I Became a Ranker Before Rankers

Monopolizing Mana Snakes

As I selected "EQUIP" I was swept up in a whirlwind, then briefly let back down. I could feel a soft fabric drip over my entire body and the vines grew up my limbs quickly, tickling me. The system displayed a mirror directly in front of me, so that I could see my appearance. The dress was two pieces, left open to expose my thin stomach. The top draped slightly off my shoulders and hung on loosely with my collarbone sticking out clearly. Out of the two pieces, the skirt was the most modest covering from my pelvic bone and dragging on the ground, but still it had two slits on either side going down the entire garment. 

As for the vines, they were reminiscent of ivy, yet they had thorns like roses that dug into my skin to let the blood slowly drain out of me and fused together with me as one. These vines had turned a gold shade instead of the typical green, imitating jewelry more rather than plants. These reached towards my neck were the cape had hid itself as a golden necklace with a red pendant hung down. 

It all seemed too perfect, like they were meant to be used together, but that was probably the way of my dreams anyway. I quickly closed the mirror and went back to shopping for materials using the system. 

I remembered that there was a famous item that many people just looked past until the official opening of the tower which was 10 years from the current moment in time. It was the "Mana Snakes." These creatures were very small snakes that could only be seen by using mana sense, but they would follow the flow of mana eventually eating all the mana in an area up. This would be potentially harmful for any surrounding users because it could easily devour up all the mana within a person, killing them. The one thing that was not understood was that these snakes had limits to how much they could absorb, so if they absorbed too much they would explode and the mana would return to the user, if they were not dead. A common use for them among the high rankers would be to use them to open the acupoints throughout the body.

This method was uncommon because many did not want to risk them not having enough mana and others were unable to afford the price of these snakes, so they were left untouched for a long time. Despite this, their current price was quite cheap going for only 10 Leava, so I decided to buy a lot to monopolize for a larger profit. The seller was the only one on the market who sold these snakes and there profile did not have any reviews from others making it clear that no one had ordered from them, so I sent an email to them.

Ji-ah: Hello! I see that you are selling Mana Snakes! How many do you have?

Mana Snake Seller: Oh! Yes... I have about 2,000 snakes right now. Why are you interested?

Ji-ah: My brother has been enamored with the mana snakes recently and would like to keep them as pets.

Mana Snake Seller: Haha! I haven't heard a story like that for ages, how laughable.

Ji-ah: Uh... Are you willing to sell or not?

Mana Snake Seller: Of course, I am willing. How many do you want?

Ji-ah: I want to buy your entire business and their enclosures, but I need assurance that they are the only ones you have.

Mana Snake Seller: Why would you need to have all of them? That is an absurd request.

Ji-ah: My brother likes to be the only one with something, something that other people also have is worthless to him.

Mana Snake Seller: So he is a collector... Now I understand. You can buy them from me, but it will be around 40,000 Leava for all of it.

Ji-ah: You got to be joking! Your original price was 10 Leava for one, but now you are charging me double the price, how is that fair? I know that you have not been able to sell even one since you started your enterprise. Are you trying to scam me? Should I report you to the g...

Mana Snake Seller: No, no! Don't report me! I was just trying to make some extra money, I did not know that you were one of them.

He probably thought that I was one of the Market's Mediators since I mentioned that he had never sold anything. These Mediators were often Gods or other worldly beings that would watch over the activities within the tower through the market place. These people were often less powerful than other Gods and did not have an official seat to watch the Challengers, but they were still very powerful and would severely punish the Challengers if they witnessed something unjust going on in the Marketplace. The records of sales within the marketplace was something that only these Mediators could find, but I did not know that he was dumb enough to not think about the reviews.

Mana Snake Seller: Here! I'll give them to you for only 10,000 Leava and I'll sign a contract ensuring that I do not have any more. How does that sound?

Ji-ah: Looks like we are talking now. Transfer them to my system right now and sign the Death God contract that I am sending now, then we will be even. And don't contact me again after this date

Mana Snake Seller: Yes, I understand. I will follow your guidelines and finish the task as quickly as I can.

I quickly went back into my storage and sent over the Death God Contract to the seller. The Death God Contract was a contract in which the person who agreed to the conditions would have to follow all of them or they would immediately die and their soul along with all their belongings would be sent to the Contract Holder. 

The items were swiftly transferred into my account, so I quickly got to using the snakes. The current environment was the best, it was quiet and mana did not flow in or out of this environment, so the snakes would only follow the natural flow of mana within my body. 

I pulled 2 of the snakes from my inventory and took them up in my hand. They had long silver bodies that emanated a subtle light from them. Each one of them slightly varied in tints, one with a red tint and the other with a slightly blue tint. Their faces were small and reminded me of the hognose snake that my neighbor had growing up with a stout nose and slim body. I threw them swiftly inside of my mouth. From then on I had to focus on the snakes, and use mana to lead them through my body and to the acupoints. If I failed then it would also lead to my death, but this consequence I was not afraid of. If I died, wouldn't that just mean that I would wake up?

I could feel the snakes move through every inch of my body swiftly and as they passed through each of my acupoints I could feel a stronger mana flow within. They eventually reached my mana core after opening each one where they began to feast on my mana core. They continued to drain my core, but I did not feel at all fatigued like the book had stated, instead it just tickled. Apparently, my infinite magic was true, or the dreamworld thought the mana snakes were too cute to cause any harm. 

Despite their cuteness, they ended up exploding in a jiffy after they had consumed a large amount of my mana. I was disappointed for a while, but then I another blue screen appeared. 

Title gained: Training Guru

Given to a user who constantly trains and undergoes multiple tribulations to achieve their power. The first person to earn this title also gains associated skill "Training Area" which allows them to allocate a safe space similar to the Waiting Area once every floor where they are held in for a time equivalent to a month to train. This can be a blessing or a curse when used, but it will always force the user to achieve better levels. 

Skill learned: Master Actor

This skill was originally created by Shakespeare's reincarnation who was able to easily create an environment to fool others around them. The user who is able to successfully trick another Challenger into thinking of them as a God will be able to use this skill to fool other Challengers easier as well as other Gods as skill's proficiency increases (Proficiency 0%).