The independent players who had spawned in the Covan Hamlet were unlucky. They just wanted to play the game, but that wasn't even being allowed to them! Why?
"Sorry. Entry to this establishment is for Shock Collar players only."
"We're blocking all entry to this building if you're not part of the Ravaging Crows."
"Omni Industrial is taking over this area. Off-limits to all else!"
...
More than a couple of groups had already taken control of the buildings that would be useful to players who were just starting the game. The frontier shop, material shop, and even the food services were hotly contested among the org players. Those who wanted to play for fun were simply wasting away...
Of course, it wasn't as if none of them had tried. However, for some odd reason, the number of independent players in this hamlet was unusually low.
In Synergy, or any game for that matter, independent players took up the vast majority of the player population. There was over a 99% chance that any given player was not part of an organization. And this made sense; most players were in the game to have a good time, and being part of an organization meant you most likely had to work.
In Covan, however, only around 50% of the player population was unaffiliated. Why was this the case? Well...
"Hurry and find that quest!"
"It should have been in here... It's not anymore!"
"What? Look over there, then! It's gotta be somewhere!"
"... Once we have enough money..."
"... We can buy that item!"
It was discovered in the beta phase of the game that the Covan Hamlet had an auction house with a supposedly uncommon item. When beta testers reported this fact to their respective orgs, new traveled quickly. The result? A flood of org players in Covan upon release.
Auction houses' purpose was self explanatory: they were hotspots for all sorts of items that anyone could bid on. And it wasn't unlikely to see at least one rare item in the mix.
The independent players had already attempted to break the orgs' grip on the essentials-selling shops, but their lack of unity was their downfall. Similarly to how the group of 20+ players failed to cooperate to take out Fae Sol, the independent players of Covan struggled to take out the orgs. With this everyone was dejected. Until...
"Is that player part of an org? What are they doing?"
"Actually, is that even a player? We can't even see their name."
"No, it's definitely a player. I don't know what it is, but something is telling me for a fact that it's a player."
The independent players watched as they shook their heads. Though they didn't recognize this player, if they weren't part of the org that was guarding the building, there was no chance they could enter.
"Excuse me, old man. Would you be so kind as to make way for me?"
When everyone heard this, they were shocked! It was an incredibly cute girl's voice!
"Uh... We're not that old, but we cannot. Sorry."
When everyone heard the guards' response, they were shocked once again!
"Whaaat? You're saying those rude guards are weak to a cute girl? Hey, you!"
"Eek! Me?"
A young boy pointed at the first girl he saw.
"Go convince him to let us in!"
"Wha... What? No, there's no way! Didn't you see that other player was also rejected?"
"So what? You saw how they treated us earlier. There's a chance!"
When the girl heard this, she frowned.
"Don't wanna."
"Whaaaat?"
---
Meanwhile, Jisha was still practicing using her avatar's cuteness to convince the guards to let her in. She knew she had good looks both in and out of the game, so why couldn't she use them to her advantage? However, no matter what she said, they wouldn't budge.
*Though one of them is looking a bit bashful... Hehehe...*
Jisha mischievously smiled as figured she'd just have to go with her main plan. The door to the materials shop in front of her was small enough to be completely blocked off by two players, so she couldn't simply slip by them like she did with the four Asunder clowns. Instead...
"I'm sorry for calling you handsome gentlemen old... If you can react to this, I won't call you old again!"
Jisha caught both of the men off guard with a quick leg sweep which knocked them off balance. This resulted in an opening, and Jisha was able to easily dash inside.
When everyone saw this, they were dumbstruck!
"What?? Don't Safe Zones prevent all damaging moves like that? How did she do that?"
Jisha, hearing this, didn't want to explain it. But she obviously knew why. First of all, simply by observing the two guards, it was clear that they were more skilled at guarding doors than the Asunder clowns. Their method of blocking the door was similar to professional bouncers that she had seen in her past life.
*The odd thing is that they actually let their guard down in front of me. An actual bouncer wouldn't do that... But whatever. At the end of the day, it worked. That's all that matters.*
Since the guards were clearly distracted, a quick leg sweep was all it took to knock one of them off balance. A proper leg sweep wouldn't damage another player, therefore it was permitted in a Safe Zone. If she had opted for a more violent option like a roundhouse or circle kick, the system would not register the attack; it would be like kicking an invisible wall. Even the front kick Jisha had performed in Uval was more of a push than a true kick.
"Hey, what? Who are you? Brusse, Declan, what the hell are you guys doing?"
An unaffiliated player entered, so a lone player that was probably part of some org barked at all three of them.
Once she was inside, though, it was impossible for players to start conflict with her. Because...
"Welcome to Leyla's Wares! What business do you have with us today?"
*>Name: Leyla*
*>Level: ???*
The level of this NPC was too high to appraise without an appraisal tool! Most NPCs wouldn't permit horseplay within their businesses, but in a strange loophole, tussles directly outside the door were allowed...
Though thoroughly annoyed, the three players could only watch as she walked around freely.
"I'd like to sell some loot," Jisha said as she pulled the random garbage from her inventory.
"Alright, here's 21 Copper for 14 Slimeballs and 7 Lesser Insect Wings," Leyla nonchalantly said.
As they heard this, the three players' eyes widened.
"Thanks. Oh... I also have this I'd like to sell."
Jisha remembered that she still had a useless weapon with her - the Wooden Slingshot. Since her current weapon was simply a superior version of it, she had no use for it.
"Sure. We'll buy that Wooden Slingshot for 50 Copper."
When they heard this, the three players' jaws dropped.
*>Inventory*
*>Adroit Ranged Pellet: 68*
*>Cinnamon Bun: 3*
*>Clay: 1*
*>Medium Local Map: 1*
*>Melee Starter Stick: 26*
*>Ranged Starter Pellet: 797*
*>Shard of Corruption: 1*
*>Small Wooden Dagger: 1*
*>Coin Pouch*
*>Silverium: 1*
*>Copper: 483*
With her inventory slightly emptier and her coin pouch slightly bulkier, Jisha left to exist the shop. Unfortunately, though she looked around, there weren't any items in this particular shop that caught her eye.
As she was about to leave...
"Young lass, how about you join Ravaging Crows? We'll get you a good position on the team."
*Oh? They're perceptive.*
Jisha was pleased when she heard this offer. Not because it was a good one, but because they recognized she was a skilled player.
"Unfortunately, I'll have to decline the offer... Oh. Do you have any business with Shock Collar?"
...
When they heard that name, there was a pin-drop silence.
The three Ravaging Crows players looked at each other before the player inside the shop said, "Let's talk about this somewhere else. Brusse, Declan, let's go."
---
Why did Jisha come to the Covan Hamlet in the first place? She was supposed to head to Orchid Town after passing through Inkling Village, and this detour wasn't helping that goal. Was it because of the materials shop that could have potentially sold rare items? Was it to sell her loot? None of these were the right answer.
*Man, who does Shock Collar think they are? I can't believe they did Brookie like that...*
At the end of the day, she just wanted to beat up some newbie players who thought they were smart! It wasn't out of any sense of justice but purely for personal reasons.
"Shall we discuss it here?" asked Jiel, the leader of the three players.
"Sure," Jisha responded casually.
The Covan Hamlet was located within a sparse forest, so it was easy to find a tree near the edge of the settlement that hid them from the chaos.
After confirming that they were out of earshot of all other players, the three players nervously looked at Jisha. Noticing their expressions, she said, "Calm down. I'm not affiliated with Shock Collar..."
When he heard this, Jiel slammed his fist into the nearby tree.
"Shock Collar has monopolized almost everything in this starter hamlet! All the quests that give money have been taken by them. It's impossible for us to gain any ground! Right now, Omni Industrial is putting up a small fight, but anyone with half a brain can understand they don't have enough manpower to do anything significant... At this rate, we'll have to give up on the auction that's coming up soon."
*These guys aren't too smart either. I could have easily been lying about my affiliation to get information out of them...*
Though she was internally chastising them, when Jisha heard "auction", she raised an eyebrow. "This hamlet has an auction house?"
"It does... You haven't seen it?" Jiel was surprised.
"I started in a different hamlet. I just got here."
When he heard this explanation, Jiel's surprise didn't fade. "You...? Never mind that, why are you asking about Shock Collar in the first place?"
"I have some business with them. Namely beating them up..."
"Huh? Do you have allies somewhere? What org *are* you affiliated with?"
Jiel was assuming Jisha had allies since she was trying to go against an entire organization alone.
"Nope, no allies, and not affiliated at the moment. I'm starting an org soon, though."
This answer left Jiel flabbergasted. "Then what's your plan?"
"Plan, huh..."
Jisha was not particularly satisfied at this group's way of doing things.
*If they were competent, they would have been able to form a truce and take out Shock Collar together, especially if the situation's terrible for everyone here.*
A truce and/or alliance would be much more effective if all parties had a specific goal in mind. The primary reason why the group of individual players failed so badly when attacking Jisha in the War Zone was because their goal wasn't a strong one.
Sure, the goal was to kill Fae Sol. But why was that necessary? This was why Jisha had been surprised that someone had managed to rally that group in the first place. Killing Fae Sol wouldn't really benefit anyone.
*Commando12... I'd have invited him, but I've never heard of him. I'll keep his name in mind, though.*
However, in Covan, the situation was the same for everyone. Shock Collar was limiting everyone's rights to essential starting materials and items. With a strong enough commanding voice, it would have been simple to rally them together for a single cause. Jisha could easily assume the role of this commander if she wanted. But what good would that do her? Instead, she had another idea.
"You said there's an auction happening soon, right? When?"
"It's at the top of the next hour, so that would be in 30 minutes."
"Perfect. You asked if I had a plan, right? Here it is..."
---
The Ravaging Crows were dumbfounded after they heard what Jisha said. It seemed like highway robbery to them, but without her help, there was nothing they could do!
Jiel gritted his teeth and ruefully accepted the proposal.
"Fine!" he said. "But you better promise your end of the deal!"
"You should worry about what would happen if you were to betray me instead," Jisha said with an evil glint in her eyes.
Jiel shuddered when he saw that expression. After what he was just told, there was no way he could betray her. It would be suicide!
"Tch... Fine."
After Jiel said this, Jisha received some system messages.
*>+12 Copper*
*>+13 Copper*
*>+12 Copper*
"By the way, I'm Fae Sol. It's good to be working with you."
Jiel bitterly smiled and the two shook hands.
"Likewise."
"Alright, let's begin the show, shall we?"