"Don't act so pitiful. I'm not going to eat you, so why are you so afraid of me? You weren't like this when you were extorting me before."
Steven looked at the black-haired girl clutching her chest with a pitiful expression. If he hadn't seen her previous swindler-like behavior, he might have actually believed she was some harmless, innocent girl.
But now, he just wanted to compliment her acting skills.
"How can you call that extortion? That was just a fair trade! A mutually agreed transaction—how could you put it like that?"
Seeing that Steven had no intention of letting her off, Closure could only pout and look at him. Kal'tsit had already warned her that Steven would be coming to retrieve something. But precisely because of that, she was even more worried about what unreasonable demands this guy might make.
After all, Kal'tsit had told her that whatever Steven wanted, as long as Rhodes Island had it, they had to provide it to him—for free.
For free?!
After years of doing business, this was the first time she was getting taken advantage of like this. Normally, it was only when she was in a good mood that she'd give customers a small discount—just enough to lure them in for bigger deals later.
But someone taking things from her completely free of charge? Steven was definitely the first!
And that spendthrift Kal'tsit—did she even know the current state of Rhodes Island? Anyone who didn't know better might think they were sitting on a mountain of wealth! Giving things away for free?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, but there was nothing she could do to Kal'tsit. Clenching her small fists, she could only imagine sticking a few needles into a little voodoo doll of Kal'tsit.
Oh, and also this jinx of a boy standing in front of her.
"You really have no shame, do you? Let's not talk about that for now. Anyway, I'm here to get some Originium for research. Kal'tsit should have already informed you about it, right?"
Steven stretched out his hand toward the girl without any hint of politeness.
Closure reluctantly nodded, then turned around and started rummaging through the towering pile of cardboard boxes behind her.
Before long, she pulled out a metal case that looked like a safe from the chaotic mess and handed it to Steven with a pained expression, as if she were giving away a piece of her own flesh.
Don't be fooled—this box contained only about 130 pieces of Originite Prime. But if she were to sell it, the price wouldn't be anything less than 6.48 million LMD.
"Here. Be careful when using it. This stuff carries the risk of Originium infection."
Even though it hurt her soul, Closure still reminded Steven. This stuff was valuable, but at the same time, extremely dangerous. Although Originite Prime was far more stable than the Originium crystals found in infected individuals, it was still inherently contagious.
"Mm."
Steven responded absentmindedly as he opened the case and picked up a strange, polygonal, yellow-black mineral that resembled a piece of candy.
[Originite Prime] (Satiation Value: 1 drumstick)
He held it up to his eyes and examined it closely.
Other than looking a bit more transparent than unstable Originium, it didn't seem all that different.
Steven scratched his head—so it's basically the same thing, but with a different name… and it gives half a point more in satiation value?
"H-Hey! Are you even listening to me?! Directly touching Originium is extremely dangerous! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Closure had no idea what Steven had been through before. In fact, Kal'tsit had done an excellent job keeping everything confidential. When it came down to it, only a handful of people even knew about Steven's existence.
Even the rescue operation earlier that morning—Kal'tsit had merely brushed it off as a training exercise.
"It's fine. I'm in great health. A mere Originium crystal? It's nothing to worry about."
Steven waved his hand dismissively and casually stuffed the crystal into the portable transmutation table in his backpack.
To his surprise, while unstable Originium only provided EMC points equivalent to a gold ingot, this so-called Originite Prime was actually on par with a diamond in value.
So the purity of this stuff makes that much of a difference? He needed to find a way to acquire more of this.
"Are these also taken from the bodies of infected Originium patients after they die?"
He asked Closure with some curiosity.
As a merchant dealing in this stuff, she had to know where it came from.
The Originium shards Steven had collected before weren't very pure, so he naturally assumed that Originite Prime might be some kind of refined product extracted from infected individuals.
"Hah? Where did you even get that idea?!"
Closure looked at him in shock.
"Originite Prime is directly mined from the ground and refined. It's one of the most important energy sources in Terra. It has nothing to do with the Originium that grows on infected people!"
Steven was surprised by her answer.
"Wait, so this stuff is actually just a mineral?"
He had always assumed Originium was more like some kind of parasitic fungal infection. But actual ore veins? That changed everything.
"Of course! The country we're in right now—Ursus—is one of the largest nations for refining and mining Originium. But even with their massive production, do you realize how rare the batch you're holding is? That entire box you have there? It would take a fully operational mining site at least half a month to extract that much!"
Closure's face darkened as she emphasized the value of the Originium in Steven's hands. The more she talked about how rare and expensive it was, the more painful it felt.
'That was so much money right there.'
'I should've hidden some away when I had the chance…'
'He had no way of knowing exactly how much was in the box anyway.'
As Closure was caught in her own regrets, she failed to notice that Steven's eyes were practically glowing at the revelation.
So it's a mineable resource? That makes things way easier!
He had been wondering how to get a steady supply of Originite Prime for EMC farming, and now here was the answer—gift-wrapped and handed to him on a silver platter.
If it can be mined, then it's no problem at all.
No matter how difficult it was to extract, no matter how deep underground it was—for a Minecraft player, none of that mattered.
No resource in the world could be harder to obtain than Netherite.
Bedrock didn't count.
"Guess this means I should start thinking about leaving Rhodes Island soon," he muttered to himself, already planning his next move.
Absent-mindedly, he grabbed a piece of Originite Prime from the box and popped it into his mouth.
With a crunch, he cracked open the outer layer, lost in thought about what to do next.
Hmm… it's sweet.
And… kinda addicting.
A sudden wave of coolness rushed from his mouth straight to his brain, making him shudder involuntarily.
Oh. That's… something.