The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

The dead body of the earth guardian was obviously a precious treasure, and even though it wasn't the type of beast that could trigger Bree's purification or allow extraction of abilities, it was still a grade eight corpse.     

Moreover, Evelyn noticed that the arrow had entered from an… already existing opening… and thus the outer shell of the beast was almost completely intact! That had to increase its value, right?     

Even if she had to plead and beg Aurora, the gains should be more than worth the effort.     

Of course, just like the tentacles that had been cut off from the 'Thousand Eyed God', the beast's corpse was no longer impervious to her probing skill.     

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-[Great Guardian of Earth's Carapace]     

—As a mighty beast that had reached grade 8 during its lifetime, the corpse is a treasure of the same grade.     

—The outer shell is intact, and perfect for creating grade 8 armor.     

—Most of the insides have been torn apart, and have no value.     

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Unfortunately, as was the case with the tentacles, the system only extracted the information of the 'item' itself, and not the source.     

Evelyn didn't think it was such a big deal, since she more or less knew what the beast was capable of using the status of its 'descendants'. It was unfortunate that living beings couldn't be sucked into her inventory, or she would have taken all of these little beetles too.     

If they were killed, however, they had almost no value at all.     

Her teacher didn't seem to have any way of storing the giant corpse, and simply made it float behind them as they headed for one of the cities.     

Of course, they still had to pass through the academy, and Evelyn was curious how the two guardian statues will react to the grade eight corpse.     

The statues stirred briefly when Aurora came near them, but settled down soon enough.     

"Since you're so naughty, let me warn you… Never bring a living beast past grade five to this valley, even if you have captured and tamed it, alright? If you have to do it, let me know first. Otherwise, the guardians may attack you. They're not very smart, after all."     

Evelyn blinked. "What about Ruru? Do I have to worry once she grows past a certain point?"     

Aurora shook her head. "No. Ruru is a spirit beast. To the guardians, the difference between us is not that great. You don't need to worry too much, even if Ruru grows to grade eight. Un, only when she's grade nine will the guardians disallow her entry without permission."     

Evelyn blinked. "Permission?"     

The platinum blonde nodded. "Un. Anyone who can be a threat to the academy itself cannot be allowed in, of course. Except for those who are a part of the academy itself, and thus have the permission."     

Evelyn looked at Aurora, her eyes shining. "And who grants this 'permission'?"     

Aurora pointed at herself, a little confused. "I do?"     

The pink haired girl put the confused Ruru forward, delighted. "So…"     

"… I'm not doing that. Un, grow strong enough first, and I'll think about it."     

Evelyn sighed. "Okay."     

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It didn't take them long to enter the 'Eastern Forbidden City', and it became very clear to her that Aurora had absolutely no idea how to sell such a thing. Thankfully, when people were faced with an obviously powerful entity, they were very 'helpful', and pointed her the 'right way'.     

"This… great lady, I'm telling the truth! I really dare not lie! Golden House is definitely the best place to sell anything here, and a thing like this will only fetch the best price—"     

But Aurora's reaction was a little strange. "No. Tell me where the 'second best' place is."     

Helpless, the old man who had been 'tasked' with guiding this great calamity could only lead them to the second biggest auction house in the city, hoping that they don't blame him for their own decisions.     

Aurora waved him away, and he was all too glad to leave. After he left, she gave Evelyn a pointed look. "Remember, in the future, whenever you visit this city, never go to the 'Golden House'."     

Evelyn tilted her head curiously. "Why not?"     

The platinum blonde sighed. "Because it is a part of one of the throne's forces. Un, although it is unlikely anything will happen, you cannot be careless."     

Evelyn nodded grimly as the person in charge of the 'Emerald House' rushed over to greet Aurora.     

All he had heard his subordinates mention was that there was a humongous corpse floating in the sky above his hall, and there was someone who wished to sell it right outside.     

From the size alone, they estimated it to be at least grade six, no, grade seven! How could he let such a deal go?     

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Aurora's appearance wasn't well known outside of a select few high-level people, such as the rulers of the various major powers in the continent, who had the records accumulated throughout their history. After all, she rarely made a public appearance.     

However, the 'Emerald House' also had an extraordinary origin, and the person in charge was well aware of who he couldn't afford to offend within the academy zone. This included all the reclusive pillars of the academy, even Aurora.     

Although he recognized her, however, he didn't allow it to show on his face, and led them to the negotiation chamber with a smile. Aurora didn't seem to care about the deal, so it became Evelyn's smile to 'negotiate' it.     

Evelyn thought it was a bit funny that this man's name was also 'Rufus', just like that moron she had met on the train.     

"Are you also from Terrazyme?"     

The black-haired man sighed. "No, young lady, I hail from Lumezarha. What made you think so?"     

The pink-haired girl waved her hand. "Nevermind. So, what's your offer?"     

Manager Rufus almost groaned, wondering how bad his luck was to be stuck negotiating the deal for a grade eight beast corpse with an eight-year-old girl. "I can recognize that the corpse seems to be the 'Great Guardian of Earth', am I right?"     

Evelyn nodded.     

Manager Rufus smiled. "Then it is guaranteed to be grade eight, and seems to be in decent shape. I can offer you eight, no, ten spirit cores!"     

This was already a generous offer, given that there weren't that many uses for the giant beetle corpse aside from making a grade 8 armor. And although such a thing would be extremely precious, most of the 'cost' would go towards the person skilled enough to make such a thing, and not the material itself.     

The only reason he could offer such a price was because this beast had a great reputation in Terrazyme, and some people would offer a higher price just for its origins. In the best case, the royal family might even make it a prestige issue, and pay them much more than it was worth to get it back.     

Evelyn considered his offer for a while before shaking her head. Although ten cores was a huge sum for her, considering that Cecilia's 'Mister Chonkers' had over a hundred cores, she felt that the manager was being too cheap. This was a genuine, complete grade 8 corpse, after all! Well, the insides were crushed, but the manager didn't know that.     

"It's too little."     

"Eh? T-Then… how about, ten spirit cores, and 20 crystals!"     

Evelyn huffed. "Do you think I'm dumb just because I look like this? Hmph. I know that a spirit core is equal to a hundred spirit crystals, and a spirit crystal is worth a hundred spirit stones! What are you gonna offer next, ten cores, twenty crystals, and thirty stones?!"     

The manager's eyes flicked towards Aurora nervously as he gulped. "C-Calm down, young miss, it's just that the offer is already the upper limit of what I can give for grade eight materials…"     

Evelyn gave him a skeptical look. "Is it? Then, do you sell artifacts or armor here?"     

"Y-Yes?"     

The pink-haired girl smirked. "How much does a grade eight armor cost?"     

The manager cleared his throat. "U-Un, we don't have one in stock right now—"     

Evelyn frowned. "Do you have anything at grade eight?"     

The manager rapidly wracked his brains, knowing that if he quoted a price, he was screwed. "We have an accessory, but I don't think—"     

Of course, what Evelyn wanted from him was a specific number for reference, and wouldn't settle for anything less. "How much is that worth?"     

"…"     

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Well?"     

The manager sighed. "Miss, we don't sell such things precious directly, and they are auctioned off at the right time, to fetch the best price—"     

The pink-haired girl knew that it was pointless to argue with him anymore, since he seemed determined to never quote a price, so she could only use her trump card. "Teacher! This guy keeps bullying me and avoiding my question! You ask him, how much did he sell his last grade eight item for?"     

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~ To be continued ~     

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