Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"Elf, time to trade!"

By habit, Orion first reached out to Aerin for Pet Pills. But this time, Aerin didn't accept the deal and completely ignored him. Just when Orion was getting puzzled, Aerin's message popped up:

"My dear Hulk, I've raised the quality of my Pet Pills, so the price is going up too!"

"Whoa, the heavens have finally smiled on you!" Orion typed back, suddenly intrigued. "Elf, you've finally had a breakthrough, huh? Go on, then—must be some fancy new product if you're hiking the price twofold?"

A grin tugged at Orion's lips. Truth be told, his response was a subtle attempt to steer Aerin, hinting that if Aerin was set on marking up the rate, Orion considered twofold the absolute cap.

Aerin didn't reply right away. Instead, she initiated a trade, sending over a hundred bottles of high-tier Pet Pills.

Orion inspected them and noted they had an extra effect: once your pets had consumed enough of these pills, they could bump up a minor rank, plus the mutation rate increased a bit.

"So, how about it?" Aerin asked. "Aren't these new high-tier Pet Pills top-notch?"

Orion stashed the high-tier Pet Pills without mentioning the price, casually changing the subject instead. "Weren't you telling me before that you'd come up with a new alchemical product? Show me. I'll see if it's worth anything."

As soon as Orion brought up the new concoction, Aerin became noticeably excited. "It's definitely good stuff. I'm sure you'll need it!"

With that, she initiated another trade, sending three vials of a new alchemical potion. "These are low-level Toughness Potions. They're brewed from bluetree bark and glowgrass, with water drawn from the Moonwell. On the Survivor's Platform, I'm pricing them at one C-level crystal core for a single vial of low-level Toughness Potion. But since you're an old friend, I'll give you three bottles for two C-level crystal cores!"

Orion didn't immediately examine the potions but instead glanced at Aerin's follow-up messages. She was bursting with a gleeful fantasy about making big money. Right now was exactly the time for Orion to rain on her parade, so he could keep the upper hand when haggling.

"Elf, aren't you forgetting that your Moonwell water has a limited monthly supply?"

Sure enough, Aerin instantly deflated. In her overblown excitement, she'd totally forgotten that crucial detail, having been too caught up in her dreams of scoring a huge payday.

Ignoring her sulking, Orion eyed the low-level Toughness Potions. Once ingested, they provided increased physical defense for about two hours, plus a mild boost in strength. Honestly, for Orion and his Horde, those potions could save some bloodline warriors' lives.

"Elf, I'll stick to your proposed rate: two C-level crystal cores for three bottles of low-level Toughness Potion," he said.

Aerin went silent for a couple of minutes before she finally pushed the trade through. She sent over the Pet Pills, high-tier Pet Pills, and the low-level Toughness Potions all at once—more than three hundred bottles combined. From the look of it, she'd probably used up every last scrap of her materials to brew these in hopes of a big payout.

Orion's guess was dead on. Aerin had indeed used up all the magical plants and Moonwell water she'd been saving, only to suddenly remember her monthly limit after Orion reminded her.

She fell into a deep funk when the revelation sank in. It wasn't until Orion handed over the C-level crystal cores that her spirits picked up again. But once she counted them precisely, she let out a wild shriek:

"Aaah! Hulk, you conned me! I was gonna triple—no, quadruple—the price for my high-tier Pet Pills! Aaaaargh!"

Inside the treehouse, the girl's wail was piercing enough to rattle the windows.

Meanwhile, in the biggest tent in Blackstone City, Orion—done dealing with Aerin—shifted his attention to Scarecrow. Scarecrow had set up a delayed trade and sold Orion a large batch of grain.

"It's fall for me, so Scarecrow must be heading into winter if he's back online," Orion muttered. "Not sure which realm he's in, but I'm kinda curious…"

Orion didn't bother messaging Scarecrow. Their relationship was purely buyer-seller.

"Hey bro, you around? I'm free now," Orion tapped out to Arthas, greeting him.

"Give me a sec," came the simple reply. Orion settled back on his fur blankets, letting his mind wander. Thanks to calming himself down, he noticed a new tab in his stats panel: an Alliance Management section.

One invitation blinked at him:

[Deputy Commander Edward of Champions Alliance has invited you to join the alliance. Accept?]

Orion stared at it for a moment without hitting either button, mind already whirling. Right then, Arthas's message arrived:

"Check your data panel, go into the Allies tab, and accept the invitation."

Relieved it was Arthas's doing, Orion exhaled. Just a moment ago, he'd been conjuring up all sorts of wild scenarios in his head. Satisfied, he sent:

"Got it."

Only then did he tap into the Allies tab and accept the invitation. Instantly, that part of the interface unlocked, the darkness receding to reveal six allies. Including Orion, Champions Alliance now had seven survivors total.

Edward: "Welcome to Champions Alliance, new member!"

Leonidas: "Welcome aboard!"

Alexander: "Welcome to Champions Alliance!"

Kraken: "Welcome, newbie!"
Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

Arthas: "Welcome to Champions Alliance!"

