Chapter 341: Take it, you bastard
Damon only chuckled and, in the blink of an eye, [Shadowstepped] a few meters away, dangling the staff lazily between two fingers like a shiny toy. "Tsk, tsk. Is that really how you ask for a deal? You don’t sound like someone worthy of owning a potentially legendary weapon."
The boy’s teeth ground audibly, his fists shaking at his sides. He lunged forward, only for Damon to flicker again, reappearing behind him and letting the staff’s end tap the necromancer’s shoulder.
"I won this staff fair and square. It’s mine, you know. I am not saying I will keep it, but I am not going to fucking give this back to you for free! Do I look like an idiot to you?"
Necro God became livid with anger.
"20 million gold coins for your legendary item!" Damon sent him a message. "There are many eyes around us. How about we go somewhere private and discuss the rest of the deal privately?"
Necro God’s face went purple with fury. "Twenty million? Are you insane?!" he barked aloud, though his voice cracked halfway. Around them, the silent audience of necromancer players exchanged nervous glances. For all his bravado, the prodigy’s trembling fingers betrayed the truth that he wanted that staff back desperately.
Damon only smiled and tilted his head, letting the staff catch the light in a slow spin. "Insane? No, kid. Practical. You and I both know what this thing can become. You want it? Pay the price. Otherwise, I’ll happily find a customer who understands its value."
His message popped up again in Necro God’s interface, crisp and merciless: [Private Trade Request: 20,000,000 Gold Coins.]
Necro God gnashed his teeth in anger. "You first give me the staff. Then I will send the money."
Damon barked out a laugh. "Oh? That’s how you want to play this? Kid, I was born before you. Do you think it would be this easy to pull a fast one on me?"
He twirled the staff again, its skeletal spine glinting like a sinister prize. "You think I don’t know the oldest scam in the book? ’Give me the item first, I’ll pay later.’ Please. That’s some rookie con-job bullshit."
Necro God’s face flushed crimson, caught between fury and embarrassment. "You dare—"
"I dare." Damon cut him off with a flick of his hand, the staff tapping against his palm like a gavel.
"Here’s the reality: I hold the staff, which means I hold you. If you want this back, you pay first. Twenty million, clean and simple. I don’t have a lot of time to waste on you. I don’t really need to return this to you, you know. I will give you one more minute. Otherwise, I will disappear from here and you will never see me or your staff again."
Damon activated Blood Gate and started making a portal. He sent a party invitation to Necro God so that he, too, would be able to use the Blood Gate. Time ticked by slowly, and soon a glowing crimson portal appeared in front of them.
"20 more seconds. Tick tok. I know you have the money, dude. A player like you wouldn’t be broke. So, are you buying or not?"
Necro God’s jaw clenched so tightly it looked like his teeth might crack. His green eyes flicked between the spinning staff in Damon’s hand and the glowing crimson portal yawning open beside him. Every second felt like a hammer against his pride, beating down the illusion of control he had just minutes ago.
"Ten seconds," Damon smiled.
The necromancer prodigy’s fingers twitched, his whole body trembling with fury. But behind the rage burned fear, the kind of fear only someone who understood the artifact’s potential could feel. He hissed through clenched teeth as he completed the trade.
[Trade Reques Completet: 20,000,000 Gold Coins.]
His voice broke when he spat, "Take it, you bastard."
Damon’s grin widened, sharp and wolfish. With a lazy flick, he confirmed the deal, his gold counter skyrocketing in an instant. The staff vanished from his hand and reappeared in Necro God’s grasp, the boy clutching it to his chest like a drowning man gripping driftwood.
Damon gave a satisfied hum and stepped back toward the Blood Gate, his silhouette framed in crimson light.
"Pleasure doing business with you, partner," Damon said. "Next time, shall we try talking like normal human beings?" He offered a mock salute, then stepped into the swirling gate, vanishing from sight.
Necro God did not follow him. He never planned to. He did not trust the dirty bastard and today only proved that his instincts were right.
His knuckles whitened around the staff, nails biting into his palms as the crimson portal sealed shut, leaving only the echo of Damon’s mocking farewell.
Humiliation burned hotter than any flame. He, the so-called prodigy, reduced to handing over twenty million gold in front of his peers like a child buying back his stolen toy.
His title, his reputation, his aura of untouchable dominance had cracked, and he could feel every pair of eyes digging into him like knives.
Necro God lowered his head, shadow swallowing his expression. This isn’t over, he promised himself. Damon might have walked away richer, but he had just signed his own death sentence.
"Blood God," Necro God whispered under his breath, venom lacing every syllable. "I’ll make sure the entire dark faction remembers your name, as a fucking loser!" He cleched his fists and turned around to leave when he suddenly noticed something.
Something new was added to his inventory along with his epic grade staff. A vial.
Necro God’s eyes widened as he stared at the contents of the vial. "Use it carefully little bro. It is extremely toxic. Consider it as a bonus for the twenty million you gave me though the contents of the vial are worth a lot more that that."
Rage once again erupted in Necro God’s chest, but it tangled strangely with something else, hesitation. His first instinct was to hurl the vial against the ground, to smash Damon’s so-called "gift" and stamp on it many many times. But his hands froze halfway.
***
Mass release sponsored by Syphatrol