James and Old Herbert heard those words, and they saw the shadows that had taken the form of a human body embracing Xiao Bing from behind as it spoke those words.
"Bing! Don't listen to it; it's trying to scare you and pull you into the world of nothingness!" James shouted, but for some reason, he couldn't move.
Xiao Bing wasn't listening to James's shouts. He was silent for a moment before laughing and saying, "Heheheheh, am I afraid of the unknown? Of darkness? Of loneliness? Don't make me laugh even more... My weak body was just trembling from overusing my sequence's power, nothing more and nothing less." He paused briefly and said, "So, get away from me before I kill you!"
The threats from Xiao Bing's mouth caused Old Herbert and James to look at him with wide-open eyes, shocked by what they heard. They wondered: Are there many people in this world willing to offend a beast from the world of nothingness? The answer: No, because they are creatures of immense power, cunning, and evil, so people avoid fighting them even when provoked, fearing them.
"Fascinating. This is truly fascinating. I've taken a liking to you! It seems my summoning here was truly destined," the shadowy figure spoke with its hideous voice and continued, "You said you'd kill me, right? Then come to the world of nothingness and let's fight there to the death! Just you and me, no one will interfere between us!.. But you need to raise your level, because you're still too weak to fight me in this state.. Therefore, I shall give you something!" Saying this, the shadows moved from its shadowy body and drew a tattoo in the shape of a black mask with a sinister smile on the back of his right hand.
"With this! No beast from the world of nothingness will dare kill you or even approach you! Because you have become my prey! The prey of the Deception Beast... Remember well, I will be waiting for you." Having said that, the shadows that were embracing Xiao Bing from behind (which were in the form of a human shadow) receded, and the fire beneath Xiao Bing vanished along with the burning talismans, leaving nothing behind.
Old Herbert and Xiao Bing descended to the ground, but Xiao Bing was holding the black box that a black arm had handed to him before disappearing into the air before him, while the silver box descended into James's hand, who was still listening attentively.
It seems I've gained another enemy with my provocation skills! I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this! Some thing or being from a world called 'nothingness,' as said, nicknamed the Deception Beast, carved a black mask with a sinister smile on the back of my right hand. Xiao Bing muttered to himself while looking at the drawing on his hand.
But he soon turned his gaze to the black box in his hand, which emitted a feeling of deep, black abyss. However, Xiao Bing was not afraid and opened it, releasing a dense black and deep purple aura from within.
Inside was a gun with a strange design, somewhat resembling the gun Xiao Bing had found when searching the corpse of that man fleeing the organization. But this gun emitted a chilling aura just by looking at it.
James also opened his silver box, and an aura of bright purity emanated from within the silver box. James looked inside the silver box and found a silver-colored gun emitting an aura of purity and calm.
The shape was similar to that of Xiao Bing's gun, but the auras were very different and contradictory; if James's gun was the bright light of day, then Xiao Bing's gun would be the blackened, dark night.
Xiao Bing took out the black gun with the purple aura from the box before holding it in his hand. He felt it was somewhat heavy, and there was a vortex of darkness trying to swallow him if he was ever careless, so he was very cautious in holding it. What intricate craftsmanship for just a gun! This design truly carries majesty! But what level is this gun?
Xiao Bing looked towards James, who had already taken the gun out of his box and was skillfully moving it in his hand, with a silver aura emanating from its muzzle.
That gun embodies light, i.e., good! While this gun in my hand embodies darkness, i.e., evil! Now I understand why they shouldn't be carried by one person! I must admit the Ighor people are truly skilled in polishing artifacts! Xiao Bing praised inwardly before saying, "What level are these polished artifacts? And from which path? What are their features and the detriments from using them?"
