"Hey, old man! I'm here to pick up the artifacts!" I shouted, going deeper into the artifactor's workshop.
"What are you yelling for?! I can hear you fine anyway." Grumbling, Master Pin came out to me with a limping gait.
"Why are you limping?" I eyed him strangely. He's pretty old, but still sturdy and in his right mind, so I couldn't imagine how he'd get a work injury.
"Ow, decided to work all night like in my young days, but stamina didn't allow it. Hands gave out, and I dropped a blank on my foot." He sighed sadly. It's unpleasant to admit even to yourself that you're slowly dying and losing your skills, especially to tell a client.
"Heh, that's exactly what I wanted to talk about. See, a proven method for body strengthening to Chieftain level fell into my hands, but giving it to you for free, you understand, the frog chokes me. Family secrets and all that. But if you did me one favor... you'd get at least another 5-7 years working like in your best years, maybe even better thanks to accumulated experience." I dangled the bait.
I originally wanted to give him the reward in advance so he'd be grateful, but my paranoia won out over pity for the poor old man. He definitely won't turn me in to anyone if he knows he'll get, besides his share of Thought Stones, life extension and skill restoration. He might even surpass his former self—who knows where physical strength might come in handy for an artifactor?
"Hm, if someone else told me that, I'd kick him out. But you've already proven you can get very rare curiosities, so your words can be taken as possible truth. What's your offer? If it doesn't go beyond my battered life's morals, I'm not against doing you a favor in exchange for such perks. And naturally, I'd want proof first." The old man looked at me thoughtfully, then handed me a rod of some magical metal.
It wasn't hard to figure out what to do. I took the steel bar and, gripping it with both hands, tried to bend it. Damn! To bend it even a little, I had to use all my strength! Sweat even beaded on my forehead.
"Hm, indeed a strong body. About the lower end of Chieftain level, that'll do. Now I can hear your request." The artifactor took back the slightly bent rod.
"Can you turn this ore into a usable resource?" I pulled a bit of Thought ore from the spatial ring and handed it to him.
"... Never seen anything like it, honestly. Let me see." He carried the ore chunk to a corner of his workshop and put it on some device.
"Hm, it contains very abundant spiritual energy. This must help cultivate spiritual boundaries? A few similar resources come to mind, but as far as I remember, they don't have even a tenth of the spiritual energy volume that's in just this one chunk. What should come out after processing?" He asked me interestedly.
You can tell a pro—he quickly discerned the ore's properties and possible use. And not recognizing it is normal. They only worked with it in Peru, and only descriptions reached us. Plus, the only vein is long considered depleted. Even if the thought crossed his mind, he'd dismiss it as nonsense.
"Should become a Thought Stone." With a sly grin, watching him, I said, satisfied as his previously narrow eyes widened in shock behind his glasses.
"... Repeat that."
"Should become a Thought Stone, you know, the one that in one use can raise spiritual boundaries from third to sixth." Still grinning slyly, I told him, watching him rub his face with his hands.
"You trying to send me to the grave early? Do you even know the risk I'd take if I agree to that job? If anyone finds out, my whole family would be..." The old man's body started trembling a bit.
"You can take a few stones as commission." I said calmly, watching this sly fox's behavior change before my eyes after my words.
"... greatly respected. Yes, my family would definitely be respected for owning such a treasure. In thirty years, when the grandkid grows up and uses it. Thanks for such a valuable order, Mu Bai—I'll do it perfectly." The old devil flipped instantly.
"Where to unload the ore? I've got about three big trucks of it." I asked the old man, whose eyes widened again.
"Three trucks?! If it's the same quality as what you brought, processing it all should yield about three dozen Thought Stones. Did you find a new vein in your travels? Considering your Hunter experience that slips into your speech and how fast you find rare materials, I'd rank you among the best Explorer Hunters." The old man looked at me greedily. After all, for an artifactor, there's no better partner than a great explorer, especially one who can get almost anything in record time.
"Don't suck up—you'll get your commission anyway. There is a vein, but pretty small—I dug up half already. Should last my family several generations." I lied a bit, not revealing the real situation.
"Pity, we could've done very profitable business. Ah well, whatever. Processing that much ore will take me about two months, but you can pick up the first batch of five Thought Stones in ten days. Unload the ore in my basement warehouse—should be enough space. If not, use your telekinesis to clear out unnecessary stuff upstairs." The old man gave good timelines. So, in ten days, I can finally break through in spiritual boundaries.
"Deal." I shook Master Pin's hand and started unloading.
It took me several hours to haul all the ore from the cave where it was stored. Next breakthrough will definitely be in the space element—I don't want to walk around with a bunch of spatial rings on my fingers; I need a spacious spatial pocket. Man, I want a spatial pocket to unload trucks faster. When did my life go off the rails?
Back in my world, I stretched and pondered. Thought Stones ready in ten days, "Time" founders searching for excellent plant combinations for me, Lin Lin watching the girls' training. So, I've got free time?
Hm, think I'll spend some farming Commander souls in berserk-ozverin-fed hamster mode, then pick up the ready Thought Stones, break through in spiritual boundaries, and go find a poison element teacher.
Still, though I know a lot about this element from Mu Bai in my past life and even imagine how to pull off a couple of his signature tricks, I wasn't trained systematically. And in an element that mostly depends on your knowledge, you can't rely on scraps of info. Might mix something wrong and turn into a woman. Want that?
Nodding to my recently smart thoughts, I jumped back onto a tree branch and slipped into a parallel world, taking both pets with me. After their breakthrough and knowing the exact location of the Red Sea Demons Commander, united, they can take him down in under a minute, letting me upgrade all my new stars with souls pretty quickly.