Preparation part 1
"That... that... was..."
He wanted to tell them the truth, but a small glimmer of lucidity saved him from making a terrible mistake.
'Heck... what am I doing? If I admit that I have obtained a priceless treasure, Trafuram will do everything to take it back. Those damn merchants are more dangerous than dragons if they get stubborn... What a break...'
The situation was surreal, to say the least, but surely, he couldn't attract that man's wrath.
Thinking about the possible consequences, Atlas calmed down and tried to stem this absurd situation, at least for the future: "Barufa... I thank you for the gift, but those voices do not represent my true desires. As you know, I'm a martial cultivator, so nothing is more important to me than an artifact to protect my poor little life."
"I understand..." Barufa smiled lightly and reassured him with a calm tone: "Such being the calm... you can visit my little stall if you need anything. I, Barufa, the Merchant from the East, will be more than glad to sell you my goods at a small discount. Consider it a gesture of my gratitude."
Barufa spoke no more and walked toward the crowd with his apprentices in tow.
Atlas was satisfied because even though he had missed an excellent opportunity, the small discount promised by Barufa was a reasonable concession.
The other merchants had heard the conversation between Barufa and Atlas very well, and after handing over the gift, they also promised a slight discount to the young adventurer.
At least twenty people wanted to offer their bizarre gifts to Atlas, and although the young man had better things to do than receive that junk, he patiently welcomed everyone.
It took almost an hour to conclude that small episode, and eventually, Atlas found himself staring bitterly at the long pile of useless objects scattered around the garden.
"Five statues... about six pieces of furniture... six paintings... and three damned candlesticks... Sooner or later, I will burn this city from the ground..."
There were so many objects that the entrance was practically occluded.
In fact, Elisabeth came out shortly after with a bizarre expression: "Atlas... Where do you plan to put all that stuff? Do you want me to call people to help you?"
Although the young man had turned her world upside down, Elisabeth was always friendly and understanding with him for some reason.
He had received many favors from that couple, and even though sometimes they were connected to all those strange events, Atlas still felt indebted to them, especially after what happened today.
Before, Uncle Beard had been kind enough to repair his equipment, and now he had caused all this fuss in their home.
He had to remedy it somehow, so he opted for the most correct choice.
"Aunty... All this stuff is too bulky for me. So why don't you take it to embellish your home even more?"
Elisabeth never expected such a proposal from the young man and shook her head decisively: "Atlas... don't joke! I can't accept all these things... I can't..."
Atlas had noticed that the woman's eyes continued to shine when they rested on some objects and insisted: "Hmm... Aunty... Maybe you don't like them?"
"No... No... They are fine works of art... priceless ornaments that only the houses of nobles can have. I... I..."
Elisabeth wanted to continue denying it, but Atlas interrupted again: "Hehehe... If they're so beautiful, in that case... You can't leave them out here. The scorching sun will ruin them in no time. So, what are you waiting for... call Uncle Beard! After all, you can't move them by yourself..."
"Atlas... Atlas... I can't..."
But Atlas didn't let her argue anymore and ran away, leaving the woman to ruminate on what to do with all those things.
"Ouch... he ran away like a thief and left me a beautiful cat to peel..."
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Since he had received many promises from the merchants, Atlas immediately took advantage of them and began to spend his Chaos Stones like one of those boorish young masters from a noble house.
The first thing he did was to buy five bags full of high-grade fragments, spending about a hundred stones.
They may have seemed few, but all the other bags he had encountered were devoid of the golden or purple glow that made them exceptional.
Based on what happened at Nevery Village, Atlas hypothesized that the fragments would have been insufficient, so he spent another 300 stones and purchased ten Martial Chaos Artifacts of the low and medium grades just to be sure.
His wealth had already been significantly reduced, so the young man decided to move on to the next item on the list.
Now, what he needed the most was a set of practical martial techniques to dominate the battlefield. So, after considering his fighting style and the best solution to his problem, he went to one of the renowned shops in the city since he had not found what he was looking for among the stalls.
Ding! Ding!
A sweet tinkling caused by a bell-shaped spike welcomed him inside.
The title of the best shop was undoubtedly deserved because the place had an air full of Chaos Energy so dense that the customer's mind could be easily invigorated by that pleasant sensation.
With each breath, the body was filled with pure energy, and it was as if the whole world was only a palm away.
Enveloped by that ethereal air, Atlas paused briefly next to the entrance and let that delicate scent, which hovered among the long rows of shelves, enter his nostrils, purifying his body.
'What a wonderful feeling... It must surely be the work of an experienced Rune Master.'
While the young man was enjoying that moment, a middle-aged man approached him: "Welcome to the Dragon's Claw... Dear Customer... How can I help you?"
"Ahi..." Atlas sighed bitterly: "... I envy you so much. Spending a whole day in this paradise would be a dream..."
"Hehehe..." The shopkeeper smiled: "... Dear customer if you buy one of our cultivation tomes or scrolls, you can freely enjoy the refreshing atmosphere from one of our cultivation rooms."
'Well... he immediately made things clear...' he thought: "Well... let me think about that."
In fact, spending time there was a very tempting offer, but the time was too tight, so Atlas looked around briefly and asked: "I'm looking for a particular Earth Technique. I searched far and wide for it, and after asking around, I heard that only your renowned shop has what I'm looking for."
It was the norm for Atlas. Indeed, he didn't hold back even a little and shamelessly spouted out compliments. He couldn't do otherwise because the price appended on the shelf made him a bit scared.
"Hahaha..." The seller, satisfied with the young man's words, laughed with taste: "... The Dragon's Claw has all kinds of techniques. We have contacts everywhere from North to South and from East to West. Every cultivator in the World of Oblivion entrusts us with their most precious goods... Tell me what you're looking for?"
Atlas glossed over the shopkeeper's self-centered character and spoke earnestly: "I'm not looking for a trivial book, but one that generates an area effect... clearly entirely related with the earth element."
"Interesting... In fact, that kind of Technique is pretty rare and hard to find around if not in some Martial Sects... but not here."
The shopkeeper was satisfied with his peculiar request and showed the young man the way: "... Please, follow me."
The two walked through long lines of shelves filled with books of all kinds for a while.
Each attribute had its own station, with its own particularities.
For example, shelves with the attribute of fire were characterized by peculiar red gems resembling rubies.
Each of the five elements was embellished with precious stones of the same color, making that place unique and sublime.
"Amazing... Although I have heard excellent rumors about your shop, seeing this place with my own eyes... sincerely, it opened me to a new world..."
This time, the young man's praises were the truth and even more effective for the shopkeeper's ego.
The shop was huge, and it took the two almost a minute to reach the area reserved for those particular techniques, a part of the shop out of the ordinary.