In a luxurious reddish-brown villa, a young man with blue hair paced around the living room, addressing his calm friend on the sofa, "Samuel, are you stupid? Carlos is just the son of a small company owner. Why are you listening to him? You spent two million just to buy an artifact without official certification."
"It should be fine. Did Carlos show us the artifact he bought? That artifact is indeed good," Samuel smiled faintly. "Don't be so impatient. Whether it's a dragon or a worm, we'll find out soon enough."
"Alright, I'll wait and see. I won't end up like Héctor on the Red Espritual Net, using some ineffective methods," Francisco said through clenched teeth.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Francisco quickly went to open the door and came back with a delivery box in his hand. He looked at Samuel and raised it, "This person actually sent the artifact. Let's see if it's genuine." He sounded quite disdainful.
Inside the box was a staff-shaped artifact with only one Amulet slot at the top.
Samuel established a contract with the artifact. The information from the Amulet flooded into his mind, leaving him stunned.
"How is it?" Francisco noticed his unusual reaction and asked impatiently.
Samuel didn't say anything, directly opening the Red Espritual Net and going to Amalia's shop. He read through the information about the remaining artifact. He was about to place an order but found that he couldn't. The shop had temporarily suspended transactions and would resume in ten days.
"What's going on?" Francisco was getting anxious.
"Perhaps..." Samuel closed the Red Espritual Net, his expression meaningful. "We've got it wrong. The owner of the Number One Artificer shop does have some skills. The functionality of this artifact is exactly the same as the description. It's a pure offensive artifact."
Francisco took a slight breath. His reason for acting so disdainful was largely influenced by Amalia's description of the artifact, which he felt had been exaggerated. If what Samuel said was true, then two million was indeed not excessive. For people like them from wealthy families, what they saw behind the artifact were the benefits and advantages it brought.
"However, even if that's the case, is it necessary to buy another artifact? There are plenty of lower-grade artifacts available, and if it were a mid-grade artifact, it might be a different story."
"You don't understand. The remaining artifact is of the defensive type. I want to see if its functionality is as good as this offensive one," Samuel was cautious. With limited chips, he wouldn't easily make a move. "Leave a message for the shop owner; I wonder if he'll see it."
"Heh, you might as well ask that kid Carlos to contact the shop owner directly. It seems like he's quite supportive of that shop owner; otherwise, he wouldn't have reached out to you," Francisco remarked nonchalantly.
Samuel actually found this quite reasonable.
Receiving Samuel's communication, Carlos hurried towards the villa. He felt anxious, guessing the reason they called him over. It wasn't until he entered the villa and saw the artifact on the coffee table, that he felt a sense of relief—it probably wasn't about settling scores.
"Little Carlos, you're here. Come sit down; I have something to ask you," Samuel beckoned to him with a wave of his hand, his gentle smile exuding affability.
"Sa, Mr. Samuel, what can I do for you?" Carlos nervously asked.
Samuel stood up and pulled him to sit beside him. He smiled and said, "No need to be so formal. I'm older than you, so you can call me Su-ge. I asked you to come because I wanted to ask: do you know the owner of the Number One Artificer shop? Do you have their real-world contact information?"
Carlos was taken aback, then lowered his head in embarrassment. "I got to know the shop owner because I bought one of their artifacts, but I don't have their real-world contact."
Francisco snorted.
Carlos's face turned red, growing even more uneasy.
"I see. Do you know much about them? Did they craft these artifacts themselves?" Samuel continued to inquire.
"I've thought about this question too. But I believe the shop owner probably isn't an artificer," Carlos had considered this before; in fact, he had suspected it when he received the artifact.
"Why do you say that?" Samuel asked.
"I once asked the shop owner if they would keep selling artifacts in the future. They casually mentioned that it's not certain, and they might start selling Amulets later." Based on this, Carlos concluded that Amalia wasn't an artificer.
Samuel understood. Generally, artificers wouldn't be involved in creating Amulets. If they were reselling other things, it would be even more unnecessary. Aside from the initial investment, it was quite easy for artificers to make money.
"I understand now. Can you help us contact the shop owner? I want to buy this artifact here," Samuel said, pointing to the artifact. "I'm worried that I might miss it if he comes back."
"I'm not sure if I can get in touch, but I can leave a message. If he responds, I'll let you know immediately," Carlos nodded.
"Thank you then."
Samuel smiled. Compared to Francisco's arrogance, he had managed to capture Carlos's favor in an instant. He couldn't help but think of the shop owner, whose demeanor was colder, but unexpectedly amiable in some ways.
...
Amalia found the contact person at the supermarket through the communication device. When she connected, there was no sound on the other end. After ten seconds, a sarcastic voice finally came through, "You're still alive?"
"I'll be there in a moment." Amalia remained silent for a second, leaving those words before ending the call, regardless of whatever insults might come her way.