Chapter 70: The Mind Game
Misty Rain was no fool. She was sharp, calculating, and more than capable of playing someone like Chad for a fool whenever it suited her. Yet ever since Flynn, or rather Night-Stalker, entered the picture, his unpredictable behavior had thrown her completely off balance.
The moment she grabbed his arm and caught that faint, teasing smirk on his lips, realization struck. Irritation surged through her, aimed mostly at herself.
’What is wrong with me?’ she thought bitterly. ’I fell for it again.’
The Iron-Fang Tavern was packed as usual. Misty Rain drew attention wherever she went, and in Age of Conquest, where polished avatars were common, she still stood out. She had the kind of beauty that felt effortless, soft, approachable, elegant. As a high-ranking executive of the Aether-Reach Guild in Moster City, she was practically a celebrity.
Players had even voted her into the city’s so-called Top Ten Beautiful Women. The forums were full of screenshots of her, though most were stolen side profiles or distant shots from behind. A clear front-facing picture of Misty Rain was considered rare loot.
Several players near the bar recognized her at once. Seeing the usually composed Misty Rain locked in a public tug-of-war with a man left them stunned, and whispers spread immediately.
"Wait, isn’t that Misty Rain?"
"She never gets involved with anyone."
"Is that her boyfriend?"
"They look like they’re fighting."
Misty Rain released his arm at once, her cheeks heating with a mix of embarrassment and anger. She lowered her voice, forcing herself to stay composed.
"Night-Stalker, we came here in good faith. If you have a price, then name it. There’s no need to play games."
She was more shaken than she wanted to admit. This man was impossible to read. One moment he wore the grin of a carefree rogue, the next he turned distant and unreadable, his eyes hiding every thought behind them.
Flynn leaned slightly closer. He caught the faint scent of her perfume, light and refined, exactly what one would expect from someone who cultivated the image of a graceful lady. He let the silence stretch for a moment before answering with a lazy smile.
"Good faith? I haven’t seen much of that. Yesterday you brought Jingle to pressure me, and today you deliberately kept me waiting. What was the idea, make me think you didn’t care about the True-Sight Crystal? Some little mind game?"
He shrugged.
"Fine. If you want to play, I don’t mind playing too."
Misty Rain froze. He had seen through everything. Every delay, every calculated move, every attempt to control the negotiation.
Was her strategy really that obvious, or was he simply that sharp?
A chill crept down her spine. As an executive of Aether-Reach, she was used to people bending for her. Even when men noticed her intentions, they usually chose to indulge her anyway. Beauty often did half the work before words were even spoken.
But with Flynn, it gave her no advantage at all. If anything, he seemed to enjoy provoking her more because of it.
Flynn gave a quiet laugh.
"What? Nothing to say?"
She looked at him with restrained resentment.
"What is there to say? You’ve already exposed everything. Anything I say now would just sound like an excuse."
"Good answer."
He nodded and turned to leave. After two steps, he glanced back over his shoulder.
"I’ll give you a choice. Stay here, have a drink, and wait for me to come back. Or come with me while I finish a quest. I wasted half my morning waiting for you, so it’s only fair you show some of that good faith you talked about."
Then that familiar mischievous grin returned.
"Besides, having a beauty like you around might help the work go faster."
Misty Rain’s eyes brightened instantly. She ignored the obvious jab hidden in his words and hurried after him.
"I’ll come with you."
She kept a careful distance as they walked, close enough that their shoulders brushed now and then, but never so close that it looked deliberate.
The moment they stepped out of the tavern, news that Misty Rain had a boyfriend exploded through the local chat channels. In the gaming world, gossip moved faster than teleportation magic.
Flynn pulled out the list Kravis had given him and resumed his search. He had already ruled out several households, but he wanted to double-check the remaining neighborhoods before making a final conclusion.
Misty Rain followed, still irritated, but unwilling to lose her chance. Eventually curiosity won out as she watched him question resident after resident.
"What kind of quest is this?" she asked. "Why are you interviewing half the town?"
Flynn answered openly.
"I’m looking for someone. He’s been hiding here under a fake identity for years. I’m going to drag him out."
"Oh?" Her interest sharpened. "Have you narrowed it down?"
Flynn stopped walking.
"Four houses left. Since you’re here, why not help me look around?"
