DRAGON CHAPTER 12

I let the silence linger as I studied the minotaur before me.

Only after several moments did I speak.

“A Prana Art can only be exchanged for another. Are you willing to part with yours?”

“I am,” the minotaur answered without hesitation. His gaze never wavered. “If that is the price... then I accept.”

“Then the exchange begins with you,” I replied. “Impart your art first. Once I have verified it, I'll impart mine.”

Experience had taught me not to trust the goodwill of others.

Too many customers had accepted my offer only to disappear the moment they obtained what they wanted. Since then, I had followed one unbreakable rule:

Payment first. Service second.

It had proven far more reliable than expecting honesty.

The policy had driven away no small number of customers. Many feared that, once they had imparted their art, I would simply kill them instead of honoring my side of the exchange.

Even so, I had no intention of changing it.

Ironically, those very customers became the target of my imitators. Several rune traders had even set up shop directly across from mine, hoping to attract the people who walked away from my store.A brief silence followed.

I waited.

Most customers would hesitate at this point. Some would try to negotiate. Others would quietly excuse themselves and head for the shop across the street.

The minotaur did neither.

There wasn't the slightest hint of hesitation on his face.

“Yes,” he said, his voice as steady as ever.

A faint trace of interest crept into my expression.

“I see. Then let's get to business.”

“I possess only one art—<Soul Aegis>. A passive defensive art that protects the user's soul from offensive arts. It can be activated or deactivated at will, but once active, it continuously consumes prana.”

I held his gaze, carefully watching for even the slightest flicker of hesitation.

“Do you still want it?”

“Yes,” the minotaur answered without a moment's hesitation.

I gave a small nod.

“Then tell me. What art are you offering in exchange?”

“<Spirit Perception>,” the minotaur replied. “It allows its user to perceive the emotions a target holds toward them.”That truly is a appealing one.

More importantly...

It was exactly the art I needed.

Tranx grew stronger with each passing day, while his attitude toward me became increasingly difficult to read. I could no longer tell whether he still regarded me as an ally... or was simply waiting for the right moment to betray me.

I suppressed the excitement threatening to creep onto my face.

“Then let us exchange,” I said, motioning for him to come closer.

Without the slightest hesitation, the minotaur stepped forward.

No doubt. No hesitation.

Not even the slightest trace of caution.

My eyes narrowed slightly as I studied him more carefully, searching for even the faintest sign of uncertainty. There was none. His expression was as steady as stone.

“You are the first person to come here without showing even a hint of hesitation,” I said slowly.

“Do you truly have no fear that I might go back on my word after receiving your art?” I asked. 

My curiosity had finally outweighed my excitement. Every customer before him had questioned my terms, bargained for assurances, or simply turned around and left.

Every customer before him had shown at least some degree of wariness.

The minotaur met my gaze without flinching.

“I have no doubt in your integrity.”

I raised a brow.

“Oh?”

The minotaur exhaled slowly, as though the answer required no thought at all.

“Your reputation is well known,” he said. “Among those who dealt in runes and arts… you are known for never taking without offering something of equal value in return.”

His grip tightened slightly around his staff, though his gaze never wavered.

“I made certain to learn about you before coming here,” he said. “I know that you've never pursued the swindlers who fled with your runes.”

Well, that had less to do with integrity and more to do with the fact that I couldn't be bothered to chase people over a handful of low-level elemental runes.

Still, that certainly explained the complete absence of hesitation in his eyes.

“Shall I begin?” he asked.

I answered with a nod.

The minotaur stepped forward.

“$#$%##.”

My green eye immediately caught sight of prana spilling from his body.

As the words of the Soul Tongue left his lips, streams of energy gathered before him, twisting and intertwining like living threads. Layer upon layer of prana folded into itself, each movement impossibly precise, gradually weaving an intricate, undulating construct.

It resembled neither a rune nor a spell.

Every fold, every twist, every ripple seemed to carry meaning beyond ordinary language, as though the Soul Tongue itself was giving shape to knowledge.

Minutes passed.

The construct continued to grow more intricate, its flowing surface constantly shifting while somehow remaining perfectly stable.

“It is ready,” the minotaur said at last.

A visible look of exhaustion crossed his face as he extended his trembling hand toward the floating construct and gently pushed it forward.

The wave drifted toward me.

The moment it touched my skin, it passed through effortlessly and entered my body.

I followed its movement with my perception.

The construct traveled through my prana channels before descending into my soul space, where my original art resided. There, it settled beside my innate art, drifting as though it had always belonged there.

Interesting.

The transfer had been completed successfully.

Of course, I couldn't use the art immediately. The inheritance was still saturated with the minotaur's prana. Before it truly became mine, I would have to replace every trace of his energy with my own.

Until then, it was little more than a single-use consumable item.

Satisfied, I withdrew my attention from my soul space and looked back at the minotaur.

“I have verified your side of the contract,” I said. “Now it is my turn.”

I repeated the same process.

“$#$%##.”

Prana streamed from my body, gathering before me as it began weaving itself into an inheritance.

Watching the familiar process unfold reminded me why so few prana users were willing to trade their arts.

Creating an inheritance consumed a considerable portion of one's prana. Until those reserves recovered, the giver would be left in a severely weakened state—vulnerable enough for a greedy recipient to kill them with ease.

In truth, that was one of the reasons I found the minotaur's actions admirable.

He had walked in here knowing full well that, once the transfer was complete, I could crush him with little effort if I chose to.

That kind of trust demanded either remarkable courage...

...or remarkable foolishness.

Given everything I had seen so far and his age, I was inclined to believe it was the former.

Pushing aside the stray thought, I gently nudged the completed inheritance toward him.

The construct floated across the room and sank into his body.

“That concludes our deal,” I said.

The minotaur didn't respond immediately.

Instead, he stood perfectly still, his consciousness turned inward as he examined the newly inherited art within his soul space.

Several moments passed before he finally looked up.

It seemed there was something he wished to say, yet he hesitated.

“You may remain here until your prana recovers,” I said before he could speak.

Relief immediately washed across his face.

Of course, I wasn't going to kick him out in such a weakened state.

After all, he was my first customer.

More importantly...

He was my first customer willing to exchange a Prana Art.

Allowing him to stagger out of here and get himself killed would be terrible for business.

Once I was sure he was settled, I returned to my seat and closed my eyes, beginning the process of recovering the prana I had expended during the inheritance.

A faint smile tugged at my lips.

At last, I had what I wanted.

I settled back and focused on recovering my prana, but my thoughts kept returning to <Spirit Perception>. 

For the first time in a long while, I had something new to look forward to.