If he could get the Illusion Eye strengthened again, he wouldn't have to fear any ambushes anymore.
"Clear Sky Stone? That's a rare item," Richard said, leaning back on the sofa and looking at Victor in surprise.
He usually deals with people who are well-known in the underground city.
It was really rare for someone like Victor, a beginner Knight, to come with such a precious armor.
"Wait! There must be something strange here," Richard said, putting his hand on his forehead and thinking deeply.
After a while, he suddenly seemed to understand, as if he had seen through the real situation.
Victor was definitely not the owner of this armor. And the Clear Sky Stone probably wasn't what he was after.
There must be a very powerful awakened person behind Victor.
That person wasn't able to appear in person, so he sent Victor as his representative.
"Who in the underground city isn't able to show up? Could it be someone from another city?" Richard was shocked and started thinking secretly.
"Mr. Richard... have you found anything yet?" Victor, seeing that Richard was still silent, finally asked.
"Wait a second, I'm checking!" Richard quickly nodded and picked up his tablet to look it up.
He had already decided in his mind to build a good relationship with Victor, so he could slowly find out who was behind him.
If he could get close to that mysterious person, it would be a big achievement for him.
Soon, Richard found the result and cleared his throat, saying, "Mr. Victor, we have found the result. Luckily, there is a customer in our database who has a Clear Sky Stone."
"How much does she want, or an equivalent item?" Victor asked quickly.
After a moment of hesitation, Richard said, "The Clear Sky Stone was only registered in the database. It didn't have a price. I'll contact her for you."
After saying that, Richard started typing quickly on his tablet. A while later, he said, "She responded. She's willing to sell it to you, and she's okay with trading the armor for it."
At this point, he paused and looked a bit confused. "But she asked for a special condition. She wants you to help her with a task."
"What task?" Victor asked.
If it wasn't too hard, he wouldn't mind agreeing.
After all, from his previous research, the real price of the Clear Sky Stone was higher than his armor.
Richard said, "She wants you to be her bodyguard for a day and protect her as she enters a surface shelter."
"Bodyguard?" Victor frowned and asked, "Didn't you tell her I'm just a beginner Knight?"
Richard said awkwardly, "I did. That's why she asked for this."
"Strange person," Victor said, but still nodded. "As long as it's not a very dangerous shelter, I can do it."
"Okay," Richard smiled, happy about the deal.
After all, this kind of deal was also a big achievement for him.
"By the way, what's her identity?" Victor asked.
Richard thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "I can't say directly, Mr. Victor. But you should treat her well. It won't hurt you."
"I see," Victor nodded and asked, "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning. The Clear Sky Stone and your armor will be stored in our trading market."
"Okay." Victor naturally didn't doubt the market's reputation.
The two talked a little more, and then Victor got up to say goodbye.
The next day, Victor came back to the market as agreed.
"Mr. Victor!" Richard walked forward with a neat step and smiled at Victor, "She got a car ready for you."
After saying that, Richard pointed to a red luxury sports car nearby.
"Wow, that's a beautiful sports car," Victor said, looking at it. It was a very famous model.
Back in high school, many of his classmates had dreamed of owning this car.
Victor got into the sports car and glanced at the driver in the front seat. The driver was wearing a government uniform.
"Is he from the Federation government?" Victor felt a little relieved in his heart.
The Federation government had a decent reputation. At least it was better than some private buyers.
Soon, the sports car sped quickly, and Victor arrived at the place where the Sky Ladder was.
As soon as he got there, Victor was about to go to the check-in area of the Sky Ladder.
"Sir, you're going the wrong way," the driver opened the window and shouted at Victor.
"Huh? Isn't this the place?" Victor looked around in confusion.
"No, that's the right one," the driver pointed to a special entrance next to the regular one. The regular entrance was full of people, but the special one was completely empty.
Victor's mouth twitched. He almost forgot that his "employer" was a big shot.
He walked through the special entrance and soon arrived at a beautifully decorated hall. He looked around, but didn't see anyone who looked like a government official.
"Hey, are you Victor?" Victor felt someone poking him in the back. He turned around and saw a small little girl.
She was wearing a fluffy long dress, with twin tails, and was very cute, but also had a noble look.
"Yes, I'm Victor. Are you... the owner of the Clear Sky Stone?" Victor looked at the girl, surprised.
"Oh, you mean that stone? It was a coming-of-age gift from Uncle Lewis," the girl said carelessly.
"Uncle Lewis? The tax officer of the underground city?" Victor asked.
"Yes. Let me introduce myself. My name is Erica. My father is Chris," the girl nodded and introduced herself.
"Chris... your father is the city's leader?" Victor stood there in shock. He hadn't expected her background to be so big.
That's why Richard had told him earlier to treat Erica nicely.
"Don't be surprised. Just treat me like a normal person," Erica said without a care.
"But why did you ask me to protect you? I'm just a low-level Knight," Victor asked curiously.
Erica blinked her blue eyes and smiled, "I won't tell you."
"Okay," Victor shrugged and wisely decided not to ask any more questions.
"Come on, let's go," Erica took Victor's arm and smiled as she walked toward the Sky Ladder.
"Uh..." Victor looked down at his arm that was being held, but he said nothing.
After all, he still had the task of protecting her. It was better to just go along with Erica.
Erica took him on a private Sky Ladder. It was beautifully decorated, completely quiet, and had special seats.
The two sat down, and after a while, another person entered the Sky Ladder.
"Odin!"
"Victor!"
Both of them called out at the same time, but one was surprised and the other was full of hatred.
When Odin saw Erica standing close to Victor, his eyes seemed to be on fire. "Miss Erica, why are you hanging out with an ordinary Knight?"
Odin tried to speak in a polite and noble tone, but he just sounded awkward.
Erica looked at him with disgust and shot back, "Because Victor is more handsome and stronger than you."
"Okay... okay!" Odin gritted his teeth and smiled nervously. Then he quietly sat in a corner of the Sky Ladder.
He kept glancing at Victor, his eyes full of anger.
"Victor, I hate him!" Erica leaned close to Victor's ear and loudly complained, "He's a sneaky little guy. A few days ago, my dad invited him to a party, and his fawning behavior was really annoying."
Hearing Erica's words, Odin's anger almost burst out.
But of course, he wouldn't dare to take his anger out on the city lord's daughter, so he could only glare at Victor with hatred.
He thought it was because of Victor that Erica hated him so much.
Meanwhile, Victor felt a bit helpless inside. Erica seemed to be too forward, telling him everything.
"Miss Erica, let's talk about our next goal," Victor quickly changed the subject.
"Okay," Erica nodded and said, "This is my chance to prove myself to my father. I need to get the Luminous Pearl that's in the Twilight Summit."
"Twilight Summit, there are a lot of strong beasts there," Victor said.
"But you're here!" Erica looked at Victor with big, innocent eyes, acting all helpless.