Chapter 25 : Chapter 25
Chapter 25: The Invitation
The following morning, Lin Qi performed a brief morning routine, dressed, and headed downstairs.
On the dining table, freshly prepared delicacies were already laid out. Two maids stood by the table, prepared to pour wine and clear the dishes.
Lin Qi walked to the head of the table, sat down, and said, "Everyone, please take a seat."
Viola was the first to respond; the young girl sat down to his left.
Her mental state, already unstable from the influence of the Voice of Nightmares, had been further impacted by the news of her family's passing. In this vulnerable state, she had been moved by Lin Qi's "sincere" declaration of kinship.
She had accepted Lin Qi's arrangements and remained in the manor. The two now addressed each other as brother and sister.
"Kaff, Yulian, you two sit as well."
Hearing this, Kaff sat to Lin Qi's right. He knew his master was different from most nobles. Lin Qi did not strictly follow the rules that aristocrats took such pride in; instead, he treated the staff more like ordinary employees rather than the master-servant dynamic typical of the upper class.
Seeing Kaff sit, Yulian followed suit.
"You two can go about your business. I am not a child; I do not need someone to wait on me while I eat," Lin Qi said to the two maids.
"Yes, My Lord," they replied in unison.
After breakfast, Yulian found Lin Qi in the smoking room.
"My Lord, I gathered information on the person you were looking for yesterday," Yulian said as he entered.
Lin Qi pulled the Forbidden Object named [Violet] from his pocket, drew out a cigarette, and offered it to Yulian. "Care for one?"
"No, thank you, My Lord. I do not smoke. Silas is currently the Guard Captain at Brague Manor. People generally describe him as serious, responsible, and loyal. He has been working there for seven years. He is a Sequence 8 Tide-Caller of the Ocean Pathway. Do you require any further intelligence?" Yulian waved off the cigarette. As a Bard who relied on his voice for a living, he could not afford to smoke.
Lin Qi retracted the harmless cigarette and said, "You have done well, Yulian. No more information is needed for now. Go and find out if there are any noble gatherings scheduled soon."
"Understood, My Lord."
Before establishing the agency, Lin Qi needed to break into the capital’s aristocratic circles. At the very least, he needed the local nobility to recognize his name.
Transcendents in this world were generally divided into three categories: Nobles, Church personnel, and Wild Transcendents.
The first two were easy to understand. Wild Transcendents referred to individuals who stumbled upon Transcendent knowledge on their own. These people were required to register with the Transcendent Management Bureau.
The Transcendent Management Bureau was the enforcement arm of the Viridian Kingdom, primarily responsible for dealing with rogue Transcendents and recovering Forbidden Objects. Although it was an official organization, requesting their help with supernatural incidents was expensive—extremely so.
This led to the emergence of agencies. An agency was a for-profit organization founded by Transcendents that could privately accept contracts to handle abnormal phenomena.
However, Lin Qi’s goal in creating an agency was not profit. How much money could one really make from an agency? Most of their clients were commoners. Wealthy nobles trusted the official Bureau more; only commoners who could not afford the Bureau’s fees turned to agencies, which often had varying levels of quality.
Lin Qi’s true purpose for the agency was the upcoming arrival of the players.
The books Uncle Alden had left at Roland Manor contained the knowledge for all twelve standard pathways, and Lin Qi had brought them all with him. Once the agency was established and he had his own faction, he could use the promise of rapid Transcendent advancement as a hook to make his popularity skyrocket among the players!
He could already imagine how many players would fight tooth and nail to join his agency.
In the game Epoch of the End, players usually only had two ways to obtain a Transcendent Sequence. First, they could join a Church, where they had to accumulate contribution points through mundane labor before exchanging them for knowledge. Second, they could join a noble family as a guard, which offered a chance of obtaining knowledge.
Both methods had significant drawbacks. The cost of joining a Church was too high; one had to grind missions constantly to save up points, and they were limited to the specific pathway held by that Church. Many novice players joined a Church blindly, only to end up with a Sequence they disliked. Joining a noble family was even more difficult. Setting aside the fact that knowledge was only a "chance" acquisition, the pathway granted was entirely random, leaving players with no choice.
Lin Qi was different. He possessed all twelve standard pathways as well as one of the hidden pathways, the Romance Pathway, and he could let them choose freely. The only requirement would be to accumulate contribution points, just like the Church.
