âSure.â Rael sat up straight. âSo whatâs your offer, then?â
âWe will accept your terms. 200 million Trell, and you give us the two fragments,â Esmeralda replied, sipping on some tea. âNo strings attached, just a simple exchange.â
Usually, when people say no strings attached, there are strings attached, Rael thought with a sigh.
Caedia spoke up before he could.
âI think we should raise the number slightly.â
âAnd why would we do that?â Victoria asked, puzzled. âHis initial offer was 100 million for a fragment, so itâs only natural to assume heâd want 200 million for two fragments.â
Rael listened to their conversation with a smile and finally chimed in. â300 million Trell.â
Caediaâs eyes widened as she turned toward him. âRael⊠I think you should go slower⊠maybe? Why not try lower increments to getââ
âDeal.â Esmeralda cut her off. âAnything else?â
Rael grinned. âA private conversation with you, mayhaps?â
âHmmâŠâ Esmeralda glanced at the two shocked empresses and waved them away.
âE-Esmeralda!â Victoria slammed the table. âY-You do know weâre supposed to negotiate during negotiations, right!?â
âIâm on her side this timeâŠâ Caedia muttered, glancing between Rael and Esmeralda. âEven for us, 300 million Trell is a lot of money. It might even destabilize our entire economy for the next year or two.â
âThe key fragments are more important than some lousy money we can get by taking a loan from the Scorched Lands,â Esmeralda replied with a small smile. âEven if I went ahead and tried lowering the price, he wouldâve gone ahead and increased it, isnât that right?â
Rael chuckled. âYep. I wouldâve increased it to 350 million, and if you tried to go back to 300 million, I wouldâve gone to 400 million. Fun, right?â
âUghâŠâ Victoria grumbled. âI donât like youâŠâ
âNeither do I, so get out now,â Rael replied and pointed toward the door. âCaedia, see you later as well, shoo.â
âDonât shoo me,â Caedia said, and after he didnât reply, she left the room with a frustrated look and was followed by the mumbling Victoria.
Nonetheless, the two were finally alone in a room together, and since Rael wasnât a pushover, he cut straight to the point.
âThe money?â
Esmeralda stared at him silently for a moment and extended her hand, which he swiftly accepted.
<Payment Received: 300,000,000 Trell. Accept? Yes/No>
<Confirmed.>
<Balance Updated: +300,000,000 Trell | New Balance: 321,151,775 Trell>
âAnd the fragments?â Esmeralda asked. However, he didnât give them up just yet.
âAre you enjoying yourself over there, Bertha?â Rael said with a smirk.
Esmeraldaâs eyes widened, but they soon returned to normal as she let out an exhausted sigh.
âWhen did you find out?â
âCouple days ago, doesnât matter though,â Rael replied, readying himself for the worst.
âI seeâŠâ Esmeralda muttered. âThe Spider Monarch would like to have a chat with you. Do you accept?â
Rael scoffed. âDo I have a choice?â
âNo,â Esmeralda stated coldly, and in the very next moment, her pink hair turned black, and several spiders began crawling out of her mouth, stationing themselves on the table.
And of course, the pressure in the entire room increased drastically, making it hard for him to breathe.
Guess thatâs her, Bertha, the Spider Monarch, Rael thought with a poker face.
âFirst of all, Iâm glad youâve made it here safely,â Bertha said and gestured for the spiders to grab her a glass of wine. âAlso, donât call me Bertha. My name is Beatrice.â
âCute name for a spider,â Rael remarked, causing her to giggle.
âI suppose it is, isnât it?â Beatrice smiled. âNow, you might be confused, but I assure you, I have no intention of fighting you here.â
âIs that right?â Rael replied, glancing at the pop-ups that thankfully appeared.
<Mind Anchor has detected a mental attack!>
<Reducing LoadâŠ>
âTell me, are you overly reliant on skills?â Rael brought up, kicking his feet up on the table. âOr do you just enjoy watching and tormenting everyone through your underlingsâ eyes?â
âNow, why would you say that?â Beatrice pouted. âWhy would I hurt you before our big fight, dear Rael Sutekh?â
Rael tilted his head. âAre you reading my mind?â
Beatrice nodded confidently. âWhy, of course. Youâve got quite the treasure trove there.â
âHmm⊠how far back do you see?â Rael asked, puzzling her.
âArenât you supposed to be mad that Iâm looking into your mind?â Beatrice said, then closed her eyes for a few short moments before reopening them.
However, she was even more confused than he expected, so she closed and reopened her eyes multiple times until she leaned back in the chair, looking at the ceiling.
âI canât see past a monthâŠ?â she muttered. âDo you have some kind of mental block? No⊠no you donâtâŠâ
Beatrice seemed to be slowly dropping her normal girl persona, and as she did, her eyes suddenly began glowing, and the pressure he felt moments ago increased severalfold.
But that was precisely the moment Rael was waiting for.
âThank you for your patronage,â Rael said with a massive grin and tapped on a particular perk.
<Premium Override Activated!>
<Would you like to cancel the opponentâs skill? Cost: 24,220,000 Trell>
<Would you like to steal the opponentâs skill [Neuroweb (Ancient)]? Cost: 305,999,000 Trell>
<Confirmed.>
<Entity: Beatrice, The Spider Monarchâs skill has been stolen!>
<Skill: Neuroweb (Ancient) has been acquired!>
<Ancient-Ranked Skill Stolen! +10,000 to all stats!>
âW-What have you done!?â Beatrice yelled, attempting to stand up.
However, her body, or rather, Esmeraldaâs body, was no longer listening to her, so she began spazzing out in her seat.
âNothing special, to be honest.â Rael shrugged. âI just gave myself a little head start, you could say. Little spidey.â
She suddenly raised her hand, commanding all of the miniature spiders to attack him. But before they could even approach, Rael simply used a single Acid Lash.
[MP -6,900,000 16,649,200/23,549,200 (x1 Acid Lash)]
Immediately, Beatrice tried to call her spiders back, but it was no use. A massive green whip came crashing down, sweeping through the spider swarm and hitting all of themâeveryone except her.
-359,432,553! Critical Hit! (x1 Acid Lash)
<Regular Spider Summon (x4,383) [Level 1] Killed! Experience: Null>
<+4,383 Trell Acquired>
<Experience â Stats!>
<Stats: None>
âAAAAAAAH!â Beatrice screamed, her body twitching in agony as she sent him a hatred-filled glare. âYou will regret this!â
âProbably.â Rael nodded. âBut yeah, as a final fuck you, Iâll make sure to use your own skill on you later.â
Her expression twisted, and just as he prepared himself to cut off her head, her hair suddenly lost its black luster and instead returned to the bright pink.
Rael stared at the body, puzzled.
She was still breathing, and when he inspected her, he didnât see the apostle status like last time, which meant Beatrice no longer had control over Esmeraldaâs body.
He was relieved, but at the same time, there was a more pressing situation he had to deal with.
The guards were approaching incredibly fast, and by total accident, he had turned the entire room into a dissolved mess.
And the room wasnât the only thing that dissolved, because, well, Esmeraldaâs clothes did too.
Soon, the door swung open, but instead of the guards, he saw a shocked Caedia staring at him, and then at Esmeralda.
âY-Y-You!â
âI can explainâŠâ Rael shook his head. âYou see, while I did accidentally strip her, it wasnât with the intention to gaze at her flat chest⊠I mean massive cheâIâm not guilty.â
Caediaâs brows twitched, and he knew his explanation didnât slide.
Therefore, he decided to tell her what happened from the beginningâleaving out some important bits, of course.
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