Ron stood in front of the Blake Exchange, looking at the still precarious, already cracked wooden sign.
The humid air unique to the Black Mist Jungle had covered the edges of the sign with greenish-blue moss, adding a strange atmosphere to this dark place.
"Welcome! Welcome, esteemed Ron!"
The short and stout slave merchant rushed out from the shop with astonishing speed, his round face flushed red, with sweat streaming down his plump cheeks, soaking his collar.
His small eyes, deeply set in folds of flesh, glinted with shrewdness, clearly having anticipated this alchemist’s visit.
"Your presence today truly brings radiance to this rundown place!"
The merchant said obsequiously, bowing humbly with exaggerated movements that were almost comical.
Ron keenly noticed that compared to the last time, the merchant’s attitude was significantly more respectful.
Perhaps it was because his status as a Professional Alchemist had already spread within the School, coupled with his advancement into the Candidate Wizard ranks, causing this opportunistic merchant to greatly enhance his regard for him.
"I’m here to see the new batch you mentioned."
Ron said straightforwardly, his voice calm but with an undeniable authority.
"You’ve come at the perfect time! It’s simply fate!"
The short and stout merchant rubbed his hands, his face full of a flattering smile, his eyes almost squinting into slits:
"A batch of rare treasures just arrived yesterday, we haven’t even finished unpacking them. I guarantee they will open your eyes, absolutely the finest on the market!"
Passing through the gaudily decorated, yet obviously cheap front hall, Ron noticed that since his last visit, a few more heavily armed guards had been added inside the exchange.
They stood alertly in the corners, hands on the hilts of their swords, coldly scanning every customer entering and exiting.
Clearly, with the restocking of large quantities of goods at the beginning of the month, security measures had also been correspondingly strengthened.
The merchant led Ron down a dim corridor, lined on both sides with cages made from iron bars, containing various supernatural creatures.
Unlike last time, the creatures in the cages now appeared significantly more formidable, with each exuding a dangerous aura.
The air was filled with a peculiar mixture of the scent of blood, the stench of beasts, and some pungent potion, causing one to involuntarily frown.
"This way, sir. These are our latest prime products, a selection of combat slaves,"
The merchant boasted proudly, gesturing for two burly men to open a heavy iron door, guiding Ron into a specially reinforced area.
The cages here were noticeably much sturdier than those in the previous area, each crafted from several inches of solid steel, engraved with suppression runes.
The distance between cages was also greater, obviously to prevent the "merchandise" inside from coming into contact with one another.
The entire area was a few degrees colder than outside, and the air was filled with a stifling and unsettling atmosphere.
In the first cage stood a towering creature nearly two meters tall, its upper body mostly humanoid but covered with thick, deep blue scales, which shimmered with a metallic sheen.
Its head was entirely that of a giant fish, with a mouth full of serrated sharp teeth, revealing three rows of knife-like fangs when grinning, with a deep red tongue continuously darting in and out.
Its hands had turned into fin-shaped claws, with sharp bone spikes protruding from each fingertip.
The fish-headed monster let out a low growl at Ron, its scales instantly standing erect all over its body, forming tiny spikes.
"A deep-sea hybrid breed, sir," the merchant introduced, his voice full of a sense of pride:
"It’s a combination of humans and abyssal fishmen, capable of fighting on land and in water. Its skin is as hard as steel and it possesses an astonishing regeneration ability—I’ve personally seen it lose half its body and recover completely in less than a day!"
The merchant paused for a moment, lowering his voice:
"Most amazingly, it has a unique ’scorching blood’ talent. At the climax of combat, it can cause the enemy’s blood to burn within their veins, inflicting unbearable agony. In the arena, it’s simply unstoppable!"
Ron carefully observed this creature, using his Extraordinary Recognition ability, he could see that it was indeed a highly modulated hybrid.
The fishman genes combined with the human were rather perfect, the degree of physical deformity much less than expected.
But he could also see clear defects: its Spiritual Core area exhibited unstable energy fluctuations, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
In this state, this creature could lose control and rampage at any moment, posing a fatal threat to itself and its master.
"I must say, this crude bloodline hybridization leads to severe mental issues."
Ron spoke bluntly, his voice carrying professional calmness:
"I can see its spirit has begun to collapse, and judging by the frequency of the energy fluctuations, its lifespan probably doesn’t exceed two years. Moreover, once it enters a high-intensity combat state, it could completely lose control at any moment."
The merchant’s face changed slightly, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes, clearly not expecting Ron to pinpoint the issue so accurately.
But he quickly put on a smile, seemingly well-prepared:
"Remarkable insight, sir! Deserving of a genius among Alchemists! You’re right, these highly modulated combat slaves do indeed have certain instabilities, which is why they’re so powerful yet relatively ’reasonably’ priced."