot legally," his screen exploded.
Forums... Private boards... News articles... Redacted guides... Shady listings... Half-illegal marketplaces hidden behind invitation-only networks.
West’s eyes widened.
"Oh... this is deep."
Deeper than he expected.
He quickly realized something important.
There was the public awakened economy—regulated markets, licensed brokers, official auctions.
And then there was the real awakened economy.
The one gangs used.
The one fixers whispered about.
The one where things didn’t always get receipts.
West clicked carefully, cross-referencing everything.
---
Item Breakdown of the information West managed to garner:
Rotars Florks
→ Biological ruin resource.
Primary Use:
Crafting Material
Energy Catalysts
Description:
Rotars Florks are organic ruin-growths that naturally absorb ambient energy within unstable environments. When refined, they act as high-efficiency catalysts, amplifying energy flow during crafting, forging, alchemy, and ritual-based processes.
Also used in stimulants, sensory-enhancing drugs.
Applications:
Enhances success rate of weapon and armor crafting
Used as a power stabilizer for energy cores and devices
Catalyst for skill scroll creation and ritual arrays
Can temporarily boost output of awakened abilities when processed into consumables
Commonly used in illegal enhancement serums due to their responsiveness to awakened energy
West’s eyebrows climbed.
"Good to know."
Dusk Crystals
→ Mid-tier energy crystals used in night-aligned constructs, shadow-tech, and illusion-based gear.
→ Five pieces could fetch a clean price if sold to the right buyer.
He nodded slowly.
"Okay... these are solid."
Helo Metal Scrap (6kg)
→ Extremely durable ruin alloy. Often reforged into weapons or armor cores.
→ Scrap quality, but quantity made up for it.
West grinned.
"That explains why it felt like lifting a dead fridge."
Drifting Ash (1kg)
→ High-risk, high-value material. Used in curse dispersal, entropy rituals, and certain forbidden enhancements.
→ Selling required permits... or connections.
West leaned back.
"...Yeah, I’m not touching that yet."
Then came the big ones again.
Affinity Stones
→ He already knew.
→ Auction-tier items.
→ Potentially life-changing money.
And finally—
Dark Menace (Ruin Guardian Weapon)
→ This one made him pause.
He searched carefully but information was sparse.
There were only fragments and rumors...
Screenshots of forum posts that vanished hours later...
Apparently, weapons that survived the destruction of their guardian were... rare.
Very rare.
They often carried lingering will, latent abilities, or compatibility requirements.
Some awakened couldn’t even hold such weapons without suffering backlash.
West swallowed.
"...Yeah. Definitely not selling you blindly."
He locked his phone and exhaled slowly.
"So yeah. I could make a fortune."
The realization settled into his bones but he’d have to make one move at a time. He couldn’t be brash about his next step.
After spending hours going down the rabbit hole, his gaze drifted back to the shop menu as he thought of the fourth thing he needed to try out.
His gaze drifted specifically, to one item...
The Awakening Voucher.
West stared at it longer than necessary upon realizing that it was still available for purchase.
"...This is insane," he muttered because the thought running through his mind was something catastrophic.
If the system truly allowed him to still purchase awakening vouchers even after he already awakened...
Then...
Perhaps he could use them on other people...
West’s pulse quickened.
"Why join a gang..."
When he could create one?