Chapter 251 Quest Lock (Part 1)
Ye Ci cleared her throat in an attempt to cover up her slip of tongue, "Let's go. Just focus on gathering the ores, you don't have to care about anything else."
Blossom did not miss Ye Ci's small moment of embarrassment. He realized that the Solo King of the Eastern Continent was not the demon people portrayed her to be.
"Hurry up, the monsters will respawn soon!" shouted Ye Ci as she realized that Blossom was lagging behind.
"Alright, I'm coming!" her words snapped Blossom out of his daze.
This was perhaps Blossom's best mining experience. He did not have to worry about any dangers nor was there any players who would compete against him for ores. The only thing that he had to do was to gather whatever ores that he needed. As he busied himself with the task at hand, Blossom's thoughts wandered to Gongzi You, why would she do something like this?
As he sat by a mining spot to replenish his Stamina with bread, Blossom stole a glance at Gongzi You who was sitting nearby. She was scanning the surroundings for any signs of monsters, which she would then swiftly annihilate with her bow. A huge dinosaur with scary red eyes stood by Gongzi You's side, staring at him with an intimidating gaze. Blossom could tell that the beast was not a friendly one.
Two Dark Boars appeared behind Blossom as he was eating his bread, and Ye Ci immediately directed Ol' Four against the monsters. She acquired some common items and a 20-slot backpack from the corpses, which she traded to Blossom.
Blossom was taken aback by her gesture, "I-I don't have the money to pay for this." it was clear that he was feeling embarrassed.
"Just take it, I don't need your money." said Ye Ci, "Backpacks like this are very important for a Life Player like you."
"But... Our contract says that all the loot drops belong to you..." Blossom was an honest person who abided by the rules of the system.
Ye Ci stifled a laugh. Blossom is such an inflexible person, "Well, since this belongs to me, I can give it to whoever I want. Just keep it."
Blossom was backed to a corner by Ye Ci's words. He could no longer refuse the backpack.
Six hours passed in the blink of an eye. Blossom's face was a mask of anxiety, which was a direct contrast to Ye Ci who maintained a calm expression.
"What do you have in mind?" Ye Ci would of course notice the nervous stares from Blossom.
"I-I have only 100 gold coins." Blossom let out a long sigh as he turned around to face Gongzi You.
"I know."
"But won't it b-be a loss for y-you? You've spent such a long time escorting me in this map." Blossom took in a deep breath, finally mustering enough courage to speak out the following words, "The 100 gold coins is all that I have. I can't afford to pay you more."
Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Blossom, "You're right, I am at a loss here. I would've forgotten about it if you didn't remind me about it."
"I t-told you t-that I d-don't have anything else t-to pay you with..." Blossom's resolve crumbled in the face of Ye Ci's carefree attitude. He was an honest person, and he felt guilty for taking advantage of Gongzi You.
Blossom know that Gongzi You deserved more than what he could afford. He did not know how much she was worth, but he knew that guilds would spend hundreds of thousands of gold coins to hire Gongzi You to clear a dungeon for them. There were even times when she refused their offer. But... On this day... He hired Gongzi You for an entire day with a mere 100 coins. This was just....
According to the forums, Gongzi You's time was worth at least 300,000 gold coins. Even if we're not exploring a dungeon, and the price is halved, I would still have to pay her at least 150,000 gold coins.
150,000 gold coins...
Blossom's entire possession was not even worth 1,000 gold coins. For him, 150,000 gold coins was something that he would not be able to earn in his lifetime. If only I kept my cool after hearing the name 'Gongzi You'. I would still be at the Town of Blair looking for a party. I would rather be looked down upon by the players there than to have a debt of 150,000 gold coins...
He was crying internally.
While Ye Ci could not read his thoughts, she could still see the Blossom's shift in mood as the man sat dejectedly on the ground, completely giving up on gathering more ores.
"Is your inventory full already?" Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. It can't be full so soon.
"No." responded Blossom with a depressed voice.
"Well, carry on then! Or are you expecting me to help you out with gathering the ores?" Ye Ci was baffled by Blossom's sudden change in attitude.
"I don't feel like it anymore."
"Eh?"
