Infinite Potential System

William entered a daze as he thought about the finger movements, Mana circulation, breathing, and Soul Strength necessary to initiate Primordial Soul Devourer. There was so much more to learn about the Technique, but the Scatterstorm Eagles had landed and a pair of guards were fast approaching.

"This is where we part ways. My brother runs a taxi service here in Treymon, so visit him if you need a ride back." the man unsummoned William's mount and took to the skies without so much as giving a name.

William didn't think much of it and pulled out his ID Card that he'd received in Great Rouge, allowing the guards to verify his identity. When his status as an Excellent of Great Rouge was revealed, the guards didn't even raise an eyebrow, allowing him to pass without granting any kind of special treatment.

The rulebook handed to William was the same as in Great Rouge, but this was the only similarity between the two. In stark contrast to the City that boasted prestigious schools like Filem Academy, Treymon was a hub of hotels, casinos, and auction houses.

Everyone walked on foot, be they merchants, businessmen, or high-level Cultivators. On each side of the street was an ovular portal bordered with layers of Starmetal and enhanced with Arrays, which both had digital meters that seemed to measure the portal's stability level.

Above the portals were floating neon signs, much like the Spell that William used to advertise his information stall. The sign above the left portal flickered, reading "From: Treymon Main Auction House" moments before a Cultivator in an orange suit stepped out.

At the right portal, a merchant channeled some Mana into the neon sign, changing it to read "To: Treymon Alchemist's Guild". He walked through and disappeared, the sign returning to a blank state.

It seemed that one portal acted as an entrance, while the other was an exit. From the entrance portal, one could go to a variety of locations dispersed throughout the city in an instant. The exit portal was the same, but in reverse. From anywhere within the city, one could enter a portal and they'd come out of this one.

William watched the portals for a while, intrigued by their functions. It seemed simple in theory, but when he thought about creating a hub of portals to the same scale and function, he had too many questions.

What happens when two people enter the portals at the same time? If they both want to go to the same location, how does the portal stop them from colliding in the compressed space?

His current ability allowed him to create one portal with many exits, but that was entirely used for attack Spells and confusing enemies during an escape. Creating so many linked portals that were stable enough for travel, however... he was still far from being able to do so.

Using the same method as the Cultivator from earlier, William used his Mana to change the neon sign's destination. The process was even simpler than it appeared from a distance because of several auto-correcting Arrays that would fix any subtle mistakes.

A small indicator lit up across the entire portal, a secondary neon sign reading "Wait Please". At the same time, the portal became solid with no spatial fluctuations. William stuck his finger up to the portal, but when he pressed forward it was as if he was pushing into a solid wall.

After several moments the indicator disappeared and the spatial fluctuations returned, allowing William's finger to pass through. He was very tempted to stop and inspect the portal, but a line was quickly forming behind him.

"Get on with it! Are you going or are you not?"

"You country bumpkin, it's a fucking portal. Move!"

William readied his mind and ducked through the portal, prepared for his Sea of Consciousness to take some damage during the process. When his feet touched solid ground, however, not even a hairline crack had formed!

Not only this, but the space was incredibly smooth, as if he was riding in a vehicle across freshly-paved road. In comparison to his other portals, William usually felt like he was riding a motorcycle across a poorly-maintained gravel road.

And to think my Space Affinity is X-Rank and I have mastered a Primary Law. What kind of bigshots run this place?

The portal wound up a few meters away from a two-story building with two golden lion statues guarding the front. They looked just like a creature he fought in the Gravitas Ruins a few years back, and the statues' auras made the distinction extremely clear.

"Nemean Lions..." William muttered as he realized that the statues were actually living creatures. Their stillness spoke volumes of their resolve, not even sparing a moment to blink.

"The Guardian Beasts of Treymon City. Aren't they fantastic, my favorite student?" a familiar hand rested on William's shoulder.

"Professor, what are you doing here?" William exclaimed.

"It's not a school day. What, am I not allowed to go places?" Tenningbrew snorted.

"Well..."

"Kidding! If you really want to know, it was a cross between my procrastination and Ken— the Vice Principal's wishes. My wife asked me to find her a specific gemstone a few weeks ago and I've been meaning to visit Treymon. VP was simply taking advantage of that to shift some of his duties onto me, as usual."

William nodded, finding that it made sense. "You don't have to watch me, Professor. I can take care of myself."

He appreciated the insurance, but the eccentric Professor was already drawing a lot of attention. Attention that William really didn't want to deal with right now.

"Of course you can. Contact me if you need anything, I'll be somewhere in the City for however long you're here." Tenningbrew got the hint and used his own version of Spatial Steps to disappear from sight.

At his original position, William noticed a small ferret-shaped token sink into the ground and meld perfectly with the stone. It seemed to be some sort of placeholder that allowed Tenningbrew to return in an instant— maybe he could sell it?

He tried to appraise the token, but every bit of information that came back was appraising the street instead. The token must have sunk further underground than he expected, because he couldn't get the System to scan it no matter what.

William stopped thinking about it and walked past the pair of Nemean Lions, entering the Treymon Auction House. The interior was ornately decorated, with dozens of expensive-looking Beast materials guarded by special glass cases and so many Arrays it could only be regarded as overkill.

Dotting the walls were thousands upon thousands of murals depicting the history of the Slightveil Plane, the countless eras that shaped the current day, and biographies of the Slightwing Family's greatest heroes.

In the center of the room was a medium-sized billboard containing general information related to the auction, along with an anticipated list of items. One list contained items that he could bid on immediately or buy out for a considerably greater price, while the other list showed what would be put up for auction today.

Where is it? Where is it? William flipped through the first list with incredible focus. Everything was ordered alphabetically, so he skipped to the page starting with "Superior".

There it is! Finally I get good luck! William would have praised the Heavens if they weren't out to kill him.

Superior Calming Liquid:

3 vials for auction.

Current Bid: 235 Spirit Jades.

Buyout: 450 Spirit Jades.

Time remaining: 97 hours, 15 minutes.