Vol. 3: Chapter 15
Lila was leading a five-person team, hunting Burning Horde elites, when a message from Argent popped up.
Argent: Something weird is going on.
Lila: Weird how?
Argent: A [Mysterious Point Merchant] spawned at the border between the quarry and the eastern forest. It’s selling level 30 Ascendant gear for 1000 points a piece!
Lila’s eyes widened. What? A deal like that exists?!
Argent: Yeah, people are flocking to it. It has a stock of 1000 items, but they’re probably going to sell out any minute.
Lila: Did anyone from our guild get anything?
Argent: Five of our members managed to buy a piece.
Lila: Okay. I understand.
Lila closed the message window, her first instinct being to rush over and buy some gear herself. But something felt wrong. A piece of level 30 Ascendant gear costs 3,000 points from the village quartermaster. Why would the same item be sold for a third of the price just outside the walls? Maybe the system lowered the price because the final battle is tomorrow?
Suddenly, a dreadful possibility struck her. It wasn't a discount. It was a trap.
“Stop attacking!” she yelled to Hazel and the others. “We’re heading back to the village, now!”
Without questioning the order, they disengaged from combat and followed her. As she ran, Lila quickly messaged Kael, explaining the situation and her suspicion.
His reply came almost instantly.
Kael: You’re right. It’s a trap. But it's also an opportunity. Go to Malcolm and get the quest. You’re about to make a massive profit.
Lila: Should I make a public announcement?
Kael:Your call.
Lila: Right. Got it.
Lila immediately assembled an elite ten-person team, telling them to wait for her by the teleport nexus. She then entered the council hall alone and approached Malcolm.
“High Steward,” she said, her voice low and urgent. “I believe I’ve found a spy.”
Malcolm’s expression sharpened. “Who? What has happened?”
“There is a [Mysterious Point Merchant] outside the quarry, claiming to sell level 30 Ascendant equipment for only 1000 points…”
“What?!” Malcolm exclaimed, alarmed. “I gave no such order! You are correct. That merchant must be an enemy agent!”
“Then I will take a team to apprehend him,” Lila stated.
“Please do,” Malcolm urged. “Recover the points he has swindled from our people. You may keep ten percent of all you recover as a reward.”
Stolen from NovelFire, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
A system notification immediately appeared in Lila’s view.
System: You have accepted the quest: [Apprehend the Spy]. Party Size: 10. Reward: 10% of all points recovered from the target.
Ten percent!
Lila’s breath hitched. One thousand items, at one thousand points each. That was a total of one million points. Ten percent of that was… one hundred thousand.
Oh my god.
A tremor of pure adrenaline shot through her. “Let’s go!” she said to her waiting team. “We can’t let this guy get away!”
The squad arrived at the border between the quarry and the forest to find an absolute madhouse. The place was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with players.
The chaos had started when AstroDrake and GrimJester called a hundred of their guildmates from [Drakefang Order] and [Rogue’s Den] to buy up the gear.
At first, it was an orderly affair. But someone inevitably broke the silence, whispering to their best friend: “I’m telling you this in secret, don’t tell anyone else. At the quarry, near the eastern forest…”
A secret like that could never be kept. Their best friends had their own best friends. Word spread like wildfire.
By the time Lila arrived, the stock of 1,000 Ascendant items was nearly depleted. Her squad waited patiently at the edge of the crowd.
Finally, the [Mysterious Point Merchant] spoke, its voice echoing over the disappointed groans of the latecomers. “Thank you for your patronage. All items have been sold. We shall meet again.”
“Are you kidding me? I just got here and it’s over!”
“Dammit, who even finds a spot this far out of the way?!”
“If it wasn't so remote, we never would've had a chance in the first place!”
Gradually, the crowd dispersed, though a few hopeful players lingered, following the merchant from a distance. Seeing her chance, Lila gave the order. “Go!”
Her ten-person team surged forward. The [Mysterious Point Merchant]’s placid expression turned to one of shock. It dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, its form swelling to several times its original size. A blue-skinned boss monster appeared in its place.
[Phantom Warbrute] (Level 30)
HP: 5,000,000
Physical Attack: 1200
Physical Defense: 500
...
The stats were mediocre. Aside from its shapestifting trick, the creature was nothing special. It stood no chance against Lila’s elite squad. They descended on it in a flurry of skills and attacks, and in less than a minute, the monster collapsed.
System: You have slain the [Phantom Warbrute] and recovered the points it carried. Report back to Malcolm to complete your mission.
Lila stared at the quest item that had appeared in her inventory: a [Voucher of Points]. One million points, she thought, swallowing hard. If only this wasn't a quest item.
Her team turned and left, leaving the few remaining onlookers completely dumbfounded.
“Holy shit… did they just gank an NPC?”
“Gank? That thing was one of the WarChief’s mobs, obviously.”
“Who cares what it was? The gear it gave out was real!”
“Damn it, now that she killed it, the merchant is probably never coming back.”
“That bitch just ruined a good thing for all of us!”
“Fuck, I’m just realizing what she did…”
“What are you standing around for?! Go find another mysterious merchant before they’re all gone!”
Players pointed and muttered as Lila’s team walked back, but she paid them no mind. Her own teammates, however, were starting to look uneasy.
“Uh, Lila… was that the right thing to do?” one of them asked nervously.
“If that merchant never shows up again, aren’t the other guilds going to hold it against us?”
Lila just smiled, saying nothing. They would understand soon enough.
Back in the village, she turned in the quest item to Malcolm. A moment later, the system reward notification flashed.
System: Congratulations! You have completed [Apprehend the Spy]. You have been awarded 10,000 points.
“Wha—!”
The girls in her squad stared at their notifications, their jaws on the floor.
Lila smirked, teasing them. “What were you all saying earlier? Feeling like this quest was unethical? A guilty conscience, perhaps?”
The girls immediately backpedaled.
“Nope! Not at all!”
“Stick with the Guild Master and we're on the fast track to the big leagues!”
“Hee hee…”
Lila shook her head, amused by their antics. She looked at her own point total, now over 15,000, and couldn't suppress a thrill of excitement.