The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Dark raised his hand, pointed to his temple, and laughed, "But my level of using similar tools has already surpassed that of a fifth grader."

　This is actually a rather modest way of putting it.

　In fact, there was no student in the entire academy who was more skilled at using the "Magic Brain Dropper" than him.

　Old John scrutinized him carefully, as if observing whether he was lying.

　After a while, he said, "Wait here," and went inside.

Chapter 1392 Darkdemon's Frenzied Purchasing (4k)

　A moment later, old John came out carrying a long, rectangular box.

　It was agreed that if the "Hook of Fate" hadn't been sold by the time Dark was in fifth grade, it would be sold to him.

　But in reality, after that day, old John put away the "Hook of Fate".

　Not only that, but they also put a note on it, waiting for Dark to come and buy it when he's in fifth grade.

　Old John did many things like this; in the store's warehouse, there was a whole row of shelves filled with these kinds of goods that had already been "pre-ordered".

　Most of those items will return to the outside shelves after the "pre-order" time has passed.

　After all, times change, and students' thoughts will change too. Among them, those who would come to pick up their goods early like Dak are relatively few.

　He put the box down and carefully opened it.

　What appeared to Dak was the same iron hook covered in rust as when he first saw it in first grade.

　Old John picked up the iron hook and examined it carefully, then smiled with satisfaction: "It looks like it's been preserved quite well."

　As he spoke, he took out another piece of gold leaf and rubbed it on the hook, cleaning away the rust that had appeared out of nowhere.

　And so, just as before, the "Hook of Fate" became as new as ever.

　But in reality, this thing is very old.

　Old John didn't sell it easily because its "shelf life" had ended many years ago.

　Without a certain level of expertise, it's impossible to distinguish whether something is good or bad.

　If it were to suddenly break down one day, what the user would pull out of their brain might very well be their own soul.

　"Try"

　After successfully refurbishing the "Hook of Fate," Old John looked up at Dark and asked.

　"it is good."

　Dak responded and took the "Hook of Fate" to examine it carefully.

　By observing the various changes in properties that occur when magic flows into an item, one can quickly master how to use it.

　This technique is called "Alchemist's Hand," a type of alchemy. Instead of asking old John how to use it, Dak raised the "Hook of Fate" to his temple right in front of him, then focused his attention, infused a wisp of magic into the "Hook of Fate," and slowly pressed it against his skin. Once the tip of the hook touched his skin, the contact area became ethereal, and then he continued to penetrate deeper.

　Slowly, a small section of the hook burrowed into his brain. He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pulled the hook out completely.

　And at the tip of the hook, a transparent bubble was pulled out.

　Within those bubbles were merely some unpleasant emotions. After drawing out those accumulated unpleasant feelings, Dark felt his mind suddenly become much lighter, and even his mood improved.

　But this feeling didn't last long; new emotions quickly accumulated, and that sense of relief vanished in the blink of an eye.

　Dak couldn't help but sigh.

　Sometimes, overthinking isn't a good thing.

　"Not bad."

　Old John couldn't help but clap his hands after watching Dark's performance.

　Even though it was Dark's first time using the "Hook of Fate," he didn't make any mistakes when using it.

　This ability is something you'd find very few people even among graduates, let alone fifth graders.

　As for proficiency, it's just a matter of using it a few more times. After trying it out, Dark put the "Hook of Fate" back in the box and asked, "Did I pass?"

　Old John smiled broadly: "Of course you're qualified." Dak then asked, "Then, can you sell it to me?" Old John laughed: "If you still want it..." Dak nodded: "Price."

　Old John casually held up a number: "I'll sell it to you cheap, this is the price." Darke replied, "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands."

　Old John said, "Ten thousand."

　Dark: "..."

　Although this "Fate Hook" is an expired imitation, it's not inferior in price at all.

　He now seriously suspects that old John said he would only sell it to him in fifth grade because he wouldn't have enough credits before then.

　"Then let's go with this price."

　Dak shook his head, not intending to bargain.

　But if you don't haggle, asking for some freebies isn't unreasonable, right? Old John obviously didn't think so either.

　So when Dak finally left the antique shop, he had an extra ancient coin and a Bagua plate in his hand.

　The ancient coin was the one he had his eye on before.

　The inner ring is square, the outer ring is circular, and the center is engraved with patterns that bear the marks of the era.

　If this coin is not a fake, then based on the patterns, we can most likely determine its era.

　However, Dark wasn't very interested in it; he planned to put it in a "Christmas blind box" as a random gift.

　In previous Christmases, he was quite proactive, but this year he wanted to change his style and be more passive.

　When someone gives him a Christmas present, he will randomly pick one from his "Christmas blind box" as a return gift.

　Just thinking about it like that suddenly made the process of preparing the gift more interesting.

　As for that

　Bagua compass.

　When he first saw it, Dak was very surprised.

　Because, according to his current understanding of history, there is no knowledge related to "Bagua" (Eight Trigrams).

　Even in astrology classes or on the Star Tower, he had never heard of anyone using the "Eight Trigrams Plate" as a divination tool.

　However, in this very antique shop, he unexpectedly discovered something quite unusual.

　When asked, old John said that his old friend had dug it out of the ground and didn't know what use it was, so he just threw it at him.

　Then, as they were talking, old John turned around and asked him what the Bagua compass was.

　He only said that it was likely a divination tool, but he himself wasn't particularly sure.