Blossom stared at Ye Ci with a saddened expression, "Gongzi You, I can really only spare 100 gold coins. I have 120 coins with me, but I need 20 gold coins to rent a lab... I guess I'll have to pay you back slowly in the future when I earn some money by selling my products."
"Pay me? What for?" Ye Ci was baffled by Blossom's words. She was a person who would not overlook even the tiniest of details, but even she could not understand the meaning behind Blossom's words.
"I owe you 150,000 gold coins..." Blossom almost cried.
Ye Ci was baffled by his words, "150,000 gold coins?" she had even began to suspect that she lent a huge sum of money to the man in a distant past. If that's not the case, why else would he owe me such a large sum? Wait... I don't remember lending money to him.
"I wouldn't have joined your party if I knew that you're Gongzi You..." Blossom was depressed as he thought of the fact that he had already incurred a huge sum of debt at the beginning of his gaming life.
"Oh?" Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Blossom. She wanted to know what was going on in the person's mind.
"Well they said in the forums that people would hire you with 300,000 gold coins to clear a dungeon. You've been escorting me for almost an entire day, so even if we're not in a dungeon I'll still have to pay you at least 150,000 gold coins. But that's a lot... How am I going to pay you..." Blossom was depressed.
Ye Ci stared silently at Blossom. She had a sudden feeling that he was an idiot. He was honest, but was also an idiot. This was a rare phenomenon in itself in modern society. A naive person like him would never stop moving forward to achieve a goal, which was why people like him tend to succeed easily. Ye Ci did not know how Sir Ditty was able to recruit this honest, naive, and slightly foolish player into his guild, but if he was sincere in his words, Ye Ci had a way to bring him into her guild.
It was a golden opportunity.
I'll be the idiot if I can't get Blossom to sign some form of contract with me.
"How are you going to repay me?" Ye Ci's eyes were two narrow slits at this point, and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she stared at Blossom, "You can pay with your person of course."
Blossom was stunned. Cough raked his body as he nearly choked on his saliva, and his face was a dark shape of red.
Ye Ci was dumbfounded by his response. Did I say something wrong?
Blossom stood up and took a few steps back. He clung on to the collar of his shirt and glared at Ye Ci. His face was red with anger as he spoke the following words to Gongzi You, "Even I have a bottom line alright? No matter how poor I am, I will never sell my body!"
Ye Ci's expression darkened when she noticed the grave expression on Blossom's face. Just what the hell is this guy thinking...
"Even if this is a game, I'll never do something so immoral! I'll never agree to this!" said Blossom as he noticed Ye Ci's darkend expression.
Ye Ci's expression darkened even further. If only I'm a warrior... I'll cleave this guy's head open with my sword and see what's inside. He's so idiotic that he doesn't seem like a normal human being.
"Hey hey hey..."
"I'll never give in!" Blossom cut Ye Ci off with a determined expression, "You can't force yourself on me even if you're the Solo King!"
"Aren't you thinking a little too much?" Ye Ci's face was shrouded with darkness. She was suddenly reminded of Fleeting Time. What will Fleeting Time do in a situation like this? I bet he'll kill that guy just to shut him up even if he's a future Grandmaster-tier Goblin Engineer.
"No! You're the one who said it!" Blossom shook his head.
Ye Ci rolled her eyes, "Blossom, don't you think that you're being delusional?" Blossom had obviously interpreted her words very differently.
"Huh?"
"I only wanted to recruit you into my guild! Didn't you say that you owe me 150,000 gold coins? I was trying to tell you that you can come work for me to pay off your debt! Just what do you have in your brain? Why are you thinking of such weird things?" said Ye Ci as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Eh?" Blossom was embarrassed when he heard Ye Ci words. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to hide away from Ye Ci. Despite that, he refused to go down without a fight, "You're the one who said some weird things."
"That's because you have a dirty mind." Ye Ci had never lost when it came to trash talking, and there was no way she would lose to an idiot like Blossom.
Blossom immediately changed the topic, "You were talking about inviting me to your guild, am I right?"
He had only found out that Life Players were sought after by major guilds not long ago, and had always wanted to join a guild. From what he heard, a guild would help gather crafting materials for him, which meant that he no longer had to hire players as his escort. His application to several guilds, however, were rejected because of his Beginner-tier guild. This was why Blossom was excited when Ye Ci told him about her desire to invite him into her guild.