"Sure," she said quickly. "Do you have a sketch? Something I can show people?"
"He’s a fugitive," Flynn said with a chuckle. "And he may have someone watching for him. If word spreads that people are asking questions, he’ll run."
His real objective was not Bass alone, but John. Since Bass had disappeared, John, being an Undead, would struggle to gather information openly in town. If Flynn secured Bass first, John would be forced to make a move. On top of that, Bass still carried a generous bounty from Moster City.
Flynn described Bass’s appearance and listed some of his petty crimes. Misty Rain accepted the task eagerly. She had been searching for a way to earn Flynn’s favor, and this seemed perfect.
They continued their search together. Though she did not fully understand why he was being so careful, refusing to mention names or reveal too much, she tried her best to help. Flynn watched her from the corner of his eye, inwardly amused. There was something satisfying about seeing a woman who clearly looked down on him work this hard for his approval.
He had brought her for one simple reason. People were less guarded around a pretty woman.
Unfortunately, after half an hour, Flynn realized she was nowhere near as useful as he had hoped. Misty Rain still treated the townspeople like ordinary NPCs, static quest props rather than people with instincts. Her questions were stiff, obvious, and unnatural. The residents of Knightly Town were cautious by nature. The moment they sensed someone digging for information, they shut down or walked away.
Flynn sighed.
"Alright. This isn’t working. Let’s go find a man named Mort instead."
"Where?" Misty Rain asked, visibly discouraged. She felt as though all she had done was ruin his plan. "Knightly Town isn’t that big, but finding one person won’t be easy."
"Relax," Flynn said. "We’ll check where the crowds gather first. If that fails, we’ll head to the local Mining Office. Miners go there at the end of the day to report their haul and collect payment. If Bass is still working here, he’ll show up eventually."
Misty Rain blinked.
"If it’s that simple, why didn’t we just start there?"
Flynn gave an easy shrug. "I wasn’t in a hurry. Thought I’d look around a little, enjoy the local culture."
Misty Rain nearly choked. ’The culture?’
Only someone with entirely too much free time would wander an NPC village to take in the atmosphere. She was a senior guild executive with endless work waiting for her.
She wanted to scream. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Night-Stalker had been toying with her from the start. Since yesterday, he had barely mentioned the True-Sight Crystal at all. She studied him with growing suspicion, wondering if any of this was worth her time.
Then she remembered Aether-Reach’s harsh performance reviews, and a cold shiver ran through her.
’I can’t fail. Not this assignment. Whatever it takes, I need that crystal.’
She took a steadying breath, forced determination back onto her face, and stepped beside him with a polished, apologetic smile.
"Sorry for slowing things down. But I do think staking out the Mining Office is the smarter move."
"It’s fine," Flynn said casually.
Misty Rain tilted her head, studying him again.
"By the way, how did you even trigger a quest like this? I’ve never seen one this detailed. If it’s confidential, I understand."
"No secret." Flynn laughed. "Solo players like me don’t have to deal with corporate NDAs the way guild professionals do."
He gave her a simplified version of the quest chain, mentioning several Bronze-grade rewards he had already earned along the way. To support the story, he even took out the Miner’s Pickaxe and showed it to her.
Naturally, he omitted every detail involving John the Undead. What he gave her was roughly eighty percent truth, enough to sound complete and impossible to easily challenge.
"Not bad, right?" he said with a grin.
Misty Rain nodded slowly, then exhaled as the value of what she had heard truly sank in.
"Not bad? Night-Stalker, the Silver Dust alone would be worth multiple Silver-grade items."
Silver Dust was not something players simply dug out of a mine. It required an Enchanter to refine silver ore through difficult methods, and even then the success rate was notoriously low. It was one of the most valuable crafting materials in the game. Without it, repairing Silver-grade equipment became nearly impossible.
Then she noticed the look in Flynn’s eyes, calm, knowing, deliberate, and suddenly everything clicked.
He was not sharing this information out of friendliness. He was showing off. Why would a skilled solo player flaunt rewards in front of a senior officer of Aether-Reach?
Only one answer made sense; ’Night-Stalker wants in.’
He was displaying his talent and luck to raise his value before negotiating for a high-ranking place within the guild.
’So that’s your plan.’
A small, triumphant smile touched the corners of her lips.