Old Herbert would usually refuse to answer Xiao Bing's questions, but since the latter had signed a contract to protect his daughter, he could only tell him, saying, "They are polished artifacts of the fourth level! And they were crafted from the abilities of the fourth level of the Winged Knight path! At this fourth level, one can use the elements of darkness and light, each element has its own dedicated abilities and does not interfere with the abilities of the other element, but this is for the fourth level of the Winged Knight path. However, with polished artifacts, the elements will interfere with each other's abilities, causing disaster. Therefore, it is advised to use them by two people, not one, to ensure their abilities are activated to the maximum!"
Old Herbert paused and continued, "And let's start with the abilities of the Silver Beam Gun! That is the name of the polished artifact in James's hands! It can release pure and holy energy with high destructive power, a fast and also stable firing rate, making it a real nightmare for evil spirits. The skill of Embodiment as the Sun (which is summoning a giant light sphere that destroys everything in front of it within a 600-meter radius), summoning angels to fight enemies alongside him, and the ability to disappear into any light source within a 1000-meter radius. And this is the result of the added abilities due to the Ighor people!"
Very powerful abilities for a polished artifact, derived from the Winged Knight path! I wonder how powerful a person from that path is? Thinking about this, I can only pray not to meet someone like that! Xiao Bing thought in panic, remembering the words of the hideous voice when it said it wanted to fight a life-and-death battle against him in the future.
Wait! I don't know how to use this gun! I also feel like I'm drowning in an endless vortex of deep darkness the longer I hold it. Xiao Bing complained and said in a calm, feigned tone, "What about the polished artifact in my hand?"
"Hmm... The name of that polished artifact, I believe, was 'Abyssal Black Pistol'. It can release dark energy that pierces through space itself and reaches the target no matter what they are wearing, even if it's a legendary eighth-tier artifact! It also possesses an embodiment skill, but in the form of a black hole that can swallow everything within a 600-meter radius, and summon destructive dark entities from parallel worlds! And it has the ability to disappear into shadows and move freely within them within a 1000-meter radius."
James looked and was shocked by the abilities of the artifact belonging to Xiao Bing because it had skills countering the skills of his own artifact, but this didn't make him jealous; instead, it reignited the spark of competition, but this time not in cooking, but in abilities and combat.
Oops! It seems the abilities of my artifact are very strong! I wonder what side effects I will suffer when using it? But I don't know how to use a gun because I've never held one before? This is really a problem, but let's not raise suspicion. Xiao Bing thought before saying, "What are the consequences of all these abilities?"
"The negative effects of the Silver Beam Gun are: inability to feel cold again, always feeling extreme heat and the desire to take off clothes and walk naked, also hearing the screams of evil spirits in his mind... and he will attract many spirits of different levels due to carrying the Silver Beam! And one last thing: when exceeding the limit of using the artifact, its special abilities will rebound on you!"
James swallowed his saliva as he looked at the Silver Beam in his hand with a cautious expression. He didn't want to strip just because he felt hot!
Hehehehehe, what wonderful side effects suit James! Xiao Bing thought to himself and said, "And what are the effects of the Abyssal Black Pistol?"
"Its negative... effects are the inability to love light and anything related to it! You will start to love isolation from others if you overuse it, but this is not all, just the beginning! The polished artifact will slowly and gradually attempt to devour your consciousness by introducing conflicting feelings into your mind, and you will begin trying to discover the meaning behind darkness, hear strange hallucinations, and also one of the entities you summon from destructive parallel worlds might betray you and kill you from behind, and also your special abilities might rebound on you at the slightest moment of negligence."
"Is that all?" Xiao Bing asked coldly.
"What more do you want after this?" James asked in disbelief.
"Yes, that's all!" Old Herbert replied and ignored James's comment on Xiao Bing's words.
"I forgot to ask this earlier, but how do I hide it? You don't want me carrying such a scary gun in my hand all day, do you?" Xiao Bing shook his head.
"Oh, it seems I forgot to add this information too! Just say its name and tell it 'hide' or 'return'!" Old Herbert said while looking at Xiao Bing.
"Just like that?" Xiao Bing asked while opening his mouth and saying, "Abyssal Black Pistol, return now!" Upon saying that, the gun in his hand scattered into black and purple energy, swirled around him before transforming into a black ring with a deep purple gemstone.
