Liam ignored the pitying glances from the fairy manning the counter and the angry glares from Dante who kept cursing him under his breath for planning to gamble away his hard-earned money. His only attention was on the eggs as he examined them carefully, gauging the soul strength of each to the best of his ability. Though the system restriction of not being able to use any skills like Inspection did not seem to apply to his soul-sensing ability, he could still only somewhat sense them. However, this was more than enough.
After a while, Liam paused his examination and asked, "Can I sell the beast egg back to your shop? What is the buyback price for Rare-grade and Epic-grade?"
"Uhhh?" The fairy was slightly stumped but answered anyway. "Unfortunately, our buyback price will not match your cost price, Grandmaster." "1 million high-grade mana cores is too expensive for a rare-grade or epic-grade beast egg. The system shop selling price for such items is at most 1 million mid-grade mana cores. That too, only for special beasts that have dual affinities or other unique features."
"The rest would barely fetch 10,000 to 100,000 mid-grade mana cores." The fairy then quickly added, "Of course, we sell these at such a high price because there is a big chance of getting Legendary-grade and higher beast cubs. Someone has even gotten a mythic-grade beast youngling in the past. There are several such examples of lucky winners."
"I am sure Grandmaster's luck would also be excellent. I wish you the very best."
Liam chuckled. The fairy was not wrong. His luck was indeed quite good but it was not his luck that he was relying on at the moment. He didn't need any luck when he could read these eggs like open books.
Liam finished with the tray of beast eggs and shook his head. There were a couple of eggs in this collection that caught his eye but they were only epic-grade at most and he did not have the funds to waste on them just yet.
He moved onto the next tray of eggs. This was a more promising one, or at least that's what Liam felt at a cursory glance. The eggs all looked the same, with vibrant colors and intricate patterns, and some even sporting different varieties of shells ranging from soft to extra hard.
However, two particular eggs in this batch had exceptional soul strength. Liam was sure of it. "Give me these two." He immediately purchased the two.
"What? Why? Look at the charcoal grey color. That's a cheap-ass demon beast egg. The demons use them for mounts. I have seen it before." Dante hurriedly spat out.
But just like all the other times, he was once again ignored, making the guy grit his teeth in frustration. He could only watch as Liam continued inspecting the next tray full of eggs. The bastard was going to use every last bit of his funds.
"Yes. Yes. I am not wasting your money." Liam remained focused on the task at hand, tuning out Dante's protests. The faint pulsations of soul strength he sensed were not something he could ignore. They were indicative of potential, of something beyond the ordinary. He continued examining one tray after another. Five more trays later, he once again sensed a strong soul strength from another couple of eggs.
"I… I would like to buy these two also?" Liam spoke but this time he was also hesitant. What were the odds that Legendary rank or higher-grade beasts were there in four eggs at once? That was not really in line with the principle of gambling.
If some rich guy waltzed in and purchased the entire batch, then he would make a killing. Scenarios like that happening often would make the gambling den so popular that he would have had to queue up just to enter this place.
There was no free lunch in this world and get-rich-quickly schemes shouldn't exist. But at the same time, Liam was very sure about the soul strength of these beasts.
In the end, he decided to stick with his gut feeling. After all, the proof was right there in front of him and he couldn't deny that.
Liam purchased all of the four eggs and continued looking, adding to Dante's dismay. There were a total of ten trays of beast eggs and Liam had already examined seven of them. There were only three more trays left.
Liam did not think that anything good would be there in the last three trays. It was already too much that he found 4 potential good eggs. He simply wanted to check everything for the sake of completion. He was even already planning in his head about what to do next.
However, just as his eyes landed on the last tray of eggs, he shivered. At the center of the tray, a small white egg lay inconspicuously. It was a small egg like that of a chicken. It didn't have any intricate carvings or patterns and wasn't even colored.
But the soul strength emanating from it was unlike anything Liam had felt before. It was potent, pure, and incredibly refined, almost as if it was calling out to him, resonating with something deep within his being.
For a moment, Liam was stunned, his mind racing with the possibilities. This small, unassuming egg held a soul strength that suggested a beast of extraordinary potential.
He reached out, almost involuntarily, his hand hovering over the egg. Dante's eyes went wide. Everyone including Dante, Rey, and Madan could see that the egg was a very ordinary one.
"Grandmaster… are you sure?" Even the fairy gave him a pitiful look and tried to subtly give Liam another chance to refuse.
Dante, on the other hand, was not that subtle. "You have got to be kidding me!" The man was raging from top to bottom as his entire body trembled and shivered in anger.
But none of it meant anything to Liam as he immediately instructed the fairy. "I will buy this one too."
"You bastard!" Dante yelled.
Coincidentally, another voice also sounded at the same time. "Stop. I will be buying all the eggs. Pack it up for me."