Rise Of The Spatial Dragon

Barcova stood in his shelter, gawking at the mountain of treasure in front of him. The one thing that had been depressing about his whole encounter with the dragon and his lackey was that he hadn't gained a thing. Granted, his fear had gotten the better of him and he had remained in the shadows, but watching the lavels prosper and gain new powers, he suddenly stopped feeling so special. He also didn't forget that his treasure trove had been confiscated by the dragon.

He hated the fact that he had even thought of taking the lavels to his treasure. Yeah sure, they could have some potions from vasilian alchemists and some weapons. However, he still couldn't help admit that he had formed a bond with the lavels, but he felt that that was because he was a loner.

They would soon forget him and go back to their lives. Hard as he tried, he couldn't. He couldn't just go back to life as usual after such an encounter, after such an offer. Ever since he had lost everything he held dear, his whole mindset had been to somehow gain it all back. He knew he couldn't, but as a way to fill the gap, he had surrounded himself with creature comforts.

He wasn't the most respected, nor the most anything really. He was really just a small time merchant who had succeeded in gaining recognition among certain circles. Even then, that couldn't be said to be anything much as his status hadn't improved much. All in all, he was hungry from more, and what better tool than one that was ready to be used.

Dane understood that to control the entire economy of the planet, he had to start from the vasils. The lavels societal and economic development was miles behind the vasils, and all he they could do was nip at the heels. Dane had no attachments with the lavels besides them being favored by the current sun. He would use them when it suited him and when it didn't, he would turn to the vasils.

At the moment, there was really an ineffective form of trade as there was no currency. Barter trade was absolutely small scale, and it was a wonder that they hadn't thought of any monetary form of exchange. Dane planned to use Barcova for this process. To do so, however, he had to think of the perfect way to enter the market.

First of, before he moved on to hard currencies such as coins, he had to start with commodity goods. A commodity is defined as a tangible good that can be bought and sold or exchanged for products of similar value. It was the same case where prisoners would use cigarettes as a means of exchange.

Already, the market was hungry for it, and it was nor no longer a matter of if a currency would emerge, but rather when the currency would emerge. It was a race that no one but Dane knew about and he would not waste his advantage.

Currently, Barcova's loot was piled up in front of him, everything he had hidden in the dragon's cave was in his shelter. He had to double check to that it was indeed all there. His well hidden potions, his weapons, and some resources that weren't so easy to come by. Yes, it was all there.

First concern had been, how did it get there. Thinking about how powerful and individual has to be to be able to track him to his house and dump his trash back to him, he shuddered at the thought. This was definitely not someone to offend. This made his instinct to run seem all the impossible.

He decided to pause and peak on the flip side, what if he actually gained acceptance in the so called order of the dragon? Musing on the words spoken by that elderly lavel, he couldn't help but think of the benefits that would come from actually gaining such recognition. Was it not better to befriend that power rather than earn its ire by attempting to flee, especially after it had all but extended an invite.

Yes, he wasn't so dumb as to believe the 'prove yourself' statement. It had been quite clear that all through, this power was attempting to recruit him. He couldn't make out what business they had of him, but as usual, his instincts warned him against it.

This made him wonder just what exactly this power wanted from him, and the lavels. He had seen the lavels before and after, and clearly, they had gained something, yet he hadn't. Was it trying to tell him that he was expendable, or was it that he already had what it was offering.

Digging deeper into his pile of treasures, he came upon some shining gems. They resembled the gems he had seen along the caves. Contained inside a transparent bag, he reached forth to take it.

Something strange happened when he opened the bag. It was as though the bag spoke to him directly to his thoughts. Dane had used a special formation on the bag to transmit a single message into the one who opened it. The message was simple, "Eat one."

Slowly, he pulled out one of the gems from the bag inside. It was not so big and not so small, roughly the side of a gr.a.p.e, no bigger than a strawberry. They had a slightly luminous green glow. It had he circular, but with the same texture as a strawberry, only it was harder, like a nut.

When Barcova placed one in his mouth, he felt as though he his taste buds were exploding with excitement. He had never tasted such delicacy his whole life. He chewed on the gem, releasing more and more sweetness, until there was no more. Without thinking, two more were in his mouth, and he sank back with a contented smile on his face.

Watching this with a smile, Dane tried to remember his first encounter with candy. As a galactic being close to turning god, he had near-perfect control of his memory, and while he had lived for so long that even he himself didn't know how old he was, he could remember most of his life, apart from the times he had been in a reincarnation cycle. Despite all this ability, this was one memory that alluded him.

