The sound of so many crystal stones hitting each other made the man stop what he was doing and commit his full attention to Arthur. He dropped his tools and wiped his hands with his dirty towel.
Then he folded his arms across his chest and said, "10,000 energy stones and I'll tell you."
His words made Loki frown and ask in displeasure, "Do you take me for a fool?"
The man asked in return, "Now, why would you think so?"
Loki continued to frown as he said, "Because you're trying to cheat me. I have credible information that says that it shouldn't cost 1,500 energy stones to acquire the information on how to upgrade the Core Metac to rank 2 and acquire the materials to upgrade it."
He was lying, of course. But since the mech pilot was willing to lie, he was also willing to cheat.
His lie didn't work, though. The mech pilot didn't believe him and instead threw his head back to laugh.
After laughing, he spoke with an amused tone, saying, "I don't know if you're bluffing or if you truly know what you're talking about. Either way, that price is too low."
Then he clapped and said, "How about this? 5,000 energy stones."
Loki shook his head and said, "2,000."
The man countered, saying, "4,000."
"2,500."
"3,500."
Loki said, "3,000."
This made the man sigh and say, "You drive a hard bargain. 3,000 energy stones, it is."
The two of them agreed on a price, so Loki gave him 3,000 energy stones and waited for the man to give him what he paid.
But the man ignored him and returned to his work on the workbench.
At first, Loki thought that he was trying to pick out the materials to upgrade the Core Metac to rank 2. But after 6 minutes of waiting and getting nothing, he began to feel that something was amiss.
So he urged the man, saying, "What's the delay?"
The man chuckled and said, "There is no delay. I have just decided not to give you what you asked for."
Loki's eyes widened in surprise. Then he gritted his teeth and said, "But I paid you."
In response, the man shook his head vehemently as he said, "I don't recall such a thing. There is no proof that you paid. Next time, you should get a contract stating the terms of agreement clearly and have both sides sign it before the exchange of money."
In response, Loki calmed down and said, "I see. Thank you for the advice."
He was about to turn and leave, but the man said, "Don't leave. I have a contract here. We can use it to make the deal."
As he said this, he dangled a piece of white paper in front of him.
So Loki stopped. Then he said, "Alright. Let's make the deal."
But the man stretched his hand to him and said, "This cost money. You have to pay."
Loki didn't reply. He just stared at the man wordlessly for a few seconds.
The man also held his stare without backing down. He looked like someone who was in the right and had no reason to be ashamed.
But the man's composure cracked when Loki turned to leave. He quickly said, "Fine. Have it your way. I guess I'll have to bear the cost of using a contract."
Loki decided not to leave and stopped in place. When the man saw that he was still interested in the deal, he took out a pen and began to write the terms of their agreement.
He wrote that Loki would give him 3,000 energy stones, and in exchange, he would tell Loki a way to upgrade the Telekinesis Metac to rank 2. Then he handed the contract to Loki for his approval.
Loki read the terms before frowning and saying, "What about the materials you were supposed to give me for upgrading the Core Metac?"
His question made the man slap his forehead in shame and say, "Silly me. How could I forget about that?"
Loki didn't speak. He just handed the contract back to the man.
The man chuckled as he took back the contract and added his responsibility to give Loki the materials he needed to upgrade the Telekinesis Metac to rank 2.
Loki watched him intensely as he worked. When he had something he needed to add, he demanded it early on.
He said, "Also, add that you have to give me the information and the goods as soon as I pay."
He added more terms to the contract and was behaving like a troublesome customer. But the man didn't get angry. He continued to smile as Loki made him write more and more things.
When Loki found the terms of the contract to be satisfactory, both of them signed it with their blood. Then Loki took the contract before handing over another 3,000 energy stones to the man.
The man took the money and smiled at him as he said, "Nice doing business with you."
It hadn't been nice to do business with him, so Loki didn't say anything in return. He remained expressionless as he waited for the man to give him what he paid for.
But the man remained quiet. Not only did he not speak, but he also returned to his project on the workbench.
This time, Loki snapped in a few seconds. He didn't wait for 6 minutes before realizing that something was wrong.
But instead of exploding, he gritted his teeth with suppressed anger and asked, "What is wrong now?"
The man replied without looking at him, "I don't know what you mean."
Loki felt his anger rising to a level that was threatening to make his head explode. But for some strange, unknown reason, he was able to remain calm.
The angrier he was, the calmer he became. So his face was stoic as he said, "You're supposed to tell me how to upgrade the Telekinesis Metac to rank 2 and give me the materials to do so. I paid you for it."