Limitless Fortune: I Collect SSS-Rank Skills as Payment-Chapter 178: A Shady Deal!

"What is your price for the information I want?"

Lucien waited for a while to see if the old man would continue, but saw that he was really leaving.

He didn't glance in his direction for once.

Finally, unable to hold back anymore, Lucien asked directly.

There were only 15 minutes left before the end of this hour. After that, he had to pay another Origin coin to continue fishing.

But the thing was, he had no idea if he could catch any fish, or even the knowledge of how they worked.

Finally seeing someone really catching one, although an extremely tiny one, his hope surged once more.

If he could get information on how to fish from this old man, maybe, just maybe, he could ascend his class.

"Three Bronze coins."

Sure enough, as soon as Lucien asked the price, the short old man became energetic again and pointed three fingers in his direction with shiny eyes.

"Three Bronze coins and I will tell you everything I know. I will even give you my secret technique of catching fish."

The old man whispered at last in a low voice as if he was afraid anyone would hear him.

"..."

Lucien looked at the three short fingers of the short old man and stood speechless.

'Three Bronze coins? Are you even human?'

He really wanted to scream loudly at his face in anger, but held back. Instead, he simply turned around and sat on his log, grabbing his fishing rod.

He then totally ignored the old man just as he had done with him before.

"..."

This time, it was the old man's turn to feel awkward as he got the same treatment he had given him before.

"Cough… Young man, there is no need to turn your face like this, you know? We can always negotiate."

Realizing he had asked for too much, the old man gave an awkward cough and tried to smooth things over, only to be ignored once again.

"How about this? Give me just two Bronze coins and I will personally teach you immediately."

The old man didn't give up. He had a hunch that Lucien might have lots of Origin coins at his disposal.

If he could get two coins from him just for the meager information he had, he would be twice as lucky today.

Unfortunately, Lucien wasn't stupid enough to waste two Origin coins on some flimsy information he couldn't trust.

Currently, he had 5 Bronze coins with him, including the Origin Points in his system. If possible, he didn't want to waste all of those here.

Who knew when he would need them?

"Sigh…young man, you are just too much. Two Bronze coins are such a good deal for the information I have, you know?"

Seeing that Lucien didn't budge an inch, the old man sighed loudly. Then, finally, he gritted his teeth and spit out,

"Okay, one coin, one bronze coin for all the information I have. I can't go any lower. If you don't want it, I will just leave."

The old man was also tough, as he told him his bottom line before preparing to really set off. After all, he didn't think Lucien had anything that could catch his eye besides the Origin coins.

"How can I trust that the information you gave me is correct and not fabricated?"

Just as the old man was about to leave, he finally heard Lucien's voice. It seemed he had finally decided to go through his deal. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Hmm? So, you want to confirm the deal?"

The short old man was stunned by Lucien's question at first, then grinned, his eyes shining.

"Very good. Don't worry. Since you are new to this world, you mightn't know about the Origin Soul Pact. With it in effect, there is no way any party can cheat."

The old man suddenly turned spirited and pulled out a small parchment about the size of an A4 sheet. He quickly infused his mana, writing something across its surface in swift strokes.

Lucien then watched as the old man faintly engraved his mana signature at the bottom before tossing the parchment in his direction.

"Read it and sign it with your mana signature. After that, I will give you the information you want."

The old man said at the parchment in Lucien's hand. He seemed eager to conclude this deal and leave this place immediately.

'A type of contract?'

Lucien looked at the paper in his hand that was permeated with strange energy and suddenly asked his system,

'System, how true is his statement? Is this contract effective?'

Since he didn't know, he simply asked his system. At least he wanted to know if the paper in his hand was the real deal or not.

Fortunately, the system immediately gave him a prompt explaining the characteristics of the contract in his mind,

—

[Origin Soul Pact: A two-party contract whose terms are enforced by the World of Origin itself, ensuring that both sides cannot break their promises without facing inevitable consequences.]

—

The system didn't tell him what to do, but just showed him the effect of the contract.

'Hmm, since it is enforced by the World of Origin, there shouldn't be any problem.'

Besides, Lucien was sure that if there was an issue, the system would have given him a heads-up. After all, he noticed that after entering the World of Origin, his system had become unusually active.

Once Lucien read through all the terms of the contract and made sure there was no visible ploy, he finally put his mana signature.

"Swoosh!"

As soon as he did that, the entire paper suddenly burned while he felt some kind of intangible force acting on him.

"Haha… very good. Now that the contract is made, let's quickly complete my end of the deal, shall we?"

The old man grew visibly excited after seeing Lucien put his mana signature. Without waiting for a reaction, he suddenly pulled a green jade from his storage and tossed it toward Lucien.

"This is all the information you need. Check it and give me my Bronze coin. There isn't much time."

He said this while briefly glancing at the mist over the pond where the frog had appeared, clearly not fond of waiting until it showed up.

Lucien didn't waste any time either, quickly placing the gem against his glabella and skimming through the information inside with his mind.

'Hmm? So, that's the secret?'

Seeing the contents, he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise and glanced at the old man.

Now that he had gone through the information, he felt the deal had been well worth it.

"Here's your coin. That wraps things up."

So, he didn't hesitate either and quickly tossed a Bronze coin toward the old man, who caught it with a broad smile.

"Haha… young man, you are really something. I like you."

The old man laughed, caressing the Bronze coin in his hand and feeling its smooth texture.

Perhaps his own coins were all rough and worn, but he particularly liked the one given by Lucien, gazing at it with admiring eyes.

However, when the distant bell from the pond rang suddenly, his smile immediately faded.

"Okay, that's all for now. I wish you good luck."

So, he wished Lucien luck and immediately grabbed his small bag before disappearing right after.

He didn't even wait for Lucien's reply. From how he ran, he seemed really afraid to meet that Frog, unlike before.

"Swoosh!"

As soon as the old man vanished, Lucien watched the mist over the lake part, and a boat surged through it at a breathtaking speed.

It moved so fast that before the bell even finished ringing, it was already near his location.

Unfortunately, it was still a little too late, for by that time, the old man had already vanished.

"Damn it, Midget. You ran away again."

Lucien then heard the angry roar of the Frog whose face now looked as black as the bottom of a pot.

Even from a distance, the fury in his eyes was unmistakable. From the way he stared, it was clear that if the old man had been even slightly late, he would have been killed on the spot.

"Fuck…I lost another fish again. That guy is just too much. Testing my patience again and again…"

The frog mumbled in irritation before finally looking in Lucien's direction.

"Boy, did that man say something to you? Tell me if you know it."

He asked with a cold gaze, as if he would attack Lucien should he fail to confess everything truthfully.

For a moment, the air around the pond grew heavy and suffocating, darker than ever before.

"Tiring!"

"Huh?"

Just as the frog was looking at Lucien with his cold eyes, he saw Lucien throw a Bronze Coin directly in his direction, which he caught reflexively.

"What do you mean?"

For a moment, even he was completely confused. He didn't see the fear or anxiety in Lucien's eyes like before.

Even as he slowly increased the pressure, Lucien just looked at him flatly with no fear,

"One Bronze coin for fishing for another hour. This is enough, right? Can you please leave now?"

He asked, completely ignoring the frog's query. He showed no interest in answering whatever was asked.

Now that he had the necessary information he needed, he was finally back to his usual self, no longer acting all tense and cautious.