Gathering Wives with a System

’We found spatial compression technology for items just ten minutes after entering this ruin. This place is a treasure-trove,’ Isaac thought with a smile as he glanced toward the direction where Ezekiel had remained behind. Their luck had been unexpectedly good, and considering how valuable the technology could become, Isaac was already thinking about how much it might be worth.

”We can buy the spatial compression technology from you, correct?” Althea asked as they continued walking.

”Buy? Not share?” Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.

”Charlotta and I would not have been able to recognize the technology with only the two of us. We would have treated it as nothing more than a ruined Sentinel, and it is not as if we could have taken the entire machine back to our kingdom. Someone from another City or a Monster Tribe would eventually have come here after discovering this Sky City, and we would have been forced to retreat,” Althea explained with a wry smile.

She paused for a moment before continuing, ”So while we cannot say that our contribution to discovering it was equal to yours, we still hope you will allow us to purchase the technology. We would rather establish a fair arrangement now than create problems between us later.”

”How much?” Isaac asked, smiling as they walked.

”We will have to discuss the exact price with the Seventh Queen, but you can be assured that we will offer at least ten thousand Gold Coins, a Legendary weapon, and information about the locations of rare minerals or powerful Bosses. Honestly, I think the Seventh Queen would be willing to give you considerably more than that. She is also a technomancer, so spatial compression technology is something she would do almost anything to get her hands on,” Althea replied.

Isaac was surprised by the price of ten thousand Gold Coins, but he remained calm outwardly.

”Should you really be telling me all of these things?” Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow. The way Althea was explaining everything almost made it sound as though she were deliberately helping him negotiate a better deal.

”Let’s say I am simply trying to get on Lord Isaac’s good side for our future relationship,” Althea said with a chuckle.

Isaac shook his head but did not respond further. The conversation continued there as the group explored the abandoned Sky City, though the discovery of the Sentinel technology remained in the back of his mind. If Ezekiel really managed to reproduce it, the value of what they had found would be far greater than a few Gold Coins or even a Legendary weapon.

After some time, the group split into smaller teams of two, although none of them moved particularly far away from the others. They remained close enough that if something dangerous appeared, the other groups could reach them almost instantly, and considering the unknown dangers hidden within the Sky City, there was no reason to separate completely.

Isaac ended up moving with Althea and Charlotta’s group, which was the most sensible arrangement given their strength. The three of them carefully searched several buildings, checking rooms and storage areas while keeping an eye out for anything valuable or dangerous. Most of what they found had either deteriorated with time or was too damaged to be useful, but they continued searching without becoming careless.

Eventually, they entered a relatively ordinary house that seemed to have been left untouched for a very long time.

Isaac was looking around the room when Althea crouched down and picked something up from the floor. It was a small cube, and although it looked insignificant at first glance, Althea’s expression changed as soon as she recognized it.

Althea smiled as she turned the object over in her hand. Seeing Isaac’s gaze, she tapped its surface and poured a small amount of mana into it, causing several lines across the cube to light up. The simple reaction seemed to confirm that the device was still functioning despite the enormous amount of time that had passed.

”It is a toy for children, but it also doubles as a basic training device. I used to play with one like this quite often when I was young, so I did not expect something like this to exist this far back in history,” she said, looking at the cube with a faint, reminiscent smile.