"Didn't you owe me 150,000 gold coins? I won't collect the payment from you. It's not like you can pay me anyways." Ye Ci voice was full of confidence as she spoke to Blossom. Since he was the one who brought the topic up, and she herself had nothing to lose, Ye Ci did not even feel a hint of guilt as she mentioned the man's debt.
Blossom lowered his head. He knew that he was not able to pay his debt.
"Come to Upwards Ho! then. We'll provide you with the materials you need so that you can level up, and the guild will pay you according to your product output. What do you think?"
"I'm even getting paid?" Blossom blinked. Surprise was evident in his expression. Fate was his first game, and he had heard that Life Players could earn a living through the game in the later stages of the game. He never knew anything about having a salary, "You're not asking for payment, and will even give out salary to me? Is there really such a good thing in this world?"
A scowl appeared on Ye Ci's face. I really am talking to an idiot, aren't I? Doesn't he know how the economy in this game works?
"So are you going to work for me or not?" Ye Ci finally lost her patience. Unlike Carnivore and Pea Cake, Blossom was a total newbie who had just started learning Engineering. There was no way she could educate him about the dynamics of the game in a short amount of time, which was why she made the decision to pass the burden on to someone like Timely Rain.
"Am I really getting paid?"
"Yup."
"Alright!" Blossom was excited. He had expected to only able to earn money from the game after a few years of investment, but he was already receiving an offer of employment, "I'll go with you then."
Guilt crept into Ye Ci's heart as she stared at Blossom. It was like she was swindling a newbie. A newbie who was also an idiot... Will karma catch up with me in the future? The feeling of guilt, however, disappeared after mere moments. She had a feeling that Blossom would cause no end of trouble to innocent players, and she was doing the world a favor by taking him under Upwards Ho!'s wings. Perhaps Sir Ditty was thinking the same thing back then...
Look at me! I'm such a great person!
Chapter 251 Quest Lock (Part 2)
Ye Ci brought Blossom to the and handed the problematic individual to Timely Rain. She then instructed him to offer a contract with a long term and high pay to Blossom. As he was a person who was afraid of debt, Blossom's contract would have the highest penalty in case of a breach of said contract.
It would take Blossom years before he realized the shameless of Gongzi You's actions. By that time however, he was already at the point of no return, and could only remain in Upwards Ho!.
Of course, this was something that would happen in a very far future.
With the necessary arrangements done, Ye Ci immediately headed to the Lesser Demon Sanctuary. The Black Iron Dwarves should be done with their exploration, and it was time to reap what Ye Ci had sown. She summoned Ol' Four as soon as she arrived at her destination, and headed straight to the Mithril ore vein.
The Lesser Demon Sanctuary was devoid of the presence of players as usual. Ye Ci could feel the heat as she walked on the hot sand. The entire place was shrouded in a thick smoke, and there was the smell of sulfur in the air.
Ye Ci dismounted from Ol' Four when she was 200 yards away from the ore vein and cast Hawkeye at the ore vein's direction. What she found was something that she did not wish to see: A group of players surrounded the Black Iron Dwarves as they busied themselves around the Mithril ore vein.
Despite the vision granted by Hawkeye, it was impossible for Ye Ci to listen in on any of the players' conversations. This was why Ye Ci immediately entered stealth and began closing in on the players. She found a hiding spot behind a large piece of rock 20 yards away from the players and began observing their movements.
The party of players had a balanced composition of Warriors, Knights, Rogues, Hunters, mages and healers. There was, however, no dungeons in the map. The only possible place of interest was a mine in the Black Canyon. This was why their presence in the map was a mystery to Ye Ci.
Even Ye Ci will have a moment of panic as she saw the players around the Black Iron Dwarves. Have they discovered the Mithril ore vein?
Ye Ci spotted the guild emblem on the chest of one of the players as he turned around. They were members of Bloody Steel.
So the saying of "destiny will make enemies meet" is true then.
Ye Ci was able to calm herself down despite her worries. She must have a better picture of the situation before she could act. Things might end up badly if she acted rashly.