Orion stared, dazed, realizing it was the first time he'd been in a channel with so many fellow survivors—and he was the rookie in the group.

"Quit spacing out, say hello. You'll get a surprise," Arthas privately prompted him, probably guessing how Orion felt. Sobered by the reminder, Orion got ready to speak. With so many survivors here, he figured there was a bunch of intel he could glean from them—an exciting prospect.

Orion: "Hey everyone, I'm Hulk—nice to meet you, and thanks for having me in the Champions Alliance!"

Arthas: "He's the new friend I talked to you guys about—Hulk." Arthas followed up after Orion introduced himself.

Edward: "Hulk, I'm Edward, deputy commander of Champions Alliance. Our commander isn't here right now. If you have questions, ask me or Arthas."

Orion: "Understood, Deputy Commander."

Edward: "Hey, relax. You're in the Champions Alliance now—you're one of us. Speak your mind."

Orion was still unsure how to respond, but seconds later, a prize wheel containing six treasure chests popped up in the Allies tab.

Edward: "Hulk, this is a newbie reward from our commander. Pour in a trace of your transcendent power to spin and get your prize."

Orion: "Got it, thanks for the heads-up!"

He recognized this for what it was—basically a test. The wheel only worked if he used transcendent power, which the deputy commander had pointed out. In other words, they were checking him out.

Everybody in the Champions Alliance, including Arthas, went quiet, clearly waiting to see what Orion was packing.

Although Arthas knew Orion might be at Legendary level, he wasn't one hundred percent sure. The entire channel seemed to be holding their breath.

Orion channeled his transcendent power, letting a spark of lightning-element energy feed into the wheel. Seconds later, the wheel started spinning with a soft whoosh. As he waited for the result, the bolt of transcendent power zoomed back into his body, and the wheel halted abruptly, a single treasure chest glowing into view.

"What a crazy little contraption," Orion mused.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Champions Alliance perked up.

Edward: "Welcome again, Hulk. Now we have seven members in Champions Alliance!"

Leonidas: "Hahaha, finally another new guy! Arthas, did you ask me for all that stuff before because you were hooking Hulk up?"

Alexander: "Welcome, Hulk! I'm stoked to see what you can do!"

Kraken: "Welcome too! At least I'm not the youngest pup anymore!"

While the others were riding that wave of excitement, Arthas fell silent, looking worried. All the way in the Necro Realm, on his Bone Throne, Arthas had stood up, muttering:

"No way I misread that. The Lord's Stone I gave him contained blood-attribute transcendent power, no question. So why did Hulk just channel lightning-attribute transcendent power? Unless…he picked up another Lord's Stone after killing another lord or snagged one somewhere else before the trade?"

"Either scenario means Hulk most likely can already build territory. Wow…he works fast!"

Arthas had apparently figured out a lot based on that snippet of lightning-element transcendence. Only after a while did he sit back down and turn his attention back to the channel. There, Leonidas had been chatting with Orion enough to sniff out something unusual.

Arthas: "Hulk's someone I personally vouched for. Pretty good call, yeah?"

Leonidas: "Sure, your call's not bad—but you, Arthas, are such a shameless jerk!"

Arthas: "Huh? Leonidas, hey now. Watch what you're saying."

Leonidas: "Remember when you asked me for that gear? I gave it away for free! But you took it and sold it to Hulk at a markup. Where's my credit in all this?"

Arthas: "Let's clarify: I used my own connections to get stuff from you, then I sold it to him—it's my personal favor to him. All that matters is Hulk got your gear eventually. Whether or not he appreciates your help—it's got nothin' to do with me."

Leonidas: "Screw you, you slimeball!"

Back in the large Blackstone City tent, Orion was watching the exchange.

So that explained it: the taming scroll, three taming collars, and 3,000 little bells had originally been Leonidas's donation. Leonidas had meant them to be free, until Arthas decided to flip them to Orion at a profit.

Honestly, for Orion—especially at that time—those items had been absolutely critical. Even now, they were invaluable. If some other survivor had offered them, Orion still would've bought them in a heartbeat. Besides, Arthas hadn't been that hardline: he let Orion pay on credit with no set deadline.

Either way, that taming scroll, the collars, and those tiny bells had become an essential piece of the Stoneheart Horde's foundation. Without that scroll, Lilith wouldn't have been able to tame the broadskull ravens so quickly, and the Sentinel Corps might never have matured at its current pace. The little bells also enabled the wolf-mounted warriors.

So yes, Orion was definitely grateful to Leonidas. Now, he had a chance to build a direct link to the guy—an opportunity that could be mutually beneficial in the future.

That notion triggered a moment of introspection in Orion. He typed up a message to give Leonidas a proper thanks, then paused.

"Wait…knowing Arthas, maybe he did this on purpose—handing me a prime chance to connect with Leonidas? Could that be Arthas's plan all along?"

He shook his head. He'd have to give Arthas credit—sometimes the guy came through in unexpectedly brilliant ways.