"Welco to O.N.E Universal Exchange," the woman in the counter spoke with a pleasant tilt of her head. "Are you here to convert currency or sell assets?"
Asher looked at her. She appeared human, but he doubted she was from his planet, not with how far this place was.
According to Pantheon, the human race was one of the most common across the universe, yet they rarely held power or status.
That's why they were often favored as low-cost workers.
He set it on the counter and act casual.
"We've got a few items to trade. Estimated worth should be in the… billions."
The clerk's fingers froze above her interface. Her expression didn't change at first, but a faint noise escaped her throat—sothing between a cough and a choked gasp
"Billions?" she repeated, her gaze darting around as though expecting ard guards to appear. "One mont, please."
She tapped a few keys, and the interface around her desk moved, changing from standard rate charts to a locked screen with a pulsing gold seal.
"I apologize, sir," she said quickly, standing taller. "For high-tier transactions of that magnitude, you'll need to speak with my supervisors. VIP clients are processed on the top floor. Please follow the light path."
A golden trail of light sparked to life at their feet, curving toward a sleek lift guarded by two serious-looking attendants in black and silver powersuit.
Asher stepped toward it, and one of the guards raised a scanner. A mont later, his posture relaxed.
"Identity confird. Please proceed, sir."
The reason for this was to track his activity, so if he committed a cri, law enforcent could easily pull up the places he had visited.
The lift ascended silently. Transparent walls offered a view of the Exchange floor shrinking below. Asher raised a brow.
'You think we overplayed it?'
(Brat, it's just a few billion. You can't even buy a single armada ship with that amount.)
"Then why did the girl react?"
(Well, not everyone has a treasure trove like you. You literally robbed the Sorcerer King's palace, taking all its valuables, but the most expensive thing you have are the dragon cores and those items you got from the void)
Pantheon knew about it because he had asked the ancient dragon to sort through so of the materials from the space Index gave him.
Even the ancient dragon broke into a cold sweat when he saw how rare they were. He had been treating them as ordinary minerals, unaware of their true value or their potential uses.
It was like giving caven gold. Sure, they'd be impressed at first, but in the end, they'd prefer at to eat and treat the gold as just another piece of junk.
"By the way, is this place safe? They might rob after I leave here with all
(Don't worry, brat. You're too poor to be a target. And O.N.E is the best trading company in the universe. They might lowball ignorant people, but their privacy is top-notch.)
When they reached the top floor, the door hissed open, revealing a long hallway that led directly to a glass door with two guards standing by it.
Asher raised an eyebrow. These two guards were C-rank, aning they were more powerful than Skyler.
They couldn't gauge his power since he kept it well hidden, so they just assud that he a rich space rchant.
HISSS!
The glass door opened, revealing an office made entirely of wood which was a contrast to the overall them of this space station.
Behind the desk was a large window displaying a video of a forest. It was so realistic that normal people would probably mistake it for reality.
A woman with long ears and pale skin sat in the chair. She looked like an elf, though her skin tone leaned toward the colder side. Her attire was futuristic, yet Asher could still see traces of nature woven into it.
'She looks like an elf.'
(Brat, she is an elf. What do you think? Elves can't go to space? Are you that rac*st?)
Asher let out a chuckle. He forgot he was traveling with a dragon.
He needed to accept the fact that in space, fantasy and sci-fi blended into one.
"Please, sit down. You're the one who claid to have a transaction worth billions of units, right?"
"Yeah, that's ," Asher nodded and took a seat across from her. He had to admit she was attractive, though compared to his wives, she still ca up short.
She looked at him, noticing how well his features matched—dark hair, dark eyes that made him look serious and mysterious at the sa ti.
A small smile ford on her lips, and she paused what she was doing to give him her full attention.
Good thing Asher had toned down his appearance; otherwise, she might've fallen head over heels for him right away.
"So, where's the item? I need to assess it and see if it's really worth what you claim."
