Chapter 9: First Payment
The wind became unnaturally smooth and calming, blowing softly through the broken concrete walls of the abandoned ruined, wet market.
Clara stood in the silence, her mind momentarily drifting away from the ruins of Suran City. She began reminiscing about a huge problem back in her home in Nara City.
Her family was currently tangled in a bitter political struggle, and their standing was slipping with every passing day.
She desperately wanted to help them.
She wanted to prove her worth and save her family, but until now, she simply didn’t have the strength or the resources to make a difference.
Because of that, whatever means Terrence used to gather his beasts was none of her business.
How he acquired them didn’t matter to her at all. If he really had powerful beasts to sell, she was going to buy them.
"Just to let you know..." Terrence began, breaking her concentration. "I already told you that I have a pretty shocking stock of these slimes."
Clara nodded, her impatience showing clearly in her eyes.
"Okay... I hear you. Just show me what you’ve got."
A small purple rift tore open in the air right beside Terrence. It thrummed with spatial energy, but only he could see it.
Clara didn’t react to the portal at all, completely blind to its presence.
With a single thought, Terrence commanded the remaining ninety-nine Guard Slimes to exit the Beast Sanctuary.
One. Two. Three. Four.
A few slimes tumbled out onto the dusty concrete, wobbling happily in a small pile.
"Oh..." Clara said, her voice dropping as she looked at the ground. "You have four of them. Yeah, I think I can manage to buy those."
Before she could even pull out her purse, the spatial portal expanded.
PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! PLOP!
In an instant, a literal mountain of bright different colored Guard Slimes poured out of the rift.
The squishy creatures cascaded onto the floor, filling the center of the broken market.
The moment all one hundred slimes settled on the ground, they immediately moved in unison, lining up into neat rows and tight columns like a disciplined unit of trained militia.
Terrence’s eyes lit up as he stared at the organized array. Even he hadn’t fully digested the sheer visual impact of seeing one hundred A-Rank Guard Slimes standing together in one room.
He realized right then that if he had bad intentions, he could easily use an army like this to rob a bank, overrun a city sector, or take whatever he wanted by force.
However, he immediately buried that thought.
He had no intention of stooping down to his former family’s level—stepping on others and using underhanded tricks just to stay ahead.
When the last slime fell into line, Clara’s entire body froze.
Her eyes locked onto the army of Guard Slimes. Her jaw dropped slightly, her breath catching squarely in her throat.
She had been surprised earlier by how absurdly strong a single mutated slime was during their test.
But seeing a hundred of them standing in perfect formation? It completely shattered her perception of reality.
’Just... how is this even possible?’ Clara screamed internally, her mind going completely blank. ’This isn’t real, right? I must be dreaming.’
She reached down and pinched her arm hard. A sharp sting shot through her skin.
’It’s real...’
Her trembling gaze shifted from the army of slimes over to Terrence, who was casually standing there with a bright, satisfied smile on his face.
’Why is he showing all of this to me?’ Clara thought, panic and awe swirling in her chest. ’Just a day ago, he was publicly exiled as the talentless trash of the Lee family. Now, suddenly, he commands an entire army of high-rank beasts? Did he hide his true strength for years just to get kicked out?’
Clara didn’t know the deep history of the Lee Family, nor did she care to find out. Whatever crazy secret Terrence was hiding, she knew better than to stick her nose into it.
’That’s not my problem,’ Clara told herself, her heart beating rapidly against her ribs.
’My only focus right now is making sure I get exclusive rights to these slimes! This might be the only batch Terrence ever sells, and I just struck a massive jackpot!’
Clara cleared her throat loudly, trying her best to regain her composure and hide her trembling hands.
"So..." Clara asked, looking straight into Terrence’s eyes. "How much?"
Terrence looked back at her, his expression turning completely flat as he stated his price.
"Five million credits," Terrence said firmly. "Deal or no deal."
"Five million?!" Clara gasped, her eyes widening.
The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden wave of hesitation hit Terrence’s heart.
’Wait...’ Terrence thought, his stomach tightening slightly. ’Did I price it too high? Is five million credits too much for a single slime?’
On the other hand, Clara’s shock came from the exact opposite reason.
’Just five million?!’ Clara roared in her mind, barely able to keep her mouth from hanging open again.
’A hundred of these monsters would only cost five hundred million total?! That’s dirt cheap for an army of A-Rank mutated slimes!’
She couldn’t believe her own luck, but Terrence had already declared it as a fixed ’deal or no deal’ price.
She wasn’t about to risk renegotiating and losing this opportunity.
"It’s a deal!" Clara blurted out quickly before he could take it back. "I’ll take it. But first, let me give you this."
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a sleek leather chequebook.
She quickly flipped to a blank page, scribbled her official signature alongside the required authentication seal, and tore the paper out.
She stepped forward and handed the paper directly to Terrence.
"This is a certified bank cheque for the initial five million," Clara explained, her tone eager and respectful.
"I don’t have enough liquid funds on me right now to buy the rest of the ninety-nine slimes, but I will return the moment I report this back to my older sister in Nara City. How does that sound?"
Terrence’s eyes lit up as he snatched the cheque from her hands, scanning the numbers written on the surface.
"Don’t you worry about a thing," Terrence said smoothly, slipping the valuable paper securely into his inner coat pocket. "Take your time."
’With five million credits, I can finally buy a proper place in Suran City,’ Terrence thought, excitement welling up inside him.
’Maybe somewhere in the outskirts so I can easily head into undiscovered rifts whenever I want. I can buy proper combat gear, supplies, and most importantly... actual food!’
With the transaction finished, the two went their separate ways without delay.
Clara rushed out of the ruins, boarding the high-speed transport heading straight toward Nara City to secure more capital from her family.
Terrence, on the other hand, turned around and walked confidently back toward the main gates of Suran City, ready to spend his hard-earned cash