Legendary Artist: I Draw My Summons From Scratch

Chapter 25: Negotiation

Nuri couldn’t help feeling unsettled by the sight of the two Explorers. The bloodcurdling air of the desolate cathedral did little to ease his tension.

However, with them as future teammates, he had to set aside his doubts for now. Maybe this feeling came simply because of the unseen prowess they possessed. Since the dawn of time, the strong had always unnerved the weak.

Murray, as the party co-leader, stepped forward to introduce himself first.

"I’m Murray, the one who opened the Rift."

The spearman offered a handshake.

"Ah, Murray. Nice to meet you. I’m Schwartz." He leaned sideways to look at the three behind Murray. "I assume that’s your party?"

"Yes," Diana said, stepping forward. "My name is Diana."

"Diana," he said, smiling as he approached her for a handshake. "Pleasure."

’This Schwartz guy... he’s got charisma, alright.’

The guy had assumed leadership the moment he inserted himself between everyone.

At a glance, Nuri could tell Schwartz was the child of a bigshot, judging by his bearing and equipment. The spearman might as well have been an alumnus of the Explorer Academy.

He didn’t recognize him, though, so maybe Schwartz was from a Guild rather than a House.

Hugo cleared his throat.

"Hugo. Tank," he said, standing in place.

"A man of few words," Schwartz said. "I like it." freёwebnovel.com

’Hugo and few words? He couldn’t be more wrong.’

Schwartz looked at Nuri last, and the spearman’s eyes suddenly brightened.

"Oh my! Explorer Academy? I just graduated there."

’I knew it! There’s no way he’s not an alumnus.’

"What’s your name, junior?" the spearman asked, smiling wider than before.

"Nuri," he replied curtly. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Nuri," Schwartz repeated. "I feel like I’ve heard this name before..."

He cupped his chin and hummed for a moment, before his smile faltered.

’Shit, he’s gonna say it to everyone!’

Nuri wanted to stop the impending disaster, but unfortunately, Schwartz was slightly ahead of him.

"Natlan?"

’Oh great. Of course this motherfucker knows me.’

At the same time, the family turned to him with surprised looks. They had known he was some kind of scion, but House Natlan was a heavyweight even among the big factions, so Nuri understood their reactions.

He gave them an awkward smile to diffuse the situation.

"Yeah," he replied, defeated.

Schwartz laughed. "Hah! Junior, do you know you’re the talk of the town right now? You draw—"

"Why don’t we move along?" Nuri hurriedly interrupted, then pointed at the mysterious woman. "She’s with you?"

Schwartz chuckled before glancing at the red-haired woman. He shrugged.

"No. I don’t know her."

The red-haired woman hadn’t moved. Her eyes had been on them the whole time, scrutinizing every word and action.

Nuri found her more unsettling than Schwartz, mainly because he had found common ground with this charismatic guy. Though at least she didn’t seem hostile.

"And you, miss?" Schwartz asked, turning to her with the same easy smile.

She didn’t return it, whatsoever.

"Artemi. Art. I’d rather talk about the Rift than about each other."

As expected, her reply was as curt and flat as her cold expression.

Schwartz chuckled, unfazed by the cast of curt personalities.

"Well, she’ll come around. I hope."

"She’s right," Murray said, standing before Nuri and Schwartz. "We should talk about the shares first."

The spearman turned to Murray.

"Ah, yes. We should get that conflict out of the way. What do you reckon?"

"An even split of market value. I know my prices, so rest assured that—"

"No," Schwartz cut Murray off. "Let me rephrase that. What do you want?"

Murray’s eyes narrowed.

"Money."

Schwartz nodded.

"I assume the rest of you wants the same, except for my junior here."

Nuri understood exactly what he meant: the upper echelon of the Explorer world didn’t care much about materials, equipment, or money. They cared about unique items and Essences.

Both of them came from reputable roots, so money wasn’t much of a problem. Though Nuri might seem stranded on his own, he knew his sister wasn’t going to let him be executed. It would be a shameful smudge on the House’s history.

Besides, Nuri believed he could earn enough for a month.

"So how about this," Schwartz continued, "I’ll pay for Essences that come out of the Rift’s boss and the minions. Above market value. I believe that’s a fair price."

"We’ll take one Essence each," Diana said. "2-Stars."

Schwartz shook hands with Diana.

"Deal."

He turned to Nuri.

"As for the heir of House Natlan, I believe this is your first run?"

"Yes."

Nuri didn’t know what the spearman was thinking, but he wasn’t about to let himself be scammed, even if he was only a First Constellation.

Schwartz smiled, his eyes closed.

"Ah, how fortunate. Finding yourself a good party and challenging an Ancient Rift on your first exploration, that’s very—"

"Get to the point. You’re blabbering too much."

Schwartz slowly turned his head toward the voice. It was Art, the blunt woman.

He blinked, then let out a short laugh.

"Apologies. I do enjoy the sound of my own voice, don’t I?"

He turned back to Nuri.

"Never mind our blunt teammate there. Junior, what’s your offer?"

Nuri thought about the future. The Ancient Rift was a tremendous boon if he could make good use of it, but he didn’t know what this place entailed.

Cathedral of Webs.

His first thought was spiders. The webs, egg sacs, and the figures in the glass pane supported that theory. He had already found inspiration within these magnificent halls.

His second thought was to ask Rosaria. He didn’t understand how, but she seemed to know almost everything about this world and the old one he had left behind. She was a walking encyclopedia.

’Rosie? Do you know this place?’

[I sense a familiar energy. But I’m uncertain. I need to confirm it.]

’I see.’

So even Rosaria didn’t know about this cathedral. Then Nuri should postpone the negotiation for now.

"I won’t know until we fight some of the monsters first. What I can tell you is that I look for Essences. I’m a newbie, after all."

Schwartz nodded in understanding.

"I see. Smart. We’ll proceed as we go."

"Sounds good."

Schwartz turned to Art last.

"And you, Art? Same arrangement? Above market on Essences, one 2-Star—"

"Money," she said. "I just need the money."

"Of course." Schwartz raised both palms. "Money it is."