"I'm telling you it's a level 3 core!"
Inside the "I Can Buy Everything" shop, Cious displayed his displeasure and annoyance, his hand pressed against his face.
"I'll be the judge of that," an elderly Kiajin with white hair and a short stature said as he examined the beast core in front of him with a magnifying glass.
There was no shortage of monstrous creatures in the subterranean depths of Yi Mountain, ranging from common beasts to those stronger than greater beasts. But did that mean every Tom, Dick, and Harry could access their cores?
Absolutely not.
Killing a greater beast was an incredibly hard task, let alone managing to obtain a core. It sounded too good to be true, and most times, when things seemed that way, they usually were.
Sighing, the old Kiajin male stood up in defeat. Despite his extensive experience in appraising beast cores—his primary business—he had never come across one like this. The natural inscriptions were chaotic and all over the place.
"Tell you what, kid. I'll send a message to a friend who has more experience with appraisals. When he gets here, I'll send for you," the old Kiajin said with a coy smile.
"No way! If you can't appraise it, why on earth would I leave the core here? Do you think I was born yesterday?" Cious retorted, completely ignoring the fact that he looked incredibly youthful.
"Okay, okay. I can see that it's at least a level 2 core—a high-grade one at that. Let me pay you for it, and when my friend arrives, we can renegotiate," the Kiajin male hurriedly proposed. Even if there was a 1% chance that it was a level 3 core, he had to see for himself.
The difference in value between the two tiers seemed thin, but it was an insurmountable divide. He couldn't miss such an opportunity.
"Oh, that sounds much better," Cious said, rubbing his chin. He hadn't considered the possibility of the old Kiajin running away with the core for a few reasons.
First, there was Malvorrak.
No one in their right mind would dare mess with that monster standing just outside the shop, exuding an aura of intimidation.
The second reason was that he had placed a permanent tracking rune on the core. It didn't matter where it went in this world; as long as the core remained intact, Cious could track it.
"So, deal?" The old Kiajin stretched his hand forward, beaming with a massive smile. He might have been a crooked old man, but he wasn't a thief. He was a businessman, not a scammer.
"Deal." Cious extended his webbed hand and shook on it.
---
Meanwhile...
"Hm?" Malvorrak, curled up on the ground, felt rhythmic tremors shaking the earth around him—from his left, then his right, then from behind, and finally in front.
He was being surrounded.
"Grrree!" Malvorrak growled instinctively as the village guard emerged from several corners of the market, gradually encircling him on their reptilian steeds.
"So it's true," a lizardman with black scales rode forward between the guards, stopping before the crouched Malvorrak.
"Qarc." Upon recognizing the young man, Malvorrak sneered in disgust. He really disliked this guy.
Most of the time, it seemed like Qarc was under the constant bullying of his mother, who never allowed him to do what he wanted. But the truth was, she had been the one saving the villagers from him all along.
The little brat was a spoiled tyrant who refused to take responsibility for his actions.
For example, he had stolen from Malvorrak. Normally, Malvorrak would have come for him directly to reclaim his debt, but with his mother's interference, he had to deal with her first.
The village chief was clever; she knew stealing from him was foolish and unnecessary. It was her son who had dragged her into this mess.
"Hm? You can speak Fay?" Qarc was momentarily taken aback. This big, unintelligent oaf could speak? When did that happen?
From what he understood, Malvorrak was a born defect. This species—the Terragor—wasn't even supposed to exist in the subterranean depths, so he had gone through multiple layers of mutations that left him deformed and simple-minded.
Speech was not something he was supposed to possess.
"Hmp!" Malvorrak completely ignored him and stood up from his curled position to face Qarc directly.
"Where is my treasure?" Malvorrak demanded in a deep voice, brimming with pure, unadulterated murderous intent.
Nothing mattered more to him than retrieving the treasures taken by Yolan Qarc. He was adamant about getting them back, even if it meant slaughtering every single person in the village.
"What treasure?" Yolan Qarc responded, bewildered. He hadn't stolen anything from Malvorrak—that would just be plain stupid. This was a creature that could fly into a rage if someone stepped into his territory.
He wouldn't even dare approach Malvorrak's cave, let alone steal from him.
Of course, Malvorrak didn't know the full details of what had transpired; all he understood was that his treasures were in the possession of the Yolan family, and he wanted them back.
—Shing!
Malvorrak's claws extended as he glared down at Yolan Qarc with murderous eyes.
Surprisingly, Qarc didn't appear scared at all. He knew what Malvorrak was capable of, yet he had come here without his mother, which indicated he was up to something.
"Kill him!" Qarc pointed his spear forward, commanding the guards around him.
In an instant, they charged forward with weapons drawn, intent on attempting to rid the region of the blight known as Malvorrak once and for all.