▪️OBSERVING THE ELVES

Not only the Dark Dwarves, but even Evé, who had been observing the players in secret, was stunned.

The players were originally individuals who pursued quest completion and sought constant growth through any means necessary.

Having accepted the task assigned to them, they would undoubtedly seize any opportunity that could aid them in accomplishing their goal!

When they triggered the questline to establish friendship with the Dark Dwarves, most players were probably prepared to please the dwarves or even act as subservient dogs who would unquestionably obey the NPCs’ commands…

After all, from their perspective, these dwarves could potentially become the NPCs who would assign them tasks in the future!

As a result, the players willingly removed their primary equipment and entrusted it to several members of the First Legion and some solo players for safekeeping, leaving only simple clothing as their base-equipment.

Seeing their swift actions, the female dwarf couldn’t find the right words to say…

Finally, she woke up from her stupor and exclaimed,

“As expected of the fair and honest elves!”

“Hmph, Shrinelord, their behavior seemed a bit too decisive… Be cautious. I fear there may be a hidden conspiracy behind their actions!”

Just then, the old dwarf spoke once more, his gaze remaining wary as he scrutinized each of the players, his words dripping with intense hostility.

The female dwarf furrowed her brows and sheepishly looked at the players, only to be taken aback when she noticed that despite having heard of the old dwarf’s provoking words, the players showed no signs of anger at all.

The elf who was acting as their leader even smiled and said,

“If you’re still wary that we have some ulterior motives, then you can assign some of your warriors to monitor us. We genuinely just want to be friends with the dwarves.”

Hearing the words of Tomato, the expression of the female dwarf slightly softened.

“Shrinelord!”

Seeing her expression, the old dwarf wanted to speak more but was interrupted by her raised hand.

“Elder Barain, that’s enough.”

After admonishing the bald elder, she then gestured towards the dwarf soldiers encircling the elves, instructing them to stand down. At the same time, she let out a sigh of relief, whilst vocalizing her inner thoughts:

“These are true elves. I have faith in the noble character of their kind and hold great admiration for the race that was once revered as the silver race. As an exiled race, who have also suffered the loss of our homes, it is only fitting that we, the Dark Dwarves, extend a warm welcome to them as well, considering their friendly gesture towards us.”

The Dark Dwarves once coexisted with the surface dwarves but were exiled due to being branded as failures. Having lost their place in the surface world, their tribe then decided to sought refuge underground. Therefore, despite having established themselves in the underworld, it is natural for Dark-Dwarves to harbor a sense of self-deprecation as an exiled race that was banished from their original home.

“Shrinelord…”

The old dwarf wanted to say something, but upon seeing the determined expression of the female dwarf, he could do nothing but shake his head and turn away.

Following this, the female priestess gracefully bowed before the players and uttered, “Greetings, esteemed elves, welcome to our humble city of Blackrock!”

At the same time, the surrounding dwarf soldiers also began to sheathe their weapons.

Seeing this scene, the players’ eyes flashed with a hint of joy. Some were even about to cheer out loud but were quickly stopped by other players who coughed lightly and whispered,

“Hey, maintain your composure…remember, we must pay close attention to our image…”

Then…while being accompanied by the dwarves, the players finally entered the city they had been so curious about!

“So… they were really allowed in? No conflicts at all?”

In a dark secret room, a few dwarven figures conversed in hushed voices. The first to speak was an individual with a deep, low voice…the same person addressed as “Your Eminence” by the others.

“That’s right… it was agreed upon. After the elves willingly removed their main equipment, she permitted their entry and just assigned a few soldiers to oversee their activities. And… there was no further conflict between the two sides.” Another raspy voice responded.

The group fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, the deep voice chuckled disdainfully, “Hehe, these elves didn’t get riled up by such provocation and they even willingly set aside their weapons and obediently entered the city? Are they truly followers of an Evil God?”

After speaking, a feeble voice stuttered, “Y-Your Eminence… I… I definitely did not make a mistake. These elves are truly suspicious! They were ruthlessly slaying monsters, showing no regard for the lives of their comrades, and they did mention offering sacrifices to their Evil God…”

“That’s enough! Tell me, what have these elves been doing in the city?”

The deep voice interrupted him and another raspy voice responded instead.

“Your Eminence, they have been wandering around the city, as if sightseeing. They still haven’t caused any sort of trouble and they appear to be deeply intrigued by everything within the city. Moreover, many of them have been approaching the residents, inquiring if they need any help while displaying great enthusiasm in their every actions…”

The raspy voice spoke respectfully.

Following the report, the person then let out a slight sigh and added, “I have lived for over a hundred years, yet this is the first time I have witnessed such genuine enthusiasm and sincerity from a race without any trace of wariness at all. I must admit… the noble and virtuous elven race truly lives up to its reputation. Even as mercenaries, they uphold such unwavering integrity.”

The feeble voice angrily retorted, “Tsk, noble race my arse! You haven’t seen them in battle! They—”

“Enough!”

The deep voice interrupted them.

“What we have seen could potentially just be nothing more than their outward facade. Continue monitoring them…we shall reconvene tomorrow for further discussion!”

The next day.

In the same dimly-lit secret room.

“Have they done anything else? Like… preaching in secret or inscribing sacrificial circles?”

The deep voice asked.

The raspy voice replied with a hint of confusion.

