A Deal

Klaris was half expecting the reaction he was witnessing at this moment. He had, after all, just taken out what should have been an 'extinct' metal. A metal that could no longer be mined, as all Thare's reserves of it had been bled dry.

Nowadays, Illuminite only existed as a refined metal used in weapons and armour. There were no longer any raw pieces circulating the market. Only antiques and reforged items.

But even those were pretty hard to find.

After all, high-quality Illuminite could be refined into a metal that can cut 3-star beings. Some masters can use it to create weapons for 4-star beings and above! The more colours Illuminite radiated at a given moment in time, the stronger it was.

Some scientists have even speculated that if refined Illuminite depicted the entire spectrum of visible light at one moment, it would be capable of tearing apart 8-star beings.

It was truly a magical metal.

"So," Klaris spoke in a grave tone, "What do you think of this deal?"

Wariness could be seen flashing in the saleslady's eyes, as she asked, "Why us? Why not other, more successful shops?"

Hearing this, Klaris smiled. Through Javelin, he knew that this shop was rather special.

It was a failing business, yes, but there were secrets hidden within its plainness.

If Elodia knew what Klaris was thinking, she would have had a look of resignation on her face. Klaris was exactly that kind of sketchy person she didn't want to mingle with at this point in time.

She did have her suspicions at this moment though. Various thoughts ran through her mind as she weighed the consequences.

'If it's Illuminite, surely it would do much better in the black market,' Elodia thought to herself.

Her skills coupled with the fact that Illuminite was truly a rare treasure, its appearance on the black market would make it all the more valuable.

But... she ultimately resisted the urge to make the suggestion. Riches weren't her number one goal.

Survival was. No one would care for her sick brother if she died.

After all, she was still on some bigshot's radar for a failure she didn't cause.

"It's because you're an unaffiliated shop," Klaris answered without caring about Elodia's thoughts. "I'm not in the mood to have dealings with any factions at this moment."

Elodia nodded slightly, understanding the underlying reasons Klaris had when choosing not to deal with factions. In her understanding, Illuminite could be sold for a high price anywhere he went, but the commissioning fee would differ greatly.

That 80-20 split could become 60-40 or even 50-50 simply because one would be paying for the name and branding on top of the fee.

Using a faction's name always had a cost. After all, a faction's name is both a deterrent force as well as a source of advertisement.

In Elodia's eyes, Klaris was exchanging risks for better earnings.

The only problem was that those risks went both ways. As the person selling Illuminite, Elodia would bear a certain pressure.

But it was a lot less pressure than she had previously dealt with. She had the experience to sell such an item.

"How much Illuminite do you have?" She asked, curious as to how much this man had.

"Enough for a greatsword," Klaris answered, taking out a portion of the Illuminite in his possession. He chose not to be too extravagant and reveal an entire cubic metre of Illuminite. Since even 4-star beings coveted the metal.

If someone killed him just because their greed overpowered them, it wouldn't be a good use of his time.

Nonetheless,

"A greatsword!" Elodia gasped, "That much?"

Her eyes were currently glued to the 'huge' amount of Illuminite that was being displayed before her.

She was now even more tempted to hand this to the black market. Especially if she gave it off to an auction.

It could frankly sell for at least a hundred thousand dollars if she played her cards right. A couple hundred, if it was refined by a master blacksmith. After all, if it was refined by a master blacksmith, chances were, the corresponding weapon would have a 6-star rating at the very least. 8-stars if some miracle happens.

And if it does reach 8-stars, then the weapon would go for a few million dollars on the market. The material itself would be at least worth a million.

Unfortunately, she had no master blacksmith contacts.

At the end of the day, she could only have an advanced blacksmith take care of the metals.

"Yes, that much," Klaris answered Elodia's excitement with a plain tone. "I can also offer a rather steady supply."

"A steady supply—" Elodia coughed, losing her composure for a moment. In her mind, calculations went on and on and on.

'Oh no,' She thought to herself, 'If there's a steady supply, then it's worth the risk.'

Elodia couldn't help but bite her lip. This was a vexing predicament to be in. The allure of riches was too great. Greater than her desire to survive.

'I can help cure my brother faster with the money I can earn...'

Klaris saw the hesitation on Elodia's face. He thus produced a painting out of his 2-star Storage Scroll.

