Neo, deep in thought, was suddenly drawn back by Helen's voice. He shook off his heavy expression.
"It's nothing. I'm here now. Why were you looking for me?" Neo asked with a faint smile as he walked closer, weaving through the passing crowd.
"Of course I'd look for you. You're my little brother," Helen said proudly. "I think I'm done shopping."
"Where's everything?" Neo asked, then immediately waved his hand. "Oh, don't answer that." He'd forgotten, yet again, that he wasn't on Earth anymore—especially with a familiar face beside him.
"So did you find anything you like? I want to go home and try these on."
"Just the space ring. And can we visit the third floor before we go?" Neo said calmly as they walked toward the ring displays.
"Okay. I'm not really interested in the third floor, though. I heard it's just artifacts up there."
'Really?' That was exactly what he wanted.
He didn't need a weapon—he'd already revealed his World-Split Blade as a second relic to Principal Greenwood and Richard Tasher for that intent and purpose.
He didn't need more clothes either; Helen had already picked out several for him, and he'd chosen a few himself, all in dark tones. He was satisfied. It wasn't like he'd be going out much anyway—at least not for a year.
What he truly wanted was to advance his knowledge of relics. His True Sight made it easy with its ability to observe energy movement and structural composition, though his low rank limited what he could perceive. Still, it was already invaluable—like being able to appraise every relic shown to him without needing an ascendant with appraisal abilities.
"Hello, Lady Tasher. What a pleasure to run into you again."
A young man, slightly taller than Neo, stepped into their path. Helen and Neo had been heading for the storage rings when Ronald cut them off.
"Ah... Oh, it's you. I remember—from the library with Neo, right?" Helen asked, oblivious to the dark gaze hidden beneath Neo's hood as he stood a step behind her.
Ronald had stepped into his path again. 'What is wrong with this kid?' Neo knew that if he drew the World-Split Blade, Ronald wouldn't last three seconds against him—but that would require using spiritual energy. Master Richard had banned him from using it until his training was complete, so that option was off the table.
"Tsk, tsk. I have to say, you don't look so sage now. If we killed him and took his soul, that would be one more material off your list for forging relics. And definitely one less pest in your face."
Pandora chimed in with her well-timed jab. Neo ignored her, deciding not to speak a word to avoid looking crazy. For some reason, he couldn't communicate with Pandora the way he did with the System.
Ronald stood tall, his dark hair almost reaching Helen's height despite her hood. "Hi. Yes, I'm a 'friend' of Neo's. Ronald Wistern of the Wistern Family. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Seeing the heir of an Honorary noble family like the Tashers being friendly with him made Ronald bolder.
"If you don't mind, I'd love to accompany you, Lady Tasher, during your time here."
Helen, oblivious to everything, accepted immediately with her usual friendly nature. "Of course. That's fine."
She resumed walking, this time with Ronald at her right and Neo a step behind. Pandora, of course, was listening in and trying to rile Neo up.
"We're getting a storage ring, then heading to the third floor. Mostly sightseeing for me, though," Helen explained.
Ronald responded with a pleased smile, deciding to show off. "Oh? Is that so? I can show you around, then. I've been here quite a few times myself. The third floor is nothing new to me."
"Oh, here we are!" Helen stopped before a display case. "This is an amazing storage ring, right here."
Ronald pointed towards it as an attendant approached to retrieve it from the glass case. Helen took it, examining the craftsmanship closely. Silver Eastern dragons weaved around each other, their eyes gray stones that caught the light and made the ring look mystical.
"How big is this, and how much does it cost?"
"This was made by Master Bill. It has a large space of thirteen meters and costs six thousand gold," the attendant replied professionally.
Helen's eyes widened at the internal space. Ronald, mistaking her expression for distress, immediately swooped in to impress her.
"Here, we'll take it." He tossed a pouch filled with gold coins at the attendant, swelling with pride.
Helen was genuinely shocked. Six thousand gold coins were no small amount. Back in the Templar Empire, she and her grandfather had survived on ten gold coins in an entire month—and that was considered quite lavish compared to other commoner families.
"Wow, that's so sweet—paying for your friend?" Helen said.
Ronald blinked. "Huh? What friend?"
Helen smiled innocently as she tossed the ring to Neo, who caught it with a smirk directed at Ronald.
'The secret weapon strikes again. At this rate, I might not need to lift a finger in this world.'
Pandora watched Ronald's drowning expression as his eyes followed the ring through the air. She burst into laughter. "This might just be nature's way of compensating for your incredibly bad luck."
Neo nodded as he slipped on the ring, releasing a wisp of spiritual energy to bond with it immediately. The space appeared in his subconscious, and he could feel its exact dimensions. He was satisfied. He could store things in Pandora's space, but without a physical storage ring, it would raise too many questions.
He only needed something with a little space anyway—Pandora had an entire storage world where he could keep anything literally. But since he wasn't the one paying, who cared how big or expensive it was?
"Okay! The third floor, then." Helen clapped her hands, oblivious to everything happening around her.
Neo, grinning at the fuming Ronald, waved his ring-adorned hand as if shooing him forward as he walked behind them.
At the stairs to the third floor, the trio was asked to pay three hundred gold coins each for another pass. They paid and stepped through.
The third floor wasn't lavish. The air felt slightly dense—barely noticeable to Ronald and Helen, but to Neo, already under tremendous pressure from Transcendence, the added weight nearly buckled his knees, but he swiftly adjusted mid-stride as he made his way around.
The room was sparse. The display cases were few, but the artifacts floating within them hummed with energy. Even through the cases, their power leaked out.
> Creator should note that the suppression comes from higher-ranked spiritual energy.
'How are those two unaffected?' Neo activated his True Sight and immediately saw the reason. Both Helen and Ronald were protecting themselves with thin layers of spiritual energy.
'Tsk. Stupid Grim Reaper and his rules,' Neo muttered, internally frustrated.
"Did you say something, Neo?" Helen asked.
"No...." He turned his attention to the artifacts.
Because of the high-grade spiritual energy leaking out, Neo could observe their structures without removing them from their cases. He noticed how physically draining it was just looking at the internal structure of the first one.
> Icy Crown. Rank 3. Special ability: Ice Thorns.
Neo smiled as the System provided concrete information. He focused on the core's shape, the elemental energy within, the form composition. After a few minutes, he had to stop, stepping back and shivering. He wondered what the owner of this relic had been like when alive—and what it had taken to bring down someone of that caliber.
He was out of mental stamina for True Sight. As he communicated with the System about the information he'd gleaned, a middle-aged man in his early fifties, dressed in blue robes, appeared before him and bowed sincerely.
"My apologies, young master. I'm Jon, the head of this branch of the Blue Merchant.
"I've observed your movements on the second floor and here on the third—Of course, only as part of my duties as the head of this Branch of the Blue Merchant, of course." He chuckled.
"I see you might have some sort of appraisal ability you awakened with your relic?"
Neo kept a straight face, revealing nothing, neither a yes nor a no, as either would be a confirmation of some kind.
"I understand your caution, young master, but please hear this old man out."
"We have a new artifact that arrived today at this branch of the Blue merchant. It needs to be delivered within three days, but with the request I've placed, it would take at least five days for a master appraiser who could provide the specifics of a Rank 3 artifact."
Neo was confused but asked, "So what would I gain from something like this?"
Jon's mature face broke into a smile. "Young master, it seems you don't know how scarce appraisers truly are. You need not worry about compensation if that is what troubles you—I will certainly pay your worth."
Ronald, walking beside Helen, appeared in Neo's peripheral vision as Master Jon asked Neo, noticing his gaze. "Are these your companions, young master?"
Before Neo could answer, Ronald stepped forward with a smile and a faint bow. "Master Jon! What a pleasure to find you out of your office at a time like this."