Chapter 85: A Worthwhile Exchange II

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: A Worthwhile Exchange II

Soon, several merchants arrived.

They were confident when they first came in.

That confidence disappeared after Damon began taking things out.

One pile became two.

Then three.

Beast cores, and valuable parts of various beasts, crystals and treasures continued appearing from his storage.

The merchants stared.

Caelia did too.

She had expected a decent amount.

She hadn’t expected this.

Damon watched their expressions.

"What?"

One of the merchants quickly shook his head.

"Nothing, sir."

Damon nodded.

"Good. Keep calculating."

Caelia covered her mouth to hide a small smile.

They eventually separated the items into several groups.

Some materials were too valuable to sell cheaply, especially those from the higher ranking beasts. With the Winterbourne family’s current situation, Caelia knew the merchants wouldn’t be able to offer what they were truly worth.

So Damon kept those.

The rest was enough to make the merchants sweat.

Even the materials from the floating ruin were included.

Damon didn’t mention exactly how he had acquired them.

There was no reason to.

After some negotiation, most of the selected spoils were exchanged for coins, and most especially for other resources like Aether Crystals he could use.

When the final amount was placed before him, Damon stared at it.

He slowly picked up one of the gold coins.

"So this is what being rich feels like."

Caelia looked at him strangely.

"You’ve held those treasures though"

"That’s different."

"How?"

"I’ve never personally earned this much money. Never expected them to earn this much."

That was true.

Back on Earth, money had never been something he had in abundance.

Even in this world, he had only recently started accumulating resources for himself.

Now, he had a bag full of gold.

Damon smiled.

Not because he needed it immediately.

He simply liked the feeling.

He had earned it.

Well...

Mostly.

Caelia had done a lot of the negotiating.

Still, Damon decided that part didn’t need to ruin the moment.

He stored the coins, and other part of the resource exchanged.

"Thanks. This helps."

Caelia nodded.

"I’m glad."

Then she remembered something.

"Oh, your spirits’ snacks should arrive soon."

Damon’s eyes brightened slightly.

"Really?"

Caelia noticed the reaction and smiled.

"You’re more interested in that than the money."

"They’ve earned it."

He glanced toward Freya and Sylphie.

Both spirits immediately looked proud.

"They’ve been working hard."

Caelia shook her head.

"I’ll make sure there are enough."

Damon sighed.

"That might be dangerous."

"Why?"

"You haven’t seen how much they eat."

Caelia laughed.

"I’ll take the risk."

With that settled, they continued toward the Birthground.

They had spent some time handling the exchange, and the hour was almost over.

Damon could already feel his excitement building.

It wasn’t obvious.

He wasn’t jumping around or grinning like a child.

But Caelia had spent enough time with him to notice.

"You’re excited."

Damon looked at her.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

He thought about it.

"Maybe a little."

Caelia smiled.

"I wonder what you’re expecting to find in there."

"An Ice Core Spirit."

"A Core spirit?" Caelia asked confused.

"Yep, just that."

Damon answered simply.

But Caelia could tell there was more behind that calm answer.

Caelia was curious. Very curious.

And she had a feeling that whatever he found inside would probably become another secret she would have to figure out.

Soon, the entrance to the Winterbourne Birthground came into view.

The security around it was much tighter than before.

Several guards stood around the sealed entrance, while a small group of people waited nearby.

The elders had already selected their representatives and awakened geniuses.

There weren’t many.

Damon looked around and nodded.

"They moved fast."

Caelia smiled.

"My father doesn’t like wasting time."

It wasn’t long before Cornelius arrived.

Right on schedule.

The family head looked toward Damon and gave him a small nod before turning toward the sealed entrance.

Damon immediately noticed the similarities.

Just like the Calloway mansion, the Winterbourne Birthground had its own defense system.

It wasn’t something ordinary people could simply open.

The authority had been passed down through the family heads, generation after generation.

Cornelius stepped forward and placed his hand against the entrance.

A faint glow spread across the surface.

Several layers of formations responded.

Then the entire entrance trembled.

Krrr...

The seal slowly began to open.

Damon watched quietly.

He could tell it hadn’t been opened in a long time.

Considering Caelia’s recent awakening, he could understand why.

The hesitation from Cornelius wasn’t because he didn’t trust Damon.

Opening a Birthground was simply a serious decision.

But now, the decision had been made.

The seal finally disappeared.

Cold air rushed out from within.

Damon’s eyes narrowed.

The Aether inside was different.

Much purer.

Much denser.

And filled with a faint elemental presence.

Ice.

His heart immediately beat a little faster.

Caelia noticed.

She smiled.

"You really were excited."

Damon didn’t deny it this time.

"Let’s see what’s inside."

Cornelius stepped aside.

"Go."

One by one, the selected members entered.

Caelia followed.

Then Damon stepped toward the entrance.

The moment he crossed the boundary, the atmosphere around him changed.

Cold touched his skin.

A strange sense of life filled the space ahead.

Damon looked forward.

Somewhere inside this Birthground was the spirit he was searching for.

And he intended to find it.

Damon and Caelia soon linked up again.

Luckily, Caelia already knew her way around the Birthground from her previous visit, so Damon simply followed her lead.

This time, however, things felt very different.

When he had entered the Calloway Lightning Birthground before, he had only been able to stay around the outskirts. He simply wasn’t strong enough to go deeper.

Now, he could finally see the Birthground for what it really was.

The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became.

Ice covered the ground and walls, while strange currents of elemental energy moved through the area. Every now and then, they could sense the presence of powerful Spirit elementals watching them.

Damon enjoyed every bit of it.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have an Ice affinity.

The Spirits around them showed no interest in him.