Infinite Potential System

"Are you guys going to the Night Market?" William asked the group as they were preparing to leave the restaurant.

Filipe and Yuming shook their heads, but Carl, Tia, and Gunther nodded.

"We go there almost every week," Gunther replied. "Most of the time we can't buy anything, but my parents usually send me some Mana Stones as an allowance. I've gotten a few interesting items as a result."

Damn, maybe I should have saved the Ice Element Roots I used earlier for Gunther... William thought to himself. At the time he was in the Gravitas Ruins focused on the trials, so he didn't think about his friends at all. He just wanted to improve his strength as much as possible in a short amount of time.

"Then we can go there together. I can't take you with me to the Ruins now, and I'm sure most of you aren't ready to go. Give me about a week and I'll visit again." William said. He created a few communicators just like the one that Filipe had and handed one to each of his friends.

They probably wouldn't need the communicators in the short-term, but they might be useful in the future.

William returned to the Night Market with Carl, Tia, and Gunther in tow. The Auction was scheduled to begin at 7 o'clock, and it was barely 6 thirty, so William and the others browsed the items in the lobby first.

There was another Spirit Cookware set being sold in the main lobby, so William spent a hundred Mana Stones on that first. He had been meaning to get a set of cooking utensils for a long time, and being a Cultivator didn't change that fact.

Just because one didn't need to eat, why would they forgo delicious food?

Everyone filed into their seats and the Auctioneer, Rodger, walked up to the podium and introduced himself, as well as the three rules of the Auction.

No bidding on something you can't afford. Bids must increment by at least 5 Mana Stones, and don't make Rodger mad or you'll be banned. Simple enough.

William wondered if anyone but the old him would be stupid enough to piss off a Tribulation Transcendence Cultivator. Including the other twenty or so William had seen and his Master, Rodger was the weakest he had seen in his Realm, having not even surpassed the first of the nine Tribulations.

That being said, the man was still close to the peak of the World. There weren't many others like him. The number of Cultivators that survived to reach the Tribulation Transcendence Realm were few, despite the long lifespan of Cultivators.

An Elder brought out a tinted glass case that was rectangular in shape from a specialized Space Ring. Even with the heavy tint, everyone could see a lustrous glow from the inside.

"Without further ado, let me reveal our first item!" Rodger smiled as he removed the lid at once, revealing a pair of shortswords that shone brilliantly like a star the moment they were revealed. Their sleek design and flashy reveal caught the attention of even the richest buyers, making William smile with delight.

He auctioned my shortswords first, even though I brought them in just this morning?

Next to William, Carl looked at the Twin Starmetal Shortswords with intense greed. He wasn't very good with shortswords, but he couldn't say no to such a valuable item! He would learn the shortswords in a heartbeat if he had a set of weapons like that!

"These are the Twin Starmetal Shortswords, masterfully forged by a blacksmith known as "Yuming". Not only are these shortswords made of Starmetal, but they've been enhanced by about forty percent using the World's energy.

Even a Qi Refinement Cultivator could use these, and they can cut through even the most impressive defenses." Rodger said with an animated smile as he brought the tip of the Starmetal Shortsword to his finger, drawing blood before the blade even came in contact with his skin.

Hearing his own name, Yuming became a bit confused. Is there someone else with my name?

Seeing the Starmetal Shortswords and their effects, the audience was shocked even more than when they saw a Pheonix Tear a few months before. "They're much better than the average Starmetal weapon, and they even come in a pair! Where does Rodger find these things?"

Even William was surprised that his forged weapons had such an effect. To cut a Tribulation Transcendence Cultivator's skin was not a small feat. He had essentially created a set of weapons with strength at the peak of the World!

Carl's greed intensified, but he knew his chances of acquiring such an item were incredibly low. Even if he acquired it somehow, he would probably be targeted for it later. He promptly gave up on trying to get the shortswords.

Someone spoke up and asked a question, "Senior Rodger, who is this Yuming? To forge such a weapon, he must also be comparable to you, correct?"

Rodger shook his head, "I always keep the identities of my clients a secret. Perhaps he will appear again someday."

Even if I wanted to tell you about him, I don't know anything!

The person who asked nodded and became silent. He expected this kind of answer from Rodger.

"No more questions? Then let's get started with a bid of one thousand Mana Stones!" Rodger shouted.

"1500 Mana Stones!"

"2000!"

"2100!"

"FIVE THOUSAND!" someone suddenly shouted from the back. It was Harold Kami, who had met with William in the City Hall before. It seemed he was even more determined to get these Starmetal Shortswords than he was before.

William couldn't blame him, since the two shortswords were much better than the singular one he showed off in the past.

That being said, William was only paying a small amount of attention to the Auction. He had already achieved his goal of earning around a thousand Mana Stones, so any more was just an added bonus. He was more focused on something that Rodger said while describing the item.

System, Rodger said that the Shortswords were enhanced with the World's energy. I don't remember doing that, is it the effects of my Artificer Title?

-Request requires 100 Potential Points. Yes/No?

William normally would give up on paying the System such an extravagant amount of Points for just a simple question, but this time he felt it would be very beneficial to know.

Confirm.

William watched in pain as a hundred Potential Points were subtracted from his balance. Even if he had over a hundred times that amount, it still hurt quite a bit.

Seeing William's expression, Gunther patted him on the back, "I know the Shortswords are expensive, but don't worry. You'll make enough Mana Stones to afford them yourself someday."

"..." William didn't know what to say. Gunther had clearly misunderstood him.

-In this case, yes. The Artificer Title borrowed the World's energy to improve the effects of the Starmetal Shortswords. The System still has some laws to follow and cannot create energy out of nothing.

-This applies to everything, including how the System distributes Potential Points to the Host. Do you remember the Attention extended statistic?

William began to understand a little more about how the System worked. It seemed that the System had its own understanding of what something was worth, then gave William a percentage of the item's value when he acquired it.

When he killed Magical Beasts in the past, the System was absorbing a part of their energy, refining the old energy into a more efficient version to maintain the original quality of the Magical Beast, then giving William a portion of the spoils.

Yes, I remember getting the Attention stat when I beat the first Tribulation during Alchemy. What about it?

-The System wasn't able to distribute Potential Points to the Host at that time because it was stopped from absorbing the energy of the Heavenly Being that noticed you.

William's mind was blown. He didn't expect such an elaborate scheme hidden behind a small matter.

Does that mean you're weaker than these...Heavenly Beings? He asked in his mind.

-Not necessarily, but right now, yes. Until the System improves further, the Host won't be able to gain any Potential Points that involve Heavenly Beings directly.

Then what about the Tribulations? You got energy from them, right?

-Yes, but those aren't beings. It's like absorbing Mana from someone else's Spell, versus absorbing someone's life force.

William understood immediately. His mind spun as the number of questions he had involving the Heavens increased. He wanted to ask more, but he remembered that the System warned him about learning too much.

I'll take it one step at a time. Thank you, System.

William knew that the System didn't have to explain so much while he used the Ask Function. It was only doing this for his benefit, and William didn't feel like the System was a simple robotic being that it seemed to be in the beginning.