Chapter 9: Negotiating the Price
Sha chewed the Soul Crystal in her mouth, crushing it before swallowing directly.
"This is the hope of freedom..."
The corners of Sha's mouth curled up, and a wisp of black mist drifted out from within her body, gradually dissipating into the air.
Seeing this black mist, Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. He had no idea what this black mist was, but after that wisp of black mist left Sha's body, Su Xiao sensed that Sha's aura had strengthened slightly, though the increase was so faint it was negligible.
To be precise, Sha hadn't become stronger; rather, her strength had recovered somewhat.
"It seems pure souls are quite beneficial to you."
Su Xiao had already roughly guessed what was going on.
"Of course, as long as I have enough pure souls, I can regain my freedom and break free from Alice's control."
Sha didn't hide this. She sat on the bed, crossing her legs.
"That bitch Alice sealed me. If it were an unbreakable seal, I would have ended myself long ago. But that bitch is clever—she gave me a sliver of hope. As long as I absorb pure souls, the seal inside me will gradually peel away. When the seal completely disappears, I'll be free.
It's not just me; the others in the castle are the same. That little girl Anliya's way to break the seal is candy. Since candy is relatively easy to obtain, she can only eat three a day. That little girl has a hamster-like nature—she hoards candy. As for a certain 'bat,' they need human blood, specifically blood from someone with a certain level of strength. And a certain 'water buffalo' needs holy relics. What they call holy relics are what you people refer to as... ah, right, equipment."
Sha's personality was bold and unrestrained. She was a woman with eight-pack abs and extremely strong close-combat abilities, though her physique wasn't particularly bulky. If she dressed more conservatively, enemies would mistake her for a tall, slender woman.
Through Sha's account, Su Xiao gained some understanding of the first floor of Demon Castle. Aside from that 'game room,' the other rooms on this floor were all prison cells.
There were a total of 48 plot characters here, each from different worlds and various races, all with their own specialized abilities. Not just anyone was qualified to be imprisoned here.
Before these prisoners successfully broke their seals, they couldn't leave their rooms or the castle; otherwise, the Wolf Butler would eliminate them.
The Wolf Butler and the Demon Servants weren't prisoners. Their status in the castle was similar to 'staff members,' directly under Alice's command.
Some of these prisoners were stubborn and unwilling to be manipulated by Alice. They belonged to the category of prisoners who couldn't be negotiated with. Even with a letter of introduction, the chances of negotiating with them were slim.
Other prisoners had already resigned themselves to their fate, only hoping to break their seals as soon as possible and regain their freedom, like the little hamster Anliya.
Then there were some prisoners who were still conflicted. They had been imprisoned for too long, wanting to break their seals but also unwilling to be manipulated by Alice, like Sha.
Therefore, Sha had set two criteria: sufficient strength (close-combat ability) and someone who looked pleasing to her eye.
Su Xiao belonged to the category of having enough strength but not looking particularly pleasing to her eye. However, he had a large number of letters of introduction, which annoyed Sha to no end.
Out of options, Sha chose to let Su Xiao in to fight her. But after sparring with Su Xiao, Sha inexplicably changed her mind and chose to negotiate with him. The specific reason was unknown for now.
"Based on the principle of fair trade, since you've offered pure souls, you can learn one ability from me. I don't know much, just this."
Sha raised her fist.
"I'm not very interested in close-quarters brawling. I rely on this for combat."
Su Xiao tapped the scabbard of Dragon-Slaying Flash with his finger.
"Tch, a weakling who relies on external objects."
Sha scoffed at Su Xiao's blade-based combat style. But was that really the case? Not at all.
On Sha's collarbone, a thirty-centimeter-long scar could be seen. Seeing this scar, Su Xiao immediately judged it to be a blade wound.
From any angle, Su Xiao's blade techniques countered brawler-type enemies. Moreover, a blade wasn't an external object—when he held it, Dragon-Slaying Flash was an extension of his arm. He could even sense the breeze brushing against the blade's edge.
The reason Sha said this was most likely because she had been taught a lesson by a blade master before and knew how much blade techniques countered brawling abilities.
"Not interested in close-quarters brawling? Then what do you want to learn? I have two strongest abilities: one is the Scorpion Tail Whip, and the other is the Straight Punch. If you don't want to learn these, I can't help it."
Sha yawned, looking as if... she was trying to welch on the deal?
"I want to learn that beast-like intuition of yours."
"It's Instinct, not Intuition. Intuition and Instinct are two different things. Intuition is for warning, while Instinct enhances perception during combat."
"Whatever. How do I master this ability? What's the cost?"
Su Xiao had his eye on Sha's 'Beast Instinct (Passive Lv.59).' He wasn't dazzled by her skill levels. That Lv.69 active skill might seem fierce, but it wasn't suitable for him. What suited him was the best; if it didn't fit, no matter how strong the ability, it was useless.
Among Sha's abilities, Su Xiao had taken a liking to two:
Skill 3: Beast Instinct (Passive Lv.59)
Skill 4: Combat Mastery (Passive Lv.53)
...
As for 'Close Combat Grandmaster (Passive Lv.67),' this ability seemed suitable for Su Xiao, but in reality, it wasn't. Everyone's close-combat foundation had its own tendencies. For example, Su Xiao's close-combat foundation, 'Blade Master Lv.39,' was inclined toward blade techniques. If he were to teach someone boxing, he'd be just as clueless.
Sha's situation was similar. Her 'Close Combat Grandmaster (Passive Lv.67)' was inclined toward boxing techniques, completely unrelated to blade arts.
"Beast Instinct... Are you... sure?"
Sha's words 'Are you sure' were almost spoken one syllable at a time. Hearing this tone, Bubu Wang beside her couldn't help but take a few steps back.
"I'm sure."
"Don't blame me if you die. And if you want me to teach you this ability, the pure souls you offered earlier aren't enough."
"Name your price."
"A hundred of those."
"Two."
"A hundred."
"Two."
Hearing their bargaining style, Bubu Wang rolled his eyes. He wanted to complain: "Isn't the price difference a bit too big? Is it because of the middleman?"
After a series of ups and downs in the negotiation, Su Xiao finally agreed to pay a total of 7 Soul Crystals (Small) for Lisa to guide him in mastering 'Beast Instinct.'
Earlier, Su Xiao thought the first floor of Demon Castle was somewhat similar to the training grounds of Reincarnation Paradise, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
In the training grounds, it was very difficult to learn skills from the mirror images. At most, one could improve already mastered skills. The mirror images' main role was to teach combat techniques.
In the first floor of Demon Castle, however, skills were taught. As long as one paid enough cost or offered sufficient chips, they could learn the desired skill here.