"Ho~ So you really want to get stronger… How much are you willing to pay?" The mysterious merchant asked and Rufus felt that the man was grinning as well.

Instead of being sent away due to his ridiculous request, this merchant was actually delighted that he's seeking power.

​​

He couldn't answer immediately after being asked such a question. After all, he didn't expect that he would be in this kind of conversation.

Rufus then realized that he was thinking too much. The man must be messing with him since he has such an absurd demand for him.

The young man took a deep breath to calm himself before he looked closer to the eyes of the merchant…

"Do you mean that the power I can get depends on the amount that I can pay? Well, it doesn't matter how much, as long as I can be a powerful Arcanist then I'm willing to pay the price… So, name it…"

Rufus decided to go along with the man's senseless talk…

After all, if paying money can truly help someone increase their power, then there would be a lot of Third-Class or Second-Class Arcanists in the kingdom…

It seems that Rufus's demeanor stunned the merchant as he didn't answer for a moment…

He remained silent for a while and as soon as Rufus was about to leave, the merchant spoke again.

"How about your soul? Are you willing to make a trade?" The merchant asked in a deep voice.

After Rufus heard this, it sent a chill down on his spine…

'Is this man serious?'

Rufus couldn't believe what he just heard. He looked at his surroundings and see if someone heard their conversation. However, he noticed that they seemed to be isolated from the outside…

"What did you do?" Rufus nervously asked. He even started to sweat after realizing that he's in a weird state…

However, instead of answering, the scary merchant had another question…

"Let me ask you again, how much are you willing to pay?" The merchant eerily asked and Rufus felt that this would be his final question…

It felt that he wouldn't ask the same thing ever again.

The young man gulp and went silent instead of immediately answering based on his emotions… He needs to carefully think about this.

He closed his eyes and focused on sensing the Spiritual Energy in his surroundings. This action helps him calm down during his crafting sessions… As expected, this helped him a lot as he thinks about the answers that he can give.

He can just say that he's no longer interested and leave this crazy guy here and perhaps report him to the authority as someone who does some shady business.

However, he wanted to know the method that can increase his strength…

'Ahh… Wait! Is he in a possession of Cursed Arcana?' Rufus opened his mouth but there were no words that came out.

It seemed that he was truly shocked by his discovery.

'It makes sense now…'

If the merchant was truly in a possession of one, then he could explain how he can increase his strength. This may also be the reason why he asked him whether he wanted to trade his soul for it…

'I'm desperate to pass the evaluation but it doesn't mean that I have to sacrifice my soul for it…'

Finally, he decided to negotiate with the man.

After all, as an Arcanists that creates unconventional Magic Items that were on the verge of becoming Forbidden Magic Items, he was not afraid of Cursed Arcana.

He studied about them and wasn't scared of encountering one… As a matter of fact, deep down in his mind, he was feeling quite a bit excited.

He knows that these Arcana were indeed weapons with destructive effects, but it doesn't mean that they are pure evil, there should be a silver lining on them and he just has to be careful.

Of course, he still acknowledges that they are very dangerous considering the damages they've done throughout history…

"I'm willing to pay using an item worth 50 thousand gold coins. However, if you want some real coins, I only have about 1,200 coins with me now, that's all I have… I don't want to sell my soul as I still have many dreams I want to fulfill… Can you help me?"

Rufus stated and he silently praised himself for not stuttering… Before the merchant could answer, he took a breath and added.

"If you want to make a contract, we can discuss it. If my money is not enough, then I hope that I can owe some debt, then I'll pay you after I passed the evaluation…"

Rufus said his piece as he waited for the merchant to reply…

He then took a deep breath and silently prayed that everything would end well.

"You don't seem afraid?" Ruthren asked.

"Haha… As long as I pass the evaluation and continue to chase my dreams, then I'll be fine even if you've taken all my money…"

Rufus answered and he no longer felt nervous as the man started to speak casually with him.

"Hoho~ You're sensible, I like it…"

The young man suddenly froze after hearing these words.

The voice was different from the scary merchant and what's bothering him was that he couldn't identify where the voice was coming from.

It was an enchanting husky voice from a man that seemed to hypnotize him…

"Who are you? Hey, Mr. Merchant… What's with that voice just now?"

Rufus realized that it was better to ask the merchant, but to his disappointment, he just answered vaguely…

"Just listen if he talks. Speak to him if he wanted you to speak… Don't ask me."

Rufus was dumbfounded by this reply. He wanted to ask more but the merchant suddenly stood up and picked all of his items being sold.

"I will leave this to your hands… After you pass your evaluation, I'll come back for the payment."

Ruthren said before leaving.

Rufus couldn't follow what was going on but he certainly knows that this item that Rufus handed seemed to be the key to pass his evaluation in the next three days.

The young man looked at the wooden sword in his hands and frowned a bit…

'What do I do with this?'

He then looked at the merchant's fading back thinking whether he should follow him or not…

In the end, he decided to bring this to the Tower and have it examined using his various tools. As of right now, he couldn't see any abnormalities in this sword and it felt like just a normal wooden sword…

This discovery made him confused since the merchant handed this item in a very dramatic way so it has to have some kind of uniqueness that he needs to discover.

"Haa~ At the very least, he didn't take any payment for now…" Rufus told himself as he realized that he would have a chance to just return this item if it didn't help him at all.

He no longer had the mood to shop or look around as he decided to head directly to his room at the tower. He couldn't wait to see what kind of sword this is…

'Is there a Mythril Sword inside if I break this wood open? Ahh… That's ridiculous, even if Mythril was said to be a very light metal, it shouldn't be this light…'

After some time, he arrived at the tower without any issues and went to his room to examine the sword…

'I guess this is not a prohibited item since the Tower's Defense Array didn't react at all… I should be safe…'

However, as he was about to pick up his various device to use in examining a weapon, he heard the same manly voice again…

"Have you calmed down now?"

The voice asked… This reminded him of the merchant's words to listen to the voice and speak if allowed to do so...

But this made his heart skip a beat…

"A voice in my head… A wooden sword that I can't identify… A mysterious merchant… A weapon that couldn't be detected by the Defense Array… You—you're a Cursed Arcana? A sentient one!"

Rufus's quick thinking allowed him to realize what was going on…

Although he wasn't afraid of a Cursed Arcana, a Sentient Cursed Arcana is completely different!

"Ho~ You know a lot about an Arcana… So, do you want to get stronger?" The voice of the wooden sword asked and it no longer hid its aura and power…

The Arcana floated and emits a bit of Spiritual Pressure that made the young man froze on the spot…

The previously dull wooden sword looks very intimidating now and Rufus felt crying at the mess that he willingly went into…

'I must've gone crazy. But… this is also an opportunity.'

Rufus did his best to answer…

"Yes, Esteemed Arcana… I wish to become strong… But please, I wish to retain my humanity… I want to continue living even after passing the evaluation…"