The Inverted Man tilted its head, sliding upside down in the air for a moment. It brought its face close to Deathstroke's helmet.
"This is only half of the energy that was stolen from me. Naturally, I want to retrieve the other half, which means the entire cosmos.
"And then what? Will you return to the endless void, spending eternity in darkness and solitude?" Deathstroke followed its reasoning, presenting a hypothesis.
The Inverted Man smacked its large mouth, its multiple shark-like sharp teeth reflecting a keen light.
The human before it spoke sensibly.
The reason it was angry wasn't just because of the stolen energy but also because it was blocked outside the wall.
For hundreds of thousands of years, it hasn't been able to see the colorful world inside the wall, nor enjoy what the thieves enjoyed.
This nearly drove it mad; if it weren't a concept but a creature, it probably would have committed suicide long ago.
But now that it's inside, is it really necessary to turn the inside of the wall into the chaotic outside?
Then, having more energy would seem no different than before.
It put a finger in its mouth, imitating humans biting their nails, as it pondered.
"What you said makes sense, but should the thieves enjoy what they shouldn't have? You humans have a very self-centered view."
Deathstroke shook his head, looking at the close-up white face: "That's not the case. Have you heard of equivalent exchange?"
"Yes, I recently researched some human history. It's a trade method evolved from barter, and although the value of items isn't necessarily strictly equal, as long as both parties in the trade believe it to be equal, it's sufficient."
The Inverted Man seemed to have put some effort in, and Deathstroke began to suspect if Naboo had tipped it off.
But as long as the other party understood the term 'trade,' it was enough.
"Inverted Man, I'm here to negotiate terms."
For some reason, after returning from Marvel, he felt increasingly close to the Supreme Mage identity.
Now he unconsciously said such a proverbial phrase.
Even his own mouth twitched a bit, wondering if this was setting a flag.
The Inverted Man crossed its arms and hugged its legs to its chest, curling into a ball in mid-air: "Can you represent this world? If so, I'm willing to talk terms with you."
"I can fully represent this universe." With a thought, Deathstroke reached into his backpack to retrieve the gemstone given to him by Dr. Manhattan, as The Ancient One had once said it was a recognition of each world.
He didn't recognize it, nor did The Ancient One explicitly say, but the Inverted Man likely understood these mystic items.
He held the gemstone in his hand, raising it to show the Inverted Man.
"This is the Multiverse's energy singularity, it seems you indeed have the qualification... Strangely, how did something like this end up in the hands of such a small human species?"
The Inverted Man's words still weren't pleasing, though from its viewpoint humans were relatively small individuals, given it was a concept.
But saying it directly in front of humans was quite unsuitable.
Deathstroke nearly gestured with his fingers behind his back, but he forcibly resisted.
"For now let's not discuss whether humans have qualifications. Let's talk about 'cost' and 'interest' issues."
"You may proceed."
The Inverted Man showed interest, crouched upside down in the air, sticking out its tongue while listening to how Deathstroke intended to explain.
Its magic energy was too powerful; after summoning it, Zatanna fainted.
Deathstroke merely glanced at her indifferently, using the tip of his foot to exert force, maneuvering Soft Force to lift her, kicking her to the wall.
"Very well, first, what I say relates to the long-standing research into complicated human economic systems. If you want more fun, you'll need to play according to human ways."
The Inverted Man nodded, having no objections; anyway, in this world, it basically called the shots on magic. Right now, it just wanted some fun.
"Continue, I can calculate the things I'll gain according to human habits."
"Then we've achieved significant consensus."
Deathstroke's goggles flashed with a red light; playing by human game rules made it easier.
With one call from Batman, the world's best finance team could come, and there's bound to be a financial plan suitable for this magic entity in debt.
"Hmm, consensus, an interesting term."
The Inverted Man laughed, seemingly forgetting Deathstroke and Zatanna had ever been its adversary.
"To understand profit, which is the benefits you'll gain, primarily comes from what others owe you. Then we'd need to first understand debt and credit..."
Deathstroke instantly transformed into a Wall Street finance broker, eloquently explaining the basics of economics to the Inverted Man.
Deathstroke, not being a solitary mercenary with no grasp of economics, excels in finance as well as contract law.
The original owner's soul contained diverse knowledge, integrating into Deathstroke's own, allowing him to adeptly educate the Inverted Man.