“They didn’t… most of them were still strolling around the city, and their presence could be observed almost everywhere… However, it seems their favorite places are the blacksmith shops and bars within the city, as well as the mines on the outskirts…”

“While some elves appeared to have grown tired and chose to leave, the majority of them decided to stay in the city. In fact, many of them have even formed friendships with the local residents.”

“…Friends?”

The deep voice sounded surprised.

“Yes…they are incredibly enthusiastic. Whenever they see residents in trouble, these elves would eagerly step forward to offer their assistance, often without expecting anything in return. They are even willing to help the farmers eliminate the monsters that keeps ravaging the crop fields outside the city.”

“And over at the blacksmith shops, many elves have also gathered there, seemingly doing something…what was it called again…some kind of ‘academic exchange’? Anyway, it has attracted a large number of blacksmiths…”

“In addition, a large number of elves have also gathered at the marketplace. They seem to be very interested in certain goods, especially alcoholic beverages and some forged items. Oh, and they are also very interested in steam guns. They have exchanged a lot of their equipment for them.”

“Steam guns? Those bulky alchemic weapons that were phased out?”

The deep voice sounded surprised.

“Yes, they seemed to love them very much, cherishing them dearly… Moreover, they are remarkably generous in their trades. With the exception of one elf who once haggled, all the other elves willingly paid the set price.”

“However, it seems they don’t have any common currency at all so they can only barter for the goods they wanted to buy…”

“There was even an elf who brought out a bag of high-quality wheat flour, originally sourced from the humans, and traded it for a magic stone.”

“Also…I specifically dispatched some individuals to talk with these elves, and my informants discovered that almost all of them lack common knowledge. These elves seemed to resemble a group of novices who have recently ventured out of their clan to explore the world outside.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three figures fell into silence.

“Could it be… they haven’t had any conflicts at all with the residents?”

The deep voice asked again.

“…No”

The hoarse voice replied, but hesitated for a moment before adding:

“But…yesterday, one elf did steal something from a resident—a precious piece of magical equipment.”

“Steal, you say? So these elves are also capable of theft?”

The deep voice sounded particularly surprised.

“Indeed, but he was discovered by the city guards, and then he was taken away by other elves to apologize… Although they didn’t succeed in recovering the stolen goods, the thieving elf paid with their life.”

“Wait… are you saying they executed their fellow clansmen? B-But…but they’re elves!”

The person with the deep voice expressed disbelief.

“Yes… they executed him without hesitation, and then burned his remains to ashes.”

“Ah… these elves are truly strange…wait for another day! Keep up the surveillance! Also…attempt to create some friction between them and the betrayers.”

On the third day.

“How did it go today? Did the provocation succeed?”

The deep voice inquired.

“N-No…”

The person with a hoarse voice sounded a little bit exasperated.

“These elves… they have such good temperaments and high tolerance. Several times I sent people to provoke them, but all failed. But…”

“But, what?”

“B-But… today there were more elves who tried to steal things. However, they were all apprehended and brought to the city square by their own kind, where they were ultimately publicly executed…”

“…”

“After that, it appears a riot broke out amongst these elves. They were seen arguing with each other, but ever since then, there have been no further incidents of theft.”

“…”

“Also…”

“What else?”

“Today, hundreds of elves came to the city once again…”

“…”

“…”

“What… how… where did so many elves come from!?”

The deep voice gasped in astonishment.

“However, this new group of elves seems different from the initial group…”

“Different in what way?”

“W-Well, although this group of elves also referred to themselves as mercenaries, many of them are not wearing any combat equipment at all; instead, they carry packages on their backs. Some were even pushing carts filled with flour and sweet potatoes……then they began trading at the marketplace…this new group felt like a merchant caravan.”

“…”

“Moreover… for some reason, when they began trading today, these elves all seemed to have acquired the art of haggling… behaving shrewdly, much like human merchants in human society.”

“…”

“In addition, there is another group of mercenaries who called themselves as members of ‘Heart of Nature’ Guild. They have a vice leader who goes by the name of ‘Demacia,’ and they are actively recruiting the local residents to establish somekind of business organization…”

“An organization?”

“Yes…specifically its called the ‘Amway’ ¹ Business Organization, and they want to develop something called ‘upline’ and ‘downline’… I didn’t quite understand it, but it has attracted a lot of residents who were swayed to buy something called ‘shares’…” ²

“…”

“…”

“Is the trading still ongoing? What are they buying in the city?”

“Magic stones, some magic materials from underground, and some alchemical and forging products… Additionally, it seems their high-ranking members are already negotiating with the shrine for establishing long-term commercial relations.”

“…”

“Anyway… although these elves are peculiar and have strange personalities, and some even have weird quirks, overall they don’t seem to have any malicious intent. They don’t appear to be followers of any evil gods at all, but rather resemble human merchants instead…”

“…”

After listening to the report, the deep voice remained silent for a long time.

¹安利– Amway (short for “American Way”) is an American multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells health, beauty, and home care products. It is the largest multi-level marketing company in the world by revenue.

² MLM Terms.

Downline – refers to the network of people you recruit into the company.

Upline – refers to the people above you in the company’s structure or the one’s who have recruited you.

In multi-level marketing (MLM), ‘shares’ refer to the earnings or commissions that participants receive based on their personal sales efforts and the sales made by their recruited downline members. It’s a way to distribute profits and rewards among MLM participants, similar to how shareholders receive dividends in a company. Participants earn ‘shares’ for their own sales and additional ‘shares’ for the sales made by those they recruit into the MLM network. It’s a method of incentivizing and rewarding participants for their contributions to the MLM business.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep