Chapter 106: Remembering Something Important
The trade between Aurelius and the Players had been handled through TheoryMaster69.
Although these Players had never met him from start to finish, the agreed-upon Experience had been credited to their "accounts" while the requested materials had long left their hands.
Even so, none of them rushed to leave the inn.
TheoryMaster69’s words were still fresh inside their minds, asking them to stay because Aurelius wanted to speak to them.
Time slowly passed.
The seconds turned into minutes without anyone stepping forward to meet them.
Yet just as some Players were beginning to grow impatient and were wondering whether they had been tricked, two distinct sets of footsteps echoed from the room next to this one.
Moments later, the door swung open.
Two people walked in, both immediately recognizable.
With short red hair and a serious expression on her face, the woman was the person these Players disliked the most at the moment, someone who had "betrayed" the other Players for her own benefit.
TheoryMaster69.
Half a step in front of her walked a young man with blond hair.
Although some of them had never met in person before, they had seen his handsome appearance several times, whether it was in the two trailers or in the many posts about him populating Nova Roma’s forums.
It was Aurelius!
The Hidden NPC everyone had been talking about over the past few days and the NPC every Player wanted to encounter!
Most of their faces shone with excitement.
They looked ready to rush forward and hug his thigh, begging he accept them as his younger brothers.
Thankfully, before things could get to that point, Aurelius smiled faintly and cut through the excited thoughts running through their minds.
"It’s nice to see so many familiar faces, as well as those I haven’t had the chance to meet before," he prefaced his speech, his gaze sweeping through the room.
He was truly surprised to see so many familiar people.
Aside from TheoryMaster69, whom he had been interacting with for so long, most of the usernames he had memorized had unknowingly gathered in this room.
World_Builder. ListRanker. FamousIdol.
The only notable one missing was LunaticTV, making Aurelius raise his eyebrows.
That person wouldn’t willingly miss out on such a grand event.
Could it be that he was still being dragged around by Medea and her team?
It couldn’t be that they had taken a special liking to him and were preparing to sell him as a servant in the Imperial Capital, right?
While mourning silently in his heart about the fate of this chatterbox livestreamer, Aurelius shifted his focus back to reality.
He was about to continue with the speech he had prepared while on the way here.
Before he could do so, though, his enhanced senses let him notice a complicated gaze.
It was filled with hatred, worry, and a tinge of... complaint?
Yes. This was the only way Aurelius could describe it.
When he traced that gaze back to its owner, he saw it came from FamousIdol.
Aurelius was confused at first. He didn’t understand where such feelings stemmed from.
But when he went through his memories, he finally remembered why the name FamousIdol was familiar to him.
It wasn’t because of this man’s talent, nor because of the potential he had showcased in the game’s forums.
Rather, it was because Aurelius had stolen something from him.
Dawn Shield!
A Common Relic directly linked to the Knights of the Sun!
Aurelius couldn’t help but rub his forehead when he thought about this item.
Many things had happened.
Due to the developments and the monster riot on the northern border, he had completely forgotten about this Relic. It was only now, when he faced its previous owner, that he finally recalled that such a thing was indeed in his hands.
For a moment, he felt somewhat embarrassed faced with FamousIdol’s gaze. Especially when he recalled the Elite and Epic Relics he had currently equipped and compared them to the worthless Common Relic.
He felt as though he was a rich man who had stolen the last coins from a beggar’s bowl and then went on to forget about it.
Fortunately, Aurelius recovered in time.
Even though he was embarrassed, he showed none of it on the surface.
He maintained a gentle expression, his gaze passing by FamousIdol, pretending that he failed to recognize him.
"I’m very happy to see you all gathered here today. As some of you might have already noticed, you’ve already gathered most of the materials I requested."
"Only a few remain. Please continue your hard work."
As he spoke, Aurelius’ eyes wandered through the crowd.
"As promised before, I will reward the person who contributed the most to this task with a special reward."
"The person currently leading the competition is Jonathan! Let’s all congratulate him!"
His words spread through the inn’s room.
The name Jonathan was unfamiliar to most Players. It was only after following Aurelius’ gaze and meeting a chubby, somewhat naive face that they realized who he was referring to.
World_Builder! Also known as the forum’s eternal victim!
Everyone was surprised.
Had this fat guy contributed the most so far?
How was this possible?
Those confused included TheoryMaster69. Although she had personally counted everything, she was still unwilling to believe that her archenemy was so capable.
’Could it be that there’s something special about him that I’ve missed? Does he possess some kind of secret talent?’ she wondered, feeling she might have misjudged her opponent.
But the moment she raised her head and was about to reevaluate him, that notion vanished.
Faced with Aurelius’ words and meeting the stunned gazes of the Players, World_Builder grinned, his smile spreading from ear to ear.
"Thank you, boss! Thank you for your kind words!" he patted his chest heavily; his eyes practically brimmed with tears.
"Don’t worry! I’ll never disappoint Big Brother’s expectations! I shall emerge victorious in this competition and prove you right!"
"I, Jonathan, swear on my name!"
Up to this point, World_Builder’s speech was bizarre but expected from a Player.
However, the next words made the situation take an even stranger turn.
World_Builder leaned forward in his chair, cupping his mouth with one hand as though attempting to hide what he was saying.
"Brother Aurelius, I’ve recently encountered a ’unique’ shop in the left district of the human settlement. You know... It’s about..."
"Hehehe..." he chuckled sinisterly.
"How about we visit it together tonight?"
World_Builder appeared to want to keep things a secret. However, he didn’t lower his voice at all.
Everyone in the room heard his words clearly.
The men’s expressions shifted. They had also seen that "unique" shop. Some had even gone as far as to visit it, wanting to test the true limits of the game’s realism.
As for the women, it took them some time to realize what was going on.
When they saw the lewd expressions on several of the men, they burst into anger.
"Bah! Hooligans!"
"Beat him up! Everyone! Target this fatty!"
"In the face! Punch his pig-like face!"