Asher nodded and pulled out a few black stones from his space bag.
They were rough and ca in different sizes, but the elven woman's eyes widened the mont she recognized them.
"I need to run a few tests to confirm their authenticity,"
She stood up and placed the stones into a glass container.
A series of beeping sounds followed as the machine scanned them. After about thirty seconds, the results appeared. It was the real deal.
She broke into a cold sweat, staring at Asher Getting his hands on these materials wasn't sothing just anyone could do.
"Where did you get this mineral?" she asked.
Asher took a mont before answering.
"Found them while floating around in space. Saw a wrecked ship and picked them up,"
It was the safest answer he could give, just enough to avoid more questions.
"Do you still rember the coordinates?"
"No, it's been a long ti, and my ship doesn't even have a way to record it," Asher replied.
She raised an eyebrow. "You're flying with an outdated console? You should get an engineer to upgrade your ship later. Recording coordinates is important—could save your life out there."
"I will," he replied with a slight nod.
"By the way, do you even know how rare these materials are?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.
Asher shook his head, feigning ignorance. Pantheon had already told him it was powerful, but since the ancient dragon had been trapped for so long, he didn't know the full history behind it.
"This is a Nightmare Stone," her tone grew more serious. "It's a good thing you ca here first and not so black market. People would kill you for this."
She didn't get any response from him, so she continued speaking.
"It ford when the Nightmare God fought the Dwarven God eons ago. Their battle devastated an entire solar system, and the debris left behind beca this stone."
"It's hypothesized that this stone ford when the Nightmare God's power clashed with the Dwarven God's axe, an axe so powerful it could cleave a planet in two, creating a chemical reaction."
'Cleave a planet in two?' Asher almost let out a chuckle, thinking she was exaggerating things.
(No wonder that tal is powerful. I rember the Dwarven God. She's not lying, brat. That being could really slice a dium size world in half with its axe.)
Asher could only sigh, feeling like a frog in a well. 'And how big is my ho planet?'
(Your planet is very, very very small.)
Pantheon's use of the word "very" three tis really put things into perspective.
Back to the elven woman.
"Most of it is already gone—taken by powerful families to craft god tier weapons. What you're holding is nearly extinct."
"So, how much is it?" Asher asked, eager to know the value.
The elven woman smiled and quickly weighed the stones.
"All in all, it ca up to 6 kg. The market price for this is 300 million units per kg, so that makes it 1.8 billion units."
Asher tapped the desk in contemplation. "That's smaller than I thought."
"Smaller!" The elven woman exclaid. "Sir, don't you know that 1.8 billion units could buy you at least five top of the line spaceship? or a piece of land in the Center of the universe? "
"I don't really care about that stuff, so just give my money,"
The elven woman could only sigh at his indifference. It felt like she was dealing with soone numb from having too much wealth dropped into his lap.
Still, she didn't dare show any disrespect. His story sounded too convenient.
There might be powerful beings backing him, and he was simply the mule carrying their goods.
If he could hear her thoughts, he'd probably find it ironic.
The sa man worshipped like a god by others was now being mistaken for soone's errand boy.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat first. "Sir, I can send the paynt imdiately, but perhaps you'd like to browse our catalog first? You might find sothing useful."
Curiosity got the better of him, so he accepted the tablet and started browsing.
One item caught his eye almost instantly—a black and red sword, but with a chainsaw blade attached to it.
"What is this weird looking weapon?" he mused aloud.
The elven woman stood up and leaned in to take a look. Her expression change, and a light sweat ford on her forehead.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but you probably don't want that one," she said carefully. "It's a cursed item, recovered by relic hunters from a Vortex Dinsion that was just discovered a few years back."
"Vortex Dinsion?" he repeated.
"Yes, sir. It's a strange space with its own law of physics. It's very dangerous, but unlike the Void Dinsion, people and planets actually exist there."
"According to the information we got, it was found on a destroyed planet and is estimated to be over 100,000 years old."
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