However, Lin Qi also planned a safeguard. He intended to purchase a specific Forbidden Object from the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce: the Unbreakable Oath.
The ability of this Forbidden Object was to ensure that the signer could never betray the contract. The cost was that the signer had to show respect to the Lord of the Covenant after use.
Lin Qi wanted to buy this item because, in his previous life, an unlucky player had been tricked by an NPC into signing such a contract. They later discovered the contract was account-locked! Even if the player died and respawned, the contract remained. The only way to break it was to delete the account.
Lin Qi felt the need to protect himself against players precisely because he had once been one of them. He understood these players all too well. To put it bluntly, everyone knows how people behave in GTA V, right? Now imagine a world like Epoch of the End, which offered Transcendent powers and even higher levels of freedom. If a high-status figure like Lin Qi were to be backstabbed by a player, it would be a disaster.
Losing followers was one thing, but he was genuinely afraid of actually dying. He wasn't a player; he didn't have the luxury of respawning.
After finishing his cigarette, Lin Qi and Kaff boarded a carriage headed for the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce. They intended to inquire about the price of the [Unbreakable Oath] and hire some renovation workers.
Upon arriving at the entrance, Lin Qi spotted his old acquaintance, Link. After some pleasantries, Link ushered them into a VIP lounge and went to retrieve the [Unbreakable Oath] and the profiles for the renovation crews.
Lin Qi and Kaff waited for a while, but Link did not return. Just as Kaff was about to go out and check, a knock sounded at the door.
It was Link.
"I apologize, Master Isaris. Our Chamber’s Young Miss happens to be here on inspection today. She heard you were here and wishes to meet you. Would that be convenient?" Link opened the door, wiping away the sweat from his hurried pace.
The Young Miss of the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce. The protagonist of Version 3.0 in the game. The final mistress of the Republic of Catricia. The absolute controller of the Land of Covenants and the City of Golden Power.
On the forums, players would constantly lose their minds over her pictures, calling her "Sugar Mommy" and begging for her attention. She was a gold-haired, wavy-locked, manipulative woman: Malina Pactum Mundi.
"Of course." Lin Qi didn't know why Malina was appearing at this time, but he knew he had to stay on her good side.
While Isaris was a class fighter against aristocratic rule, Malina was a steadfast capitalist warrior. In the Republic of Catricia, which worshipped contracts and money, everything could be obtained if one had enough gold.
After receiving Lin Qi's confirmation, Link opened the door wider to reveal the young woman standing behind him.
Her golden, wavy hair flowed over her shoulders. She wore a black hat with a delicate mesh veil and a black dress encrusted with diamonds. She carried a small black bag. Her small face held a polite smile, and her amber eyes seemed capable of seeing through a person's heart. Her high nose and crimson lips added a touch of allure to her features.
"Greetings, Master Isaris." Malina stepped into the room and extended a hand encased in a black glove.
"Greetings, Miss Malina." Lin Qi stood from the sofa and took her hand.
"Does Master Isaris have any specific needs from the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce today? We will certainly do our best to satisfy them." Once they were seated, Malina didn't immediately state her business but asked Lin Qi a question instead.
"I intend to acquire a Forbidden Object named [Unbreakable Oath] and select a few craftsmen to renovate my manor," Lin Qi replied calmly.
"I see. The Forbidden Object may take a few days to locate, but the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce will exert every effort to find it for you. As for the craftsmen, I will arrange for two teams to head to your manor shortly. Rest assured, they are elite craftsmen hand-picked from our headquarters. Their skill is beyond reproach. Please accept this as a gift to commemorate our first meeting," Malina said with a slight smile.
"Thank you for your generosity, Miss Malina." Lin Qi gave a formal noble bow of gratitude and added, "Have you arrived in the Viridian Kingdom only recently?"
"Indeed. This country is quite remarkable. The scenery is beautiful; I like it very much."
Nonsense, Lin Qi thought. Unlike the Republic of Catricia, this was a feudal aristocracy. For someone like Malina, who represented "old money," this place was a paradise. In the Republic of Catricia, commoners had actual incomes because of the legal contracts. Here in Viridian, things like human trafficking, cheap labor, and indentured servitude were tools of noble rule.
