Chapter 166: Chapter 166 - Final Items For The First Dark Knight!
After bidding on the Dullahan Soul Fragment, Logan shut off his hologram projector.
He glanced up. ’Should be three or four more hours before we reach the headquarters,’ he thought, smiling slightly.
As he lay on his bed, his mind wandered to the Dullahan species. There haven’t been many of them, making its soul fragment quite rare... but it was only an S-rank, so it wouldn’t go anywhere near the Queen of Thorns price-wise.
Logan nodded slowly, a small smile on his face. ’Dullahan’s main affinities are fire and undead, just like myself.’
He couldn’t imagine a better-suited first knight than one with practically the same affinities as his.
’It makes our synergy strong,’ he thought, staring at the ceiling. ’But I’ll lack a little of the versatility in elements that the technique offers me.’
If he had taken four creatures each with different affinities from him, he could have possibly had an answer in every single situation.
’But it doesn’t matter too much,’ he thought. ’The Queen of Thorns will offer me two extra rare elements... and I don’t doubt the two Dark Knights after her being too different.’
He let out a soft sigh and glanced at the time again. Seeing more than enough time on the clock, Logan decided to turn off the lights and try to sleep for a little.
It didn’t take long before a wave of exhaustion washed over him and made him fall asleep.
Hours flew by as Logan peacefully slept.
Finally, his eyes snapped open as he heard a soft beeping sound from his watch.
’’Approaching docking bay. Please prepare for landing.’’ A mechanical voice echoed through his room.
Logan let out a groan, stretching, before he shot upright.
’’It’s still light outside,’’ he muttered, glancing through the window in his room.
Outside, the sun had barely started setting, irritating Logan.
’I can continue through the night or I try to sleep again later,’ he thought, shaking his head. ’Either way, I have to get off my shuttle first and check on the auction.’
Logan pushed himself out of bed, straightened his clothes, and walked toward the door as the shuttle gave a faint shudder.
He found both Silas and Edric waiting for him near the hatch with large grins on their faces.
’’Did you sleep well?’’ Silas asked, grin growing wider.
Logan nodded, a confused expression appearing on his face. ’’What happened?’’ he asked. ’’Why are you both grinning so strangely?’’
Edric stepped forward, activating his hologram projector.
He held it in front of Logan, showing him the countless contracts, business deals, and even revenue streams from investors.
Logan’s expression widened slightly, locking eyes with both Edric and Silas. ’’How much have we earned while I was asleep?’’
Silas glanced at Edric, giving him a small nod.
’’We’ve pulled in nearly two billion in projected contracts in the last few hours alone,’’ Edric said, his voice filled with excitement. ’’Half of them were stalled for weeks, and the rest are brand-new opportunities from people who want to attach their names to Mercer Industries after your speech.’’
Logan blinked, taken aback for a moment. He’d expected growth, of course he had, but not this much, not this fast.
Silas grinned, clapping him lightly on the shoulder. ’’You did amazing, kid.’’
Logan gave a soft chuckle, though his mind was already moving. ’Two billion from the business alone... and the fast-food chain revenue on top of that. If this keeps up, I’ll have more than enough to fund every project I want.’
He leaned back slightly, exhaling. ’’Good. That gives us breathing room again.’’
’’Yes it does,’’ Edric nodded. ’’Most consequences from your 11 billion dollar deal have been avoided thanks to this.’’
’’The other board members are holding a full-blown celebration,’’ Silas said, wrapping his arm around Logan’s shoulder as they stepped off the hatch. ’’The benefits from your appearance are unlikely to run out anytime soon after all.’’
Logan nodded slowly. Most companies in different parts of the world hadn’t really known them before, let alone invested in research on the Industries.
After they conclude their research, dozens more contracts will come flying through, likely offering Mercer Industries the chance to expand in different parts of the world too.
The three of them made their way over the rooftop, the wind blowing fiercely around them.
As they stepped out of the elevator on a lower floor, Logan immediately sensed the difference.
The faces of the employees around him had completely changed again. The fear and hesitation he’d seen right after the incident with Hellshot seemed to have completely evaporated.
