Genetic Awakening: My Genes Evolve Infinitely!

Rohan and Elane hauled the body through the back like instructed, passing under several interested stares from workers and customers alike, until they emerged into a large back area meant for receiving beast materials.

Hooks, chains, reinforced cutting tables. If you named it, you could probably find it in this room.

And then finally, Rohan felt the first real bit of tension leave his body.

"What are you standing there looking all lost for? Come, it seems we have much to discuss!"

Rohan and Elane were brought out of their dissociated state by an aged voice calling out to them from the rear.

An aged man stood tall, eyes looking youthful as ever despite the greying of his hair and wrinkling of his skin. His eyes practically shone with interest at the sight of the Soldier Ant behind Rohan and Elane.

"I’m here to sell this corpse." Rohan spoke up.

The man nodded, looking calm as ever. "Your presence here is enough to let me know about that."

"Now why don’t we skip the boring bits and get right down to it? How much do you want for it?" The grey-haired old man asked.

Elane looked over at Rohan, head tilted slightly and an expression of confusion.

"Huh? Aren’t you supposed to appraise it first?"

The old man laughed.

"One look is all I need to see the value in any beast from this region, and I can see how well-preserved your little Soldier Ant over there is just as well! You don’t just become the chief appraiser of a large exchange house like this without the experience to back you up."

’Is this guy for real?’

Rohan felt the urge to pack things up right then and there and be on his way to the next best exchange rather than be fooled around like this, but suppressed it once he thought things over.

’The way this guy carries himself oozes confidence, and his words just now match that. The question is whether it’s an act or not?’

"And how is it you’re able to do that?" He chose to test him.

The old man’s smile widened. "Oh, that’s easy. I can already see that you two must have quite some skill to take down this beast just from taking a look at the wounds. Let’s talk about the obvious first; that gaping hole in the neck is a clean cut all the way through, avoiding all the important armour shells worth the most while dealing a fatal blow. And here, where an arrow has been precisely aimed to hit only its eye, once again avoiding any critical areas that could drive the price down even further."

He paused and glanced over at the duo. Neither of them provided a reaction or response. He continued shortly after.

"To be able to control your strengths and accuracy so well to avoid penetrating any armour plates despite facing off against an Elite like this takes real skill. You two might just be the biggest catfishes I’ve come across in this city! Your faces look so fresh and full of hope and light like every newcomer has on their first time in the Origin Realm, yet you’re actually experts in disguise."

"Now tell me, do you think I was lying?"

The whole way through the old man’s lengthy explanation, both Rohan’s and Elane’s faces remained deadpan.

...But a turmoil of emotions was hidden under that mask.

Rohan almost winced when the old guy talked about how he had ’expertly’ avoided penetrating the Ant’s carapace with his spear when, in reality, he tried his damn near hardest to from the very start but was unable to!

And Elane, she felt just as embarrassed internally.

Her arrows only dealt damage after Rohan created a major opening for her...

Both of them felt their cheeks redden slightly the more they thought about it.

"Cough... I believe you."

Rohan just wanted to put an end to it before he ’deduced’ the truth even further.

"Let me ask again, then. What’s your price?"

Having moved on, Rohan immediately began to think.

’Elane said that it was at least in the double digits, but she also mentioned how she knew little about Elite beasts as well...’

He shot her a quick glance to see if she had anything new to add. But she looked like a lost puppy... completely out of here element in this situation.

"50 F rank Origin Crystals," he finally said.

’Double digits’ didn’t really narrow it down for him, so he simply decided to go right down the middle. Asking for higher felt like he was just being greedy, yet going any lower felt like he was lowballing himself.

"..."

However, from the way the old man’s expression twisted and his mouth twitched, he knew immediately that he might have overshot it... just a little bit.

The room felt a little too quiet.

Even Elane, who looked lost just a second ago, now wore a strained expression as she stole a glance at him from the side.

Rohan kept his face steady with some effort.

The old man stared at him for another second.

...And burst out laughing.

Rohan’s face went blank. Elane blinked, returning to her lost state.

"Oh, that was good," he said, still grinning. "Very good."

Rohan’s brow twitched.

"So it’s a deal then?" Rohan scratched his chin and joked.

The old man shot him a look full of amusement.

"You’re bold. I’ll give you that. Boldness is a useful trait in the Origin Realm." He glanced towards the corpse. Two F rank rookies wouldn’t be able to take down an Elite beast without being bold.

"But fifty F rank Origin Crystals for this? Not unless you throw the Elite Origin Crystal in the deal as well."

Rohan clicked his tongue inwardly.

"What makes you think we haven’t already absorbed it?"

The Old man’s eyes suddenly narrowed. "Then you’d be an even bigger fool than I thought."

’What’s up with that?’ Rohan was confused by the sudden shift in tone.

Just how valuable were Elite tier Origin Crystals compared to Normal tier ones?

"I’m afraid we can’t make that deal." He changed subjects.

In their eyes he might be making a stupid decision not to sell the Elite Origin Crystal for dozens more Normal Tier ones in return, but something at the back of his mind told him that choosing to keep it would be the better choice in the long run.

The Old man frowned, then shrugged. "It’s your loss."

"The best I can offer is 20 Origin Crystals for this corpse then."

"25." Rohan shot back.

"Don’t push your luck, kid. You’ve wasted enough of my time already."

All of a sudden, a terrifying pressure extended outward with the old man as the source. Both Rohan and Elane felt as if a mountain started pressing on their shoulders, and the two could barely even remain standing.

’This guy’s a peak E rank!’ Rohan was terrified.

He’d only ever had encounters and run-ins with F rank Awakened. Not even the stone-faced officers back at the Awakened Association terrified him like this old man did.

’He might even be an Elite E rank...’

"T-twenty sounds fair." Rohan barely stuttered out.

The pressure lifted immediately after.

"Let me give you a piece of advice. On Earth, Awakened are rare — even F ranks are considered big shots in some places. But in here, any random person you encounter on the street could be an E, D or even higher ranked Awakened; ready to kill if their food is slightly overcooked. If you can’t get a feel for the strength of the person you’re planning on offending — it’s best to keep your mouth shut."

The Old man tossed a small bag to Rohan and waved the duo out of his sight.

"Sigh, I can’t even say it was a pleasure..."