She then crept closer to the party, and her movement was immediately noticed by a Rogue in the party, who turned around to find nothing but thin air.
"What is it?" asked the party's Sorcerer.
"It's nothing. I must've been the wind. The mist here is thick, and it messes with my Perception." replied the Rogue when he was sure that nobody was around.
The Sorcerer nodded and turned to face the Cleric, "Hidden Dragon, have you found it?"
"That's strange... All of them replied with 'I have nothing to say to you' when I tried to initiate a conversation." the Cleric with the name Hidden Dragon scratched his head in confusion.
"Say, have you perhaps remembered it wrong?" said the Warrior of the party who was armed with a broadsword, "You said that it was something that you came across months ago, and you've only had a short glance. What if you're mistaken?"
"No way..." Hidden Dragon was puzzled, "I can still remember that there was a Dwarf with the name 'Jasmine' in the camp. Why is she here now? This can't be normal... Besides, she's not even responding to me now. Something's not right." Hidden Dragon was someone who was very sensitive to each and every NPCs and the hidden aspect of any quests. Even if he did not have a full grasp of the situation, his instincts were telling him that something was amiss.
"I was expecting some sort of hidden quest, but it turns out to be nothing..." the Hunter grumbled with dissatisfaction clear in his voice.
Hidden Dragon's face reddened. It was apparent that his confidence was starting to crumble. Alright, alright," said another Cleric in the party, "There's a lvl50 map nearby, why don't we go farm some monsters?" he then turned around and spoke to Hidden Dragon, "Don't drag us all in a wild goose chase like this. Do you think that we're all idling our time away like you? You do that again, and we'll kick you out of the party."
The Cleric's words caused Hidden Dragon to lower his head in shame as he stood silently. Even after the departure of his party members, he was still attempting to initiate a conversation with Jasmine. Without the completion of the prologue quest, there was no way Jasmine would respond to Hidden Dragon. The man finally gave up after a few more tries and left in the direction of his party members.
Ye Ci remained hidden behind the rock. She cast Hawkeye after the players left to make sure that not a single one of them remained before walking up to the Black Iron Dwarves.
She was immediately greeted warmly by Ha'er, "Oh, look who's here?" the Dwarf had even set aside his instruments as he walked up to Ye Ci, "My dear friend, I have some news for you!"
"Dear Mr. Ha'er, I'm sure it's something good judging from your expression. I'm all ears." Ye Ci was already an expert when it came to dealing with NPCs. Even when her interpersonal skills in real life were almost non-existent, she had her own way of interacting with the NPCs in game. She was able to worm her way into being an NPC's friend after a short conversation with the NPC.
The NPC Jasmine was like a child who had just left her home and was filled with curiosity. Du Du, on the other hand, was a coward who would get easily excited during a happy occasion, but could easily get depressed if things went wrong. Despite his tendency to be negative, Du Du was afraid of Jasmine and Ha'er, who was a mining fanatic that loved everything about mining.
Ye Ci had to deal with the three different NPCs in different ways to maximize her benefits.
"It's about the ore vein! I'm so excited! I have to tell you about it!" Ha'er's laughter was thunderous. A question appeared in Ye Ci's HUD: Do you want Ha'er to tell you about his discovery?
A. I'll listen to it right now.
B. I'll listen to it later.
Ye Ci selected the option to listen to the news without much of a thought. Her hand stopped just before it reached the button as she came to a sudden realization. Hidden Dragon must've noticed the changes here. It seems that he was very certain of his judgement even when his companions doubted his words.
Such is human nature.
It was hard to change the mind of a person who had his or her thoughts set on stone.
It was obvious that Hidden Dragon was very sure of his observation when he brought so many of his guild members to this place. Even if they doubted his words, it was clear from his expression and his words that his confidence in himself had not wavered.
Even if he left, there's no guarantee that he will not return. Even if he is now unsure of himself, there's no guarantee that he has given up. It's a good thing if he does not return, but what if he does?
Ye Ci did not know of Golden Era's progress with the Mithril quest in her past life, but she could tell from the interaction between Hidden Dragon and Jasmine that the quest was already locked.
