"Sorry to keep you waiting, Gusion."
Titan pushed through the crowd and walked up, initiating a trade with Gusion.
Gusion, not one to drag things out, confirmed the amount and handed over the T-Rex Devil Fruit.
"You restocked while I was gone?" Titan was surprised at the extra Devil Fruits on Gusion's stall. He'd thought there were only a few.
But he didn't regret not checking more—this Ancient Zoan T-Rex Fruit was the best after the Rumble Rumble Mi and suited his fighting style perfectly.
"Just got these identified. See anything you like?" Gusion said casually.
Titan shook his head. "Can't afford it. Gong, anything catch your eye?"
The man beside Titan looked honest and a bit chubby, with a warm smile, like a friendly businessman in the real world. But from Titan's respectful attitude, Gusion could tell he was a big shot here too.
"Nice selection, good quality. Let me see."
Gong bent down to look over the stall. "Are the listed prices final?"
Gusion nodded. The stall had a price tag function—just check the details.
"Fair prices. I'll take these five."
Gong calmly pointed at five Devil Fruits, as if he was just buying groceries.
Gusion was a bit shocked, glancing at Titan as if asking, "Who is this guy?"
"He's a Tier 4. Came down to buy stuff for our group's newcomers," Titan explained vaguely, obviously unable to say more.
Gusion understood. Explorers can't freely travel between layers, but can move within three layers above or below their own. He was selling at a higher tier, and Gong was buying from a lower tier.
The real shock came when Gong said during the transaction, "1.08 million? Unlucky number. I'll pay 1.09 million."
Gusion thought, That's unlucky? Rich people are really particular. But of course, he didn't object—if someone wants to pay extra, why refuse?
After the deal, Gong cheerfully put away the five Devil Fruits. "Nice, shopping this way is so efficient. Titan, call me next time you have a good deal." Then he left, leaving behind an air of mystery.
The onlookers were stunned by the million-level deal; for Tier 3 explorers, that was astronomical.
People eyed Gusion with envy, thinking he might be the richest Tier 3 explorer. But if Gusion knew, he'd say they were wrong—he was actually the richest Tier 2 explorer.
Only three fruits remained on his stall, and as the excitement faded, the crowd dispersed.
Gusion holding tablet, kept catching up on anime.
…
Near evening, Black Lily arrived at his stall, accompanied by a gloomy-looking woman.
The woman dressed all in black, face covered with a dark red mask, figure tall but giving off an unsettling vibe. Her gaze was clinical—like a scientist observing a lab animal.
"And she is…?" Gusion asked. He'd emailed Black Lily earlier to pick up a scroll. He'd randomly drawn a master-level scroll, and it happened to be a melee combat specialization—lucky for either him or her.
"She's Mandrake, from my group," Black Lily replied, voice sweet but emotionless. Her presence would fit well in a horror movie.
Gusion wondered what kind of people her group was made of. If you have a party, why always act alone?
"I'll take the Shadow Fruit," Mandrake said with a raspy voice, scanning the fruits.
Her voice was grating, like a male duck screaming inside a leaky bellows.
Gusion picked up the fruit, and Mandrake initiated the trade without haggling—230,000.
He'd told Black Lily about the fruits to gauge interest; Mandrake was clearly an assassin-type explorer, so it made sense she'd buy that one.
After selling it, Gusion planned to pack up—the remaining two fruits were for feeding his Chaos Spirit Seed.
Black Lily wasn't surprised. She knew about the Spirit Seed from the previous world; now that the previous owner was gone, Gusion had inherited it.
After the trade, Mandrake looked at Gusion emotionlessly. "Besides buying the fruit, the vice-captain asked me to pass on a message."
Gusion was puzzled by Black Lily's group, but he'd noticed: ever since Black Lily and Mandrake arrived, everyone else had left. These explorers seemed to fear the two of them even more than Snow Wind. Clearly, this was about their group's reputation.
"Go ahead," Gusion said politely; Black Lily was strong, and so were her groupmates—he'd likely have to deal with them in the future.
"Join the Botanical Garden. You carry valuables—if you lose them, it'll be a loss for all of us," Mandrake said, surprising even Black Lily, who hadn't known the vice-captain wanted this delivered.
She was puzzled: only she knew about the Spirit Seed, and she hadn't told anyone. Yet the vice-captain somehow knew.
Gusion frowned slightly, looking at Black Lily, wondering if she'd leaked his info. But her eyes were calm and unreadable.
He thought it over: having the Spirit Seed was impossible to keep secret, since everyone who'd been to the Kengan world knew. It wasn't necessarily Black Lily who spread it; she didn't seem the type.
"Sorry, I have no plans to join a group. I work best alone," Gusion declined. The Botanical Garden seemed strong and mysterious, but he didn't want to be tied down. As a Pioneer, he sometimes had to do special tasks—possibly even eliminate teammates.
"Very well, that's all," Mandrake said, not pressing further. She turned and left.
Gusion noticed Black Lily was still there. He asked, "Is everyone in your group this weird?"
"You're one to talk. I don't know why the vice-captain invited you, but she's right—news of your valuables will spread among the elite soon, and you'll become everyone's target," said Black Lily. "So, really not interested in joining?"
Gusion didn't expect her to play advocate. "Would joining keep me safe? Didn't see Body Killer go easy on you."
Black Lily was silent for a few seconds. "…Not exactly. If you join, you'll gain intel, but our group never acts together. The only one who can save you is your stronger future self."
She took her scroll and left, clearly not a talkative type.
Gusion watched her go, pondering what kind of odd group this Botanical Garden really was. If they didn't team up in worlds, what was the point of a party?
He packed up, calculated his earnings—sold the Rumble Rumble Fruit for 450,000, used 300,000 to identify five Devil Fruits (left with 150,000), plus Gong and Mandrake's, now had 1.47 million!
"I'm really a millionaire now," Gusion thought, and set out to splurge at the market.
But epic bloodlines were rare; most for sale were Devil Fruits. Seeing nothing special, he headed back.
Next day, Gusion browsed the market again, but still found nothing. He realized Tier 3 explorers were generally poor, and epic bloodlines were hard to come by—if someone got one, they'd use it themselves or their group would keep it in-house. Only soloists like him would sell.
Out of options, he contacted Black Lily for leads, thinking the Botanical Garden might have surplus high-tier bloodlines.
"I'll ask," Black Lily replied. Soon after: "There's one bloodline item, expensive—see if you like it."
She sent the details:
[Bloodline Item: Clarity of Heart]
Origin: Native World #21870
Quality: Epic
Usage: Only within space, application required
Requirements: 50 Spirit, 50 Constitution
Details: From the mysterious Clarity of Heart clan, grants +5 Spirit, +5 Constitution, and near-absolute immunity to mind control, strong resistance to body control. See bloodline menu for more after use.
Rating: 700+
Review: Clarity of heart, relentless advance.
[]
Gusion's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he needed—he could upgrade stats easily, but it was hard to acquire new mechanics. His only weakness as a soloist was susceptibility to crowd control—this bloodline would fix that.
"How much?"
"500,000, non-negotiable," Black Lily relayed.