Chapter 89: Bargain
Anastasia's voice broke the quiet.
"Oh? Unlike that Cyclops, this Twin Shadow Viper is a Rank-1 Magical Beast—rare and temperamental. I heard four Acolyte Wizards and seven knights chased it for a full day before they managed to bring it down."
Raven gave a tired sigh.
"Please don't circle around the point, ma'am. What's the final rate?"
Her crimson lips curved upward.
"Eight thousand five hundred gold coins. Bring the full sum within three days, and I'll make it eight thousand."
Raven rubbed his temple.
"You don't negotiate, do you?"
"Not with someone who knows the worth of what he's buying," she said, her tone honeyed but sharp.
He could only nod in defeat.
"Do you have any mutant goblins in stock?" he asked.
Anastasia blinked, then tilted her head.
"Goblins? You can find those carcasses in backwater shops, even in the rural outskirts."
"I'm not talking about common trash," Raven said. His eyes gleamed faintly. "I'm looking for mutant goblins with unique skills. I heard larger companies preserve rare ones for the Ida Festival."
The air between them thickened. Anastasia crossed her arms.
"Those specimens draw crowds. High-rank wizards pay absurdly for them. If one catches their eye, the price can go ten times higher than a regular Rank-1 beast."
"What if I offer an exchange?" Raven countered. "A unique corpse, one not even listed in the Wizards' Encyclopedia."
Her smile faltered for the first time.
"Let me see it first," she said, her tone losing its playful edge.
Raven simply nodded.
Anastasia gestured toward a circular platform etched with runes. The floor pulsed faintly underfoot.
"Place your corpses here," she said. "The identification array will do the rest."
Raven touched his spatial ring. A shimmer of blue light—then the corpse of a five-meter-long Ice wyrm appeared, its frosted scales reflecting the runes' glow.
Anastasia's lips parted slightly in awe as the identification array flared a golden hue. An unseen force rose like wind and wrapped around the corpse.
"The body's still intact… but no trace of bloodline essence," she murmured, before her gaze flicked toward the Cyclops corpse resting nearby. "Tell me—are you researching the Warlock Pathway?"
Raven's heart skipped a beat.
'She knows about Warlocks?'
Inside his mind, the familiar, calm voice whispered:
[Of course she does. Before Wizardry, humans practiced the Warlock Pathway. They abandoned it because of its shackles—each warlock can follow only one bloodline. And humans lacked the means to purify what they extracted, leaving their bloodlines impure and unstable.]
Raven's thoughts deepened.
'What if someone could extract high-purity essence? Wouldn't that bypass the shackle?'
[Do you know why even Wizards struggle to kill a beast of the same rank, lad?] Zera asked.
[A Rank-1 Giant's strength is sixty to a hundred times that of a man. Even the strongest Rank-1 human barely reaches tenfold. If someone absorbed a Giant's essence at ninety-per cent purity—]
'Their body would gain immense power?'
[No. It would explode. Even your Devouring Bloodline can't defy that limit forever.]
Raven's lips tightened.
Anastasia noticed his silence.
"Relax," she said softly. "Wizards don't pry into others' secrets. Just be wary of what bloodlines you take."
"The one experimenting with bloodlines is my senior," Raven replied. "I just handle the sales."
Her brow arched.
"As long as he knows what he's doing." She turned back toward the array. "Next?"
Raven nodded and drew another corpse from his ring.
The thing that landed on the platform made Anastasia's breath hitch—a bloated worm-like creature, covered with dozens of closed eyelids that twitched faintly under the light.
"Is… this the one?" she whispered, her voice trembling despite herself.
She activated the array again. Golden light rippled across the grotesque body. Veins, nerves, organs—all formed patterns she couldn't comprehend.
"I've never—never seen such anatomy," she muttered. "This thing's value could easily—" She caught herself and straightened. "Although… unique, it lacks bloodline essence. I can offer five thousand gold coins."
Zera's voice hissed in Raven's ear.
[Bargain. Hard. She's underplaying it—this corpse isn't unique; it's singular. The only one of its kind in existence.]
Raven gave a sharp snort.
"Forget it. I'll sell it elsewhere."
He reached toward his ring—but Anastasia's hand shot up.
"Wait!" she said, a little too fast. "I can… exchange it. For a unique goblin corpse. Or two."
Her smile was back, but her eyes glimmered with unease. This thing isn't in any record… not even from our world, she realized.
"One mutant Cyclops, one Twin Shadow Viper, and one unique goblin corpse," Raven said. His tone left no room for debate.
The temperature in the room dropped.
"Shameless," Anastasia hissed.
A pulse of spiritual pressure filled the hall—an invisible hand that froze Raven in place.
'Shit—!'
Before he could react, Selene moved. She flickered like a shadow, catching the rifle that materialized in midair and aimed straight at Anastasia's forehead.
"Retract your power," Selene said calmly, finger resting on the trigger. "Please, ma'am."
The weapon's faint hum cut through the silence. Anastasia's spiritual sense flared—and what she sensed made her pupils shrink.
"An… Aether weapon?"
"Yes," Selene said coldly. "My captain used this to kill an Expert-rank Walker. I don't know if it can kill you—but it can hurt you."
A beat of silence.
Then Anastasia sighed and lowered her hand.
"Haa… reckless, both of you." She dismissed her aura. "Fine. Take them. But promise me one thing—priority business with our shop."
Raven exhaled slowly and nodded.
"Deal."
A wave of her hand, and two glass containers drifted toward them.
"The Viper and Cyclops are yours," she said. "When your senior extracts their blood essence, return the Viper's body—I'll repurchase it at half price."
"And the Cyclops?" Raven asked.
"It'll rot once the essence is drawn. But the Viper's organs remain useful—its fangs, venom gland, and bones. Keep it preserved."
He nodded, storing the corpses carefully in his ring.
"Follow me. The goblins are stored below."
They passed through a narrow corridor, down a spiral staircase, until the air grew thick with mana and preservative fumes. The underground chamber glowed with blue light—hundreds of glass pods lined the walls, each holding a floating magical beast in liquid suspension. Some twitched faintly, trapped between life and death.
"These pods keep them pristine for years," Anastasia explained.
Raven ignored her. He moved from one pod to the next—his eyes scanning each goblin corpse.
Finally, he stopped before one with yellow-black skin and milky white eyes.
"This one."
Anastasia tapped the controls. The liquid drained, and the pod hissed open. Raven stored the body without hesitation.
"Pleasure doing business," he said with a faint smile.
"Please visit again," Anastasia replied, her professional mask returning.
The moment they left, her expression hardened.
"I need to investigate that man," she muttered. "That corpse… wasn't from this world."
Outside, the afternoon light spilt across the cobblestone street.
"Where to now, my lord?" Selene asked, still shaken. Her voice was soft, careful.
"I didn't expect her to attack us. If you hadn't warned me, we'd have lost more than gold."
Raven's gaze turned distant, his voice low.
"The Supreme Court."
"Court?" Selene blinked. "Why go there?"
"I have business."
He stepped into the carriage without looking back.
Selene sighed and followed.
"I'll never understand what he's thinking."