Chapter 961

Three of the merfolk seated around the table were women, while the other three, including Xegos, were men.

All of them had legs and, thankfully, were fully clothed. Anton still wanted to scrub his eyes out whenever he remembered how Xegos and his men had transformed their fishtails into legs when they entered the building.

Although all the merfolk had legs, they still retained several sea-creature characteristics, such as fins in place of ears, gills, and shimmering scales covering parts of their bodies.

Xegos had informed Anton that the merfolk could only remain in the air for a limited time. However, when Anton asked how long they could stay out of the water, Xegos had not given him a direct answer.

Not wanting to cause them any health issues, Anton decided to begin the discussion.

“I’d like to introduce myself again. My name is Anton Sunder. I’m a Supreme-Rank wizard who recently became an Initiate Traveler in the Traveler’s Haven organization. I’m currently undertaking a mission to search for Spatial Corals, and I’m willing to trade for them using my own resources,” Anton began.

One of the men, who introduced himself as Zorexin, proceeded to introduce everyone seated around the table.

“We’ve been tasked by the council with handling the negotiations,” Zorexin explained.

Anton was beginning to feel nervous. He only wanted to purchase some purple corals, but the merfolk’s formality was throwing him off. The meeting felt as though he were negotiating something far more significant, such as a peace treaty or a declaration of war.

Since he wasn’t a diplomat and had no experience negotiating matters of such importance, Anton decided to be straightforward.

“I want to be honest. I’m getting a little nervous. I just want to buy some corals, but this meeting feels a little too serious for that.”

After he said that, all the merfolk laughed.

“I’m sorry about all of this. It’s just been a while since a stranger came into our city, especially a member of Traveler’s Haven. I was told that one of our ancestors was helped by a member of your organization,” Zorexin said with a smile.

“How old are you, if I may ask?” one of the women asked.

If Anton remembered correctly, Zorexin had introduced her as Silverein. He answered the mermaid’s question by telling her that he was already twenty years old.

Anton noticed that all the merfolk looked surprised. Seeing his puzzled expression, Xegos admitted that it was rare for someone so young to reach such a high level of power.

Thankfully, the discussion soon shifted to the amount of purple coral Anton wanted to purchase.

The mission required him to submit at least a hundred kilograms of purple coral, so he stated that he wanted three hundred kilograms. He wanted to have some extra in his inventory in case he needed it in the future.

He had done the same with the spatial-laced mithril ore, keeping some in his inventory for future use.

Anton was relieved when the merfolk confirmed that they could sell him that amount of spatial coral. However, they repeatedly emphasized that they were only allowing him to purchase it because of the goodwill Traveler’s Haven had earned when one of its members helped their ancestor in the past.

It was as though they wanted to make absolutely certain that he understood the reason behind their decision. Anton even wondered whether they had some kind of ledger to keep track of the debt their people had incurred, ensuring that they eventually repaid the kindness they had received.

They also informed Anton that purple coral, which the merfolk called spatial coral, was not found growing naturally in the wild. Instead, it was cultivated by the merfolk, and growing it usually took an extremely long time.

Apparently, spatial coral was one of the ingredients used to establish permanent spatial gates, much like mithril ore infused with spatial energy. Cultivating spatial coral was also a lucrative business for the merfolk.

Since they had already agreed to sell him around three hundred kilograms of purple coral, it was time to discuss the price.

Anton asked whether they would accept gold, but the merfolk actually sneered at the suggestion.

He then offered to pay using mana stones.

The problem was that the price they demanded was staggering. If Anton agreed to their terms, he would have to spend every mana stone in his inventory. He didn’t think three hundred kilograms of purple coral was worth that much.

The haggling began, and since Anton had little experience as a merchant, he was outmatched by the merfolk. In the end, he managed to reduce their asking price by only ten percent.

Anton requested a short break, which the merfolk granted.

Xegos led him to a side room and pointed out the bathroom in case he needed to use it.

Anton retrieved some snacks and juice from his inventory. He avoided the food the merfolk had offered him because it looked like sashimi, and he didn’t enjoy eating raw fish.

After a few minutes, they returned to the meeting table.

Anton offered to cover part of the cost with other items. He explained to the merfolk that he was also an enchanter and presented the magic items he had created.

He demonstrated how each item worked, explaining how to charge it and how to replace the mana stones powering it if they preferred using mana stones as an energy source.

He also informed them that all his items had limited durability and would eventually break after a certain number of uses.

That revelation caused the merfolk to frown. However, once Anton explained how many times each item could be used before breaking, they understood that its limited durability was simply a matter of normal wear and tear, much like any other magic item.

They were especially intrigued by the two tablets Anton presented: the Tablet of Defensive Spells and the Tablet of Support Spells.

Anton had realized long ago that his tablets were groundbreaking inventions. Therefore, he informed the merfolk that he could only offer ten of each type.

The six merfolk seated at the table began examining all the magic items Anton had presented. They even asked for his permission to test each item to the point of breaking it, and Anton agreed.

He even allowed them to take the magic items out of his sight. The merfolk seemed pleased with his cooperative attitude.

They then asked Xegos to escort Anton back to the break room while they examined the items.

Xegos informed him that he might have to wait a couple of hours while they assessed the magic items Anton had brought. Anton simply nodded in understanding.

He was glad that he had spent his idle moments creating so many magic items while searching for mithril ore in the Xinati Wilderness.

While waiting, Anton decided to watch a television show.

Since he enjoyed The Big Bang Theory so much, he decided to start watching its spin-off prequel, Young Sheldon.

After watching around four episodes, Anton felt hungry again. He retrieved more snacks and drinks from his inventory and stuffed his face while continuing to watch Young Sheldon.

Eventually, he realized that he had already been waiting for more than three hours.

Since the merfolk still hadn’t responded, Anton simply shrugged and continued watching his show.