The charms powers were mind bending, it was completely out of this world

It could create fire, pull things towards you, control dirt and rocks, these powers were things that shocked one simply by seeing it. They wouldn't even believe it unless they had seen it first hand

"While these are the only ones in my collection there are a large number of different charms that all have different abilities, one can even create lightning"

Charlotte and I were absolutely shocked, this was something neither of us could even dream of, we were always taught that you would only be able to create one of those forces if you mutated into an invoker or emitter

"H-how much would one of these cost?"

I asked with a slight tremble to my voice

"It's worth a tier 1 item, so it's just as expensive as any other weapon of the same category"

I could feel my face drain of all colours as I became horrified

"Hahaha. Don't worry, you don't have to pay for the one I used to demonstrate to you, I just did it cause I thought it was a fun idea, think of it as a demonstration"

"Phew"

I was scared he would make us pay for the charm he had used whilst showing off their uses like any shrewd old business man in these lands

It seemed like this man was different, instead of tricking us into a loss he genuinely didn't care whether he lost or made money, it seemed all he did was for his own enjoyment

'Lunatic. Maybe he's already lost it long ago'

"Hahaha, does anything else interest you two?"

Seeing my expression he started laughing, I couldn't understand what exactly he was finding so funny about my face

"Are these any different?"

Charlotte was already squatting down inspecting the vial filled with different glowing liquids, carefully examining each one

"While those charms are like invokers these will give you enhancer like effects. Like this red one for example, it will give you extraordinary strength for a few seconds"

He explained its effects whilst picking up one of the twenty red concoctions

There were four different coloured mixtures in the vials. there was blue, red, yellow and a single purple mixture that seemed as if it was swirling within the vial without even being touched

"What's with this one? It seems odd"

Charlotte reached out towards the vial as if in a trance from simply seeing the vial that glowed so enticingly

"Don't touch that"

Charlottes fingers stopped immediately, her body didn't even shutter as if her body had become completely frozen

"That right there is a pretty dangerous elixir"

Reaching into his cloak he rustled around before pulling out long pliers he used to pickup the elixir

"This here is a tier 2 elixir. it can cause one to absorb more energy from the MR waves allowing them to utilize more abilities on a larger scale"

"A tier 2?!?!"

Charlotte and I screamed

Of course we would be horrified, we were a small settlement that rarely encountered tier 2 monsters as we aren't apart of the attack squad, we barely even got to see the corpses that they brought back

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But here right in front of us was an elixir on the level of a tier 2

Seeing our reaction the man burst out laughing as if he had just witnessed one of the funniest things in his entire life

"Do you see why I was warning you now? touching it recklessly can be dangerous unless you're of the same rank or above, without proper preparations you can lose yourself"

"Unless either of you two are a rank two you shouldn't even think about this"

As he spoke he pulled out a storage cube and put the tier 2 elixir into it making sure that no one else can touch it for their own safety

After putting the tier 2 elixir away he continued to explain each and every one of the elixirs abilities and their side effects before asking us if we would get anything

I carefully scrutinized all his other items before my eyes landed on a single, roughly made dagger. it was completely different from the daggers next to it that seemed to have been crafted with an experts care

'Maybe this one's cheap and affordable, let's see if I can actually get it'

Grabbing the dagger I moved it around in my hand. it was about as big as a forearm but had a small handle barely long enough to fit my hand

"A fang from a tier 1 wolf, the handle was sanded and covered with strong leather from a tier 1 hog, although the leather isn't a tier itself, it is strong and reliable. definitely a weapon worth buying"

I was enticed by his words as I spun the dagger in my hand carefully inspecting each part of it trying to find any cracks or faults in the weapon

"How much would this be worth?"

I asked semi hopeful that I could somehow afford the dagger

"Considering the production, the materials and the craftmanship of the dagger. I'd say the dagger is worth two tier 1 monster fingers"

I could feel my muscles tense, in my hands was a dagger worth a hand of a tier 1 monster, something I couldn't afford and yet it was the cheapest of all the items he had out on display

"It seems you don't have the money for it. would you prefer to use a different way to purchase it?"

"What do you mean, a different way of purchasing it?"

I became slightly worried

'It is always scariest to buy items in non conventional ways, especially when one does not know the price'

A sly smile played on his lips, one that was off putting and scary when coupled with his deep grey hair made one feel a shiver play on their spine

"It's simple. you will pay me back at a later date but there will be a slight increase in price the longer you make me wait, doesn't that sound fair?"

Warily I stared into his cold void like glasses before digesting everything he had said

"How much of an increase are we talking about?"

He paused and started tapping his deep unwrinkled chin in thought

"How about we start with an arm, and if I am unpaid within a year it will become two full arms, in two years it becomes the torso as well. But if four years pass you shall owe me an entire body of a tier 1 monster"

I stopped and thought for a moment reconsidering everything he had said

"What happens after that?"

"You will owe me a tier 2 monster corpse. every part of it"

"Lucas. this is too risky, we don't know if he'll keep his word"

Charlotte tried to warn me from my side as I continued talking with the man, only separated by his items. But even then it felt like he was whispering in my ear, enticing me to listen, to agree.

"How will you make sure that I keep this promise? I could always just take this dagger and never see you again. how will you enforce this deal?"

"I'm a mutant you see. and I'm a unique type, and I can make sure you don't betray me"

Charlotte and I looked at each other. unique types were the rarest of all the mutant types, they were completely different from others as unlike the other mutants that could bend and effect the laws changing the world like creating fire out of thin air the unique types had completely different powers from the normal mutants

Unique's could create or enforce certain laws more efficiently than any of the other types of mutants, or unique types might even have completely different powers completely removed from the norm

"What type of ability would make me abide by this agreement?"

"You see. My mutant ability is to create agreements comparable to a law much like the law of gravity, it's something that cannot be broken without a large backlash"

He reached his hand out open

"Will you make this deal with me?"

My hand lifted slightly before I realized what I was doing

'What was I about to do?'

I almost agreed to the deal before even thinking about it, what was this type of power he had? It was horrifying

"What's the backlash?"

He paused for a minute before he chuckled

"It's not too intense, it might leave you a cripple or it might just stop you from advancing to tier 3. But that's only if you end up breaking the deal"

"Not to intense? That's a crazy backlash!"

"What are you talking about? You've got all the time in the world to pay me back, it's as long as you pay me back. that's the deal breaker"

'I just need to pay him back? No matter how long it takes? Maybe I should'

I reached out and just as I was about to shake his hand Charlotte snatched my wrist

"Lucas are you insane? We can't trust him"

'Charlottes right, he might be lying. all of this could be fake'

"Don't worry, the backlash applies to me as well. We are all equal when we enter the deal, no man stands above the other, unless that too is part of the deal"

I broke free from Charlottes hand and grabbed the mans palm shaking his hand

His glasses slipped down revealing burning crimson eyes resembling fresh blood

Sparks and chains crackled to life causing the space around us to warp and rotate before stopping, leaving strings and restraints wrapping our hands together as if to symbolize our deal

After a minute everything returned to normal and our hands separated, using his now free hand the man pushed his dark glasses back up to hide his shining eyes as they were before