Chapter 12 – Hero? Could be…

Anonymous knew his friend’s intention at a glance, but he was inwardly troubled,’ I don’t think I can afford the amount he will propose in any case, and I can’t yet convert money to gold in this game.’

Still, this was his friend and he couldn’t help but inquire,” Friend Requiem, how much are you planning on selling that shield?” He was all smiles as he approached slowly.

“One silver. It cannot be negotiated to make it any less than that.” His tone was definite, clearly not giving them any leeway to lower the price, which surprised even Ano a bit.

‘Isn’t he supposed to try and befriend me, seeing that I just reached level 2 this early on, and grinding in level 5 and 6 infested monsters? Is he arrogant because of his skills?’ Anonymous didn’t know the exact reason behind his reaction, but he couldn’t just ask him to lower the price after hearing his tone.

‘Also, what’s wrong with this absurd price at this game stage? One silver. Most players wouldn’t even have 20 copper coins right now, much less 100 bronze coins, equal to one silver.’ He felt that this kid was pushing his luck too much.

He would need to spend hours if not days to grind for such an amount, yet the guy was asking it outright after just an hour of the game’s launch, and the next few words of his friends even elevated his hidden thoughts to a new level.

“Just get rid of him Ano. We have no reason to buy it from him. We can just hope to get lucky and he drops the shield. Even if he didn’t, we can hunt him down right after and kill him over and over again until he drops it.” The hunter Ranger was straightforward in his approach, making Shadow appear like a saint compared to his way of doing things.

Anonymous and Tonka both felt that Range’s statement was reasonable. They had no reason to play heroes in a game, especially in such a godforsaken spot where none could see them and where killing isn’t punishable yet.

“What do you think sis?” Ano asked his little sister about it through the team chat.

“No, it’s a good plan for now, but it’s not worth it in the long run. This guy’s skills are beyond those of our big brother, Ano. It’s better to rope him in and invite him to our guild later. Take it slow and don’t rush things.” Her words were thought through, and in a moment, Ano’s thoughts vanished, just like Tonka’s beside him, as he said with his same smile.

“Friend, such an amount isn’t available to us now. Would you like to trade the shield for something else? I’ll never forget your gesture, and you can ask for another favor in the future.” His words were sincere, and he totally dropped the idea of killing him.

Yone found the offer acceptable but inwardly denied it immediately, his plans needed a lot of funds, or else he wouldn’t get a head start over the guilds when they reach the city and the field becomes bigger. One favor was enough for him…

“No, but I’ll only sell this item in two to three hours. Maybe gather the funds before that, and contact me if you’re still interested.” With that, Yone vanished, appearing at the outskirts of the forest facing the lake’s shore after his stealth ended.

Back at the lake’s shore, Ano’s expression shifted into an ugly one, but his tone remained calm as he said in the team chat,” Keep leveling up using the same small crabs. Don’t try to agro the big ones yet; only do that after reaching level 5 at least.”

“Also, Sister, inform Night after logging out later about Requiem, asking him to conduct a search in our database of who the player is, his background, his skills, his rankings, and all that is important. We won’t touch him in the game based on your orders, but knowing him can help us rope him in.”

HealtheWorld just nodded her head as she placed a buff on Tonka and concentrated on her fight, clearly not bothered by her brother’s professional conduct when it came to gaming and future plans regarding their guild.

Right at the depths of the forest, hiding behind a tree, Yone was grinning from side to side as he imagined his past self’s reaction if he told him about the fact that the infamous duo Ano and HealtheWorld owe him a favor.

Truly being skilled is a feeling and power one cannot exchange with money…

‘Hmm?’ As he was doing his best not to be noticed by any high level monster, Yone felt something poking his back from the tree.

Turning his head to check what it was, he found what looked like a tiny blade stuck right in the middle of the trunk, blood dropping from it as it fell to the ground.

‘This!’ An indescribable feeling rose from within him as he immediately tracked the blood drops on the ground, wishing it would lead him somewhere. And indeed, he found that tiny blood drops sometimes thin almost invisible and sometimes big were heading towards the outskirts of the forest.

Damn it…

He suddenly lost the trail, his eyes moving in every direction and checking all the small details. After a few moments, he spotted a rock that looked slightly out of place,’ Weird.’ He went and moved the rock only to find a nearly invisible blood spatter continuing underneath.

‘Hiding on plain sight are we now?’ Yone didn’t think much of the fact that the guy who did the quest didn’t mention the blood in his interview. He cleared the dust from the rock’s spot on the ground and opened what looked like a hidden door leading into a tunnel.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep