"At the same time, [Arbitrary Transformation Dart] can inherit the upgraded effects of [Arbitrary Transformation]."

"Oh? That's interesting."

"Doesn't that mean I can designate objects to undergo shapeshifting?"

"Yes."

Just moments ago, Blaine had been thinking this item was rather useless. But after hearing the system's explanation, his perspective changed immediately.

The advanced effects of Arbitrary Transformation were something Blaine had painstakingly obtained at the cost of a level-five star core and magic. Yet now, such a difficult ability could be replicated so easily and perfectly by these small darts.

"System, if these darts were sold individually…"

"How much would one cost?"

"Fifty billion."

The system gave the price without hesitation.

"Damn… one is fifty billion? Ten would be five hundred billion?"

It had to be said—this time, the system was unexpectedly generous. A gift worth five hundred billion was equivalent to ten bottles of rejuvenation potion. While it made sense for a rejuvenation potion to be valued at fifty billion, Blaine couldn't quite grasp why these small darts were worth the same.

And yet, each one was priced at fifty billion. In the United States, even some top-tier national assets wouldn't reach that value. What did fifty billion represent? With that amount, Blaine could build five Stark Industrial Buildings—excluding Tony's internal equipment.

He had spent over a trillion dollars and received five hundred billion in return. No matter how he calculated it, Blaine came out ahead. Well… perhaps he thought so, but the system likely never made a losing deal.

In any case, this five-hundred-billion gift was now in his hands. If he had initially compared these darts to Dr. Pym's size-altering particles, then what he now possessed was clearly an upgraded version.

More importantly, there was no time limit. Blaine could use a dart to instantly alter the size of his trident—enlarging or shrinking it at will—or even transform it into any weapon. In that sense, it resembled the legendary staff wielded by a certain monkey.

Just imagine—during battle, even if Blaine didn't use it on himself, he could use it on his enemy, instantly shrinking their body or reducing the scale of their attacks. That alone would make dodging effortless, or allow him to capture them alive with ease.

If he disliked someone enough, he could simply transform them into a dog or a mouse. Without his permission, they would never be able to revert to their original form.

In any case, Blaine's opinion of these small darts had completely changed, all because they inherited the upgraded effects of Arbitrary Transformation.

With a flick of his hand, he closed the box and tossed it directly into his Hunter Space.

At this point, the trillions he had spent today were completely gone. The level-ten star core was gone as well. Blaine was, once again, completely broke—a pauper.

"System, open the status panel."

"Let me see what I've gained today."

Host: Blaine

Physical Fitness: 450 (Three-quarters God-level Physique)

Hunter Level: A

Abilities: [Diamond Body Lv.8] [Swordsmanship Lv.4] [Copy Eyes Lv.5] [Absolute Hit Lv.3] [Hawkeye Lv.6] [Mind Control Lv.4] [Shadow Stealth Lv.3] [Soul Tracking Technique Lv.10] [Lightning Everywhere Lv.2] [Arbitrary Transformation (+1 Level)] [Energy Shield] [Magic Drawing Technique] [Spring and Autumn Sword Art]

[Fortune God's Favor] [Mind Reading] [Regeneration] [Danger Perception] [Meditation] [Teleportation] (17/30)

Equipment: [Hunter Suit (+40)] [Elemental Bow (+40)] [Dragon Trident (+2 Tier) (One Pattern)] [Tracking Paper Crane (×1)] [Burst TNT (×1)] [Boots of March (+15)] [Soul Pendant (+15)] [Weakened Space Stone Ring (×1)] [Arbitrary Transformation Dart (×10)] [Rejuvenation Potion (×3)]

Subsidiary Skills: [Dragon Chant] [Dragon's Breath] [Dragon Half-Moon Slash] [Moon Devour]

Mall Balance: 5.035 billion

Star Core: 0

"Oh my god… my money, my star cores…"

"It's all gone…"

Looking at the dazzling array of skills and equipment in his interface, Blaine couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction. But the moment he thought about his remaining balance—and the fact that he didn't even have a single star core left—his heart ached again.

"Wait… that's not right."

"System, I've spent nearly three to five trillion in total, haven't I?"

"So why is my Hunter rank still A-rank?"

"That doesn't make sense."

[Insufficient number of tasks completed by the host recently.]

[Although cumulative spending meets the requirement, the number of accepted and completed missions does not meet the standard. Therefore, the system judges the host as unqualified. As a result, the Hunter rank cannot be upgraded.]

"…You've got to be kidding me."

Blaine was stunned after hearing this. What kind of logic was that? Being a Bounty Hunter and still failing performance evaluation? It hadn't been like this before. Sure, he hadn't taken on many missions recently, focusing more on exploiting loopholes and gathering resources—but effort should count for something.

All that hard-earned money, along with the star cores he had worked so hard to obtain, had been handed over to the system. And yet, he was still stuck at A-rank?

"Fine, fine, you win."

"Then just tell me—how many missions do I need to pass?"

Blaine had been stuck at A-rank for far too long. Back in the beginning, a single high-paying mission would be enough for a promotion. But now, after all the effort he had put into gathering resources, there was suddenly a performance evaluation? What was this—no year-end bonus either?

[If the host wishes to upgrade. You must complete at least one transaction consisting of three missions. Among them, at least one must have a value no less than 100 billion.]

[Or obtain a level-three star core.]

"…Damn."

"A level-three star core is equivalent to about 300 billion…"

"Not to mention, star cores are incredibly rare on Earth."

"So 100 billion is the more realistic option…"

"But who's going to pay me 100 billion for a job?"

"And it's a time of 'peace and prosperity' right now…"

"In that case, it looks like leveling up will have to wait again."

There was no helping it. If it were just three missions, Blaine might have managed. But 100 billion? That was far too difficult. Unless Thanos suddenly appeared on Earth, no one—aside from someone like Fury—could casually offer that kind of money.

"…Forget it."

"I'll just make do for now."

With that, Blaine waved his hand, dismissing all the virtual panels—his equipment, attributes, and system interface disappearing instantly.

"Hoo…"

*************************************

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