Malina looked at the national system of Viridian and practically salivated. She couldn't imagine a world with such cheap labor—where one didn't even need to pay wages; one simply needed a noble title and some food to have an obedient servant.
"Miss Malina, I assume you didn't come to see me just for pleasantries?" Lin Qi took a sip of the tea Link had brought and addressed the woman across from him.
"Master Isaris is indeed as perceptive as the rumors say. The Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce is planning to host a banquet soon. I wonder if you would be interested?"
"A banquet?"
"Exactly. It will be held in one week at the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce. We have invited many princes and nobles. I hope you will grace us with your presence." Malina took a gold-leaf envelope from her bag and handed it to him.
[Ding—]
[Side Quest Triggered: Gathering and Banquet.]
[Requirement: Attend the gathering and banquet hosted by the Pactum Mundi family and return safely.]
[Rewards: 3,000 Experience Points, 100 Gold Coins, Blueprint for Transcendent Weapon: Ominous Fire.]
"It would be my honor. I shall arrive on time, Miss Malina," Lin Qi said, accepting the envelope.
Based on the quest description, there was a high probability of danger at this gathering. However, Lin Qi still had to attend. Completing the quest was secondary; the primary goal was to make an appearance among the capital's nobility to prepare for his upcoming agency. This gathering was a perfect opportunity.
Furthermore, Malina was the host, a merchant, and a game protagonist. She likely didn't know about any impending danger. The threat probably came from local nobles who had conflicts of interest with her Chamber. As a Sequence 8 holder of two A-Class Forbidden Objects, Lin Qi believed he would be safe as long as he didn't encounter any high-sequence powerhouses.
The two chatted for a while longer. Malina spoke of the landscapes and culture of Catricia, while Lin Qi described the atmosphere of Kissmark Town. After a while, Lin Qi and Kaff took their leave and returned to the manor.
Before they even entered the building, the servants informed them that several burly strangers had arrived at the gate.
The craftsmen Malina provided had arrived.
Lin Qi stared at the man leading the group. He was built like a stone tower, nearly two meters tall and weighing over two hundred pounds. Anyone seeing him would call him a "mighty man."
"Hello. I am Oritz. Lady Malina sent us," the leader said.
Malina had actually sent five Transcendents to help him with the renovation. Lin Qi could tell at a glance that Oritz was a Sequence 8 Stone-Shaper of the Earth Pathway, while the other four were Sequence 9 Miners.
Good grief, I really owe her a big favor now, Lin Qi thought.
"Welcome. Please measure the main building first, then begin the renovation of the rear garden and the vineyard," Lin Qi gave a few simple instructions and sent Kaff to fetch Yulian and Viola.
A moment later, the four of them sat together on the first-floor sofas.
"The craftsmen for the renovation are here. If you have any ideas for your rooms, you can discuss them with the workers directly." Lin Qi didn't look up from his drawing board as he designed his own room.
"I don't have any particular requirements..." Viola said, rubbing her chin.
Of course she didn't. She had lived in a basement for years; why would she care about the decor now?
"I hope my room has some greenery and musical instruments," Yulian said after some thought.
"As for me, keep it minimalist. I prefer the room to be a bit darker; I don't like it too bright," Kaff added.
Before long, Lin Qi had finished the sketch for his room. The materials in this world were quite different from those in his previous life, but because of Transcendents, a one-to-one recreation was entirely possible. Lin Qi explained his sketch and desired style to Oritz, who beat his chest and promised to provide a plan that would satisfy him.
After handling everything, Lin Qi went into the smoking room. Since obtaining the harmless [Violet] cigarettes, he found himself wanting to light one up whenever he had a spare moment.
If my throat hurts, it just means my throat is growing muscle.
Currently, the team still needed a skilled artisan. After all, the side quest reward included a blueprint for a Transcendent weapon. This weapon was a glove, likely a lower-tier substitute for the [Fireworks] Forbidden Object, allowing the user to release flames. This item was redundant for Lin Qi, but it would be useful for others in the team.
Lin Qi planned to find a suitable craftsman to recruit so he could have them manufacture such items. Even if they were useless to him, he could sell them to the desperate players after the public beta launched.
Thinking of this, Lin Qi shed a tear of emotion.
You won't find many NPCs as dedicated to the players as I am.