Build an ancient-level power in the nightmare world

Chris's thoughts were pulled back to reality by the crisp voice.

He slightly raised his head and looked behind the stall.

He then noticed that the stall owner was actually a rather young woman.

The other person had long, light blonde hair with slightly curled ends, as if it had been carefully styled.

Dressed in a black fitted formal suit and wearing a black round top hat, she looked like a professional woman who had just finished get off work at a bank or similar institution.

Chris's gaze lingered on the girl's face for a moment, drawn to her unique beauty mark under her left eye.

It turned out to be a light blue beauty mark under the eyes.

Or perhaps it wasn't a mole, but some kind of tattoo?

Chris wasn't sure. While tattooing technology did exist in this era, it was still extremely rare for women to have tattoos on their faces; at least, he had never heard of it.

"I'm not selling, sir."

The young stall owner, noticing Chris staring intently at him, suddenly smiled knowingly and said something somewhat teasing.

Unlike most stall owners who squat by the wall or lay out a piece of kraft paper or a mat to sit on, the other person sat on a low folding stool that they had brought with them.

The other party's demeanor was much more appropriate.

At this moment, the other person was holding his right elbow with his left hand and supporting his chin with his right hand, carefully examining Chris.

Upon hearing this, Chris parted his lips slightly and abruptly shifted his gaze from the young female stall owner's face.

His gaze fell once again on the old book he had been staring at.

"You can take a look, right?" Chris asked, feigning ignorance.

He just wanted to ease the awkwardness.

"Yes, of course, but you can only look at three pages," the stall owner reminded him again.

Upon hearing this, Chris bent down and picked up the old book that recorded several occult rituals.

This time, Chris didn't squat down in front of the stall to read the book as he had done before. Instead, he stood up straight and carefully flipped through the book in a more proper posture.

He was initially somewhat indifferent, but his gaze slowly moved down the pages of the book.

A hint of surprise and curiosity flashed in Chris's eyes.

The contents recorded here are all about practical operation.

Furthermore, each time a term unique to occultism appears in the practical content, it will be annotated separately and explained later.

At least the first three pages he saw contained most of the operational procedures, precautions, and explanations of all the mystical terms involved in a ritual called the Spirit Awakening Ritual.

Chris rubbed the book cover lightly with his fingers. Based on the book's thickness, he estimated that the explanations of terms in this book were at least equivalent to the book on occult knowledge that he had previously read from that somewhat grumpy old man.

Moreover, although the content in this book is also handwritten, the font is noticeably clearer and more regular.

Chris felt a growing urge to buy it.

He tried again to erase the urge with the key.

Although he could normally calm down such simple emotional fluctuations on his own, he used the key, which had an immediate effect.

In any case, the image of the key that he sketched in his mind only needed to exist for a very short time to have a calming effect on his mind, which had a negligible impact on his spirituality.

This book is probably much more expensive than the books that the elderly stall owner was selling.

Chris carefully placed the book he was holding back on the stall.

He looked up at the young female stall owner and tentatively asked, "How much is this book?"

"If you really want it, 12 silver crowns." The young female stall owner changed her posture slightly, suddenly placing her hands folded on her knees, and replied with a polite yet slightly sweet smile.

12 silver crowns?

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Chris's eyes.

The price was much lower than he had expected.

He thought the other party's asking price would probably be as high as 30 silver crowns.

I didn't expect it to be so cheap.

Well… it’s not cheap either. Chris thought of his wallet and realized his slightly tight financial situation once again.

His previously suppressed urge to buy resurfaced, but this time he didn't use the power of the key to forcefully suppress it.

He maintained absolute composure throughout, but upon reflection, he felt that this state was still somewhat strange.

Furthermore, since the key is his greatest secret, it's best to use it sparingly when unnecessary.

"Can you lower the price a bit?" Chris asked tentatively, even though he knew the other party's offer was probably already close to the normal price.

The young female stall owner frowned slightly and said, "This is already the lowest price. If you don't believe me, go and check out the other stalls."

Chris found the other party's answer somewhat familiar; it seemed that most offline sellers often used this phrase to indicate that their goods were already at the lowest price, but whether it was truly the lowest price was something only they themselves knew.

"10.5 silver crowns, how about that?" Chris tentatively offered a price.

He originally wanted to quote 10 silver crowns directly, but felt it was a bit too little, so he added 0.5 to the end.

The young female stall owner still frowned, shook her head slightly, and refused, saying, "No, it's 12 silver crowns."

Seeing this, Chris lowered his gaze slightly and moved it to the old book that recorded various occult rituals.

There were several other books on the stall, but Chris didn't continue discussing prices with the stall owner. Instead, he inquired about the other books.

The stall owner didn't ignore Chris because of his previous bargaining, and readily introduced the contents of the old books.

She tapped her finger lightly in the air, reciting the general contents of each old book:

"This one is about rituals, this one is about runes and formations, this one is about occult materials..."

She rattled off the contents of all the old books in one breath, clearly very familiar with what she was selling.

"You've read all these books, haven't you?" Chris asked with a hint of curiosity.

If the other person has truly read and fully grasped the contents of these books, Chris estimates that they should be considered a seasoned individual with a deep understanding of the occult.

"Of course, I watched all of these when I was a child," the young female stall owner said directly.

Upon hearing this, Chris's gaze sharpened slightly, and he became even more curious about the young stall owner in front of him.

The other party's brief reply contained a lot of information.

The fact that the other person had access to so many occult books at a young age made Chris wonder about their family background.

"Do you have any books about astrology?" Chris suddenly asked.

The young female vendor at this stall has already introduced all the books on the shelves.

Chris asked this question to probe whether the other person had any other books on occultism in their home.

"Astrology?"

Upon hearing this, the young female stall owner's eyes flickered, glancing briefly at Chris.

"If you're sure you want it, I can bring it to the next gathering, but a deposit of 2 silver crowns is required."

"Do we need to pay a deposit?"

"Of course, if you don't believe me, you can come home with me to get it."

The young female stall owner's sudden invitation caught Chris slightly off guard.

Isn't this a bit too hasty?