Chapter 814: Reasonable Deal

Adam knew that the Joker wouldn’t have allowed him to take the eight golem cores with him to the outside world.

He speculated that these golems served as security for the secret plane. The youth didn’t know how many golems the Joker had, but knew that these cores were simply too valuable to part with.

“What proposition?” The Joker growled. “If it’s about getting your hands on any other items in this vault, then no!”

“Hehe,” Adam chuckled innocently. “Sir Joker, I defeated those golems by myself, so shouldn’t I be rewarded with their cores?”

The Joker reprimanded, “Your reward for defeating the golems was the knowledge about the portal on Luna! I have given you more than enough. Do not be greedy, lad!”

“Calm down, calm down.” The raven-haired youth raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not saying I won’t return the golem cores. Of course, I will. I mean, they belong to you, after all.”

He paused for a moment, his gaze involuntarily drawn towards the countless artifacts stored in the towering wooden shelves.

“Instead,” he began, “how about I exchange the golem cores for Rank 3 artifacts here—”

“Absolutely not!” The Joker crossed his arms and raised his chin, refusing adamantly. “I am a man of principles. I will only reward you with what you deserve.”

He turned to the raven-haired youth and added, “You defeated the golems, and I divulged the method to leave Tron; you withstood the attack of the eagle guardian, and I provided you with precious herbs and ingredients to heal your body.”

The Joker paused for a moment and couldn’t help but scoff as his gaze properly scanned Adam’s new transformation. “And from the looks of it, those ingredients did more than just heal you. Hmph! If anything, you owe me!”

Adam knew he was right. The Joker had gone above and beyond to help him this time around.

But the youth knew exactly what the man wanted.

With a casual wave of his hand, he conjured dozens of large barrels, each towering up to his waist, thudding on the ground one after another in neat rows.

The moment the barrels appeared within the underground vault, a tantalizing and strong aroma of liquor wafted in the air.

The Joker’s nostrils involuntarily flared as his gaze became glued to the barrels of wine.

Seeing this, Adam smirked. Heh, this always does the job.

The Joker’s eyebrows furrowed, and his expression gradually darkened. “You think you can buy me with cheap liquor! Hmph, lad, you are too arrogant!”

“Hey, now!” Adam was slightly offended by that remark. “I brewed this wine for almost a decade, and added all sorts of rare ingredients. Don’t call it cheap! Do you have any idea how much each barrel would go for in the market?”

“I don’t care!” The Joker crossed his arms and looked away. But from time to time, his nose would twitch, and he would secretly glance at the barrels.

Seeing this, Adam couldn’t help but smirk. He walked towards the nearest barrel and pried open the lid. He conjured a flat cup, dipped it in the barrel, and offered the Joker some wine.

“Care for a taste?”

The Joker’s gaze shifted between the flat cup and Adam, his expression extremely conflicted.

“This doesn’t mean anything, lad!” He roared as he grabbed the flat cup and took a taste of the wine.

The moment the liquor washed down his gullet, he felt as if he was transported to a sprawling vineyard. The rays of the radiant sun cascaded down on his face, drowning him in euphoria.

“So, how about it?” Adam’s voice jolted him out of his fantasy.

The Joker came to his senses and glanced at the empty cup in his hand. Then, he gazed at the dozens of barrels arranged in neat rows before him.

He couldn’t help but involuntarily gulp. “Are all of them the same?” he asked.

“Four distinct types of wine. Ember Red, Moon Silver, Star Gold, and Earth Noir,” Adam answered smoothly. “Twelve barrels of each.”

The Joker seemed to hesitate for a long time as he gazed at each of the barrels laid before him.

Adam struck when the iron was still hot. “I will return the eight golem cores to you. Additionally, I will gift you these forty-eight barrels of wine, each brewed and preserved for almost a decade.”

He paused for a moment, his lips curling into a confident smirk. “In return, I only ask for ten Rank 3 artifacts from this vault, as well as two books on ritual magic.”

The Joker returned to his usual demeanor as he looked towards Adam. “Fafafa! You think you can convince me with mere wine? Lad, you are naive!”

“Fine, I’ll keep them away then.” Adam shrugged and proceeded to put away all the barrels inside his storage earrings.

“Wait!” The Joker awkwardly called out. He cleared his throat and proposed, “Two Rank 3 artifacts of your choice and one book.”

“Eight artifacts and two books,” Adam adamantly countered.

The Joker’s eyes narrowed. “Four artifacts and one book.”

Adam deeply looked at the Joker, his expression solemn. “Five artifacts and two books. If you cannot agree to this, then we don’t have a deal.”

The Joker’s eyes narrowed even further. “You do know that I am strong enough to get those cores out of you by myself, eh?”

“Of course.” Adam shrugged. He paused for a moment before adding, “I won’t take away the cores. They belong to you, anyway. But if this deal falls through… then you risk me never returning to this place again.”

“Hehe.” He paused for a moment before revealing a crafty smile. “Can you afford such an outcome?”

“Fafafa, I was just kidding~” The Joker clasped his hand and laughed amicably. “It’s a deal. Choose any five Rank 3 artifacts from here. But as for the books, I’ll be the one to choose them.”

“Hahaha!” Adam laughed like the two were old buddies. “Of course, of course. I have no doubt that you’ll hand over only the finest tomes on ritual magic!”

The Joker abruptly stopped laughing and grumbled, “Despicable little twat!”

With that said, he disappeared from the vault, teleporting to the Soaring Library above. Meanwhile, Adam couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

He knew that the Joker would relent regardless of what he asked for, but Adam knew better than to touch his bottom line.

He felt that five Rank 3 artifacts and two books on ritual magic were reasonable.

Well, relatively reasonable.

“Brother, what do you need these artifacts for?” Valerian climbed onto his shoulder and asked curiously, “Don’t you already have all you need?”

“That’s right, Little Val, these artifacts are not for my use.”

“Then what is it for?” The young dragon asked with a tilt of his head.

“I’m planning to sell them at the grand auction in Ravenfell,” the youth grinned from ear to ear.

“And considering these artifacts were made by Magus Mathias himself—a splendid Artificer during his time—I’ve no doubt they’ll fetch an impressive price at the auction.”

“Brother! Brother! Are we going to be rich?” Valerian clapped in excitement.

“Huhu, my foolish little brother, we are already rich.” Adam corrected him with a smug smile. “But we’re going to be richer! Kahaha!”

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