Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 42: Discount Shop

Adam pressed the blade a fraction closer.

"So, Manager," he said calmly, "tell me, what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"

The woman pinned beneath him stared back with a blank, unreadable expression.

Her veil was gone, tossed somewhere across the room from the sudden tackle. Without it, the burn scar along her scalp was fully exposed, the mark pushing her hairline back unnaturally.

Neither of them cared.

Adam didn’t care about her appearance.

And the manager didn’t care that something she normally hid was now exposed.

What mattered was simple.

She had entered his room while he slept.

And Adam needed an explanation.

She finally spoke.

"I came to meet you," she said evenly. "I knocked, but there was no answer, so I assumed you were asleep."

She continued without hesitation, as if there wasn’t a knife resting against her throat.

"I was about to leave when I heard you scream. I thought you were in danger, so I forced my way in."

Adam watched her closely.

[Connect] was active.

Her soul flame was steady, there was no distortion, no malice, no deception. She was telling the truth.

After a brief pause, Adam stood and withdrew the knife, sliding it back into his storage ring.

The manager rose as well. She retrieved her fallen veil from the corner of the room, dusted it off, and placed it back over her head.

There was no irritation in her movements, no sign that she’d just been pinned to the floor by someone more than half her age.

"Mr. Adam," she said calmly, "you’re stronger than you look."

Adam shrugged lightly.

"I get that a lot."

Then his expression sharpened.

"So," he said, "why did you want to meet me?"

The manager studied Adam through her veil for a long moment before speaking.

"It’s because of your rewards," she said calmly. "For handling the mutant rift."

A look of realization flickered through Adam’s eyes.

Good to know they didn’t forget.

She continued,

"Because of that achievement, the Mission Hall of Sector 418 has been tasked with providing you full support while you explore the Siren’s Swamp incursion."

A smile crept onto Adam’s face.

That’s more like it.

While he wasn’t particularly worried about the incursion, knowing someone had his back still mattered.

The heirs might have their clans standing behind them, but Adam had his own connections now.

The manager reached out, pulling a tablet seemingly out of thin air, clearly from a storage ring, and handed it to him.

"Mr. Adam, this is for you."

Adam accepted the tablet, studying it briefly before lifting his gaze to her, curiosity plain on his face.

She didn’t make him wait.

"This tablet contains locations within Siren’s Swamp with the highest probability of finding soul pearls," she explained.

"It also marks routes that avoid areas with the densest monster activity. The data was gathered from previous expeditions, so you can trust it."

Adam looked down at the tablet again, this time with renewed interest.

Then he looked back up.

"Thank you."

"There’s no issue at all," the manager replied.

"The Mission Hall treats people like you well. After all, merit is what truly matters."

Adam sensed there was more beneath those words, but he chose not to comment. Instead, he simply nodded.

"If you need anything, Mr. Adam," she added,

"inform any member of the staff. They’ll lead you to me."

She gave him a final nod before turning and leaving the room, the door closing softly behind her.

Adam was left alone, tablet in hand, the quiet of the hotel room settling around him.

As the manager walked through the corridor of the building, her expression remained perfectly stoic.

Staff members bowed or nodded respectfully as she passed, but she didn’t acknowledge a single one of them. No greetings. No pauses. Just measured steps and a cold presence.

They were used to it.

The manager of the Mission Hall of Sector 418 was known for her curt demeanor and emotional distance. She rarely showed anything beyond professionalism.

But today, that façade was cracking.

Her thoughts churned violently as she walked. Almost unconsciously, her hand rose to her neck, fingers brushing the spot where a blade had rested moments ago.

She stopped in front of her office door.

"He’s more monstrous than I thought," she muttered under her breath.

Then she stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

That encounter, of being forced to the floor so effortlessly, was something she wouldn’t forget anytime soon. She wasn’t weak by low-tier standards. In fact, her talent was exceptional.

And yet...

The ease with which Adam had overwhelmed her only reinforced the image forming in her mind. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Meanwhile, Adam had no idea he was occupying someone else’s thoughts.

He sat calmly in his hotel room, scrolling through the tablet.

"The number of soul pearls in these low-risk zones is already substantial," he murmured.

It was obvious whoever compiled the data knew exactly what they were doing.

But Adam’s eyes didn’t linger there for long.

He shifted his focus to the regions marked with heavy monster concentrations.

There, the difference was stark.

Some high-danger zones yielded less than the safer areas, but that was just a few as most high-danger zones possessed soul pearls that far exceeded safer zones. Vastly so.

Adam’s lips curved upward.

"The higher the risk," he said softly, "the higher the reward."

As he continued scrolling, a small icon caught his attention in the corner of the screen.

[Discount Shop]

Adam didn’t hesitate.

He tapped it.

The listings in the discount shop weren’t much.

That was expected. The Mission Hall still had to make its own money; they couldn’t possibly offer everything to Adam at cut-rate prices. As Adam scrolled through the available items, his interest quickly faded.

Nothing there was useful to him.

He already had enough resources. Buying more would be pointless, his body wouldn’t be able to absorb that much anyway. As for conduits, he’d already replaced his broken one.

His excitement dulled.

He could have bought discounted resources and sold them later, but Adam was certain the Mission Hall had safeguards against that.

He wasn’t in the mood to stress himself over loopholes and consequences.

Just as he was about to close the page, a spinning wheel suddenly appeared on the tablet’s screen.

****

‎╭───────────╮

‎〖Name: Adam〗

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‎〖Rank: None〗

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‎〖Cultivation Talent: G〗

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‎〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect〗

‎

‎〖SLOT〗

‎

‎↳ SOUL (2): Rapid E ❖ Poison F

‎

‎↳ BODY (5): Empty

‎

‎╰───────────╯

‎

‎Star Power: 14+