Instead, each employee bowed to him with serious, confident expressions, their morale having received an immense boost.
’That’s good,’ Logan thought. ’Seems like everyone here has already seen the broadcast.’
’I think I underestimated how much credibility this stunt gave me in front of them.’
By the time they reached his private room, both Silas and Edric slowed their steps.
Silas gave him a lazy wave. "Go get some rest. We’ll need you at full strength tomorrow again."
Edric shot Silas a glance before turning to Logan. His expression softened slightly. "We’ll hold things together. Just focus on whatever you need to do."
Logan gave them both a nod. "Thank you."
With that, he turned and walked down the quiet corridor alone. The automatic doors to his suite opened with a faint hiss, then closed behind him, cutting off the outside world.
The silence of his private quarters wrapped around him immediately.
Logan slipped out of his jacket and dropped it over the back of a chair before collapsing onto the couch. For a long moment, he just sat there, letting his muscles unwind.
He exhaled slowly. "Finally."
But rest wasn’t his priority tonight. The first thing he did was activate his hologram projector again.
The blue screen blinked to life in front of him, and within a few taps, the Meridian Guild’s auction house loaded.
Dozens of listings appeared instantly—soul fragments, rare minerals, enchanted weapons. Logan scrolled past most of them without a second thought.
His focus was only on one thing: resources for his Dark Knight.
With all the money streaming in, he decided to immediately get it over with and purchase as many resources for his knight as possible.
’The earlier I get to summon him, the better,’ he thought. ’I still need to see how exactly everything works and gain some proficiency after all.’
He had no idea if the Dark Knights could protest or required any sort of motivation to work for him, as the manual didn’t mention anything about that.
’This is also the main reason why I don’t want to have the Queen as my first Dark Knight,’ he thought, shaking his head. ’Imagine if I can’t fully control her and she kills me.’
Before he continued scrolling, he first went to his bookmarked items.
’Let’s see,’ he thought. ’Did anyone bid something more for the Dullahan Soul Fragment?’
Once the site loaded, Logan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Someone had indeed bid more money on the Dullahan Soul Fragment... and not a little more either.
’’Damn,’’ Logan muttered. ’’Three hundred million? Isn’t that a little too much for an S-rank Soul Fragment?’’
He shook his head, immediately bidding four hundred million for the Soul Fragment.
’I’m not giving this away,’ he thought, annoyed.
There was still an hour left before the auction would officially end, thus he decided to use the remaining time to purchase the core for his Dark Knight and additional Fire and Undead type resources.
[Gravefire Crystals – Condensed undead fire essence, harvested from crypt shades.]
[Price: 14 million USD]
He didn’t hesitate, adding them to his order. "These will amplify the fire affinity. He’ll resonate even better with me."
Logan continued scrolling, eyes scanning countless items and occasionally adding a few.
[Obsidian Flame Ore – A rare mineral infused with fire essence from volcanic dungeons.]
[Price: 11 million USD]
Added without hesitation.
Next, he found an S-rank core, costing only five million USD.
’I’ll need that to give it a place to store its mana after all.’
Logan continued scrolling, adding two more elemental items after that before finally closing out of the shop menu.
His lips curved faintly. ’That should cover the foundation. No point potentially getting a weak knight due to lack of resources when I summon him.’
The clock ticked down in the corner of the screen.
[Item: Soul of an Undead Dullahan - High Quality - S-Rank]
[Current Bid: 400,000,000 USD]
[Time Remaining: 00:01:13]
Logan leaned back, eyes fixed on the timer. Seconds crawled by, but no new bids appeared.
Finally, the screen flashed:
[Sold – Winning Bid: 400,000,000 USD]
Logan exhaled, a faint smile spreading across his face. The confirmation flickered in front of him.
He immediately received a confirmation message alongside a delivery schedule.
[Delivery Scheduled: 48 Hours]
He shut the hologram, his eyes narrowing with anticipation.
"Once these items are delivered," he whispered, "I’ll start making my first Dark Knight."