The Glorious Evolution

Vyra roared, her frightening slits thinning as she increased her speed to the limit, zig-zagging between many other flying mounts on the way... some cursed them for their reckless flying, but Levi was unbothered.

He had to claim this carcass... otherwise, his schedule would be set back even further until he might eventually give up on the business idea entirely!

Some time later, Vyra arrived atop the gigantic index fingertip, dropping Levi in front of the Green Freight Line Station.

Levi scanned his ID at the gate and was allowed through without a hassle... another Baron privilege.

Not wasting time, he rushed through the busy roofless station, which was already packed with thousands of merchants, freight workers, and cargo beasts moving between countless platforms.

As the largest import and export station in the entire Eight Sky Province, the place assaulted every sense at once.

The air smelled of hot metal, beast sweat, and exotic spices... Cargo cranes groaned overhead while crystalline engines hummed nonstop beneath the platforms.

Merchants shouted prices and destinations, and every few seconds, a deep horn announced another freight vessel’s arrival or departure.

It resembled an international container port combined with a major freight airport and wholesale trade hub during Earth’s pre-apocalypse.

Despite the chaos and nonstop noise, everything was managed correctly... all thanks to the grumpy Rattokis... the backbone of the Boundless Expanse’s society.

Dozens of the small, slate-grey-furred creatures hurried between platforms in Green Freight’s blue coats, their tails poking neatly through the back as they inspected manifests, weighed cargo, repaired malfunctioning arrays, and screamed at anyone stupid enough to slow down their operation.

”Platform twelve! Move those crates, or I’ll move them with you underneath!”

”Manifest left hand! Seal right hand! How fucking difficult is this?!”

Yelling and curses had already become a social norm around the Rattokis... so much so that regular merchants and businessmen cursed and argued back, uncaring that their Omnipotence levels were high enough to kill them with a glare.

It wasn’t that they were being disrespectful... the Rattokis were simply the chillest Clan out of the four when dealing with citizens, despite being the angriest.

Levi ignored the commotion and continued weaving through the crowd until he finally arrived at Leviathan Berth Seven.

Immediately, his Harmonic Spine caught the full picture of the Graveyard Drifter Leviathan... or what remained of it.

The kilometer-long carcass occupied nearly the entire berth as it lay across a colossal reinforced freight cradle sunken into the station floor.

Hundreds of enormous binding cables had been thrown over its body and tightened against the cradle, each one thicker than Levi’s torso.

A single Rattoki flew around the beast, checking the restraints and shouting adjustments to no one as he handled them on his own.

Even dead, the Leviathan looked absurdly massive... like someone had dragged an entire mountain of undead into the station to ship it somewhere.

At first sight, Levi wanted it even more.

Without hesitation, he scanned the area and soon found ten powerful but contained spiritual auras... each one belonged to an Ecliptic rank at minimum (Tier 7).

Leviathan Hunters.

One of the most dangerous, respected, and lucrative professions across the Chained Universe.

Just to apply for a squad, one had to be a minimum Ecliptic rank and possess an approved Hunter Licence with more than one hundred slain Colossal Beasts.

Unlike Rifters, who operated within the Platforms, Beast Hunters adventured across the Nine Root Realms, following tips, clues, or any piece of information that could lead them to a Leviathan sighting in the wild.

Without hesitation, Levi walked toward the squad leader, whose aura appeared like a bottomless abyss... no matter how hard Levi tried, he couldn’t get a read on his rank... which meant he was a Tier 8 Beast Hunter!

”Stay behind the line.”

Yet, Levi soon found himself facing the same problem as the previous times he had met these Hunters... there was a security detail blockade around them, ensuring their ’fans’ wouldn’t get too close.

Beast Hunters were just as popular as Rifters... especially the ones who posted edited recordings of their successful hunts to promote their brand.

”I am not a fan.”

Levi flashed his noble rank status... unnamed. It was enough to earn him some respect, but still too low to make the guards move out of the way.

He might be a Baron... but most of these Hunters were Viscount nobles without nations, as owning one wasn’t on their bucket list. Not every noble wanted to buy large territories and create nations; some were in it just for the love of the game.

