Chapter 282: The Wandering Merchant.

Kael nodded.

"Yeah."

Miko’s expression remained perfectly calm on the surface. Internally, however, she was reeling with shock. Even though she’d asked the question herself, hearing Kael answer so casually, as if it were nothing, left her wondering just what kind of broken ability that was.

Kael, of course, had no idea what was going through her mind.

He’d deliberately hidden the true nature of his ability. Even now, he’d only told Miko that he possessed something capable of replicating items. He had no intention of explaining the Infinite Reward Multiplier, or revealing just how ridiculous its real capabilities were.

Even he understood how absurd the things he possessed truly were.

Yet even after deliberately limiting his explanation, someone as powerful as Miko still regarded his ability as something completely unreasonable.

The reason was simple.

To Kael, Tower Coins were nothing more than another form of reward.

They were valuable, certainly. He could take them outside the Tower and exchange them for real-world currency, which made them extremely useful. But at the end of the day, they were still just a resource he could acquire through the Tower.

To Miko, however, Tower Coins meant something entirely different.

They were one of the foundations upon which the Tower’s entire ecosystem operated.

The reason she was willing to negotiate with Kael and give up something valuable was precisely because she needed to prevent him from disrupting the balance of her trial. If the trial became unstable, her authority as an Administrator would be affected.

And what did she need that authority for?

More Tower Coins.

The fact that Kael could simply replicate them was enough to make her realize just how ridiculous his ability was.

Thankfully, Miko had spent far too long as an Administrator to let such thoughts show on her face.

She simply smiled.

"Well, if that’s the case, then you must have a lot of Tower Coins that you don’t know what to do with, right?"

Kael nodded.

"Yeah."

Miko’s smile deepened.

She raised one hand and casually waved it through the air.

A black card appeared between her fingers, its surface carrying a strange platinum-like sheen beneath the black, faint patterns shifting across it whenever the light touched it.

Kael stared at it.

"What’s that?"

Miko held the card between two fingers, turning it slightly so the strange sheen caught the light.

"Have you heard of the Wandering Merchant?"

Kael’s expression immediately changed.

"The Wandering Merchant?"

The moment the words left her mouth, an old memory stirred in his mind.

The Wandering Merchant was one of the most mysterious beings associated with the Tower.

Only a handful of challengers had ever encountered him, and even among those, most could only describe him through rumors and fragmented stories.

It was said that the Wandering Merchant possessed almost anything one could possibly want to buy, weapons, ancient artifacts, potent potions, rare materials, even things they couldn’t identify.

If something existed somewhere within the Tower, there was always a rumor that the Wandering Merchant could eventually get his hands on it.

Kael had encountered him once in his previous life.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t been a pleasant encounter.

He remembered standing before that mysterious merchant with almost nothing to his name, only to be mocked and humiliated while the man casually treated him like an amusing spectacle. Kael had been furious at the time, but even then, he had managed to sneak a glance at some of the items displayed within the merchant’s shop.

The quality of those items alone had been enough to leave a deep impression on him.

And that had only been a fraction of what the Wandering Merchant possessed.

Kael’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the card in Miko’s hand.

If I can meet him again...

His thoughts immediately drifted to his mother, Ezra, and Lyra.

There were countless problems surrounding them, many of which seemed impossible to solve with the resources currently available to him.

But the Wandering Merchant was different.

If the rumors were even partially true, there was a chance the merchant possessed something capable of solving all these issues.

Kael’s gaze grew increasingly focused.

Miko noticed. A small smile touched her lips.

"Got you."

She had known this would catch his attention.

"This is a VIP card offered specifically by the Wandering Merchant himself," Miko explained. "It allows you to summon him whenever you want. It also comes with several other privileges."

Kael’s eyes remained fixed on the card.

Miko held it out slightly.

"So, here’s my offer. If you promise to leave behind all the items you obtained from the Blood Store, I’ll give this to you."

Kael’s eyes immediately shifted toward her.

"All?"

"All."

"That sounds like a rip-off."

Miko’s lips twitched. She’d expected that reaction.

"Look, I’m already at a loss here. Can’t you spare me at least this much?" She put on a slight pout, her expression turning almost pitiful.

It was obvious what she was trying to do, using her allure to persuade him.

Unfortunately for her, Kael’s mind was currently somewhere else entirely, running through the items he’d obtained from the Blood Store. Some he already had plans for, others he might stash away, in his guild’s inventory or his own, just in case they proved useful later.

Regardless of the reason he’d taken them, they were still valuable, and even though he was willing to give most of it back, he wasn’t about to hand over everything.

"How about I keep a few of them?"

Miko’s eyes narrowed. "How many?"

Kael thought for a moment, Miko’s gaze locked onto him the entire time, as if trying to see straight through to his thoughts. Finally, unable to bear the wait any longer, she sighed.

"If you take just five, we have a deal."

Kael remained silent for a few seconds.

He weighed the value of the five most important items against the opportunity Miko was offering.

The Wandering Merchant.

A chance to summon him whenever he wanted.

The possibility of obtaining something capable of solving problems he currently had no answer for.

Eventually, Kael nodded.

"Deal."

Miko handed him the black and platinum card.

Kael accepted it before transferring the items he had obtained from the Blood Store to Miko.

Of course, he kept the five most important ones.

The exchange was completed.

Miko stared at the remaining items in her possession.

Her smile disappeared.

This heartless punk.

She had just given away a VIP card connected to one of the most mysterious merchants in the Tower, and this guy still managed to haggle her down to letting him keep five items.

She almost regretted making the offer.

Almost.

Because at least the balance of her trial would be restored.

Miko took a breath and raised her hand.

The restrictions surrounding the floor immediately began to disappear.

The invisible pressure that had sealed the area faded away, and the Tower’s restrictions returned to normal.

Kael, who had already forfeited the trial, felt the familiar sensation of space shifting around his body.

The next instant, his figure vanished.

Miko stood alone within the Blood Store.

She stared at the empty space where Kael had disappeared.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then her face twisted slightly.

"That fucker."

She clenched her teeth.

"I hope we never meet again."