Chapter 566: A Mascot Monster
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Surprisingly, the road to the Demon Shelter had been a relatively smooth one. Han Sen had wanted to kill a few creatures along the way, but he hadn’t had the chance due to the evolvers hired to protect the caravan getting to the monsters first.
This was the first time Han Sen had seen a royal shelter owned by humans. The building itself was a few dozen miles long and surrounded by forest. Structures built from wood were everywhere, but it was different to know what might be expected. Certain wooden structures were buildings ten-stories high, and they looked mystical and imposing. Around the city, you could see ancient trees reaching for the sky at 40-metres in height.
"A wooden city like this - it’s quite the fire hazard." Han Sen said to himself.
"The wood of the Demon Shelter is not just any ordinary wood, because it cannot be burnt," the middle-aged man laughed.
Entering the Demon Shelter, Han Sen parted ways with the merchant group. He looked around, trying to locate shops that traded in the beast souls he was searching for.
It truly was a royal shelter, as stores that sold beast souls were everywhere and there were even certain streets dedicated to the trade. Other shops even offered one or two sacred-blood beast souls as a premium product to go along with their primary wares.
Han Sen had only to browse four shops before he found a sacred-blood beast soul. Unfortunately for him, it was a great-sword, which rendered it unsuitable for his Dual skill.
"This is what a human shelter should be like," Han Sen sighed, thinking his mother was quite lucky. When she entered the Second Shelter, she was sent to a royal shelter that was run by humans, unlike Han Sen.
The beast soul prices were quite fair, and not dissimilar to those in the First Shelter. The sacred-blood beast souls were between 50% and 100% more expensive, and that made for agreeable prices, too.
To find the sword-type beast soul he was looking for, Han Sen made sure to peruse the offers of every beast soul shop he could enter. Eventually, he came to a shop called ’Precious Beasts’, and he found that it hosted a sword to which he immediately took a liking.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a proper product, and so the owner of the store presented Han Sen with a beast soul booklet. It was a colored one, provided by the Alliance. There was plenty of information on the sword he was wanting, and the booklet even illustrated the monster it had dropped from.
It was a Purple-Copper Ancient Sword, and its body was red and purple. It looked rather delicate, and the blade was engraved with numerous mystical carvings. It was quite beautiful, with nothing menacing about its appearance. The sword in its entirety was about four feet in length.
The sword was longer than the silver-eye ice snake king beast soul sword, and slightly wider too. Their appearances were almost polar opposites, as the Purple-Copper Ancient Sword looked quite righteous, against the malevolent-looking snake king sword.
Taking everything about its appearance into account, Han Sen deemed it suitable for his Dual skill. This was initially a skill that required two people to cast, but Han Sen had modified and morphed it into one that could be used by himself. This was perfect for his right hand, whereas the other was perfect for his left.
Having the righteous and the wicked working together would maximize the efficiency of the Dual sword skill.
The booklet stated that the Purple-Copper Ancient Sword came from a Mascot Beast. Its appearance was not unlike a copper-maned lion, plated with purple scales. Its face was one of portent and mystique, and its formal name was Ancient Mascot Beast.
"Boss, what are you selling this ancient sword beast soul for?" Han Sen pointed at the Mascot Beast in the booklet.
"I apologies, but this a premium product of the store. For this, we can only trade." The owner had a soft-sounding voice, but the hint of a boast sugared his words.
The ancient sword beast soul had had numerous prospective buyers, but the owner had never received a satisfactory offer. It was believed that the owner deliberately turned down each offer to leave the Purple-Copper Ancient Sword there in the store in order to attract potential customers. However misleading this was, it worked, and patrons flocked to the store due to the sight of the sword, made it comparable to a number of bigger stores in the shelter.
The owner hence viewed the Mascot beast soul as a lucky charm and did not relish selling it.
"What would it take to trade it with you?" The owner said that he wanted to trade a beast soul for a beast soul, which matched Han Sen’s initial idea.
The then owner frowned and looked at Han Sen, saying, "For my sword, I could only accept a Berserk sacred-blood beast soul in exchange. Also, it would have to be a sword-type beast soul."
"What about other types of Berserk sacred-blood beast souls?" Han Sen eyed the owner curiously.
"No." The owner shut down the counter-offer immediately.
Han Sen caught on to the fact that owner had no real intention of selling the sword. If someone did indeed possess a Berserk sacred-blood beast soul sword, who in their right mind would swap it for an ordinary sacred-blood beast soul sword? Such a transaction would not be remotely fair.
Han Sen thought it a great shame that the owner had no intention of selling the sword, but he wasn’t willing to give up easily. He did his best to convince the owner saying, "I would like to exchange my Berserk sacred-blood beast soul with yours, but I do not have one that bears the form of a sword. Will you at least think about it?"
"I am sorry, but this sword must be swapped for a Berserk beast sword." The owner gave a wry smile.
But the owner thought Han Sen knew he wasn’t willing to sell it, which was why he had said that. Who would be stupid enough to make such an exchange, after all? But maybe it was just because Han Sen’s Berserk sacred-blood beast soul wasn’t very popular – what that why he was willing to trade it for the sword?
"Brother, you are saying that you want to trade a Berserk sacred-blood beast soul for this sword?" A curious man had overheard Han Sen’s offer.
"Yes, but the owner isn’t willing to make the trade." Han Sen said, with a hopeless sigh.
"What kind of Berserk sacred-blood beast soul are we talking about here? If it is suitable, I have a sacred-blood beast soul," the man said.
"Is it a sacred-blood beast soul sword? It is a sword I require," Han Sen said.
"Yes," the man replied quickly. He then summoned an icy-looking steel sword. Unfortunately for Han Sen, it was a great-sword. Its body was wide and its length exceeded five feet. It wasn’t the sort that Han Sen was looking for.
"What is your beast soul? Summon it and let me take a look," the man suggested.
Han Sen squinted his eyes. Although he did not plan to make a trade for the great-sword, he still summoned the Inferno Bull that infused his body.
Han Sen transformed into a black bull with great wings and giant horns protruding from his head. The mouths of the man and the owner both sat agape.
"Oh my days! A berserk sacred-blood transfigured beast soul that flies!? You truly want to trade this magnificent thing for a sword?" the man said, his eyes wide.
"Yes, that is my desire." Han Sen took away the beast soul and returned to his true form.
"I will trade - I will trade with you!" the man immediately cried.
"Hey mister, this is my shop! If you want to trade or do business with this man, I must politely ask you to leave. You can talk with him once he’s also left the building." The owner ran from behind the counter and stepped between the man and Han Sen, with a mean, scowling face.
"You said you didn’t want to trade - I did not disturb your business," the man countered.
"Who said I wasn’t willing to trade?" The owner’s face was red, and he had to force himself to speak. He ignored the man and turned to smile at Han Sen. He said, "Mister, did you not wish to trade your beast soul for my Purple-Copper Ancient Sword? I will trade it with you. Yes, I will. I’ll do it right now!"
"After thinking it over, I’ve realized that the offer is skewed heavily in your advantage. This is a tremendous berserk sacred-blood beast soul, after all," Han Sen smiled.
"Friend, do not listen to him! I’ll throw in an extra mutant beast soul to go with the great-sword," the man now offered.