Cavereach City. Caveheart Isle. Dadangar Archipelago.
Aksai returned the smile to Shameen, his eyes flicking around the room. “I’m looking for something… special,” he said, choosing his words carefully.
“Something that might not be found in the usual places.”
Shameen’s smile widened, a glint of interest sparking in her eyes. “You’ve come to the right place, then. We deal in all sorts of rarities here—artifacts with forgotten histories, objects of power, and, occasionally, items that defy explanation.” She gestured to the shelves around them. “Feel free to browse. If you see something that catches your eye, let me know.”
Aksai nodded and began to peruse the shelves. There were ancient scrolls, strange metallic devices, and crystals that glowed with an inner light. He picked up a small, intricately carved box and examined it closely.
“That one’s a puzzle box from the Lost Kingdoms that existed before the current five-kingdom structure,” Shameen said, appearing at his side with an almost silent step. “It’s said to contain a secret, but no one’s been able to open it for centuries.”
With the Spirit Sense of a Foundation Building Expert aiding him, Aksai had no problems accurately judging the true worth of items. One scan was enough for him to know if he should buy something from the shop or not.
‘Hmm. This is indeed interesting. The runes on it seem to be some kind of permutation-combination code that I can crack using the neural link fabric. But it only has 1st-order talismans and some mortal gems inside. It’s useless for someone like me.’
Aksai placed the box back on the shelf, his interest piqued but not quite satisfied. He continued to browse, occasionally picking up an item and listening as Shameen provided some cryptic history or interesting tidbits about it.
Finally, his eyes landed on a small, unremarkable-looking amulet. It was made of a dull metal, its surface etched with faint, almost indiscernible runes.
Something about it felt… different.
Shameen noticed his interest and smiled knowingly. “Ah, that one. It’s said to be an amulet of protection, though its power is subtle. It doesn’t provide an obvious shield, but rather a more… nuanced defense. It’s rumored to protect against ill fortune and misdirection.”
‘Haah! What a vixen. She is trying to bullshit me into buying this thing. But that doesn’t mean the amulet itself is useless.’
Aksai considered her words, his instincts telling him there was more to the amulet than met the eye. “How much for this?” he asked, holding up the amulet.
Shameen’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “For you, a discerning customer… let’s say fifty spirit stones.”
Aksai raised an eyebrow. “Seems a bit steep for something so unremarkable.”
Shameen chuckled. “Ah, but you and I both know that appearances can be deceiving. Besides, it’s not often one finds a piece with such… subtlety. But I’m open to negotiation.”
Aksai smiled. “How about thirty spirit stones?”
Shameen tapped her chin, pretending to consider the offer. “Forty, and I’ll throw in a small vial of Essence of Luck. It’s said to bring good fortune to those who carry it.”
Aksai pretended to think it over before nodding. “Deal.”
He continued to peruse the shelves of the antique shop. As he moved to the back of the store, a particular book caught his eye.
It was an old, leather-bound tome with a cover that seemed to pulsate with a faint, ominous glow. Intrigued, Aksai reached out and picked it up, feeling a strange aura emanating from its pages. This aura felt familiar to him somehow.
“Hmm? What do we have here?”
Aksai opened the book and began to skim through it, his neutral expression betraying none of the surprise he felt inside. The writing was indecipherable to most, but Aksai recognized it immediately—encrypted words used in Bloodfiend manuals.
‘This… another Bloodfiend manual? What the hell is it doing here?’
Aksai’s heart raced as he flipped through the pages, careful to maintain his calm exterior. To his surprise, the book detailed the crafting technique of a Blood Soul Lamp, an artifact that could affect an opponent’s soul. The level of detail in the book was astounding. It explained the process from start to finish, describing the use of Mudra, Mantra, and Yantra to create the Essence Equations needed for the artifact.
‘Isn’t this too much of a coincidence? How did I find this here in an antique shop near the 3rd-order cultivation cave? Does that mean the Bloodfiend manuals originated from the cave? That would mean the Lakir clan or its ancestors were already aware of the 3rd-order cave and were among the first explorers to investigate it?’
It would explain why the cultivation cave was found right after the Lakir clan was suppressed and why the clan decided to come out from hiding and support Kalingoot to monopolize the 3rd-order cave.
‘If this hypothesis is true, then the discovery of this cave is no coincidence either. Someone likely forced the truth out of a Lakir clan member. No wait. There’s something else.
The secret realm that was discovered on the border between the two counties when I was at Lakir estate– does that secret realm share some connection with this 3rd-order cultivation cave?’
Aksai’s mind raced with possibilities. He started thinking about many things at once, his neural link fabric running permutations and combinations to generate probabilities for each of the scenarios he could think of.
‘This is a big discovery. I guess I need to come to this city often. Or have someone I know create a base here.’
Aksai realized that this city and its resources could be the key to upgrading his own Blood Soul Lamp to match his current cultivation base. If most of the resources found in the city came from the cultivation cave, then it was highly likely that Aksai would find more manuals related to the Bloodfiend series.
‘This 3rd-order cultivation cave… Now I want to explore it a bit,’ Aksai’s amber eyes glowed faintly with determination and possibilities for the future. However, he controlled his excitement and thought logically.
“No. I shouldn’t get excited just yet. If this cave is really related to Bloodfiend creation, the whole thing could be just a giant trap. I don’t want to trigger this trap after going inside.”
He sighed before thinking to himself.