Xiao Bing was impressed; he didn't expect the polished artifact to respond from the first try! It seems it has acknowledged me as its master!
"Silver Beam, return now!" James said it after seeing what Xiao Bing did earlier, wanting to imitate him.
At that moment, the gun in his hand also scattered into energy of light and pure beam, swirled around James before transforming into a silver-colored ring with a golden gemstone.
"This is truly amazing!" James said happily after seeing how that gun transformed into a ring.
"And now, you should leave!" Old Herbert said while returning to sit at his small desk.
"Well, you're right. It's time to leave! Goodbye, Uncle Herbert! Come on, Bing, let's go out!" James said while turning to leave.
Xiao Bing stood looking at Old Herbert's face and saw that the snow-white hair threads had become very calm.
Is it because of the contract we made moments ago? Does he think leaving her under my protection would be the best solution for her? So he is calm? Well, that doesn't matter. Xiao Bing thought to himself while turning to leave!
But at that moment, he heard Old Herbert's voice calling him.
"You, stop!" he said while pointing at Xiao Bing.
"What?" Xiao Bing turned towards Old Herbert.
"What is this white bottle inside your coat?" Old Herbert asked.
"It's a bottle of highly concentrated, high-quality liquor!" James said while looking at Xiao Bing's coat, seeing that there was a white bottle with half of its exterior visible.
"Is that true?" Old Herbert said while looking at Xiao Bing.
Ah, I almost forgot about it! Should I leave now or proceed to sell it here? I must sell it here because I want some money later, and James might not give me any money! "Yes! Just as James said, it's a bottle of high-quality, highly concentrated liquor, said to be very rare. Do you want to buy it?"
It seems my partner has the mentality of a skilled merchant, able to handle the goods he sells perfectly and capable of dealing with customers in a smart way too. James thought, and it seems he has become very attached to Xiao Bing in just one day.
"Yes yes! At what price? I want it!" Old Herbert replied eagerly.
How much? Thinking about this, Pablo Escobar warned me not to sell it at a cheap price! So let's raise the price a little. Xiao Bing thought and said, "Five gold coins! No more, no less, and it will be yours!"
He set a reasonable and suitable price, and at the same time, it seems he took Pablo Escobar's advice seriously! James thought as he looked at Xiao Bing, who put his hand in his coat and took out a white liquor bottle.
"Only five gold liras? That's cheap! Just give me the bottle!" Saying this, Old Herbert opened the shelf in his small desk and took out his wallet, taking out five banknotes written on them "Gold Lira".
He handed them to Xiao Bing before taking the liquor bottle and giving it some intimate kisses.
This might be the last luxurious thing I drink in my life, so I'll make sure to enjoy it tonight! Old Herbert said as he rubbed his cheek against the bottle's glass.
Did he give me five gold banknotes immediately, without any bargaining about the price? Why does this make me feel like I've been deceived? No no, the amount of five gold banknotes is indeed a large sum!
He fell silent internally and continued: I wonder how much someone would suffer to get this money? A month? A year? Ten years? Or their entire life? Xiao Bing thought while turning to leave, where he took his umbrella from the umbrella rack and gave the red umbrella to James. But before they left, Xiao Bing said coldly, "This is why humans shouldn't squander their short life on this earth, no matter how strong, rich, and high-status they are... They will eventually die and be inherited by their children and grandchildren.. generation after generation, while they are completely forgotten from this world's memory."
"Your words are correct, Bing! But there are people who cannot spend time relaxing like nobles; instead, they work day and night to secure a dignified livelihood for their families!" Saying this, James went out the door and opened his red umbrella, and Xiao Bing followed with his black umbrella.
"I didn't mean that, but let's just end the topic!" Xiao Bing said while putting the banknotes in his coat pocket. And they walked on the sidewalk to the area where the large clock is in FreindStream.
...
End of Chapter ~ To be continued