Unholy Player-Chapter 150: Buying new Spark (Part 3)

Adyr spent his time inspecting each Spark in detail. Throughout his search, he encountered neither attendants nor other customers, so he moved freely and undisturbed, taking as much time as he pleased.

He focused on winged Sparks with strong defensive traits. If his next evolution could increase both the power and durability of his wings, he would strike two birds with one stone by boosting his mobility at the same time. A poor choice, however—turning his wind-sensitive feathers into heavy stone—might slow him down instead of speeding him up.

One of the winged Sparks caught his eye.

Hanging upside down among a cluster of dark, metallic crystals, the creature clung motionless as though asleep. Like a bat, it had small, steel-like talons driven into the rock. Roughly thirty centimeters long, it stood apart from any ordinary bat because of its wings.

The Spark had folded its body within those wings, semi-transparent planes of dark crystal. In the faint light, the obsidian sheen seemed brittle, yet a gentle draft made the membranes ripple. Up close, they revealed themselves as flexible, feather-fine filaments rather than rigid crystal plates.

Intrigued, Adyr opened the system panel floating before him and began reading the creature’s details.

[Name] Duskrend

[Path] Nether

[Rank] 2

[Ability] Crystal Husk / Wraith Glide

Description: Duskrend are born in places where the wind forgets to blow, abandoned cathedrals, collapsed spires, and the hollow remains of floating cities.

Once night falls, they stir to life and begin hunting their preferred meal of minerals, drifting like ghosts on fractured wings—smooth, obsidian-thin membranes that shimmer with brittle light. They make no sound. No screech, no flap. Only the sudden absence of presence.

Though delicate in appearance, they are forged in entropy. When touched by wind, their wings harden into crystalline blades sharp enough to cut through bone and armor. Most who glimpse them believe it was a hallucination. Most never see them at all.

Ability—Crystal Husk / Wraith Glide: Crystal Husk passively hardens the Duskrend’s fragile wings into a lightweight, durable crystal layer, allowing it to deflect strikes while maintaining agility.

Wraith Glide lets it move with near-silent speed, manipulating airflow to slip through narrow spaces, vanish from sight, or change direction mid-flight with ghostlike precision.

This must be the perfect combination I’m looking for, Adyr thought, resting his chin on his hand.

It offered the two traits he prioritized most: enhanced flight speed and increased defense. On top of that, the wings came with a potential side benefit—they could serve as bladed weapons, sharp enough to be lethal.

Of course, Adyr couldn’t predict exactly what the evolution would bring. But he didn’t need to overthink it—he would gain one physical trait and one innate talent, and the Spark’s dominant characteristics were already clear.

The only concern was the visual transformation of his wings. If they shifted too far from the Dawn Raven’s form and ended up resembling something distinctly Nether, it could expose his identity. After all, he had built himself up as an Astra-path user.

Still, it wasn’t a serious risk. Countless Sparks were publicly known, and dark crystal wings weren’t exclusive to the Nether path. Even within Astra, similar traits existed.

Malrik’s Frowst Wyvern, for example, resembled a Nether Spark far more than an Astra one—proof of how distinct and misleading appearances could be among Sparks.

Adyr also wanted to check the price and the detailed description provided by the shop, similar to the listings in Goatman’s store, but found nothing of the sort.

Strangely, there was still no one around. Not even a single shop attendant had appeared.

"Hello?" Adyr called out, glancing around, hoping someone would respond.

"Ah—damn, didn’t see you there. Thought I was alone," a voice replied casually.

Startled by the sudden voice, Adyr turned to face the figure that had appeared behind him.

Do all shopkeepers show up like this? He couldn’t help but wonder.

The man was notably overweight, wearing nothing on his upper body. A pair of loose, blue shorts hung to his knees, and he wore simple slippers. His skin was smooth and bronze-toned, his head as round as the rest of him, with small ears and narrow eyes.

In one hand, he held an oversized sandwich, mid-bite, looking as if Adyr had interrupted his lunch break.

"You buying, or just browsing?" the shopkeeper mumbled through a half-chewed bite, crumbs dropping onto his belly without a care.

"I want the price on that Spark," Adyr said, pointing up at the Duskrend hanging from the ceiling. "And if there’s anything important in its description, I’d like to see it." fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

The shopkeeper didn’t even glance up, his small eyes fixed on the sandwich in his hands. "320. No detailed description—what you see is what you get," he muttered.

"320?" Adyr was briefly taken aback. It was pricier than expected. The Rank 2 Sparks he’d purchased before had averaged around two hundred crystals.

He waited, expecting some sort of explanation for the cost, but the man didn’t seem remotely interested.

"Alright. I’ll check other shops and come back if I don’t find anything cheaper," Adyr said plainly, like an old woman haggling at a street market, then turned and walked out.

If the same Spark could be found elsewhere for less, there was no reason to pay this premium. And any extra information he could gather might prove valuable. Before triggering the evolution, he wanted at least a clear image of what kind of change it would bring.

The shopkeeper didn’t say a word. He didn’t try to stop Adyr or even acknowledge his exit—just disappeared as casually as he had appeared, as if this kind of interaction was nothing new.

Adyr continued checking every shop he could find. The second floor had over a hundred in total, but only around ten carried the kind of Sparks he was looking for, so the search didn’t take long.

Fortunately, he found the same Spark in another shop for 290 crystals—thirty less than before. Still, before committing, he decided to try his luck with the smaller stalls outside.

He left the main tent and began moving through the outer area, where more than a hundred smaller tents were scattered across the open space.

As expected, the prices were lower here, and there was even room to bargain. But the quality was noticeably worse. Some Sparks looked neglected, even close to death from poor care.

Unfortunately, none of them had the Spark he was looking for. Still, he gathered a few useful bits of information—enough to reinforce his decision to use the Duskrend for his Rank 2 evolution.

With that, he returned to the larger tent and purchased the Spark from the shop, selling it for 290.

Everything was now in place for his Rank 2 transformation.

He didn’t leave the market grounds right away. Instead, he kept walking, speaking only with the shopkeepers with whom he could communicate efficiently.

He wasn’t looking to buy—he was gathering information, building connections for future trade.

One thing became perfectly clear: for a practitioner, the real struggle wasn’t finding a Spark. There were plenty available in all shapes and types. The real challenge was preparing and upgrading their [Sanctuary] to host them properly.

All around him were materials designed for that exact purpose, resembling elaborate garden layouts or containment designs. Adyr paid close attention, trying to extract ideas—concepts he could potentially adapt from other world and bring into this one for profit.

By the time a general plan had begun to take shape in his mind, he finally left the market area and returned to the Velari Kingdom, heading straight for Draven Mansion to take care of his main objective.

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