Seeing that his noble status wasn’t enough, Levi clicked his tongue and stepped away from the blockade.

Forcing his way through would only make him look like an idiot.

So... how the hell was he supposed to get their attention? Levi knew that only two things attracted Beast Hunters.

Beasts and money.

Since flashing money was in poor taste, Levi stepped into an empty area and summoned a gigantic, corrupted, scorched Phoenix Feather.

Immediately, several of the Hunters stopped what they were doing and glanced in his direction, their eyes scanning the feather with interest.

They tried their best, but the feather was too corrupted to have its origin identified.

Levi retrieved the feather into his wallet, not wanting to attract any more unnecessary attention.

”I’m looking to hire a hunting squad.”

Levi directed his voice to reach only the Hunters’ ears, leaving the crowd to see his mouth moving, but no words came out.

The Hunters glanced at each other for a moment, appearing as if they were discussing the situation telepathically... they tried to scan Levi’s spiritual aura, but managed to pick up nothing.

This made them believe that he was either a civilian merchant or a serious powerhouse who needed to be respected... either way, the corrupted Feather attracted their attention, and they had some time to kill before their hunt was processed.

”Let’s talk somewhere private.”

The leader, Oracli, gestured for the guard to allow Levi inside... he was a three-meter-tall, muscular abomination covered in rugged blue scales.

His appearance resembled an unnatural cross between a lizard and a deep-sea shark... he was fully geared in powerful artifacts from head to toe while still maintaining a wild appearance.

Levi followed them toward the station’s Exchange Quarter, a semi-private section reserved for merchants, contractors, hunters, and other businessmen looking to negotiate away from the chaos of the freight floors.

The moment they entered a private room, Levi and the leader took seats across from each other while the rest of the squad remained outside to avoid crowding them.

”What should I call you?” Oracli inquired calmly.

”Dark Sun.”

Levi answered right away... a nickname he had decided on to tackle the business side of his operations and had been using for the past month.

If it were up to him, he would have used Mr. Problem for everything. Too bad, the identity was burned for now.

”Well, Mr. Dark...” Oracli crossed his massive arms, his expression unreadable. ”What kind of Leviathan are you hiring us to hunt? My squad doesn’t come cheap.”

”Before we discuss that, I am quite interested in your latest hunt.”

Levi guided the discussion back to his target... unfortunately, Oracli shook his head.

”The prey has already been claimed.” He rejected.

”Is there a contract signed?” Levi frowned. ”If not, I am willing to pay a premium price.”

Oracli held his chin as he sized up Levi... from the way he spoke and moved, he felt like he wasn’t a mere civilian merchant. They could try to hide their fear as much as they wanted, but it was always detected by him.

Not Levi... he moved like an established fighter, which made Oracli more curious about his rank and strength after failing to detect an ounce of spiritual aura from him.

But... he kept those thoughts to himself, as he knew it was in poor taste to ask powerhouses about such things.

”Well... no contract has been signed, but we Hunters take our word very seriously.” Oracli doubled down on the rejection. ”It doesn’t matter if you’re willing to pay double... our customer base respects the handshake agreement, and so do we.”

As much as this news bothered Levi, he knew that Oracli wasn’t lying to him just to send him off politely.

Most Hunters refused to use Nocturnal contracts since it would force them to sign far too many due to the nature of their work.

Since each Nocturnal contract consumed a tiny piece of one’s soul as a price, the damage stacked up quite fast if one didn’t stop abusing the contract’s authority.

These Hunters were going after Leviathans in their natural habitats... the hunt was already dangerous enough; none of them were stupid enough to weaken their souls even by 1%.

Hence, they minimized any possible contract signing.

”I won’t argue with that... but all I require is the empty carcass.” Levi pressed again. ”Your buyers must be interested in organs, bones, and such... I am more interested in an empty, hollowed-out carcass as long as it remains fully intact.”

”Hmm?” Oracli raised a brow in surprise. ”Are you a collector?”

”You can say so.”

Levi didn’t want to lie outright, but he also had no interest in sharing his business plan with outsiders.

”Fully hollowed-out carcass...”