"Uurgh… Feels like I got run over by a truck." Draconius wakes up disoriented and in pain all over his body.
The ability he used had an extremely high requirement, even for immortals. To make it work, he had to sacrifice all the energy-filled liquid he would use to become stronger and all his strength.
"At least it was a good investment… I'll hardly find items so useful for the bank in a short time."
With this thought in mind, he sits on the bed in a good mood, even though the pain bothers him a bit. As a proud dragon, this pain was nothing to him.
Looking around, he was in a large, comfortable wooden cabin suitable for his 5-meter size, rustic in style with only a bed, a desk, and a small wood stove.
"Comfortable, it seems like the system arranged this place. I'll try to learn about cultivation and magic while recovering." Saying this to himself, he lies back on the bed and closes his eyes, trying to ignore the pain.
Draconius wasn't bothered or saddened by not being born as strong as a divine dragon should be. He only felt a desire to become even stronger than he would be if he had been born normally.
So, a few hours passed with a dragon dressed in a suit lying with closed eyes like a human on the bed.
"It's actually quite simple, this thing they call cultivation and magic. To cultivate, you need to actively store spiritual energy in the lower abdomen region called the dantian and circulate it in various ways throughout the body to ascend your own existence."
Various scenes and experiences from the early days of the Immortal Sword's journey flashed through his mind.
"It must be because I'm talented," Draconius is speechless as he sees scenes of various children trying to enter the first cultivation realm, the Body Tempering realm, without success.
From the moment he was generated by his mother, he could manipulate any energy freely. It seemed like the energy itself wanted to flatter him by warmly surrounding him.
"Magic is the use of inscriptions and magic circles to achieve some artificial phenomenon. You can even know how to use supreme magic as a mortal, but you need to transcend and store energy, the so-called mana, in the heart through sacred rings."
As the strength of the Immortal Sword grew, his ambition followed a corresponding increase.
Since his universe was relatively advanced, having contact with other places in the multiverse, the Immortal Sword, trapped in the immortal realm, sought ways to further strengthen his cultivation through fusion with magic.
A cultivator capable of using versatile magic circles would be feared by many beings.
But unfortunately, only high-level beings or those strong enough with the ability to manipulate energy freely have the slightest chance of merging major practices like magic and cultivation, making it a much more difficult to merge third path.
"This old man isn't useless at all! Having information on a silver platter makes everything easier."
After analyzing all the information and theories, Draconius had a solid plan already formed in his mind that needed one more path, his peak knowledge, and talent to carry out this crazy attempt.
Opening his eyes with a smile on his face and sitting on the bed, Draconius finally felt no more pain in his body.
Suddenly, the door opens, and a golden rooster wearing a suit enters through the wooden door.
"Hey Draco! Feeling better?" He quickly approaches the bed with a worried face.
"I'm fine, my pains have already passed. A mortal would have died having all their strength sucked out."
"*sigh*Unfortunately, now I can't use any of my abilities because my body's energy is zero." Draconius explains the situation of his body with a sigh.
"At least you're okay. Man, how many abilities do you have? What are those scary marks ones for? You looked amazing!" Gold smiles in relief but soon jumps on the bed and starts asking questions enthusiastically with stars in his eyes.
"Cough… I have so many that it's impossible to count. Kind of inherited all my parents' abilities." The dragon feels embarrassed being praised but quickly disguises it by clearing his throat.
"And that seal was a Karma Guardian seal. The marked items are karmically linked to me and will bring bad luck to anyone trying to steal them. Kind of now they are destined to meet me." A proud smile appears on Draco's face as he says this.
"Wow, that's a big leap for the bank! Speaking of which, now that you're fine, we should start operations immediately!" Gold gets excited upon hearing this and immediately jumps off the bed, signaling for Draconius to follow.
'Weird... I'm pretty sure he's not usually this enthusiastic.' Remembering the first time he saw the delirious rooster coming out of the portal, Draco makes a confused face.
'Why the sudden interest?' The dragon goes to the door with a suspicious look on his face.
Exiting through the door, the duo finds themselves in the back region of the palace, at the limit of the barrier. The place where Draconius was taken was a simple wooden cabin amidst the small forest surrounding the area.
"This will be your temporary room because on the third floor of the palace is where the banker's house is located." Gold begins to explain while walking out of the forest.
"For me, that's fine, but if there's something better, I'll take it too." Draconius shrugs as he follows.
Quickly leaving the small forest, they arrive in the garden next to the grand staircase leading to the palace.
Draconius opens a smile at the terraces with rustic solid brick walls covering the hill, marveling at having acquired this beautiful place as his first nest.
Stopping in front of the stairs, the rooster begins to speak: "First of all, you have access to some powers within the barrier. First and most importantly, you can't die even if you want to, but I must emphasize that you might end up minced if someone stronger attacks, and it will hurt a lot, so I recommend avoiding that scene if possible."
While explaining, Gold raises one wing, and a hologram appears in front of him, showing the video of an arrogant teenager talking in front of what seemed to be a small fairy. He pointed his finger at the fairy's face, making an unhappy face, and in the next instant, he was exploded into bits, leaving only a puddle of blood.
Soon after, the puddle of blood writhes, and the teenager instantly regenerates.
"This was one of the previous hosts that I still have some records of. Unfortunately, his excessive arrogance led to this tragic end. He suffered post-traumatic shock from being cut by thousands of blades from this beauty of a fairy." Gold says with a confident smile, praising the fairy.
"Okay... Avoid provoking unknown clients." Seeing this scene, Draconius swallows hard and notes this small rule deep in his heart.
"No need to be scared of that, I'm sure you'd find a way to handle it." The rooster makes a pity face towards the dragon and speaks, patting his scales.
"At least stop trembling like a chicken's feet to comfort me." Draconius gives an empty look to the rooster whose legs were trembling like jelly.
Ignoring the gaze directed at him, Gold continues: "The next two abilities, I think I don't need to explain in detail. You can teleport wherever you want within the barrier and know everything you want."
Draconius nods in agreement; he already felt connected to the place from the moment he woke up from fainting.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the duo disappears from the stairs and reappears at the palace entrance.
'Quality.' The teleportation was smooth and instantaneous, as expected from a sophisticated system.
"The last ability you should know is that, as a banker, you have the ability to negotiate EVERYTHING in the client's possession." Gold, explaining this, a diabolical smile appears on his beak, and his tone becomes more pronounced.
A look of understanding appears on the dragon's face as he comprehends.
"Lifetime, soul, talent..." He quotes this to confirm if he understood, looking inquiringly at the rooster, who confirms with a nod of his head.
"You can unlock locations that use lifetime or the new currency of the bank through missions. There's a new option in your status if you want to check later." Gold, finishing explaining, a small token with the bank's logo appears being held by his wings.
"Finally, the Cosmic Token. This will search for clients across countless worlds. The first 10 are free, but after that, you have to buy to call more clients. The remaining 9 are in your inventory. How about we call our first client?" Handing the token to Draco, Gold opens an expectant smile.
"It's time to start." With a smile on his face, he activates the token with a thought, and the object quickly disappears from his claws, going in search of the bank's first client.