It did come as a shock when the Devil she prayed towards suddenly spoke in her mind, startling her with the information of a Spirit's death. It prompted her to rush toward the location to investigate.
But now that she thought about it after calming down, she realised in alarm that her actions were dangerous. After all, had there been any scouts from the enemy side monitoring the place, she would have given herself away.
It meant that her current identity might be leaked anytime. After all, to avoid alerting the people with a shady getup, she didn't cover herself. It did come as a shock once she learnt of the identities of the others like her, realising that everyone was faring better than her, to a large extent even.
This was why she was prepared to take a risk.
The lady carried all her money and walked casually through the street, masking the money underneath a bag of clothes. From one street to another, she kept her calm, sporting a casual face that everyone had while going about in their daily lives.
Soon, she arrived at a textile shop, entering it to stare at the shopkeeper, "I've come to get a couple of dresses stitched."
She handed over the entire bag filled with the clothes, keeping the badge at the top, pinned to one of the fabrics, her senses fully focused on the shopkeeper as she was tense, 'Is he still here?'
"Ahh, that's a lot of fabric." The shopkeeper smiled at the business opportunity, "Are you ordering clothes for yourself?"
"Yes," The lady nodded in response, watching tensely at the shopkeeper feel the fabric.
He then looked at her, sporting a bright smile, "We need to take your measurements first."
He then pointed towards the nearby room, a rather small space meant for taking measurements, "Please come here."
"Okay," The lady nodded as she entered the room, watching the shopkeeper carry the bag, still confused whether or not it worked. Suddenly, the shopkeeper bearhugged her, startling her at the suddenness of his action when immediately, she felt suffocated, blanking out.
"Ugh!"
The lady woke up, noticing she was seated in a dark room, the walls of which seemed to be made of gold, engraved with complex patterns of silver.
She looked around, noticing that she was naked, startled for a moment before calming down, "Are you the unscrupulous merchant?"
"Unscrupulous? How rude!" A voice resounded from behind her as the lady turned around, startled to see a potted plant, one that resembled a cactus. It trembled a little as the voice rang, "I'm a honest to goodness merchant."
"It seems I'm at the right place." The lady sighed in relief as she looked around, unable to see anything else of substance in this empty room other than the potted cactus. She stared at it to ask, "The money I brought…"
"In my possession, naturally." The cactus let out a smug attitude, conveying the emotion somehow as it barely moved, "Everything in your possession belongs to us the moment you enter our marketplace. That's the sole law we follow."
One of its branches extended to reach her, stabbing a needle in her forehead, "And these are all the items you're eligible to buy for that."
The lady's eyes shone with light as she saw the room expand to become a massive building as more than a hundred items manifested at the place. They ranged from currencies of different regions to tools, weapons, organs, minerals, etc.
The lady hurriedly looked through the list as she frowned, unable to find the item she wished to buy, asking, "Is this the end of the list?"
"It seems none of our items catch your eye." The cactus spoke with a slightly sullen tone before it let out a sheepish grin, "But, the fault is in your hands, you know."
"That piss poor amount you submitted only grants you access to these items."
A crack formed on its stem that expanded to reveal a mouth, one that approached next to her ear and whispered, "If you were to sell some of your organs, especially your mouth, and stomach, I can bring out the premium goods."
In response to its words, the lady almost had the urge to kill the cactus. But, it was aware that every unscrupulous merchant was cunning to the extreme. If she probably succeeded in killing the cactus, there was a guarantee that she would be trapped in this room until her death.
Even now, the items shown to her were just a projection fed to her mind. None of them were actually brought to her. Though she was nervous, the lady calmed herself and gritted her teeth, saying, "I'll sell all the faith and lifeforce I have accumulated in my stomach."
"Well, it's not much, but it will indeed open up a few more options for you to browse." The cactus grinned as it made a chewing motion, "The contract has been established then."
Immediately, the lady felt weak and hungry. Even the extra faith that she had collected through great difficulty was absorbed by the cactus.
But in response, the space shown in her mind expanded as more items were displayed. The lady's eyes lit up in joy, "Lingering Attachment! It's here!"
"You want that?" The cactus said in surprise, "It's not that effective, you know? A Spirit from your Essencer Guild bought one last time and complained at the wasted money."
"No, I'm sure I need this." The lady commented, barely able to rein in her excitement.
"Well, the customer's wishes are absolute." The cactus said as the projection in her mind vanished. And immediately, a brain preserved in a cylinder floated before her. She couldn't understand how it appeared before her, but it didn't seem like she could find out more about it.
The lady prayed, 'Your Lordship, please watch over your believer, Eldna.'
Immediately in response, a tinge of power circulated in her body, enough for her to use her body's modifications naturally. She extended a strand of hair and pierced it through the brain, watching it wither before her as mysterious knowledge poured into her mind.
But, that was it. There wasn't any change in her nature, not to mention her power. The cactus stared at her in confusion, "I told you that it would be useless for you. Lingering attachment is just the brain of a devout believer of the God of Humanity that retains all the experience granted to them."
"It cannot bring about an evolution in you."
"No, you're mistaken about something." The lady said as she crushed the remaining pulp of the brain and brought her hands together into a prayer, 'God of Humanity, I return you your believer.'
