CHAPTER 415: THE STOREOWNER’S PROPOSAL

"The highest tier? In exchange for that...token?"

The owner’s finger pointed at the paper laying on the top of Hex’s finger. His smile had vanished following the request.

It made sense. Even Hex thought the request was a little...too much. Despite the vagueness of what the token truly represented, Jana had stated that most owners would humor all reasonable requests. The key word was reasonable. This wasn’t reasonable.

"Yes."

Hex didn’t hesitate. Neither did he look away. He did feel awkward staring straight into the man’s eyes but he had to appear confident. He was confident. But how did he convince a man he never met that he was the best bet to win this tournament? Unless he decided to reveal his secrets, his only chance was to appear strong and reliable.

"Do you have any idea how much that is converted into coins?"

A legit question. One Hex had feared would pop up. He didn’t know but considering that it took close to half a million of Wrixian coins to become a member, he suspected it would cost millions to reach the highest tier.

The owner didn’t wait for him to reply.

"That Eagle prince has received a sponsorship of The Anvil, a blacksmith merchant who has the best weapons in the world, and the Sky Tyrants, an organization specialized in winged-Druids. Their combined investment is equivalent to two hundred million Wrixian coins in value."

That guy was placed third in the ranking and still managed to get such a wonderful deal? It shocked Hex...and scared him. Two hundred million was a lot. And the third place received that much. It would be natural to expect a little more to be invested in him.

’If the owner knew this and still appeared in person, he had expected to invest the same amount at the minimum. The fact that he still was shocked about his request was telling. The highest tier is far more than two hundred million in coins.’

Hex knew the owner would never accept his request, but on the other hand, this reaffirmed his decision to request a high-tier membership.

"What tier does that equal? The two hundred million coins?"

"Tier five."

No way. Hex nearly cursed. Two hundred million and only five tiers? The things he needed were only available after tier seven!

"You seem shocked by this," the owner chuckled. He took a seat opposite Hex. "Tier ten, the highest one could reach solely with coins, costs about five billion coins. And tier fifteen, the highest tier, is only granted by exchanging treasures that can rival Divinity crystals in worth."

"D-Divinity crystals?" Hex knew about them, of course. It wasn’t strange that a person owning the oldest store would know about those, but it still popped up unexpectedly in the conversation. He took a deep breath and looked at the owner.

"So, up to which tier can you sponsor me?"

Negotiations were a part of this deal. But he first had to know the bottom line of the man opposite him.

"Tier six."

There was no hesitation, no gritting of teeth, which meant the limit wasn’t reached yet.

"How about tier nine?" He would have gone for tier ten, but he lowered it at the last second. Five billion to someone who had only proven himself once was absurd.

"Tier six and a treasure of your choosing at that tier."

Better, but no treasure at tier six interested him.

"Tier eight and a treasure of my choosing." He countered.

The owner fell silent. He stared at Hex with a soft smile and sipped from a cup. Hex wondered when he made his drink. He had missed it.

’He has full mastery over this space.’ It was his shop. Hex wasn’t bothered by it.

"Instead of going back and forth, I have a better proposal," the owner said. "Tier seven, a treasure of your choice...and the option to expand."

"Expand?" Hex asked before he realized what the owner was getting at. "You mean, we can upgrade the tier level in the future? Under what conditions?"

Tiers could be upgraded by coins and expenditure, but this wasn’t what the owner was referring to. Like the sponsorship, this would be a shortcut. A shortcut he desperately needed. Hex had spent quite some time on Wrixia, wandered around, and even spied in shops, but the things he needed to train were scarce and extremely expensive.

Most shops that happened to have the things he needed required a special permit to purchase. The permit was only granted by the Council. Hex had no desire to ask them. His master has warned against revealing the Phoenix and Dragon Body Method.

He had barely scratched the surface of the Method and was already leaps and bounds above the strength on the Continent.

"Yes, for each round you win, we will upgrade the tier membership by one, capping at ten. Other achievements will earn you a treasure free of cost."

That sounded wonderful. In fact, it was so good that Hex became suspicious.

"What’s the catch?"

The owner laughed.

"Once you reach the finals, I will let you know. If you fail to do so, it will be my loss."

With nothing to lose, Hex suspected he lost before the negotiations had started. Something that could justify taking such a big risk, would certainly come with risks.

"Deal."

Despite his worries, he still agreed. He learned to tackle problems as they came. For now, he would enjoy the sponsorship to elevate his powers as much as he could.

...

"Do you think he is the one?"

A white rabbit appeared beside the owner. He joined the owner, looking out of the window as Hex braced the storm and left the store.

"Most likely." The owner said with a smile. "In any case, he is the last heir of the first line of warriors. Even if he isn’t the one we have been waiting for, he is the best bet in this current era."

"It’s our last chance." The white rabbit mumbled, hesitant to speak those words out loudly.

"True. But it is also the best chance."

The owner disappeared after rubbing the white rabbit’s fur. The white rabbit stared out of the window, looking at nothing in particular. In the end, he only sighed and walked away, whispering softly.

"I hope we can retrieve your Divinity, my Lord."

...

Hex reached the Inn close to Dawn. He had managed to gain all the resources for now. The method he trained in had stringent requirements and harsh conditions to pass each stage. As compensation, the strength gained from each step surpassed every other method.

Hex sat in the room, looking at the treasures before him. He couldn’t just ingest these. He had to follow a carefully prepared sequence. According to his master, even his cursed body would be destroyed if he made even a single mistake.

’Well, let’s start. It’s either success or death.’