SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System
Chapter 173: One Step Closer!

Chapter 173: One Step Closer!

The silence in the illegally dug tunnel was now absolute, a heavy, oppressive quiet broken only by the faint drip of water from the ceiling and the soft hum of Daniel’s immense, contained power.

He stood over the corpse of the thieves’ leader, his S-Grade Blade of The Night held loosely at his side, its dark metal showing no trace of the grim work it had just performed.

The fight had been swift, brutal, and utterly one-sided.

He bent down and picked up the heavy, padded bag.

He opened it carefully. Inside, resting on a bed of soft, protective cloth, was the Luminark Stone!

It was magnificent, even more potent up close than his [Treasure Hunting] skill had suggested.

It was a single, flawless crystal, the size of a man’s head, and it pulsed with a soft, pure white light, so bright it pushed back the oppressive darkness of the mine, casting long, dancing shadows on the tunnel walls.

The air around it felt clean, charged with a calm, powerful energy.

This was the key, the second ingredient he needed to forge his perfect foundation.

His cultivation quest was officially one step closer to completion. He secured the stone carefully in his S-Grade [Elementary Storage Ring], a profound sense of satisfaction settling over him.

A soft nudge against his leg brought him back to the present.

He looked down. Kendi, his Treasure Aardvark, had emerged from his storage space, its small, intelligent eyes fixed on the bags of ore the thieves had been carrying.

It let out a low, eager rumble, a clear and insistent message: Mine. Shiny. Want.

Daniel chuckled. "Alright, alright, you greedy rock-eater. You can have them."

At Kendi’s insistence, he went through the thieves’ bags, collecting the various rare ores and minerals they had painstakingly, and illegally, gathered.

It wasn’t only the vast collection Kendi had accumulated, but it was still a respectable haul of Adamantite, Sunstone fragments, and other valuable materials.

He added them to his already bulging storage ring, making a mental note that finding a bigger ring was becoming a very high priority.

With the prize secured and the spoils looted, only the grim task of cleanup remained.

He couldn’t just leave four bodies in the middle of a secret, unstable tunnel. It would draw unwanted attention, raise questions he had no desire to answer.

He was a Night Ranger, a phantom. He needed to leave no trace.

He worked with a quiet, practiced efficiency that would have chilled the blood of any observer.

He gathered the four corpses, his immense strength making the grim task effortless.

He found a deep, natural fissure in the rock wall a short distance away, a crack leading down into the dark, unknown depths of the mountain.

One by one, he laid the mine thieves to rest in their final, unmarked grave, their greed ending in silent, forgotten darkness.

Then, with a final, subtle use of his power, he triggered a controlled collapse at the entrance of the illegal tunnel.

"Boom!"

It wasn’t a huge explosion, just a low, powerful rumble.

The weak wooden beams gave way, and a heavy fall of rock and dirt crashed down, completely blocking the passage.

To any future prospector, it would look like a natural cave-in, a common danger in the unstable deep mines.

Every trace of the thieves, their illegal operation, and Daniel’s own presence, was gone, wiped clean from the mountain’s memory.

With his work done, he began the long journey back to the surface.

He walked with calm confidence, Kendi and Nyx happily keeping pace beside him.

The mine, which had felt so dark and menacing on his way down, now felt like a conquered territory.

He stepped out of the main shaft into the soft light of early morning and took a deep breath of the cool air.

A single night had yielded a bountiful, if bloody, harvest.

His second cultivation objective was complete.

Now, he needed a safe, private place to begin the next, agonizing stage: Perfect Bone Refining.

The noisy, crowded cantina was out of the question.

His villa, with Ayra and the others, was too full of potential interruptions and awkward questions.

He needed absolute privacy for this.

He guided the Voidshadow sports car to a different sector of the resting platform, a quiet, upscale commercial district filled with luxury hotels and private residences for wealthy merchants and off-duty Vanguard officers.

He found a particularly luxurious-looking hotel, The Celestial Respite, its gleaming white tower reaching towards the artificial sky.

He entered the clean, quiet lobby, his plain, dusty clothes earning a few disapproving looks from the well-dressed guests.

He ignored them. He walked directly to the front desk, where a polite but distant concierge gave him a dismissive glance.

"How may I help you, sir?" she asked, her tone suggesting she was expecting him to ask for directions to the nearest homeless shelter.

Daniel just smiled. "I’d like your most secure, most private suite," he said calmly.

"The one on the top floor. For three days. And I want an absolute, no-exceptions ’Do Not Disturb’ order placed on the room.

No housekeeping, no room service, no interruptions of any kind. I am willing to pay extra for this discretion."

The concierge’s professional smile faltered for a moment.

She was about to politely inform him that the Celestial Suite was reserved for VIPs and cost a small fortune per night, but then Daniel slid a black, unassuming credit chip across the counter.

She scanned it. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping slightly as she saw the account balance.

It was a number with far more zeros than she was used to seeing. Her entire demeanor changed in an instant.

Her cold demeanor vanished, replaced by a deep, respectful bow.

"Of course, Honored Guest! Right away! The Celestial Suite is all yours! We will ensure your privacy is absolute!"

Minutes later, Daniel was in a sprawling, luxurious suite that made his villa look like a rustic cabin.

The views were breathtaking, the bed was impossibly soft, and the private dining area was already being stocked by silent, efficient hotel staff.

He, Nyx, and Kendi celebrated his success with a massive feast ordered from the hotel’s five-star menu.

Kendi, who had never tasted real, high-quality human food before, was in absolute heaven, happily devouring a large, perfectly cooked steak with a look of pure, unmistakable bliss on its strange, aardvark-like face.

After they had eaten their fill and his pets had settled into a contented, food-induced slumber, Daniel retrieved the Luminark Stone from his storage ring.

It pulsed with a soft, pure white light, filling the luxurious suite with a calm, powerful energy. He was ready.

The second, and likely most painful, step of his cultivation was about to begin.