Chapter 133: Ahem, The First Time

Almost the moment the sound of wind arose behind me, the hexagram array released from the scroll materialized beneath my feet. A contained, dazzling radiance surged upward from the formation, enveloping me within it.

Immediately after, I saw a flash of cold light strike the outer edge of the rising light sphere. A thief, forced out of stealth, stood there with a look of disbelief and regret; even now, he did not understand how he had been exposed.

He was truly an experienced player; once the town-portal hexagram appeared, he did not even attempt a second strike. He knew success was impossible, as the distortion of space caused by the activation of teleportation magic rendered all attacks ineffective.

As the hexagram and I vanished, the thief whispered a few words to himself, then cast his gaze toward the depths of the passage. After finishing a call, he cautiously made his way inside.

...

On the hillside outside, the battle to surround the Ice Giant Deer concluded as smoothly as expected. However, the Blood Lion Knight and the archer beside him both furrowed their brows.

"Whew... this kid is crafty! He really was hiding in there! Even Old A was discovered by him... it seems his vigilance is on par with yours!"

The archer frowned again at the Blood Lion Knight’s remark, though he had to nod in agreement. "To be able to spot Old A under those circumstances is no small feat! Still, at least this trip wasn't in vain. We not only secured the Ice Giant Deer but also discovered Scavenger Qilin's leveling spot." They had deduced from the peculiar location where I appeared that there must be a hidden leveling area inside.

However, the information that returned left him disappointed. It was indeed a very hidden leveling spot, but the data Old A transmitted described toxic damage, stat debuffs, and low-flying, speed-based monsters.

After a moment of silence, they realized it was only suitable for a few high-damage, long-range players to solo. While it might suit a high-agility archer-warrior like me, it was not an ideal leveling spot for third-tier players. It was too far, and the monster levels were insufficient.

After a wave of frustration, the archer suddenly asked the Blood Lion Knight, "By the way, Monarch, it’s now certain that the 'Demon Hunter' is working with Scavenger Qilin. What do we do?"

Dark Monarch, founder of the Dark Legion mercenary group.

Reminded by the archer, he recalled the 'hidden class' Demon Hunter whom Old A had followed out of curiosity. He had originally thought some expert from another mercenary group was soloing there; he hadn't expected them to be cohorts with the mysterious Scavenger Qilin.

Thinking of this, he immediately felt a headache coming on. Hidden class players were extremely rare in *Magic Era*; there were fewer than ten known to the public. No one knew how powerful they were, but every hidden class player possessed influence in their respective empires that could not be underestimated. For such mysterious and formidable experts, no mercenary group wished to offend them—according to the official website, once a hidden class player reached a high tier, their abilities were staggering.

That was why the archer was asking for his next move: continue hunting me, take them both out, or simply give up.

Dark Monarch remained silent for a long time. He dared not declare that they could take both out—a high-agility archer-warrior had already required him to mobilize so many troops; adding an unknown hidden class player could result in the Dark Legion paying an extremely heavy price.

Yet, the feud between Scavenger Qilin and the Dark Legion was now public knowledge. He could not stop the pursuit now; it would be a blow to the mercenary group's morale, and it would be hard to explain to the brothers who had already died, potentially leaving a shadow in their minds.

Just as he was weighing the pros and cons, even more unexpected news arrived.

"What did you say?!"

"I just found out as well. The Supreme Mercenary Group has announced in Profrost City that their conflict with Scavenger Qilin was a misunderstanding. They won't cause him any more trouble in the future, and..."

"And what?"

Upon hearing this, Dark Monarch’s face turned completely grim. What he feared most now was that the Supreme Mercenary Group knew something he didn't—like who was backing Scavenger Qilin.

"Rumor has it that Scavenger Qilin might be backed by the 'Whisper Mercenary Group'..."

