Chapter 1277: Offer
The battle soon ended.
All this while, Sam only acted as support, but he is also the one without a scratch. The three ghosts were also without much damage, because of Sam's excellent control, but they are a bit exhausted.
At least, they got the egg. The first ghost went to check the egg and after confirming the bloodline purity by the patterns on the egg, he shook his head.
"Not that high. We can auction it off in the town."
The other two ghosts looked at Sam in askance.
"I don't have any problem if you don't have any."
"Okay, then. Let's go back."
With that, the four of them went back to the town after another two days of the journey. As soon as they arrived at the town, the first ghost said.
"There is an inn called the Ghost Shack. We will meet you there in the afternoon. We will arrange for the auction house. We will just finish this off today as soon as possible."
"No problem."
Sam left the trio and went back to the inn he was staying in. After he left, the three ghosts started walking towards the Ghost Shack.
"First Brother, don't you think this guy is too weird? I can't put my finger on it, but he is giving me chills for some reason."
Second Ghost asked the First Ghost.
"Of course, he is weird. He kept up with our pace throughout the whole journey, he didn't once flinch or falter for many dangers we have encountered. He even came out of the wyvern cave without a scratch. If he is normal, I wouldn't know what weird is."
"Do you think, he is stronger than us?"
"I think he is. We should be careful when dealing with this guy. Why would someone hide their true strength to come to this god-forsaken place and do these missions? I heard he even participated in the expeditions of the Government group and the Second Group."
The third Ghost spoke all of a sudden.
"We will know what his goal is tomorrow. If he just takes his share and leaves, we wouldn't have any problem with him. So, we don't have to worry too much. Just be careful around him and make sure to avoid all the friction and conflict if anything happens."
They agreed on that and went to rest in the Ghost Shack. After an hour or so, the two of them went to the biggest auction house in town with the egg.
Even though there is barely a few hours before noon, the news of the Undying Wyvern Egg has spread like a wildfire.
There are many people gathered at the auction house within an hour.
Sam arrived at the ghost shack by noon. Third Ghost is there waiting for him.
"The other two are at the auction house. Let's go."
He led Sam to the auction house and they went to a special booth reserved for the Three Ghosts.
The auction started soon and the egg went for an extremely high bid. They took the money and went to a restaurant with a private chamber to distribute the share.
The three ghosts are feeling a bit relieved. For some reason, they felt Sam is eyeing them like some prey. They felt a bit naked and defenseless in front of his gaze.
And that only intensified when Sam refused his share.
"What is the meaning of this? Are you doing us some service?" The First Ghost asked with a frown. Generally, a bigger share for them is a good thing, but they don't get why Sam is refusing to take his. If this is not weird, then nothing in the world is.
"Don't worry, it is definitely not a service. It was more of a test."
"Test? What are you testing us for?"
"Talent, Potential and Skillset. I want to see if any of the three will meet the criteria, but surprisingly all three of you are qualified."
"Criteria for what?"
"To be my assistant." The room went silent for a bit. The Three ghosts were dumbfounded.
"Are you out of your mind? Are you retarded or something?"
The third Ghost asked as he looked at Sam weirdly.
"Not really," Sam revealed his cultivation and the three ghosts were surprised. They knew that Sam was stronger, but they felt he was just stronger than them in the same cultivation level, it is not like they didn't see such kind of people. They have seen them quite often.
But it turned out that Sam's cultivation is way ahead of theirs.
"What the hell are you doing in a place like this?"
First Ghost finally became serious. All this while, even though he felt Sam is stronger than them, since he assumed is of same cultivation level, he knew they still had a chance if push comes to shove.
But now that he saw the difference, there is no way he could still hold those thoughts, he needs to make sure that they are safe.
"Don't worry. You can't escape if I really want to take you guys down and you should know better than to look for escape routes that openly.
Anyway, I have a deal and it should be completely consensual, there is no pressure whatsoever.
I am here at the Dark range in search of an assistant. For the next few months, if not years, I am about to go on some tough endeavors. I would be clashing with some extremely powerful people and organizations and there would be a lot of killing done.
But in my opinion, all of these people are going to die in vain if their corpses are left just like that. I need a talented necromancer, who has a high enough affinity with dark elemental energy to learn curses.
That was my goal when I came here.
But when I saw you guys, I am really tempted. If possible, I need all three of you guys to come with me. You have basics nailed in the curse category, you can all do basic curses without the hand signs and seals, which is a great thing.
Your necromancy could use a bit of help, but not by much. Your soul skills are spot-on which is also one of the things I am looking for.
Anyone of you will suffice to be my assistant, I would take all three of you if you guys agree.
Think it through and make a decision. But before that, you should also know what I am about to offer.
Sam took out a booklet he prepared and gave it to them.
"I am sorry, there is only one, you should make do with it."
The first ghost went through the booklet and was stunned. He passed it to the second and third while he stared at Sam.
"This is the first chapter of a curse guide. There is no exaggeration if I say that it is the best curse guide in the whole universe. It is created by someone whose power is something you cannot even fathom.
So, make sure you think properly before you decide on this. If you come with me, I will give the rest of the guide and personally teach you all about the curses there is to know.
In exchange, you will be working for me as I asked. I will leave you guys to it.
Let us meet here in the same place at the same time."
With that Sam left. The trio was stumped, they didn't even know that they would ever be in such a situation.
They were independent all their lives and they were supposed to stay that way in their estimations for a long time. But now they got the offer to learn something great, but in exchange, it would compromise their freedom a lot.
They went back to their residence to discuss and think about this.
The next day, Sam arrived early and waited for the trio. After an hour, they came and sat down.
"You guys are late."
"Sorry, we lost track of time while arguing." Third Ghost said with a huff.
First Ghost took a deep breath and said.
"We considered your offer a lot and in fact, it is way too tempting for us to give it up. The curse guide's first chapter in itself has a lot to offer for us and we are really keen on learning the rest of it. But it would be a bit difficult for us to come with you.
We have certain targets to fulfill here."
Sam just waited in silence for them to continue.
"There is a sentient Undead creature in the valley behind the central mountain. The most dangerous place in the whole Dark Range, we want to capture it. We were working on this for a long time. We were just middle stage Pre-transcendent cultivators when we came here and we started expediting ourselves since then.
We just put in too much effort to come out of it now."
"Unless?" Sam asked with a smile. He knew how these conversations go. All this build-up is just a way of the other party asking for something in return.