The lady looked troubled as her smile finally shrank, it still hadn’t left completely. It seemed like she was hesitant to speak.

Aura noticed it and gave her the nudge she needed by nodded in an assuring manner. The staff lady finally spoke under Ragnar’s gaze that had started to feel overbearing. 

“We do have some… But they all cost over a million Enders.”

Ragnar heard a light chuckle as he looked back only to see Aura giggling. Turning back to the saleslady, he said with a difficult expression, as if he had made a very tough decision.

“Alright. Give the sturdiest one of the Spectral Rank then.”

The lady finally calmed down as her smile again looked natural. She took out the ones that would suit his requirement and started explaining their qualities one by one. There were all sorts of them.

A crystal green dagger that was poisonous enough to kill a Spectral Rogue with a small cut. A dagger that looked like it was made of glass and could disappear, very useful for surprise attacks. Another which seemed like it was carved out of a diamond. All he got about this was that it doesn’t break or gets damaged. Ragnar honestly liked the quality of this one the most. Since what he needed was a sharp weapon that would survive his shockwaves channelling. But he didn’t like how shiny it was, so there was no way he was getting that one.

He instead preferred the look of another one that seemed to be hidden beneath these shiny ones. It wasn’t very fancy when compared to the others, but it looked much more appealing to Ragnar. It was pitch black with a handle that fit perfectly in his hands. Not very long, around 20 inches, some might say it was too long.

When he picked it up, the lady seemed to brighten up.

“You have excellent foresight sir. This one was forged from the fangs of a Spectral Elder. It is the most unique one in the bunch.”

Ragnar’s expression did not fluctuate in the slightest from her praise as he asked for the important stuff.

“Tell me about it.”

The lady seemed more than eager to as she continued in her professional tone.

“This is a blade forged from the fangs of a wicked creature called Shadeclaw. This creature had the ability to travel between shadows that he had marked. The blade made from its fang has the ability to return to its master after being separated as long as it is within a specific range. It was named NightShade by its creator. It is one of the sturdiest ones here. We have priced it at 500000 Enders in our establishment. But since you are with Miss Aura, you can have it for 450,000 Enders.”

She ended her long pitch there as Ragnar turned around to look at Aura with an astonished look.

“Your name really gives a discount!”

Aura was puzzled by his words before she suddenly remembered why he would say that. She could only smile wryly since it wasn’t really her name, but her Uncle’s that got them the discount.

But Ragnar’s expression turned troubled as he looked back at the lady.

“I only have 400000 though. Give it to me now and I will pay the rest later.”

His second part came out in a matter-of-factly tone since he didn’t think much of 50000 Enders. He just didn’t have them right now. It was the staff lady’s turn to get troubled as she looked at Aura for help.

Aura just sighed again in exasperation.

“I’ll pay for the rest.”

Ragnar did not say anything as he saw the transaction being completed with a weird look in his dark eyes. As far as the money goes, he was definitely going to pay her back.

Oh, maybe he could add this to his Code of conduct. To repay all debts, in the manner that he sees fit. Yeah, this was definitely going in there.

He finally had the dagger for himself. It came with its own scabbard. He took it out and traced his fingers across the blade. It had a non-reflective surface and was pitch black. He had grown a real liking for black things after his Shifted Transformation became a thing. Would he like black Women as well then? That was worth a shot.

But for now, he looked down at his Ethlet. His balance was 0 again. That number really left a bad taste in his mouth. He’ll have to do something about it. As Aura talked about something with the staff lady, Ragnar looked around the Trade Union.

His gaze moved past the armours and weapons, the strange elevators, the bustling crowd of RiftWalkers that still looked like cattle, before finally landing at the gate where he had entered from. To be precise, it landed at the two columns of glistening metal plates that were embedded inside the wall above the entrance.

The plates had several names written on them as the top 3 names in each column shined in gold, silver and bronze colours respectively. They seemed to really ignite his curiosity as he couldn’t help but turn to his personal tour guide.

“What are those?”

Aura turned around as she followed his gaze to also stare at the glistening metal plates adorned on the wall.

A complex look donned her eyes as she thought of how to go about explaining this topic. She looked at the staff lady and nodded as if to complete a deal before she talked to Ragnar.

“Come with me. We should take a seat before I delve into those.”

After saying this she started walking towards the stairs that were on the side of the reception. They led up to something like a balcony that could overlook over the whole ground floor. Ragnar followed after her without any resistance since he really wanted to know about the plates, they appeared to be some sort of rankings.

Reaching up the stairs, several round tables were set up there but most of them were empty. It didn’t seem like normal people were allowed in this area. Aura told to the waiter that they were not to be disturbed as she sat on a table with two seats with elegance overflowing from her every action. Ragnar also took a seat opposite her as he looked into her emerald eyes and waited for her to start.

Aura turned to stare at the plates before she turned around to look back into his vortex like eyes. With his new outfit, he really looked quite cool. She wouldn’t say handsome since the standards for Walkers were a bit too high and Ragnar definitely did not look exceptional when compared to the rest. In Fact, she would say that he looked even more deadly than he did before. She came out of her thoughts as she finally started explaining what he had been waiting for.

“They are, as you can see, Rankings. On the left are the Individual Rankings. They are the 10 strongest people who are below the age of 22.”

Ragnar was hearing her explanation with rapt attention since this subject had piqued his curiosity. Maybe one of them would be deserving of his recognition. Worthy of calling him by his name.

“Then, is the right list made up of the strongest people in the world? Like of all ages?”

Aura chuckled at his childish question.

“Of course not. Why would the really strong people want to reveal their strength for the world to see? That one is … you can say, Crew rankings.”

Ragnar’s expression showed his true feelings since he was puzzled.

“Crew Rankings?”

Aura nodded slightly as she continued.

“Yes, not everyone can be like you, clearing the Quaraxi Nest alone. Everyone usually roams the Realm in crews to increase their gains and chances of returning alive. In this one as well, only crews with members below the age of 22 are counted. The adults or the truly strong powerhouses of Humanity don’t reveal their strengths so easily.”

Ragnar thought for a moment before he suddenly said something that Aura had definitely not expected to come so soon.

“Is this what you want my help with?”

Well at this point, it was so obvious that even Ragnar had caught up to what she wanted from him. Well, he didn’t really know exactly what she wanted, but he knew that she wasn’t helping him and acting as his tour guide from the kindness of her heart. There was never a free lunch in this world.

He wouldn’t call himself the smartest person in the world, but her actions had made it painfully clear. Her Uncle’s words that left little doubt, her unusual generosity with the clothes, the dagger and everything she explained with such patience, even he had caught on to it. Especially considering how he had treated her until now.

She hadn’t spoken up until now since she still seemed to be slightly startled from how early this topic had come up. Ragnar took this chance to add something that he had been wanting to say for quite a while.

“And what gave you the impression that we are friends?”