Awakened: Evolving to Godhood

Sorry for the mess up, guys! The chapter has been fixed. Do read it before reading the next chapter!

As this was their first time here, Elliot and the others were surprised. This place looked no different than a fish market. It was just that instead of fishes, there were all sorts of artifacts, things that could make anyone back at Xavier and Earth go crazy. These intermediate-grade items were the best ones most magicians possessed. The ones selling them were humanoid machines that looked like Blitz crank, uncle roger, pirates, and so on. They were all wearing adorned in different wears, making them feel as if a costume party was going on.

"There are too many things on sale here, and they are so shiny that my eyes are going blind."

Lucy and the two beasts had never been in such a situation before in their entire life, and now their heads were turning left and right in awe of their surrounding. It was easy for anyone to judge them as countryside bumpkins.

"My hands are feeling itchy."

"Master, can I steal a few things?"

The horrifying nightmare was a tyrant. It had lived the better half of its life by committing all sorts of atrocities, and one of its most famous and everyday evil deeds was to loot treasures from others. And seeing so many treasures ignited the seeds of evil in its body, making it want to steal everything in its sight.

Elliot wasn't even able to say a word as John immediately warned it in his place, "I advise you to not do that. Stealing is a crime, and if you get caught, you will be taken to detention. It's a dark and lonely place, and you will stay there for a month or three, depending on the severity of your crime."

John was saying this with a severe expression on his face. It was as if he was speaking from personal experience. Elliot, who could read faces, determined that it had happened to John, and that's why he knew about the dreadful punishment. There was no rile book here. One could only explore the rules and regulations by using themselves as guinea pigs.

"I will do it secretly."

The horrifying nightmare was an expert thief. Not only could it blend in with the environment, but it could also use the nearby trees and their branches to do the dirty work for itself.

John acted as if he had heard something funny and smirked, "Look around you; there are many recording devices. All of them are sensitive to magic and energy. The moment you make a move, you will be sending yourself to the punishment room. So, be my guest if you are a masochist."

The administrators were watching all of their actions. They didn't need to sleep as they were highly advanced Artificial Intelligence. They could punish rules breakers in various ways. One of the worst punishments was getting thrown out of the settlement. Worse than that was a permanent banned from ever entering this place. The administrators lived in the control center. The control center was in a hidden compartment of this zone. No one knew where it was. So, it was impossible to commit crimes even for Elliot. He didn't want to get thrown out of this treasure trove just because of excessive greed.

"I'm not a masochist!"

The horrifying nightmare quelled the evil that was raging in its heart and decided against stealing.

"What a scary place."

"It is not one if you follow the rules and execute basic modesty." Theo explained, "There are two ways to become the owner of these items. You can use spirit points to become their rightful owners, and if you're not rich enough, then you can challenge a trial imposed by the item by paying a small fee. If you pass it, the item will become yours. If you fail, you will only lose ten or so spirit points."

"We can do that?"

Lucy was surprised to know that!

Theo nodded his head, "Each of the items here has their own story that they shared with their owners or creators. Once you take their trial, your consciousness will be taken to an illusory world. There you will experience a part of the history that the item had experienced with its owner. If you manage to relive it successfully, the item itself will designate you as their new owner."

Theo knew what he was saying as he had acquired many items the same way. He had experienced many imaginary worlds. In the first one, Theo needed to escape a forest with many dreadful titans. He used his wits and his item to flee to safety. As a result, he gained the seven-star leaf, a mystical treasure used to travel long distances.

John was not unfamiliar with the trials of the items either. He had to create talismans, spirit marks, and one time, even a robot in illusory worlds to become their owner in real life. Although he failed a lot of times while trying to acquire high-level treasures, he also succeeded a similar number of times.

"Let's go and try it out ourselves," Elliot said, a look of deep interest dancing widely in his eyes.

"It's better to know about the history of the item before engaging in solving the trial. You understand, right?" Theo said while looking at Elliot.

"I understand what you're trying to say," Elliot replied.

If one were to just pick up an item randomly, then he was bound to suffer a loss. It's called getting served for having eyes but not using them and acting blind. One must not take heed to the mischievous John's words.. It was hard for a person to win one item in a hundred tries! Unless, of course, a person was engaging in an act that they are already proficient in. If someone who had never learned how to craft a sword gets put in a trial where the passing requirement was to craft one, they would automatically fail!