Trosso checked his panel, noting Keon's transactional response. He raised his head, his lizard-like pupils narrowing in thought. "Alpha. Have you secured the red crystals?"
"Yes, Master."
The square robot shifted, its chassis squirming and reconfiguring as it transitioned back into a humanoid shape. It knelt, raising both hands to reveal two palm-sized, ruby-red crystals that glowed with a faint, internal fire.
'It really is a Tier 5 magic crystal, looks like I have to reassess the value of these crystals provided by him.'
A flicker of light crossed Trosso's pupils. His hypothesis was proving wrong. Initially, he had assumed the crystals provided by Keon were merely standard energy conduits... limited to reach orange magic crystal level. Until a few hours ago, Alpha, while transferring assets from his previous habitat, found out that two crystals had been evolved into red magic crystals.
'The secret of faster evolution definitely lies within the stock of these crystals,' Trosso thought with a deep look on his face. 'The more I amass, the higher the evolution.'
Regret, sharp and sudden, pricked at him. He had spent years in a rapid development stage, blindly consuming every higher-level magic crystal the moment they evolved. He had reduced his arsenal, unaware that the crystals followed a specific, geometric evolution rule: ten yellow crystals stored in proximity guaranteed the emergence of one green crystal; ten green evolved into a blue; ten blue into an orange; ten orange into a red.
'I wasted ten years,' he mused, a phantom ache of lost time flashing in his mind. 'If I had known earlier…'
He stared at the red crystals in his hand, feeling the immense, pulsing magic power contained within them... the value that even Tier 4 clans would slaughter one another to claim. He knew how to evolve them now, and he intended to hoard them until he reached the absolute zenith.
He returned his gaze to the status panel, staring at Keon's question. 'You know the trade rule.'
"I wonder how you will price this Tier 5 magic crystal," Trosso muttered, a resolute expression settling over his features. "I hope you don't disappoint me."
With a flick of his consciousness, he entrusted the red crystal to the system, initiating the trade.
…
Back in the experiment room on UHS1, Keon's expression froze as a sharp notification pulsed in his visual field.
[Universe 5757 has initiated a trade]
[A red magic crystal for any amount of sand and quartz: Accept/Reject]
He saw the accompanying message from Trosso, [Universe 5757]: "It was found in a secret chamber belonging to the witch tribe; I need sand and quartz crystals in exchange."
Keon analyzed the data, a red magic crystal, Tier 5, 'Looks like i hit a jackpot. The elemental tree growth will be accelerated, the era of infinite ether is here.' He thought to himself and after a momentary silence, he sent his reply.
...
On the other side of the nexus, a wide, predatory grin spread across Trosso's face as he read the incoming text, the expression transforming his reptilian features into something truly hideous.
[Universe 8888888888]: "I will provide one million tons of sand and one hundred thousand quartz crystals; this Tier 5 magic crystal is extremely useful for me. If you are not satisfied with this price, then state your demand."
Trosso stared at the message, a slow, contemplative expression washing over his reptilian features.
'Looks like this guy hasn't lost his edge after passing these previous phases,' Trosso thought to himself, looking at the Keon offer, which is exactly the baseline he was considering.
He nodded, feeling a genuine sense of satisfaction. Keon was a cold, calculating person in his eyes, but he was definitely not greedy. More importantly, Trosso recognized the value of the bridge he was building. 'Anyway, he helped me a lot, and I will need more of his help in the future. I can't act greedy.'
He tapped the interface with a clawed finger. [Universe 5757]: "Very well, it's a deal, I am satisfied with this price."
He sent the message. Only a few minute passed before the system chime resonated through the cavern, echoing off the mirror-lined walls.
[Exchange complete]
[You have received one million tons of enriched sand and one hundred thousand enriched crystals]
Trosso's gaze dropped to the notification. The word enriched caught his eye, and the air in the cavern seemed to settled down,
'As always, his resources are labeled as enriched by the system. No other candidates I traded with can come up with such resources.'
He had been trading with other candidates across the communication channel a few years ago... materials, magic crystals and other items. He had received many batches of mineral stock from these candidates, and every single one of them was raw, ordinary, and dull. The quality of sand and crystals Keon provided was fundamentally unique, possessing properties of storing magic energy and upgrading their rank; such resources are extremely precious and rare in magic civilization.
'What kind of universe is this guy located in?' Trosso always wondered, but he didn't dare to ask, avoiding touching a taboo.
'I should bury such thoughts deep in my heart, I really can't offend him in any way,' Trosso thought, his resolve hardening, 'or I will lose everything... including the chance to find my wife and children.'
He took a deep, steadying breath, his mind turning to underground space around. He couldn't accept the payload here. One million tons of sand would collapse the delicate mirror-tunnel structure he had spent so long constructing; it would turn his underground hive into a tomb.
"Alpha, let's go," Trosso commanded, his voice sharp and commanding.
The square robot, having returned to its logistical form, immediately nodded and stood, falling into step behind Trosso like a silent, implacable guard. "Yes, Master."
They walked toward the exit of the underworld, heading for the surface where the vast, open plains of the Witch Continent would accommodate the massive payload without consequence.
…
Meanwhile, back in Universe 8888888888,
One of the mining site,
The air around the massive crater was still settling. Keon stood at the edge of the pit, the earth around his feet still scarred from the extraction of a million tons of raw sand and quartz.
He ignored the crater and the empty mining bays. His attention was focused entirely on the palm object currently resting in his hand.
The red crystal shimmered, casting a ruby-hued glow against the metallic matte of his synthetic palm. It was dense, heavier than it looked, and pulsed with a rhythm that felt disturbingly close to a heartbeat. He held it up to the overhead lights of the facility, watching the luminescence red light through its surface.
'As expected of the Tier 5 magic crystal,' Keon mused, the ruby-hued light dancing across his synthetic features. 'Even without any formal analysis, the magnitude of its energy signature is unmistakable. If my hypothesis is correct, this concentration is precisely enough to break the dormancy of the elemental tree seed and accelerate it's growth by huge margin.'
He retracted his hand, the crystal's hum vibrating against his palm. Without breaking his stride, he turned toward the reinforced bulkhead. The wall did not stop him; it yielded, its molecular structure flowing around him like water as he merged with it.
Inside the isolation of the experiment room, the atmosphere was sterile and silent.
As his exoshell materialized back inside the experiment room, the floor receded with a hydraulic hiss, elevating a secure section plate. Resting upon it was a round, deep-containment pot filled with a substrate of wet irrigated soil and pulverized, low-tier magic crystals.
Buried within this nutrient-rich bed, the elemental tree seed remained, glowing faintly. It was still absorbing ambient atmospheric gases, but the intake intensity had slowed down a lot from before… a stagnant rhythm that failed to meet his projected growth curves.
…