Chapter 252 - Stone Gambling
"Comment; the little thing seems to be saying something."
"So it seems."
Cetwo and Ceone gazed at the strange earthworm with human-like faces before they shortly concluded that it was an intelligent lifeform.
Nevertheless, they did not understand what it was saying.
"Requesting to keep the little thing as a pet—I mean for research purposes," Cetwo had a slip of the tongue while admiring the Blizzard Earthworm.
"Denied. The earthworms have been purposely placed in this chest for a reason. We should not take anything that could risk earning the True Immortal's ire and jeopardizing our mission," Ceone said firmly.
Even so, Ceone could understand her twin sister's desire.
The little wriggly things were sort of cute and reminded her of a cartoonish game they used to play in their childhood, where they control soldier worms to shoot at opposing worms.
Shortly after the Blizzard Earthworm King was placed in the chest, the rest of Blizzard Earthworms went hysterical with awe and worship.
"The king fell into the bird's clutches but managed to live!"
"Our king is blessed by the heavens! Long live the king!"
…
…
…
Meanwhile, Albion took Fenriri around various stores found within the metropolis they soon found out to be called Blue Wyvern City, stocking up on supplies such as food and spices after selling off a single pill for a high price.
Ever since Blue Wyvern City was cut off from the Azure Dragon Star Realm, the value of pills has skyrocketed while everything else depreciated.
As such, Albion took the chance to see what quality goods he could buy for low prices as Fenriri followed a few steps behind him while dragging a large half-filled leather bag over her shoulders.
From an onlooker's perspective, it looked like Albion had a child laborer carrying his goods for him—but in truth, Fenriri was happy to carry the goods as it could be observed from the way her tail wagged.
Most of the items in the leather bag were foods of her choice.
"Master, I think we have enough food to last us awhile outside the city," Fenriri informed happily while dragging her leather bag.
"By us, you mean just you, right? You're just going eat all of your master's food again, won't you?"
Albion gave Fenriri a casual glance as he spoke before Fenriri broke into awkward smiles and said, "Err… Fenriri would never…"
"Uh-huh," Albion rolled his eyes disbelievingly before he said, "We are done with the food supplies anyway. We will be looking at other stuff now."
"What kind of stuff, Master?"
"These kinds of stuff."
Right then, Albion casually pointed to a store with random stones laid out on display as they had unwittingly stumbled into a bustling area full of stone gambling stores.
Exactly as the name suggests, stone gambling was the act of betting on stones with low prices in hopes of acquiring more wealth out of them.
Despite most stones containing little to no value hidden inside them, they did not affect the excitement and popularity of the place.
After Albion explained stone gambling to Fenriri, he stopped right before a stone gambling store with little customers.
"How about it, young man? Want to try your luck? Who knows? Maybe you can become the next—"
"Okay, I want this one."
Albion shortly pointed to a fist-size stone before the store owner could even finish persuading him, causing the store owner to be taken aback, not expecting the customer to be so easygoing.
"Ugh…" the store owner was a bit stunned before he smiled widely and said, "Of course, that stone will be 100 silver coins."
"Do you accept trades?" Albion responded before fishing out a pill and asked further, "How about a Grade-3 Blood Enhancement Pill?"
"Wait, seriously?" the store owner was shocked.
A Grade-3 Spirit Pill was not something that could be bought in the current market even if someone offers 10,000 gold coins for it—not to mention it just happens to be something he needed to advance his cultivation.
He was just a small-time stone seller.
"Yeah," Albion affirmed with a nod.
"Wait a minute, young man!" an elderly lady called abruptly before she asked, "How about selling the pill to me? I am willing to offer 1000 gold coins for it and help you pick some good stones around here—"
"—There's no need to waste your time and money on a small store like this. Some Tom, Dick, and Harry had already inspected and confirmed there is no good stone here, so I should listen to you, right?" Albion interrupted.
The elderly lady's eyes widened with astonishment before she gasped, "How did you know what I was going to say?"
"I've read such lines too many times in these instances," Albion casually stated.
"You've read such lines before…?" the elderly lady uttered incomprehensibly before asking, "Where did read such a thing? Some book of future events? What are you, a prophet or something?"
"No, just a reader," Albion said casually before waving his hand, "Now don't bother me. I'm not interested in your gold coins. I'm only interested in this stone."
"You're making a mistake, young man. That's just a—"
"Useless stone? I'll be the judge of that," Albion cut off the elderly lady's words again before asking the store owner, "So, do we have a deal or not?"
"Of course!"
The store owner was relieved that he did not need to explain the value of Grade-3 Spirit Pills to the young man.
At the same time, the store owner found it strange that the young man was still willing to exchange a Grade-3 Spirit Pill for a stone that only cost 100 silver coins.
However, the prospect of obtaining a Grade-3 Spirit Pill did not make him think too deeply.
After Albion obtained the stone, he promptly left without any concern with how the store owner would deal with the elderly lady and other people attracted to the pill.
Most likely, the store owner would be forced to sell it to one of them, but that was not Albion's problem. Either way, the store owner would have made great gains.
Shortly after leaving the stone gambling area, Fenriri asked curiously, "Master, are we done with stone gambling already?"
"Yeah," Albion nodded and said, "There's nothing else good around here."
"How do you know that, Master?" Fenriri asked with surprise.
"I just know," Albion stated before adding, "Trust me, I'm a professional."
After he said that, Fenriri became even more curious about the stone he selected.
What was so special about it?