Chapter 79: Despair & Whisper
Aurelius was not angry at being swarmed by a dozen Players. If anything, he was quite excited.
The encounter with World_Builder had reminded him:
Players could not be judged by common sense.
For an ordinary person, obtaining a piece of black diamond was impossible, especially when they were not even an Awakener.
However, when one considered that World_Builder was a Player rather than a native, it all made sense. How could Players possibly follow logic?
This caused an idea to take root in Aurelius’ mind.
Since World_Builder had been so lucky, what was stopping other Players from getting lucky too?
With that thought, he didn’t care who came.
Without any hesitation, he grabbed the items they presented and appraised them personally.
The result... was disappointing to say the least.
The more items he examined using his experience as an Alchemist, the more disappointed he became.
Broken weapons. Everyday appliances. Even pieces of rocks.
By the end of the exchange, Aurelius’ face was completely dark.
Did these people think he was a trash can that could convert their garbage into EXP?
Especially when he looked at the Player who claimed they wanted to trade their crush’s underwear, Aurelius nearly sent them flying.
"Alright," he suddenly rubbed his forehead, pushing away the Players trying to get close to him with a wave of his Spirit.
"That’s enough. I do not need such low-level items," he said, much to the dismay of the Players.
Thankfully, just when they were disappointed, thinking that World_Builder’s trade was a one-time event and they had missed out on the opportunity, Aurelius continued:
"I have a list of materials I require for my future experiments. If any of you find any of them, you can come to me and exchange them."
As he finished speaking, a window appeared in the vision of every Player. It was a long list, cataloguing items they had never heard of before.
Had any of them been a powerful Alchemist, they would have recognized they were materials used for Relic forging. More precisely, they were all objects required for the forging of the Mystery Cloak.
Aurelius had decided to put these people to use.
Who knows? They might give him a surprise in the future.
Imagining the scene of these Players searching throughout the northern border in order to collect extraordinary materials to exchange them for worthless Favorability, Aurelius couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Even so, he didn’t forget about the matter at hand.
Clearing his throat to wake everyone up, Aurelius spoke once more.
"If you wish to search for these, you’ll need to make sure you can protect yourselves."
"Weapons. Potions. Even skills can very well save your life..." He paused briefly.
"I happen to have some of them here. Since you’re helping me, I’ll give you a five percent discount on all items."
The familiar shop interface unfolded in the Players’ field of vision.
In the past, they had only seen it in World_Builder’s posts when he showed it to brag. Now, they had the chance to see it up close.
"I need a Healing Potion!"
"Pff! Look at this guy! Doesn’t he know the power of the Gacha Potion? Boss! Give it to me!"
Soon, a strange scene took place not far away from the human settlement’s entrance.
A dozen people surrounded a man, shouting at the top of their lungs.
The nearby adventurers and mercenaries walked past this scene, their confusion clear in their eyes.
The older ones among them, in particular, shook their heads regretfully when they noticed everyone’s young appearance.
They, the old fossils, could not keep up with the younger generation’s strange ways of having fun.
--
It was only nearly an hour later that Aurelius managed to escape the Players’ clutches.
Glancing behind his back and seeing the crowd of Players filled with despair, he sighed.
They were truly helpless—a bunch of desperate gamblers!
He had truly never expected the Gacha Potion to be such a big hit.
Recalling how Player after Player traded 100 EXP only to get less than half of it in return, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty.
’Should I try using more powerful monsters for the next batch of Moonlight Potions?’ he wondered.
’...Of course, the price will have to be increased accordingly.’
After comforting the Players and urging them to visit again when they collected enough EXP, Aurelius turned around and left.
He didn’t wander around the settlement for long.
The trip outside the city had lasted longer than expected. Combined with the Players’ affairs, the sun had already set by now.
Fortunately, he had already asked Medea for instructions.
It didn’t take him long to find the inn she had recommended to him and pay twenty silver coins to rent a room.
Watching the staff leave and the door close, Aurelius breathed a sigh of relief.
He slumped onto the bed, fixing his messy hair.
He had never expected that interacting with Players would have been so troublesome.
Having to scam—ahem—sell items to the Players while maintaining a persona fitting for a Protagonist was really tiring.
In contrast, the adventure with Medea and her team had been far less exhausting.
Thankfully, everything had been worth it.
Staring at his EXP, which had returned to its original value before his upgrade, Aurelius’ face broke into a smile.
’Sure enough, trading with the Players was the right choice. Only a dozen of them can bring me so much Experience.’
’If all five hundred of them are gathered for a few days, wouldn’t I be able to reach Level 40 and trigger my Advancement Ritual?’
This was the case when only the Beta was running.
Once the full version of Nova Roma was launched and millions of Players descended, how much Experience would Aurelius be able to gain?
Even if each only purchased a Gacha Potion and nothing else, it would be equivalent to millions of EXP.
For a brief moment, even he found it impossible to remain calm.
Fortunately, he quickly snapped out of his daydreaming state.
Not because he managed to regain his composure, but because a very low sound echoed in his ears.
Immediately, his eyes sharpened.
After retrieving a silver mask from the System Inventory and placing it on his face, he quietly slipped out of his room.