"Well, right now I only have one soul core, what do you have in mind?" Kael asked.
He kept his voice even, neutral, though his fingers curled slightly inside his pockets. One soul core felt heavier than it had any right to be, as if merely admitting the number made it more fragile. The store was quiet in a way that felt intentional, the kind of silence that listened back.
The manager thought for a second, tapping one clawed finger against the counter, the sound faint but deliberate. "We do have a way for this type of thing…" He leaned down and pulled out a paper that seemed to be far too readily available from under the drawer, as if it had been waiting for Kael specifically.
Kael eyed it. Of course you do.
"This is a binding contract," the manager continued, smoothing the paper flat, "that will state that you will return the value of cores you're owed at a rate of ten percent."
"So fifty-five cores," Kael said, already doing the math in his head. His eyes flicked back up, measuring the goblin's expression.
"Yes," the manager replied pleasantly, "but read a bit more." He smiled, slow and practiced.
Kael took the paper. The texture felt wrong, not rough or smooth, but somehow resistant, as if it didn't want to be held for long. He began reading, and with every line his brows furrowed just a bit more, the muscles around his eyes tightening as the implications stacked.
The price of making a contract with this manager, or entity, as the contract clarified in disturbingly precise language, identifying itself as part of the Goblumo's Merchant Association, was one's eternal soul.
Kael paused for half a second at that line.
He didn't know what his soul was worth. He wasn't even sure if it was worth much at all. But he did know one thing: whatever value it had, handing it over outright felt far worse than paying back fifty cores plus interest. He could work. He could kill. He could scrape and survive.
The problem wasn't the price.
It was the interest.
Each month of delay doubled the interest rate.
Kael exhaled slowly through his nose. "So each month it's an additional five percent?"
"No," the manager said, tone still light, "read again. It's double. The first month is five, the second is ten, the third is twenty, and so on and so forth…"
"Ah…" Kael muttered, eyes still on the paper. "Well that's a bit greedy."
The manager tilted his head slightly. "Do you have another choice? You can, after all, buy anything from this store if you can afford the interest."
Kael leaned back a little, his mind racing. If he could buy stat points at interest, and grow incredibly strong early, absurdly so for a first-floor climber… then maybe he could sweep through the Tower. Maybe even break it before it broke him.
The idea bloomed dangerously fast.
"I can already see your greedy thoughts scrambling in that noggin of yours," the manager said, chuckling softly, "but you cannot. It is once per store, per level, per item. Once only."
"Damn," Kael said, genuinely disappointed.
"It wouldn't be wise for us to lend everyone," the goblin continued, folding his hands. "They'd simply kill off everything and pay us back. Our true gain isn't in the first month interest. It's in the later ones." His eyes gleamed faintly. "So, are you still willing to buy the mini-map?"
Kael stared at the paper one last time.
"Sure," he said. "I'll buy it."
"Give me your hand then, please."
Kael hesitated. "What for?"
"A contract is always better signed with blood," the manager replied casually. He grabbed Kael's hand before he could fully react and pricked his thumb with what looked like a sharp knife that he pulled out of nowhere.
Kael sucked in a sharp breath. "You couldn't warn me first?"
"Where's the fun in that?" the goblin said mildly.
"Granted," he continued, "most of my brothers would have taken far more from you than just a mere fifty cores. But I have a feeling that you and I will be good business partners."
He pressed Kael's bleeding thumb onto the paper.
Immediately, a notification appeared in front of Kael, detailing the contract in cold, perfect clarity.
And then came the sensation.
It felt as though something unseen had wrapped around his chest, ethereal chains tightening just enough to remind him they were there. Not painful. Not crushing.
Just… present.
Kael staggered a step, hand instinctively going to his sternum.
"What was that?" he asked. "Did you do something?"
"No," the manager said calmly. "That is the binding contract. It needs to take your soul as leverage after all."
Kael swallowed. Comforting.
Another notification popped up in front of him.
You have obtained [Super-Mini-Map]Rarity: Unique
{Using Mini-Map you can navigate the nearby area around you with far better clarity. You'll be able to see more than what a normal mini-map can reveal.}
"Huh?" Kael said. "Normal mini-map?"
