The atmosphere in the room had changed completely. Nial's eyes were pitch-black, and Kristine felt as if she was sucked pulled inside a black hole the longer she looked into the infinite darkness.
Goosebumps sprang up on her entire body and it was the first time in her life that she hesitated in front of someone with a lower rank than herself.
Kristine stepped back and began to cough delicately to hide the fact that she was unable to control her body anymore.
"How about we continue with the negotiations?" Kristine meekly asked as she sat down.
She could tell that Nial was not as powerful as her but that didn't matter at all. Kristine felt uncomfortable about Nial's sudden change in demeanor and appearance, which were both things that were supposed to happen so quickly.
'Looks like I shouldn't overdo it if I want him to continue trading with us…' Kristine could only accept when the room temperature began to increase once again.
Nial retracted the dark energy he had released through his feet as well as the Essence of Darkness he had released at once.
'This is enough to inflict fear within others, but it's great that Kristine didn't ignore it…' Nial thought, clearly aware of the fact that he was not stronger than Kristine.
The Darkness Essence he had accumulated was far less than what he had possessed during the fight against Silvian. It was pretty difficult for Nial to replenish the Darkness Essence, let alone accumulate more of it.
He attempted to use the sealed Cursed Divine energy to increase his Darkness Essence, especially because it had become much easier for Nial to use the Darkness Essence after the first time where he had used it subconsciously.
Now that he could use it, Nial wanted to learn more about Kaeldur and the Darkness Essence. He guessed that it would be pretty interesting and that it would increase his strength by leaps and bounds whenever he would find out more about the Darkness Essence.
Unfortunately, the memories of the Late Darkness God were still not very detailed about that topic and Nial was already happy that the Darkness Essence had slowly replenished with the use of his dark energy.
"One more of your outbursts and I'll just go," Nial said coldly while staring in Kristine's direction before he turned his head to Kirlia.
"You know the value of everything I revealed. Tell your smartass sister whether you think that sharing some information about ability crystals is more valuable than all the books, and the runic armaments I revealed," Nial stated, demanding Kirlia to clear up Kristine's misconception.
This demand put Kirlia in a tricky position, which was why she could only clear her throat and try her best.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Sis…it's not like he will share the information with everyone. At most, he will use it for himself or the people close to him…and it's not like the Log of Ability crystals has every single existing ability crystal…what Nial said is correct. Sharing the Log of Ability crystals with him won't really put us at a disadvantage, especially because Nial can just demand the same from others as well.
You are just being a bit paranoid about revealing our organization's secrets…" Kirlia tried to pacify her sister, while Nial could only smile weirdly.
'She chose violence, didn't she?' He shook his head in disappointment, thinking that Kirlia could have simply said the first few sentences. He nearly laughed when he noticed that Kristine's mana turned unstable after hearing Kirlia but he didn't say anything to her.
"If you have the necessary authority to give me the Log of Ability crystals, we can seal the deal," Nial spoke in a tone of finality to Kirlia, who felt a bit weird right now.
She tried to ignore her sister but Kristine's expression was almost unreadable, not giving away her internal conflict.
"Okay…then let's start pricing all the items so that we can come up with a debt note…" Kirlia said resignedly before she and Nial put their heads together to come up with a price both parties were satisfied with.
Roughly an hour flew by before they came up with the final pricing.
"...." Kristine and Nial's parents looked at the debt note in front of them before they gulped nervously.
"Damn…" Miles was the first one to say something. He had never seen so many zeroes written on a check. He knew that Nial had sold their house along with the permanent slime dungeon for a million dollars. Miles had been a bit sad about this when he heard about it but he could tell that they wouldn't have a problem buying a new house…or building an entire shelter on their own if necessary.
"Nial…you're rich…" To say that Maline was astounded was an understatement. She gulped once again as her voice cracked. Nial merely smiled before he nodded his head at the number Kirlia had written down.
"5 Billion is more than enough for me. But are you sure that your leader will accept such a high debt note?" He asked, not hiding his curiosity.
He was pretty sure that Kirlia knew how the Runicier books could be copied, and that there were other ways to teach Runiciers than to buy all the high-tiered runic armaments from him.
However, Kirlia didn't even hesitate as she nodded her head.
"You must be joking, right? The Tier-2 longswords are no less than a national treasure for our boss. I think she would pay even more for everything," Kirlia laughed lightly when she noticed that Nial was a bit uncomfortable with the high price he was offered.
It was obvious that Nial was not born to become a businessman. He may be a bit sly and could use psychology to force others to obey his demands but business and finances were definitely not Nial's forte.
