Jason hastily wiped away the tears on his cheek, before turning to Mr. Fler.
Forcing a smile, he said, "That's nice. I hope my gut feeling was correct."
Mark, Greg and Malia's father, wasn't exactly sure what to say, as the situation was still awkward, so he just did what he was supposed to do.
"Indeed this scaled wolf is quite special but I wonder how you figured it out. This scaled wolf is really unique."
He put the sleeping scaled wolf back into the smaller cage.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Fler sat back on the couch as he continued speaking.
"This scaled wolf underwent a mutation that strengthened its mana core slightly compared to its brethren. It can increase its rank to a five-star wild beast which is already good enough to sell it to a breeder, but that's not all because there is something else special about this scaled wolf.
I'm not entirely sure but the scaled wolf seems to be in the development phase of its second mutation already. I sensed that a fire ability seed is unexpectedly forming inside its mana core, creating a fire affinity.
Following that, the potential test, scales, and measurements also indicate that this scaled wolf has the potential to reach at least the mid-awakened stage, probably higher but we have to make some in-depth tests to figure out more.
This will at least take a few days."
Mark Fler managed their whole beast trading business and actively sought out how to detect a beast's potential while his wife was good at catching beasts and scheduling everything.
Mrs. Fler began deciding their schedule for the next two weeks.
"The holidays will be over in two weeks and school will start right after.
Jason, your application won't take long but having some time to adjust to the life and culture of an A-grade city is important for both you and Greg.
We would like to depart in five days and the trip will take around three days.
If the exhaustive test of the scaled wolf is finished before our departure, we can sell the beast through our connections for a good price.
Otherwise, we can take it with us as our vehicle is large enough to take a few larger beast cages with us.
But, we can already estimate a price for the scaled wolf as its potential is quite promising and pay you the amount instead.."
Jason listened to her words carefully, nodding all the time until the talk about credits began.
"Oh.. is it really okay for you to pay me before the beast is even sold? And, am I allowed to know how the price is calculated?"
Thinking for a second, she nodded her head before replying:
"Well, I can obviously tell you how the price is calculated because it is not a secret and everyone can research it online. But, this only includes the price range provided by the government and not the price nobles would pay to get a better soulbond to supply to their descendants.
One would rather form a contract with a beast which naturally provides soul energy and still grows in strength than a beast with an already used up potential."
Debating with herself if she should tell him more, she decided that it was better to educate him hence, Gabriella continued.
"Some nobles have weak soul energy like you and they would rather form a contract with a matured two-star wild beast which has a high chance of growing into an awakened or maybe even an evolved beast.
Adding the fact that it was already known which ability would the scaled wolf definitely receive, the price would only soar higher. It is one of the most important things one would have to consider when forming a soulbond with a high potential wild beast."
There weren't many problems with a beast awakening of an elemental ability, but if the contractor didn't have compatible affinities, their connection would go off the rails and only worsen.
It wouldn't completely destroy the connection between the beast and the contractor, but the amplification provided by this beast would worsen slightly.
Sometimes beasts harbor multiple elemental affinities after evolving, but only one of these abilities has to be in sync with the contractor which was a fire soul affinity in the scaled wolf´s case.
"As for the payment, you can look at it as a deal where we purchase the scaled wolf from you at a little higher price than the government would normally pay, and then we will sell it to potential buyers through our network.
This would benefit both of us and we could continue to work with each other in the future if you are fine with it.
If you don't like my proposal, you can sell the scaled wolf yourself to someone, but I think my solution is more feasible for everyone."
Jason thought this was more than fair for both of them and he was eager to find out the scaled wolf´s price. He had gotten over his spontaneous outburst over the thought of injustice and his mother's death and was totally focused on the situation in front of him.
"I think that would be the best for both of us….this might sound greedy, but can we maybe, calculate the price of a wild beast with the potential to reach the evolved rank? I'm pretty sure the test will tell the same. If I'm wrong, I will return every single dime paid to me."
He was desperately in need of money and he couldn't even remotely compare his wealth to that of his future classmates. Right now, his entire fortune was only around 1000 Credits which was nothing in comparison to every single resident of an A-grade city but he was confident in the ability of his eyes and trusted them completely.
Mr. and Mrs. Fler were astonished but they saw no need to reject his proposal as the test results would be out in a few days. After that, Jason would need to pay them a visit again to accompany them on their trip to the A-grade city, irrespective of the outcome involving Jason's gut feeling.
If he wanted to run away, nobody would hinder him as attending a prestigious school was much more valuable than some credits, one could gain by selling a wild best with an evolved rank potential.
Mrs. Fler answered with a gentle smile when she noticed Jason´s impatience and nervousness as sweat trickled down his temples.
"Of course, we can pay you the price for a wild beast with the potential of two ranks higher than its current rank, including its mutation and the shaping of a fire seed inside its mana core. If its potential turns out to be worse you can pay us back the difference later on.
But more importantly...You can call me Gabriella. I don't like getting called Mrs. Fler. It sounds so distant and you're a friend of my children."
She knew he was short of money based on the background check and that Greg had already explained to Jason about the average strength of his future classmates.
Furthermore, she also knew that Jason's eyes were unique as Greg had told her what Jason had said to him during the soul-awakening.
She was aware that Jason wanted it to be a secret but Greg had told her everything because he couldn't keep a secret from her.
Mr.Fler, who had been sitting next to his wife, also replied in a calm but emotionless tone.
"If you want you can also call me Mark. There is no need to be overly polite."
Jason smiled and thanked both of them for their generosity to pay him without seeing the final result.
He wasn't sure if he could call both of them by their first name but he would try it later on.
Malia and Greg came out from behind the pillar and sat on the couch next to Jason with daggers in their eyes, aimed at their parents.
Mark wasn't aware of what had happened but he had a faint premonition, while Gabriella tried talking to her children with guilt in her voice.
Jason pulled Artemis from his head and put her down on his lap where she snuggled up against his hands.
A holographic screen appeared in front of Mark and it looked like he was trying to avoid getting stabbed by his children's 'deathly glares'.` He tapped on the screen a few times until a satisfying number appeared.
"If we assume the scaled wolf to be a matured two-star beast with the potential to reach the evolved rank, computing the price for two higher ranks after adding the price for a pre-establishment of a fire affinity....the price for this scaled wolf would be around 800,000 Credits if the government were to buy it.
It's extremely rare to see a wild beast with potential, which is why the price is this high. I believe that higher nobles would pay much more and my wife already stated that we will offer more than the government.
Thus, I think 1,000,000 Credits should be more than satisfying, won't it?"