　Then, he appropriately expressed his interest in these kinds of items, hoping that if Old John's friend could unearth more, he could contact the branch of the All-People Duel Club, and they would be willing to buy them.

　Something as oddly shaped and meaningless as this would certainly be a good thing if it could find a regular buyer.

　Old John readily agreed.

　Dac then expressed his anticipation for future transactions.

　After purchasing the "Hook of Destiny," Dark returned to the All-People Duel Club branch and, upon seeing that Nana had already returned, inquired about matters related to the Neko Flower Shop.

　He then recounted the deal with old John.

　Nana was very happy because this gave her an excuse to go see the young master.

　After finishing these matters, Dak stayed in the shop for a while, selected several rare cards and models, and had the maids seal them up, preparing to put them into his blind box as well.

　He then left the things he had bought there temporarily and prepared to continue looking for inspiration on the street.

　Seeing that he was about to leave, Nana quickly chased after him, strongly expressing her desire to find inspiration together.

　Dark reluctantly agreed. So the two of them strolled around the traveler's street together.

　As time passed and dusk approached, the shops on both sides of the street turned on their lights one after another, and the entire Traveler's Street became brightly lit and decorated with Christmas-themed lights and decorations everywhere.

　Christmas hasn't even arrived yet, but some people are already enjoying the festive spirit.

　As Dak walked down the street, accompanied by a lively and energetic maid, he no longer felt the gloom he experienced when he was alone.

　He suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he had strolled leisurely along the traveler's street like this.

　I don't know when it started, but he, who used to claim to "balance work and rest," has become someone who "only works and never rests."

　Perhaps it's because he has something he wants to study.

　Or perhaps it was because his desire for "greed" grew day by day, and he gradually came to want everything.

　As dusk fell, Dark arrived at the Goblin Antique Bookstore. He was already a regular customer there.

　Besides "Blood Sacrifice," which changed his fate, he also bought many other books from the goblin bookstore.

　For example, "Don't Give Up the Forest for One Tree." Or, "A Guide to Interspecies Communication."

　He kept the former for himself, and gave the latter to Professor Cazell.

　In addition, he also bought "How Gold Is Made," but it was a gift for Emma.

　When he bought that book, he never imagined that he would actually learn the "Midas touch".

　It can only be said that things in this world are unpredictable.

　"Perhaps it's time to share my notes on gold refining with her."

　As he pondered this, Dak searched through the bookshelf.

　A moment later, he found a book called "The History of the Development of Civilized Architecture" deep in the bookshelf, and then he found a book called "Learning to Build from Scratch".

　As he marveled at how this antique bookstore had all sorts of books, the goblin owner smiled and handed him a book called "Goblin Worship".

　Dak couldn't help but feel puzzled.

　The goblin shopkeeper chuckled and said, "It's a Christmas present for Kazel." Dark then took the book, asking curiously, "Why wasn't it given at Christmas?"

　The goblin shopkeeper said, "He won't accept what I offer." For a moment, Dark felt the book in his hands become burning hot. The goblin shopkeeper just smiled and said, "Anyway, just give him the book and say it's a gift from me. It doesn't matter when you give it to him. You can take a look at it yourself before you give it to him."

　Dark looked at the goblin boss, thought carefully, and said, "That's possible. Can you recommend a book to me?"

　“Of course, no problem.” The goblin shopkeeper casually pointed to the bookshelf behind him and said, “Look at that one with the black cover, it’s pretty good.”

　Dak stepped forward, pulled out the black-covered book, and saw that the cover read "The Palace of Mind".

　"Palace of Thought"

　Upon seeing the book title, Dak immediately thought of Sherlock Holmes's mental palace.

　But after flipping through the book, he discovered that its contents had nothing to do with him.

　It turned out to be a book that, just as the title suggests, teaches people how to build palaces in their minds.

　Simply put, it's like a deeper exploration of geometric thinking.

　He turned around and saw that the goblin shopkeeper had already gone to other customers. "Probably because he saw me picking out books related to architecture," Dark decided to buy the book "The Mind Palace."

　He chose architecture books because he wanted to design his "Magic Kingdom".

　In addition, one can treat these books as "extracurricular reading" to alleviate one's "greed".

　When Dark left the antiquarian bookstore, he had about ten more books in his hands. He had to summon a magical spirit to help carry them and send them all to the branch of the All-People Duel Club.

　Next, he asked Nana which shops the girls at the academy liked the most, and then he and Nana went into a shop that specialized in couple's items...

　However, it is indeed a good choice.

　Dark picked out a few small items that came in pairs, packed them up, and summoned a magical spirit to deliver them back to the branch of the All-People Duel Club.

　Then continue

　Now that he had started shopping, Dak wasn't going to stop easily. Accompanied by Nana, he visited almost every shop in Traveler's Street, buying all sorts of gifts, and finally purchased a large number of gift boxes from a shop specializing in Christmas presents.

　Those gift boxes were all semi-finished products; he needed to take them back and package them himself, which was exactly the type of thing he needed.

　Time really flies when you're focused on shopping; it seems like just a blink of an eye and it's already 8 p.m.

　Dark and Nana strolled around the plaza with the giant Christmas tree for the last time, then picked up their pre-ordered takeout food from the restaurant and headed towards the All-People Duel Club branch.

　The store was actually quite busy today, and Josie, who was in charge of the store, and the other maids didn't have much time to rest, let alone eat.

　Most of the food that Dak took away was also convenient and quick food such as sandwiches.