"Well, whatever. I don't need these things, either way. Resources worth five billion dollars is more than enough for me," Nial shrugged his shoulders while everyone else looked at him with weird expressions.
"Of course, that is enough. If you are not able to become a Prometheus Original with five billion dollars, I will come and find you!!" Kristine suddenly burst out. She had been silent for the entire time her sister and Nial had begun to negotiate the price for all the goods Nial sold.
Nial lifted his eyebrow when he heard this. Kristine never knew when to shut her mouth. Usually, this would be annoying but knowing that Kristine was the one to have said this, Nial could only smile wryly.
"Yes yes, whatever…come over whenever you want," Nial dismissed her playful threat before turning to his parents.
"Do you need anything? Just tell me, I can give you everything you want. Maybe I can even help you advance your mana core's quality. The Heaven's Gates organization should have a few means to improve your mana core's rank," Nial asked his parents, who were baffled by his offer.
"N-nonono, we don't need anything. Potential increasing treasures are way too valuable. Don't waste the money you need to improve your rank. As a Runicier your expenses must be ridiculously high. Just try to become a better Runicier and we will be happy," Maline politely declined her son before a flood of words escaped her mouth.
Even if she was fairly new to the concept of Runiciers, at the very least, she was able to gauge how promising this occupation was after everything she had witnessed today.
"Expensive? Not really. Even if I had no money at all, my teachers would probably sponsor me. Old Elf Crevian needs me to be my absolute best as a Runicier. There is nothing to be worried about," Nial was quite nonchalant as he tried to reassure his worried mother.
He didn't actually need much money, right now, and it was more of a future investment to deal with the Heaven's Gates. The five billion dollars that the Heaven's Gates owed him were something he may or may not require in the future.
It would be helpful to have more money either way, even if Nial was more interested in the Log of Ability crystals.
"What does he needs you for?" Miles suddenly asked when he sensed something. Nial's lips twitched as he noticed that he had made a big mistake.
"It's nothing serious…I will explain that later when we will leave for the Forest of Life," Nial quickly tried to draw their attention to something else before he spoke to Kirlia, "....the Heaven's Gates has a few treasures to increase their potential, right? I want some of them! Thanks…"
Nial tried to change the topic as quickly as possible but his reaction had been weird. His parents looked at him weirdly and Nial gave his best to avoid even looking at them. This was hardly possible, which was why he understood clearly that he had messed up.
'Well, I would have to tell them about the Runicier tournament sooner or later, either way,' Nial accepted reality, and sincerely hoped that his mother would not dissolve into tears again.
"I can bring them to you, but first, I should let our leader sign the debt note…" Kirlia responded while looking at Nial with a bit of hesitation.
Kirlia knew that she hadn't treated Nial well when they had first encountered each other. She had been too arrogant and Nial had suffered a bit because of her. This was something she felt apologetic for, especially now that she knew the reason for Nial's behavior at the Gier auction.
'What a mess,' Kirlia could only think before she rushed off to finish the paperwork.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmKristine was left alone with Nial and his parents but she didn't say anything. She was biting her lower lip nervously and trying to figure out how she could have misjudged Nial so much. Her gut feeling had clearly told her that Nial was not someone she had to be careful of.
However, every single of Nial's actions today was more than enough to indicate that her gut feeling was wrong and useless.
"Kristine, can you bring me the Log of Ability crystals? Or share the link to it?" Nial asked in a carefully neutral voice, but Kristine, who had been deep in thoughts, flinched.
"Y-yes…I give it to you immediately…" She responded quickly without issuing a single curse. Nial and his parents were confused.
"Her personality is…weird…" Maline mumbled quietly, while both men, Nial and Miles, nodded in agreement.
"Definitely…" Miles nodded her head while Maline could only sigh deeply as she turned to Nial to give him very important advice.
"Don't even think about getting a girlfriend like her…"
The moment Maline said this, Kristine just reached the doorframe. She was on her way to the Librarian, who had also the authority over all the Logs that could be sent over to everyone with the necessary permission.
Her ears twitched when she heard what Maline said but she didn't stop in her tracks.
"Calm down…you cannot kill someone weaker than you just for saying something like that…. don't throw a tantrum…" Kristine spoke like she was reciting a mantra, and Nial, who heard everything, could only smile weirdly as he perceived that Kristine had left the office.
"Mom, don't worry. I will take care of my love life. You can just live in peace, and let me do everything," He said with a faint smile on his face.
It wouldn't be long before they would return to the Forest of Life, and Nial was excited.
**
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