Chapter 208: Chapter 208 Straight broke.

In one of the corner sides of the bustle of the central city of Ark, two men in delivery uniforms stood by a white van parked discreetly on a quiet street. Their crisp and identical blue uniforms bore the logo of a well-known delivery service as proof of their legitimacy and presence as courier. However, despite their outward appearance, there was tension in their movements.

Carefully, they scout their surroundings, trying to keep away the onlookers of what they were doing. A subtle tense and eerie that betrayed their calm facade.

The man, who has a taller physique than the other, glanced around while leaning against the body van, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of unwanted attention.

After sensing that his friend was approaching, he adjusted his cap and opened the van's rear doors, revealing a dark, cramped interior. Inside, there are many children whose eyes are closed, and they are breathing faintly, sleeping because of a special potion the men give them. Sёarᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Hey, hold the door for me!".

From the seemingly worn down apartment, a shorter man appears holding a boy who sleeps soundly on his shoulder, his posture rigid, as if ready to react at the slightest provocation. He walked inside the van and gently put the boy on his shoulder in a comfortable position so as not to awaken him.

"...With this, today's quota is done".

The shorter man got out of the van and turned his gaze toward the tall man. They began to communicate in hushed tones, their voices low and tense. The taller man closed the van doors with a soft but decisive thud, then nodded to his partner. They worked quickly and quietly. Their actions were methodical but not without a sense of urgency.

After entering the front seat, the two of them began to buckle up their seatbelt.

"Onward to the base!".

"Got it".

After receiving the order from the shorter man, the tall man nodded as he twisted the van's key, and it started to shake. Slowly, the van with its delivery Logo rode onto the main road and onward toward the place where their boss was waiting.

***

"What kind of skill detection do you want?".

With her soft tone when dealing with Soma, the female clerk rubbed her palms together while smirking. Her vibes gave Soma's skin a crawling sensation, with her face half-covered by the hood, making him goosebumps.

"Please, could you show me the detection skills you have in your hands?".

Soma gently asked back the female clerk, which garnered her doubted looks. She began to scan his appearance from head to toe, looking at him suspiciously. All of a sudden, a young boy who still hasn't lived for a quarter of his life acts haughty in front of her.

The female clerk once again looked toward Soma's face as he showed his dry smile. Then she witnesses from Soma's left hand his palm shone in black before a block of gold bar which is glowing in this bleak place, making her mood take a sudden leap.

"Ah, of course. Please wait a minute, dear customer".

"...Dear costumer, huh".

Soma saw the female clerk dash away like a mad bull toward the back door. Then, as he waited, he watched the other scroll skill and the grimoire, which gave him a sense of helplessness.

"I should have asked Hina about lending me the appraisal glass".

Soma asked Hina and Xiao Lian earlier that night about their schedule for the day. They said they couldn't accompany him for a while as they had plans with Serafina to bring them to many places.

Soma, who heard that, was stunned at first and wondered when the three of them became so friendly. He slightly contemplates whether he should come with them, but he perishes the thought as he doesn't want to become like a stalker.

As a precocious Soma contacts Serafina later after that and asks her to take care of the two girls, she sends messages that make him dumbfounded.

"Thank you for the wait! Here are the items you mention, dear customer".

The female clerk returned with four scrolls in her hands as she put them on the desk and arranged them neatly. All of them have the same gray color created with old parchment.

Soma knit his brows as he didn't know what kind of skill lay before him, but before he opened his mouth, wanting to ask about that. The female clerk, swift as the wind, closed her distance with Soma with a monocle glass she took from out of nowhere.

"Dear customer, please use this to appraise the item in front of you".

"Okay, thank you for your consideration".

He grabs the monocle from the female clerk before placing it in front of his right eye. Soon, his vision distorted, and from thin air, a system window appeared when he appraised the first scroll from the left one.

[Instinct: An inherent ability every living being has. It has the potential to evolve into an intuition skill that can significantly enhance the person's abilities. It has the properties of enhancing one sense to its limit and moving accurately with minimal consciousness]

"Wow?".

Soma never thought he would meet with this incredible skill at the get-go. In the story Chronicles Saga, there is one character who gains this ability, making him the most superior in close combat sense, and he manages to evolve it to the intuition stage, becoming a monster.

As much as Soma wants to take that skill, he still has three remaining skills he needs to appraise.

[Presence detection: Skill that will enhance the user's ability to sense the object or living being from a mile away depending on how the user's mental capabilities]

"This one is good".

The second scroll contained a skill he had in mind. But its appeal faded because of the appearance of the first scroll he read. Soma shook his head to get rid of his silly thought and turned to the remaining scrolls.

[Trap detection skill: Skill that will let the user sense the existence of a trap, whether it's indoor or outdoor]

"Geez, Next!".

[Mana detection: Skill that will let the user detect any abnormalities that can't be seen with sight. The ability to detect through the mana in the atmosphere. It can also be used to detect an astral object or living]

"Ah, no need for it".

Luckily for him, he already obtained a Mana manipulation skill, which provides him with Mana detection skills if the mastery of the skill reaches a certain point. Sadly, he never utilized the skill from the moment he obtained it at the trial gate. This could become one of his homework to do for further growth.

"So? How was it? Do you find the skill you want to learn?".

Soma pressed his lips using his palms and contemplated which scroll he would buy and learn. The instinct skill was the most favorable above the other because not only would it enhance his sense, but it also had the probability of evolving into Intuition.

Second, in his mind, is presence detection. At first, this was his first choice, but his interest faded. The third is Trap detection. Soma needed its abilities to sense traps inside the dungeon where the next trip would go.

After mulling it for a while, he pointed his index finger toward the first scroll he had appraised.

"How much for this one?".

The female clerk, who let out a smirk, gave Soma a creep the hell out of him. He gulped his saliva for the clerk to keep glaring at his side while licking her lips.

"The prize for that skill is three million gold".

Soma's eyes knitted as he began to curse in his mind. "Damn, I will be broke again".