At this, Dark Monarch felt a slight shock, but then he felt relieved. The Whisper Mercenary Group—if it were them, the matter might be easier to handle. Although Whisper had a decent reputation early on and was one of the first powerful groups, compared to a top-tier group like the Dark Legion, its strength was weaker. Top-tier groups were composed almost entirely of third-tier experts, unlike Whisper, which admitted second-tier, first-tier, and even delicate female players who didn't understand PvP. This had caused Whisper to fall into the ranks of ordinary large-scale mercenary groups.

If it were only Whisper behind this, the Demon Hunter and I wouldn't be much to fear. But was it wise to provoke an opponent like Whisper at a time like this?

After a brief thought, Dark Monarch asked, "Has this been confirmed?"

"It's highly likely. It seems 'Wanderer's Return' from Dragon Flame leaked it to the Supreme group, saying that the equipment on Scavenger Qilin was personally selected for him by Whisper herself... and Whisper hasn't denied it."

"So that’s it... no wonder those idiots at Supreme reacted so quickly. Hmph!"

"Leave some people behind, everyone else return to Profrost! We'll ignore the Demon Hunter and Scavenger Qilin for now. Since we scared him off, he probably won't dare to come here to level again."

After a pause, Dark Monarch continued, "Once we resolve the trouble with the Supreme Mercenary Group in these next two days, we’ll deal with this kid then!"

The archer frowned. Two days? By then, I would probably have reached the third tier, and the Demon Hunter might have as well. Would I be so easy to deal with then? But thinking of the upcoming operation against the Supreme Mercenary Group, he had to suppress his other thoughts. *Better to just endure it for these two days.*

...

Back in the city, I looked at my empty palms and smiled helplessly, feeling a pang of heartache.

Two hundred gold coins just gone like that. If I could find a player to sell gold to, that would be 3,000 credits—three months of food!

But compared to a town-portal scroll, these ten hours of effort and the gear on my body were far more precious. If I had been sent back to my 28th-level starting state and had to spend another ten hours in Fly Valley, wouldn't that drive me to a breakdown?

Collecting myself, I went to the bank. After telling Dr. Ye that Fly Valley had been found by the Dark Legion, I retrieved the 'Shield of Radiance' and the 'Celestial Silk Bracers,' then returned to the teleportation array to leave Green Field Town.

...

In the center of the Profrost City plaza, for the first time, I felt that facing such a surging crowd was actually a form of happiness.

Following Falcon’s instructions, I paid the system 10 silver coins for a stall fee and placed my three pieces of equipment in the virtual vendor stall. As I placed them, they didn't immediately appear.

"Please set a price for the equipment."

Under the system's prompt, I—a novice at street vending—began to ponder carefully. The pricing standard seemed to require caution; set it too low and I'd lose out, set it too high and it wouldn't sell. Finally, I decided to consult the expert in this field: the stall expert, Falcon.

Good grief!

As I reported the attributes of the three items, Falcon provided precise pricing.

"The Celestial Silk Bracers are average, but the third-tier Silver attributes are much better than common or bronze gear, and they don't drop often, so they're worth something... let's say 200 gold coins. Someone will buy them."

*Damn, I despise him!* 200 gold coins is only "worth something"? That's 3,000 credits...

While inwardly looking down on Falcon, the price for the leather armor dropped by the Leopard Man came out: "Three-attribute leather armor, the defense is quite high! Hmm... list it for 700 gold coins! Don't let anyone haggle! Don't worry, the price isn't high; I guarantee someone will snatch it up in less than ten minutes."

Falcon’s words made my heart race. *Damn, these two items are worth 900 gold coins?! It seems robbing players really is more profitable than robbing monsters!!*

"As for this last shield, it's fantastic. It's a true top-tier item... but the usage restrictions on this kind of shield are quite high, so I'm not sure how to estimate the price... How about this? Set an astronomical price and let others come looking for you!"

"An astronomical price?"

"Yeah, the kind that people can't afford to buy. I think 10,000 gold coins should do it." Falcon’s serious tone almost made me spit out my drink.

"10,000 gold coins? Are you kidding me?"

"Uh... then how about 20,000?"

I was speechless... better stick with 10,000... lest I scare all the customers away.