Fate was a game with a huge variety of quests. The quest to unlock the Mithril ore vein was a Unique Quest that came with a quest lock. This meant that the quest would automatically locked once a player had managed to progress to a certain stage of quest, and only the player could continue with the quest. When the quest lock was activated, nobody else would be able to accept the quest.
A Unique Quest, as its name implied, could only be completed by a single player. This why players who came across a Unique Quest in Ye Ci's past life would not rest until the quest lock was in place.
It was obvious that Ye Ci had already activated the quest lock of her Unique Quest. She could proceed with the quest, but there was hesitation in her heart. The quest was safe, and she was the only person who could continue with the quest. As long as she did not proceed with the quest, the Mithril ore vein of the Eastern Continent will forever be locked away even after the arrival of Golden Era.
Hidden Dragon was not Ye Ci's only concern. A small guild like Upwards Ho! would never be able to defend the ore vein alone. Despite her relationship with major guilds like Wolf Pack, Tang Dynasty, and World Conqueror, this did not necessarily mean that they would never go into conflict in the future. If the secret of the Mithril ore vein was leaked, and Upwards Ho! lacked the strength to hold its own against the other guilds, her efforts would only benefit her enemies.
There's no way the major guilds like Tang Dynasty, Wolf Pack, and World Conqueror will not be tempted to seize the Mithril ore vein for their own, not to mention Golden Era that will be arriving soon.
After a long moment of thought, Ye Ci decided to keep the quest locked as Upwards Ho! continued to gather its strength. She had also made the decision to head to the Southern Continent and even the Northern Continent to lock up the Mithril ore veins in the continents.
With the secret of the Western Continent's Mithril ore vein revealed to Genesis, there was no point for Ye Ci to worry about quest lock of that continent. Despite her personal strength, she knew that she could not stand up against an entire guild, and especially when that guild was a million-man guild like Genesis.
As long as she had control of the quest lock on the three other continents, she would be in control of the economy of Fate.
Ye Ci's blood boiled. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, as if she was holding the very lifeline of Fate in her hands.
"Ha'er, I just came back from the Southern Continent, and I brought a lot Black Beer back with me. Perhaps you might be interested in taking a drink?" Ha'er, Jasmine, and Du Du were overjoyed at the mention of Black Beer, and the fact that Ye Ci had ignored the words of Ha'er was completely overlooked by the NPCs.
The three NPCs were not gifted with a high level of intelligence, but they were not at all stupid. Even if they knew nothing of Ye Ci's intention, they could tell that she was a worthy friend. After all, she was a friendly person who had helped them out in their time of need.
Because of that, Ye Ci's Intimacy with the three NPCs immediately increased along with her Reputation with the Black iron Dwarves.
Ye Ci herself was amazed by her own intelligence. She randomly thought of the three NPCs before leaving Hurricane City, and bought bottles of Black Beer at the cost of hundreds of gold. The effects, however, was something that she could not buy with gold.
When the three Dwarves were done with their feast, Ye Ci left with the promise that she would once again visit them in the future. The blissfully drunken NPCs had even forgotten about the news that they were supposed to share with Ye Ci.
Ye Ci vanished into the thick mist of the Lesser Demon Sanctuary. She kept herself hidden in a spot near the three Black Iron Dwarves. She wanted to be sure. Will Hidden Dragon return?
Waiting is painful, especially when there were still a lot of things that required Ye Ci's attention. There were moments when Ye Ci had almost given up, but she was able to steel her resolve and remained at her hiding spot. After all, this was something that would decide the future of Upwards Ho!.
She took in a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness in her heart, and continued to wait. After an untold amount of time, Ye Ci could hear the sound of an approaching horse.
The sound was faint, but the Lesser Demon Sanctuary was too quiet. Ye Ci could pick up the sound of clacking hooves easily with her high Perception from 200 yards away.
Ye Ci pressed herself closer to the ground. The three Black Iron Dwarves were well within her vision even as her position was well concealed against players.
A Cleric entered Ye Ci's view as the sound of crashing hooves crept closer to her position. He was none other than Hidden Dragon.
The three Black Iron Dwarves were snoring loudly on the ground. It was easy to tell the reason behind their current state from the empty beer mugs strewn all over the ground.