Chapter 34 - 34 – Trade  

Joyce was confused. First, Gravis seemed very happy to accept, but then he became angry and declined. This didn’t make any sense! The old man also furrowed his brows. Despite all his experience, he still couldn’t think of a reason for the sudden change in attitude.

"Why not?" Joyce asked.

Gravis was still gritting his teeth. He couldn’t possibly explain the concept of karmic luck. It was not because the concept was too complex, but because if they knew how karmic luck worked, they would know some of Heaven’s inner workings. Heaven wouldn’t allow that and would do everything to keep its workings secret.

"I can only accept an opportunity, not direct help," he said after mulling over his words for a while. If he earned the money fairly, everything would be alright. "Of course, I would treat this opportunity the same as if you helped me directly. I will still engrave this favor in my heart."

Joyce grew even more confused by his words. Was this his pride getting in the way of benefits? That seemed idiotic.

The old man also didn’t know why Gravis said what he said, but the old man had a feeling that this was the best way. He didn’t know why, but he somehow felt like the youngster was helping them, and not the other way around. ’but that’s impossible,’ the old man thought. The youngster didn’t even have tempered skin, so how could he possibly help them?

On top of that, they were not even in danger. The old man was trusting in his gut feeling, but this seemed entirely contradictory to logic. His instinct had mostly proven true in the past, but it was never this contradictory to common sense. What was going on? In the end, the old man fell into deep thought.

The girl, on the other hand, didn’t agree. "Are you serious? This is an equal trade! I give you gold, and you give me your help in the future. What opportunity? Forget your pride! Let’s just finish the trade, and you can repay me in the future!" she shouted in anger. Was that young man trying to downplay the favor he owed by getting her money "fairly"? She had never seen someone as shameless as him!

Gravis gritted his teeth even more. "I am really sorry, but I can’t accept the money like this. I can’t tell you why! Just trust me on this!" he urged.

Joyce’s anger rose, but before she could say anything further, she heard her teacher’s voice in her head. "Wait a second. I don’t know why, but I think we should believe him. I don’t feel any falsehood from him. I see only bitterness, helplessness, and fury. Someone on his level can’t fool my eyes. I am pretty sure that, what he is saying, is the truth."

Joyce’s anger lessened again, but her confusion grew. "But why?" she asked in her mind.

The old man shook his head. "I don’t know why, but I trust my instinct." The more the old man believed his feeling, the stronger it grew. He felt like something beyond his control was happening. It felt like something very profound was taking place. It also felt like he had evaded a calamity. The old man never felt this way before, and slowly, he lost himself in the sensation. The hunters looked at the old man like he was crazy. His expression was changing by the second.

Joyce slowly took back the money and furrowed her brows. How could she exchange 50 gold fairly? She started looking around the Hall. Suddenly, she got an idea. "This is a Hunting Guild, right?" she asked Gravis.

Gravis nodded.

Joyce began to smile slightly. "How much is a low-grade demonic beast worth?" she asked Gravis.

Gravis realized what she planned. "The carcass is between eight and ten gold, while a mission is a further ten gold," he explained.

Joyce frowned a little. In order to give him 50 gold, she would need to request three missions for low-grade demonic beasts. The money wasn’t the problem. The problem was that she didn’t know of any low-grade demonic beasts in the area. She knew of one demonic beast, but...

The old man suddenly perked up and looked at Gravis with intense eyes. Gravis felt like he couldn’t move. That wasn’t the pressure of a Will-Aura, but the pressure of absolute power. He didn’t know how he had offended the old man.

The old man noticed that he had accidentally lost control of himself and returned to his smiling self. The pressure on Gravis immediately lifted, and he sighed in relief. That old man was powerful. Gravis felt like a helpless chicken in front of him.

"Miss," Joyce heard the voice of her teacher in her mind. "I think I have an idea. It might be more expensive than we initially believed, but if he can grasp this opportunity, his will will grow even firmer."

Joyce listened to the plan of her teacher and furrowed her brows again. Could the young man do that? Even with their help and his Will-Aura, it still seemed impossible. After deliberating about the decision for a couple of seconds, she decided to risk it and nodded.

Her teacher took something out of thin air and gave it to Joyce. Joyce took it and looked at Gravis. "Okay, I trust you, but in return, you must trust me," she said with intense eyes.

Gravis already felt trust towards her and nodded without hesitation.

Joyce showed the thing in her hands. It was a jade token. When Gravis saw this, his body seized up in shock. He knew what that was! He learned about them in his theoretical lessons. That was an instantly-deployable Formation Array!

"First, you need to buy this for five gold," Joyce said.

Five gold was about all of Gravis’ money. He gritted his teeth but accepted the trade.

"This formation array can restrict a mid-grade demonic beast for about two hours. It will be very difficult for it to move its body in that time, but don’t underestimate such a beast! Their defense is even sturdier than a low-grade demonic beast’s, and they are much faster," Joyce said and then walked to the counter.

Simone, the counter lady, had been watching for a while but perked up when Joyce walked toward her.

"I want to submit a mission for a mid-grade demonic beast."