Chapter 257 Merchant

"Hello~ You called me, didn't you?" said Lescar with a friendly smile.

If he could Luke would have smiled when he saw the boy's face, which was full of strange scars.

"Oh! I forgot that you can't move." Lescar was walking backwards, fitting the half-wolf's field of vision, and snapped two fingers of his right hand.

At that moment, Luke felt all the weight on his shoulders disappear, and his muscles, tensed up due to fatigue, were finally released from their temporal prison.

The half-wolf rotated his right shoulder a little, as he looked at Lescar in disbelief at what was happening around him.

"Did you do all this yourself?" He asked.

Lescar brought his right index finger up to his cheek, thought for a second, and replied, "Was it me? Maybe, but that's not what I was called to do, right? And I believe it's not time yet, so what do you need."

"I need you to save that woman!" Luke pointed at Ayumi, who was only a few inches away from the second arrow, after managing to block the first arrow with her translucent shield.

The boy looked back, finally noticing what was happening around him. "Well, well... The eight members of the Broteforge Empire Council are gathered together, and one is about to kill the other? Tsk, tsk... I don't know if I should interfere with that."

"What do you mean?" The half-wolf questioned with wide eyes.

"Luke Lange, there are things that need to happen and things that should not happen. Your death, for example, is something that shouldn't happen, but Ayumi Yamazaki Strogueher's life doesn't matter to me. In fact, it makes no difference whether she dies or not."

The half-wolf was incredulous at the boy's words, although he understood almost nothing of what Lescar meant. "All right, then I'll save her myself." Luke decided to take advantage that the world was still, for this was a unique chance that even the <Leg of Horus> did not foresee.

In the midst of Luke's first step, Lescar snapped his fingers and made his legs lock again, as did his completely.

"What are you doing!?" questioned Luke as he noticed that he could still move the muscles in his head.

"Luke, she's not essential, forget it."

"She's essential to me, you idiot! Without her there will be no point in protecting this fucking Empire from the demons! I don't care what happens to the cities, or the people. I just don't want Ayumi to be sad or lose the sparkle in her eyes while I sit on my ass anywhere!" The half-wolf shouted.

At that moment he was feeling frustrated that he had to beg for someone's help, even though he had worked so hard over the past year to get stronger. He was also feeling fear, fear of losing one of the people he had loved most throughout his life. In addition to anger at himself for not having foreseen that something like this could happen, after all Erick Smakusa was not just a henchman but a respected nobleman, it was to be obvious that he would not accept being condemned without fighting back.

Lescar was surprised, because this way of acting was not similar to the way the half-wolf acted when he first met him.

"I get it, I get it... If this is so important to you, and since I'm not supposed to intervene directly, I'll give you a boost so you can try to save her, okay? I just need you to listen to me before you try to act." The boy said with a neutral expression.

At this point, Luke realized how it really made no difference to Lescar whether Ayumi was alive or not, but the half-wolf also didn't let his thoughts wander in the midst of the confusion, because he had a goal to fulfill.

Hearing the boy's calm words, Luke merely nodded.

"Thank you for such understanding... Right now, we are in a parallel dimension where I have separated this place, this moment. In the real world, all time is running naturally, but here I can keep it still. It may be confusing for you, but I hope you understand that anything you do here, will have no effect in the real world, meaning that no matter how many times you save her here, nothing will change in the Other Place."

"So, what should I do? If even with downtime I can't save her, how could I? I've thought of thousands of alternatives, but none will work."

"I was hoping to ask this question only when the time came, but if you called me ahead of time I have no choice... Luke, in the distant past they used to call me The Merchant, eh... I know it's a weird nickname, but are there any Gene Skills of yours that you wish to exchange for a stronger one? As The Merchant, I can do that."

Luke didn't understand what he meant by 'in the distant past', as Lescar was just a boy, but also having the notion that Lescar wasn't just that, he didn't question it. So, he started thinking about which Skill he wouldn't miss too much.

Luke didn't have many Genes Abilities, so this was a very difficult decision.

<Vind> allows him to control some of the wind, as well as generate it from nothing. This was the first Gene Skill he had assimilated, and also one that had saved him from death several times.

'No, it would be impossible for me to get rid of <Vind>.' Luke decided.

The next Abilities that came to his mind were <Horus' Eye> and <Yggdrasil>, but he quickly dismissed the possibility of swapping them.

'Maybe <Normal Inventory>?' He wondered with his right hand on his chin as he thought.

As he watched the half-wolf think about what decision he would make, Lescar stared at him and gradually realized a few things.

'Ow... he was desperate not long ago, but now he is completely calm. His mental stability is totally monstrous, normal people would be shaking in that situation, but he's deciding rationally.' Without realizing it, Lescar imitated the half-wolf's thinking pose, with his right hand on his chin. 'If he continues like this, in the future he might actually surpass all of us.'

"I've already made my decision." The half-wolf stated, looking the black-haired boy directly in the eye.

Lescar smiled, and snapped his fingers again, releasing Luke. "Are you sure?"

"It's a risk, but yes, I'm sure."

"There is no way to choose which Skill you will receive in place of that one. Do you still want to continue?"

"Is that the only way?" Luke tried to get Lescar's help one last time.

"No, I can't interfere directly." The boy replied in a serious manner, making the half-wolf understand. "If you are still motivated to have a chance to save Ayumi Yamazaki Strogueher, shake my hand." He then extended his right hand to the half-wolf.

Without a second thought, Luke shook Lescar's hand firmly. "I give up the Gene Skill <Sirkelig>."

Lescar nodded, and at that moment lilac particles began to envelop the touch of the two's hands. In just a second, the hands of the two turned completely purple and a tremendous aura surged over them. Glowing particles began to spew out of their handshake, and the longer it went on, the more they increased.

The half-wolf was feeling a tremendous pain in his hand, which he did his best to endure without screaming.

The lilac particles caused whistling sounds as they passed by their ears. When they noticed, the dozens of particles became hundreds and then thousands.

"What's happening!? Are we expecting something else to happen!!!?" Luke questioned, looking at his right hand which was enveloped in a kind of purplish ore.

"That exchange was bound to happen, but even I don't know what to expect!"

Luke didn't know how to react to Lescar's words. 'Destined? There's no such thing as destiny nonsense.' He thought.

Novel Top1.OR G

Suddenly the amount of particles expelled by the handshake began to diminish. Gradually, everything that was glowing in the black and white space around Lescar and Luke began to become stable. After a few milliseconds of calm, abruptly the particles began to return to the handshake, making it weigh even heavier.

Nove l B(in).C OM

Finally, when everything came together, only the cracking sound of the purple ore, which held Lescar and Luke's hands, could be heard.

Luke looked at that sand-like ore, but as bright as obsidian, seeping through his fingers. At that moment, he felt an indescribable calm.

[You traded Gene's Skill <Sirkelig> with a Merchant].

'Does the voice recognize that too?'

[<Sirkelig> is a Rare Level Skill. The Level of the next Skill will be similar].

[Affinity bonus granted by the Merchant. The Level of the next Skill will be increased].

'Ow! That's pretty good!'

[The exchange with a Merchant has taken place.]

[Exchanges with a Merchant can no longer be made.]

[You have obtained a Single Level Gene Skill.]

'Wait a second... after Rare Level there should come an Epic Skill, right?'

p [Skill <Gula, a Capital Sin> learned. No assimilation required]]

'Eeehh!? I don't even know what that means.' Luke thought as he heard the voice announce. 'What a weird feeling... I feel like I know what this skill does.'

????