"To be honest, Miss Elodia Everfree, I am also here for your skills in particular,"

Magnus had done his research on the woman before him. He knew a bit of her predicament, hence all the conversation he was making just for one person.

In fact, it was quite easy to figure it all out just by stalking her and listening to her talk to her brother in the hospital.

The siblings shared everything with each other.

"It would be a bonus if you could act yourself. As a token of my gratitude, I can even lend you this artefact. It is called the Painting of Contrived Lovers. It allows one to make clones of oneself at the cost of one's mental power."

"This..." The hesitation on Elodia's face seemed to have lessened.

"It can help guarantee your safety." Klaris smiled beneath his mask.

Elodia took the painting in her hands, and she instantly felt a connection with it. Her Spirit Energy flowed subconsciously as a mirror image of herself shimmered into existence just a few steps away.

Using her split mind, she controlled the clone to move around.

It jumped, ran, and fiddled with the weapons in the shop. It was basically another living being at this point.

It could even talk and make expressions. A bonafide clone.

"Hah," Elodia sighed as she thought, 'Now I really can't fight the temptation... With this, I can even fake my death.'

"So you want to place Illuminite on the black market? Make it 70-30 and you have a deal." Elodia narrowed her eyes, her demeanour changing into a more ruthless character.

"75-25. I can still look for other black market agents like you, you know?" Klaris chuckled.

"But are they as good as me?" Elodia raised a brow, her confidence was clear to see.

Klaris squinted, "Who knows? Worst-case scenario, I go there myself."

"Tsk." Elodia clicked her tongue, "75-25 then. You provide the Contract Scroll."

Klaris was pleased to hear that. He swiftly produced a Contract Scroll from out of his pocket and began writing.

As he did so, he spoke,

"I hope this task I ask of you will be executed well. If you go beyond my expectations, I don't mind making it 70-30 in the future."

.

.

.

When the contract was signed, the two parties parted ways.

But only on the surface.

Javelin was already busying himself with stalking Elodia as she wound through the busy streets of Midseer. She took a few turns here and rode a few carriages there, all until she was taxied before a building that looked surprisingly extravagant.

It was a hotel.

Magnus was fully expecting the black market to be a musky, sketchy place where villains gathered but no: It was a place seemingly full of class.

Suites, robes, and long dresses could be seen adorning the people visiting this hotel. Gold and silver decorated the place looking like shining starlight in the magic-born haze of warm orange light.

There was no way for a small cat like Javelin to brazenly walk inside to follow someone.

'I need to look for a more secretive way in... But I will surely lose sight of Miss Elodia if I do so...' Magnus thought to himself before recalling a certain deck of cards he had pillaged from the towers inside the Pocket World Diorama.

Beside Javelin, Klaris the second appeared within the crowd, making a few people turn their heads in confusion as if to say, 'Did that man appear out of thin air?'

But the bustling atmosphere was too hectic for their thoughts to linger on that question for long: They were swept away by their own footsteps.

Klaris took out the Two-Faced Deck as the tattoo on his arm—the King of Diamonds—shimmered in a faint glow of red.

Under his half mask, Klaris' face changed. A beard appeared on his face and his features grew rugged yet elegant. He swiftly took off his mask and hood.

A kingly air enshrouded his features as he entered the hotel.

Klaris watched as Elodia ducked into the restrooms, and he took the opportunity to follow suit. He went into the one for males, while Elodia went to the one for females.

It seemed like the two were currently on the same page:

A change of clothes was needed.

Klaris swiftly invoked Mirror World Thief. He grabbed a stylish set of robes that fit his height and draped it over his shoulders.

His robes were white, immaculately white. A golden belt was wrapped around his waist with exquisitely complex embroidery, looking like spiderwebs of gold threads.

With his kingly features and the robes he now wore, he could fit in quite nicely with the people outside.

He hurriedly made his way out of the comfort rooms and scanned the area for Elodia.

'It looks like she has yet to finish dressing up,' Klaris nodded to himself after asking if anyone had seen a dainty, black-haired lady with vivid crimson eyes.

It was then,

Emerging from the comfort rooms, with princess-like poise, was Elodia with her hair tied up.

She walked the halls of the hotel, clad in a dress of black that traced her soft curves and fragile form.

Klaris' eyes shimmered.

Elodia was beautiful in this getup.

'But the look in her eyes...' Klaris and many other onlookers agreed on this, 'Ferocious. Borderline sadistic.'