Why had Dane chosen this as his means of starting currency? Simple. The first reason was pretty straight forward. In order to make the lavels and vasils take to currency, they needed to first get into the mindset of exchanging goods. To do that, there had to be something that was considered of some value comparable to others. As such, he made the first commodity to be a consumable. Although there were inherent issues with this approach, by the time the issues are had, he'd have already progressed with his plans and would be ready to set up a proper currency.

Secondly, this candy was made from the Hexham jade. This was one of the more rare naturally occurring source of power. Just by being in its environs, one could absorb the energy produced into his body and use it power up their spells. It not only had the ability to replenish lost power, but also the power to change one's potential and power capacity.

Beings all around the universe were graded according to the amount of power they could output. These Grades extended from grade F to Grade A, with F being the lowest, and A being at the very top. The next grades, Grade S and Grade SSS were reserved as godly realms and those individuals must never be offended. These Grades were indicators of how strong one was.

Bamboo and his fellow planetary mates were just entering into the world of supers. They were barely even qualified to be called mages, as the number of arsenal was truly limited. All they could do was manipulate their base elements, and even then, that was also a swing and miss, like shooting arrows in the dark.

At his current power as a Grade B, if Dane was to hold a meaningful fight where he went all out, the destruction and chaos that would ensure would lead to total destruction of entire worlds and budding civilizations. The last time he had such a fight, he had to teleport the assailant to the moon where they could fight without fear of destroying everything and everyone. That had been millennia ago, and by now, his power had risen.

By being in the dark cave, he had managed to consume and absorb power staring from these Hexham jade caves. In fact, one such cave was where Barcova had made his treasure trove. There were many pockets of it's deposit all around the planet, and so Dane was not afraid of running out.

A mortal couldn't or wasn't supposed to consume the Hexham jade raw. The power contained in them was so violent that it would actually cause more harm, and hence was not ready for eating. For beings at Dane level, he didn't even need to consume the jades, as this was the least effective way to gain its power. He would directly absorb the power from the Jade into his body, and then circulating it around his body in a meditative state.

Since he was powerful enough to be able to extend his reach to every corner of the planet without needing to leave his cave, he never left. Rather, he would send his incarnations, or clones, in the form that he wished them to be. Dane knew he could conjure up up to 100,000 clones with full consciousness. This had been his limit once, but he could sense he had broken past it. He hadn't gotten a chance to fully test it.

Dane was also a master Alchemist, and part of the perk was that he could synthesize small mortal friendly consumables. In truth, this recipe wasn't very sophisticated or rare, and anyone with sufficient power could use it. It was pretty common as a form of candy in the universe, and many powerful factions, such as the Maa faction, would buy out large Hexham jade mines and use it to nurture its children.

The consumption of these jades would also increase mortals chances of breaking through and awakening an ability. Dane wanted to raise an army, and to do that, he needed powerful aides. By feeding them with this synthesized hexham candy, as it was called in the universe, he was secretly increasing power levels of those that would become his followers.

Whichever way Dane looked at it, it was a win win situation. He would power up, equip and arm the Endarians, and in return, they would join his newly formed faction and become part of his army on his quest to get back all he'd lost. A new faction. This was the first time he was allowing himself to even have such a thought, and it was because he finally saw hope. The natives of Planet Endar, Endarians, had so much more potential than he could have hoped.

Still, he didn't allow himself to be overly optimistic. What is a Great God, or in this case, Goddess? At Grade SSS, she was at the absolute pinnacle of the universe in terms of power. No one knew what level the universe creator was at, but suffice it to say it was beyond anyone's comprehension. It was already a miracle he had come out alive.

Setting aside such thoughts, he had to quickly act to stop the vasil from finishing all the candy, who was about to stuff some more down his throat. He activated the formations in the bag, causing it suddenly constrict to the side of a thumb. In panic, Barcova reached for small trinket that had formed, hoping against hope it hadn't all been lost. The moment he touched the trinket, he instantly collapsed, lying on his 'wealth'.

Coming to, he staggered for sometime before he finally found his bearing. He looked to be in a l.u.s.trous castle that was lit by a golden sunshine. The after effects on the luminous walls and floor was simply spectacular. A godly abode indeed.

None of these could captivate Barcova, as at that moment, he was staring at a sight that nearly made his eyes pop off. A mountain of those sweet gems lay before him, each as inviting as the next. On top of this mountain, a golden scaled vasil sat.

"So, you the one the dragon spoke of?"