Chapter 55: The Broker

Aldred Winsley was a broker for the KariBlanc Group—one of the leading commercial establishments in the Capital's Black Market.

As a sharp and handsome man in his early thirties, he had supervised and personally handled a lot of deals that went down in KariBlanc's businesses.

As a result, he had a good feel for sales and contracts, as well as how to gain the most benefit for his employers.

That was precisely why he was surprised when he stepped into the reception to meet the seller he was informed of.

'Who are these people...?'

From what he could see, they were not very impressive.

The one who was supposed to be the guard had a very lackluster posture—as if he was exhausted after a long walk.

His poor stance was unfitting for a guard. If an enemy struck surprisingly, he wouldn't be able to protect his employer properly.

But even his employer was just as unimpressive.

'He's dressed pretty cheaply. His sitting posture is also very crude...'

As Aldred Winsley approached the two, he kept up his cautious gaze.

'From what I can see, they're not special at all. But...' He narrowed his eyes as he took his seat.

'... Sometimes, what is on the surface could be deceiving.'

Aldred was curious.

'Are they frauds, or are they the real deal? Let's find out.'

"Greetings, customers. Or should I call you sellers? My name is Aldred Winsley, but you can call me Aldred." He said with a broad smile

As a professional, he had to be polite to the ones he addressed.

"Call us whatever you like, Mr. Winsley."

Upon hearing that, Aldred shook a little on his seat.

'This guy...' He tried his best not to stare hard at the man who sat opposite him, but it was difficult not to do so.

Not only had he refused to be placed under a stereotype such as 'customer' or 'seller', but he had also refused Aldred's attempt at friendliness.

'He's choosing to remain formal. He also disregards my suggestions while maintaining his ideals...'

These weren't the signs of a fraud.

'But I can't be certain. Not yet!' Aldred smiled internally.

The biggest and most important telling as to the validity of a person's true nature was their worth.

A person could fake their demeanors and personality, but they could never fake the value they possessed.

"So, dear seller... what do you have to offer?"

Straight to the point—as business in the Black Marker should be—Aldred asked his question.

'Let's see. This is wholesale, so it should be at least a thousand pieces of Monster Core. From the quality of Spatial Ring he has, I shouldn't expect anything more than two thousand.'

Spatial Rings were used by the rich to carry money or property.

As one would expect, they were separated into many categories.

The one Rey had in hand was one of the cheaper ones; with the carry limit being very small.

It was still considerably expensive, considering how highly valued Spatial Magic was.

'If they only brought this much, then it's not that big of a deal.'

At least, number wise.

'That means I should look forward to the quality.'

Anything in the realm of Grade 6 or higher was preferred, but he couldn't imagine these cheapskates having such quality of Monster Core.

Not only were Grade 6, Grade 5, and higher Grades very rare, but those who had access to them only did so in Retail.

The maximum was bulk retail.

"Well, you look worthy of my time. I suppose I'll show you..." As the seller spoke to Aldred, he wasn't at all intimidated.

'Hmph! Big words! I won't be convinced until I see the goods.'

Based on his expert analysis obtained from his many years of experience in this business, he could already tell that these people couldn't be worth his time.

He was only humoring them by staying.

~WHUSH!~

In a flash, several sacs began to drop on the table.

'E-eh...?'

Aldred had been staring at the masked seller's ring all this time, but never once did it glow.

That meant he wasn't bringing these sacs from the ring.

If not from then... then where?!

However, before he could think about that, the numerous sacs that were still being brought forth began to spill on the floor in their dozens.

So many sacs... more than he could have expected, filled his line of sight.

'C-could he be...?'

Aldred knew that a Spatial Ring had to be exposed and pointed at its target location before it could release its contents.

The fact that no such thing was happening here only pointed at one thing.

'He can use Spatial Magic?!'

If that was the case, then judging him based on the value of his ring was the most unwise thing he could have done.

"All done."

At this point, more sacs had stopped coming. Their appearances had dazed Aldred so much that he didn't notice when the whole thing was over.

"A-ahh... I see."

From what he could count alone, there were over forty full sacs in front of him.

The kind that could contain at least three-hundred Monster Cores—of course, accounting for size and value.

'Let's not get too carried away here...'

Aldred was still not sure of the Grade of Monster Core he was being presented with.

'Could be a Grade 9... or maybe 8?'

Aldred had heard that this seller specifically said the Grade was considerably high, so maybe it was a Grade 7.

'That's the most generous I can be in my analysis!'

Grade 6 Monster Core and upwards were very rare; especially in the Capital.

In the Adventurer City, they weren't as rare, but the Adventurers hardly sold the Cores since they were used to better their equipment or improve their power.

In the other places where Monster Cores of such Grades could be found, the Royal Council had already set their sights there.

Due to the current conflict with the Dragons and the fire state of the Nation, resources like those were poured into the National Defense and Offensive Measures.

Hardly any were left circulating in the market.

As such, it was easy to see why Aldred was so quick to dismiss the possibility of it being such Grades.

"What are you waiting for? Open the sacs." The seller's voice calmly woke Aldred from his dazed state.

He could feel something itching the back of his throat.

"Open. The. Sacs."

Tension filled the air as he heard the repeated words reverberate in the air.

The seller seemed so confident that it scared Aldred.

A thought crossed his mind.

'What if... just what if...?!'

No! That couldn't be!

Fueled by his desire to reject the impossible, Aldred finally mustered the courage to open one of the sacs.

"A-hhh! No way!" He had no idea when his thoughts escaped his lips.

He swiftly proceeded to open more sacs and had the same reaction.

Right now, the gleaming Monster Cores were reflecting on Aldred's clearly dumbfounded face, and he only had one thought.

'G-Grade 6?!'

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