Chapter 293: Reincarnators

Alex eventually reached a counter near the back of the shop. Another alien was sitting behind it, and although its features were similar to the first one, this alien had sharper features and was currently reading something that looked like a newspaper.

It only looked like a newspaper, however, because Alex could sense an enormous amount of energy concentrated inside it. He couldn’t determine whether it was Mana, Aura, Faith, or Origin Energy, but the energy kept changing continuously, almost as if the information inside the object was being updated in real time.

Alex focused on the reflection on the alien’s pupils and noticed something even stranger. The page it was currently reading remained still, but the other pages visible from Alex’s angle were constantly changing.

’Is it a newspaper from the Land of Origin? How is it transmitting information to Earth from there?’

Before Alex could investigate further, the alien spoke without looking up from the newspaper. "We have items and information related to each Class in different aisles. You can bring anything that catches your attention to me, and I’ll tell you its purpose and price. If you’re looking for something specific, you can also ask me, and I’ll see whether we have it."

The alien turned another page before continuing, "That said, once you purchase an item, there will be no refunds."

Alex found the language the alien had used interesting. The alien’s lips weren’t moving in sync with the English language it was speaking, which immediately reminded Alex of the Guide he had encountered before.

The Guide had also used an item to translate her words, but her lips had moved perfectly in sync with the language she was speaking. This Merchant seemed to be using some lower-level form of translation.

Alex also understood why the Merchant had specifically mentioned the no-refund policy. Ascendants probably had no way of confirming an item’s true effects until after purchasing it and leaving the shop, and once they took the item out of the shop, there was little chance of forcing the Merchant to accept a return. There was a good chance that some customers had already been scammed.

Alex looked around the shop once more before focusing on the Merchant. "I wanted to ask about runes. The runes I’ve created so far can only be used by me, and I want to know whether you have any information about creating runes that other people can use."

The Merchant finally glanced at him. Its eyes briefly moved over Alex before returning to the newspaper.

"’My runes?’ You can create runes already? That’s..."

The Merchant suddenly stopped speaking.

Its head slowly lifted, and all three of its eyes were fixed directly on Alex. For several seconds, the shop became completely silent as the Merchant stared at him with an expression of disbelief.

"What the hell are you? How are you still alive with that amount of mana?"

The alien immediately scrambled beneath the shelf and pulled out a pair of strange glasses, quickly putting them on before looking at Alex again. He flinched almost immediately, and his three eyes widened as he stared at Alex.

"Two? Three? No, you’re using at least five spells right now. And judging by the way your mana is moving, it doesn’t look like you’re simply using them to prevent your mana from exploding inside your heart. You... are you really training your spells all the time?"

The alien’s calm expression had completely disappeared, and his eyes were moving so erratically that Alex almost wondered whether he had gone insane.

"What sort of freak of nature are you? Are you a Reincarnator? No, there is no way you could return from your Difficulty this early if that were the case. Are you a Descender? Which kingdom do you belong to?" The Merchant’s questions came one after another, leaving Alex slightly confused by how much information he seemed to assume Alex already knew.

"Reincarnators?" Alex asked. "Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t that mean someone who lives a second life while retaining the knowledge from their first life? Why does it sound like Reincarnators have a Difficulty higher than Hell?"

He should probably have been more surprised by the existence of Reincarnators, but after everything that had happened since the apocalypse began, the idea wasn’t particularly difficult for him to accept.

The alien stared at him for several seconds before slowly shaking his head. "Seems like you’re not a Reincarnator. Now that I think about it, you wouldn’t be a Descender either, because there isn’t a Descender who would willingly become a Mage."

He sighed and removed his glasses before rubbing his face.

"O Monarch of Light, I used to think the stories about insane Ascenders appearing during Integrations were exaggerated. How could an Ascender who starts in a primitive universe possibly compare to Ascenders who were born in the Land of Origin? But..." The Merchant looked at Alex again before sighing. "What a crazy lunatic."

"Why are you calling me crazy?" Alex asked, genuinely confused by the reaction.

"Aren’t you putting almost ninety percent of your stat points into Mana?" the alien asked.

Alex simply nodded and answered, "Yes."

"Don’t you know your heart will explode the moment your concentration lapses and you lose control of your mana?"

"Yes."

"Crazy lunatic. You’re answering so calmly, like we’re talking about breakfast." The alien shook his head before continuing, "Anyway, considering that you’re putting almost everything into Mana and practicing spells nonstop, I guess you’re one of those weirdos who actually likes magic that much?"

Alex nodded without taking offense. To be honest, he had imagined his first encounter with extraterrestrial life would be far more dramatic, but the Merchant was behaving so casually that Alex was too stunned to become irritated by his comments.

"Aren’t you curious how I could tell that you have so much mana?" the alien asked.

Alex thought about it for a moment before answering, "Not really. I could sense the energy coming from your glasses, so I assume they work somewhat like infrared vision. The less energy that returns to you, the more energy your target probably has."

The Merchant fell silent after hearing that. He stared at Alex for several seconds before finally muttering, "God damn freak."

..

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