"What do you mean normal?" the merchant smiled wider. "You got the Super Mini-Map. There is a big difference."
"Unlike the normal one," he continued, "that can be obtained freely by navigating the city for a bit, this one is special."
"Wait," Kael said, blinking. "You can obtain one just by navigating the terrain?"
The manager tilted his head. "Why are you acting like you never climbed the Tower of Trials before?"
"I..." Kael paused, then sighed. "I died on the first floor…"
"Figures." The goblin waved a hand dismissively. "Though information requires payment, I'll give you this for free. Mini-maps, inventories, bestiaries, and most basic tools can be obtained simply by climbing the Tower. You should unlock most of them before you reach the tenth floor."
He leaned in slightly. "The one you bought is special. It superimposes on the existing mini-map and reveals secrets and things many won't ever have access to."
"I see," Kael said slowly. "Though it says unique. That feels far-fetched. Shouldn't someone else have it? Plenty of people passed the first floor before me."
"Indeed," the manager said. "Many did. But no one was foo..." he coughed, "...brave enough to make a contract on the first floor with us for a mini-map they thought they'd obtain naturally later."
He smiled again. "Call it luck of the ignorant. Your lack of knowledge allowed you to obtain something many would be willing to kill for."
Kael thought of the word mini-map.
The world shifted.
A translucent screen unfolded before his eyes, detailing almost the entirety of the city. Streets, alleys, collapsed structures. Paths he had already taken glowed faintly.
And there it was.
"It even shows the hidden piece…" Kael muttered.
"Yes," the manager said, clearly pleased. "Do with that information what you will. Surely it'll come in handy, dear customer."
Kael nodded. He turned to leave...then froze.
A cluster of blue dots was moving fast toward the store.
"Seems like we'll have more clients," the manager said lightly. "What a good day…"
The doors opened.
A group of gruff-looking people walked in, all wearing the same black tracksuit Kael had once worn. Theirs were torn, stained, reinforced with leather straps and scavenged equipment. Weapons hung comfortably at their sides.
Unlike Kael, these people looked experienced.
"Who's this guy?" the tallest of them asked. "Which faction do you belong to?"
"Me?" Kael said. "I don't belong to anyone."
"That's what everyone from another faction says," the burlier man behind him said, resting a goblin stone axe on his shoulder.
"There will be no fighting in this store," the manager said calmly. "Unless you want your life forfeit."
"Oh, we don't want that," the front man replied, smiling thinly. "But still. Who are you?"
"I'm Kael," he said. "Just a passerby. Came to check the store and all."
"You look like you have some cores on you," the taller man said. "How about you let me keep them for you. You know. For safekeeping."
Before Kael could answer, the manager spoke.
"He used it all to buy stat points. Killing him would be a waste of effort."
Kael blinked, surprised by the intervention. Loose tongue, but I'll take it.
"Tsk," the burly man said. "Seems like he knows what he's doing. Let's leave him alone…"
His eyes dropped to Kael's bag. "Say. That stinks of goblin. You really did kill one?"
"A few," Kael replied evenly.
"You don't seem to have any weapons…"
"I have this," Kael said, drawing his sledgehammer. It came out fast, smooth, the weight sitting comfortably in his grip.
"Oi, calm down," the leader said. "Didn't you hear the manager? No fighting."
"I wasn't fighting," Kael replied. "Your friend asked to see my weapon. I showed it to him."
There was a pause.
"Dude," one of them muttered. "He killed a goblin with a normal sledgehammer… this guy's different."
"Yeah," the front man said after a moment. "How about this. Our boss is looking for people like you. We need to clear this stage anyway. Join our faction."
Kael considered it.
"Sure," he said finally. "I'll meet your boss and decide then."
"Good," the man said, clapping a hand on Kael's shoulder. "We got a new friend in town."
As he turned back toward the counter, Kael's eyes drifted to the third man.
He hadn't spoken once.
And unlike the others, his mark on the mini-map burned crimson red.