The Inverted Man was filled with curiosity about everything, soon swimming in a sea of numbers.
He didn't understand many things, but they sounded impressive.
For example, the human in front of him mentioned the term "compounding interest," said to be the most powerful force in human society.
Of course, Su Ming also had no experience in transactions between mages and magic concepts.
But the neighbors' experience can be copied, as long as it reaches the cost of the neighboring white magic, the warlocks here will also accept it.
So Su Ming also talked about things like installment payments, mortgage lending, and paying off debts for others.
When the Inverted Man heard that if someone owes a debt to a certain extent and doesn't pay, not only could he reclaim all that person's magic power, but their flesh could also be toyed with as he pleased.
It drooled with delight.
Su Ming guessed it was trying to express the feeling of 'crying tears of joy,' but its current form didn't have eyes.
The Inverted Man was indeed very happy, now these warlocks have to use it to cast spells, borrowing a portion of strength from it each time, which must be returned with a little extra within the term.
This essentially means it grows stronger over time without doing anything.
It naturally agreed.
But it never thought that, in this way, it would be completely tied to the DC World, sharing in both prosperity and loss.
The fun inside the walls is so amusing that it would definitely bring all of its 'capital' over to lend in the multiverse.
But if all its users were to die, it would surely suffer losses until it bled.
Therefore, when facing external threats, it must exert effort to ensure its lending business continues to operate long-term.
And the fun can continue indefinitely.
It fell into the trap Su Ming had prepared, completely unaware, already dazzled by those mathematical algorithms.
However, Su Ming had to admit that the Inverted Man was very imaginative when it came to tormenting people; its lending was undeniably usury.
But now the Inverted Man's business is almost a monopoly, if you don't want to use it? Are there other choices?
Heaven, Hell, Maya, you can all choose.
But how many people have that kind of qualification?
The bloodlines of angels and demons alone eliminate 99% of people, and the fairy or magic beast bloodlines required for Maya magic would turn someone into something like a half-beastman.
The Inverted Man recognizes anything it considers a viable cost: if you pay in blood and innards, it accepts; if you offer extreme emotions, it can also accept.
The emotions, thoughts, souls, bodies of humans, all can be used to pay the price with it.
And because its power is much greater than Hecate's before, it's like the entire magic realm's power has stepped up a level.
Wild primitive magic infused the DC World, making this a high magic multiverse.
Where previously one could conjure a cup of water, now, they could conjure a barrel, providing a great advantage against future crises.
Of course, Zatanna's power surged, as antithesis magic has such advantages, and she could thrash Constantine in the future.
If one releases critical magic, gaining benefits is expected.
As for Su Ming's benefits, he naturally wouldn't forget himself. After becoming the 'in-betweener' for the concept of 'magic,' he naturally had his share of 'commission.'
He only asked for one ten-thousandth of the 'interest' as payment for providing 'perfect' advice and would help the Inverted Man promote magic in the world.
This is also an equivalent exchange.
The Inverted Man, having heard large numbers earlier, readily agreed to this one ten-thousandth.
Su Ming's share would be stored in the form of 'magic' with it and could be withdrawn at any time when Su Ming wanted to use it.
Su Ming didn't need to learn spells or gestures; he just needed to select a target, and the Inverted Man would bypass him to cast magic on the target.
Strong magic wasn't allowed; this magic world was the Inverted Man's, and it didn't want to repeat Hecate's mistakes.
So powerful spells like altering the world were not available, and Su Ming could only 'deposit and withdraw' bit by bit, with each use limited to an amount.
After negotiation, Su Ming exchanged all these 'magic slots' for large fireballs.
The number of casters borrowing strength from the Inverted Man across the multiverse was immense, and even one ten-thousandth was a considerable power.
He felt like his current state of gaining casting ability through unconventional ways was akin to a warlock signing a pact with a demon.
If Emperor Vishanti could agree to this way, it would be great, but that guy, being a three-faced existence, isn't as easy to fool as the Inverted Man.
As he smiled and taught the Inverted Man how to shake hands, a golden light attacked him, and Su Ming directly used the Godslayer to deflect the magic.
Looking up, he saw Naboo floating in mid-air nearby.
"I don't agree with your actions."
Su Ming sneered coldly, signaling the Inverted Man to give him some time to handle internal human disputes, as the Magic Floating Cloak carried him up slowly.
"Since when do I need your approval for anything I do? Naboo, who do you think you are?"