Chapter 74: If there is profit, one can sell oneself

"..."

Why was he here? Standing blankly beneath the Plague Hero Memorial Pillar, the player stared at the ruins before him, feeling his cognition seemingly awakening bit by bit. It felt as if some golden, hope-filled images were beginning to circulate in his mind, replacing some of his original thought circuits and ideas.

He remembered now: he was a player, a member of the official organization. He had found a way to communicate with the Skaven Underground Empire and had taken the lead in becoming the communication channel between the Star-Bearers and the players.

Players, Skaven, Star-Bearers—a trade route that could operate within the Chaos Wasteland had emerged just like that.

The prerequisite was that they could trust one another.

The conditions given by the Star-Bearers were that the goods must be delivered to Fool's Beach or Sage Beach in the Broken Lands, or directly to the Giant Tree Outpost. The other party refused to conduct handovers outside, but at the same time, the supplies and rewards they offered were extremely generous. Gold and gems were almost one-tenth of the market price.

The Skaven's demands were not high either; they could provide some tunnels and routes in exchange for a batch of Warpstone and magic crystals. Likewise, while the Star-Bearers needed large quantities of supplies, they could also consume Warpstone.

In other words, as long as the players could successfully navigate this route, it was basically a matter of hauling goods over and bringing gold back, with no middlemen to skim off the price difference.

Such good news should be told to the others... Yes, tell the others.

"..."

His will blurred once again before the golden light.

The player thought vaguely, stumbling toward the projected area of Hope City according to his thoughts, his mind filled with golden memories and ideas.

Walking through this frozen world, the cold air did not bring much clarity; instead, it acted like fuses, igniting the many emotions in his mind. Even just walking on the road, the player felt his brain and emotions boiling and burning, as if something were gestating within his Soul.

After walking for about an hour, he finally returned from the Plague Hero Memorial Pillar to the tavern where players often stayed.

And just as he pushed open the door, a somewhat hunched figure approached him.

It was as if a distorted shadow had appeared in that spot at just the right moment.

"You, you've come? Ye-yes. I have everything here, whatever you want, I have it here, yes, yes. As long as you don't mind the sounds from underground, we can cooperate. Cooperate!"

"You are... from the Underground Kingdom..."

"Yes, yes!"

"I..."

Clutching his stinging forehead, the player shook his head, looking at the hunched Skaven figure before him, and felt the world go black. It was as if some strange thing had taken over his will, or as if he had drunk very strong liquor and suffered a blackout.

When the player regained a normal state of mind, he was already at a banquet filled with food and drink, surrounded by other players who looked equally tired and confused. The players, dressed in leather, were also sitting around a round table, looking at everything before them in a half-dreaming, half-waking state.

Then, almost at the same time, everyone seemed to break through a hallucination and woke up with a start.

"What's going on?! What happened!"

"Were we attacked!"

"It's a Soul attack!"

All the players instinctively drew their weapons, looking at each other with wariness as if they were complete strangers.

And they all noticed that their states seemed to have a problem. That hazy hallucination seemed to rise again, only to be broken quickly, causing a wave of uneasy commotion in the room.

Everyone's memories were twisted and grotesque; they couldn't remember what they had done at all. Only the man sitting at the round table furthest from the door clutched his head, waving his hand at everyone with a dignified air; the expression on his face seemed somewhat incredulous, yet he feigned composure.

"I am the person in charge from the official side, my name is Anderson. This is an attack incident of unknown origin. What we need to do now is stay calm and not attack each other." Anderson was, more or less, an internet celebrity; seeing that somewhat familiar face, the many players felt a little reassured.

Looking at the players who had quieted down, Anderson gestured for everyone to sit down and said in a low voice:

"Do you feel like something is wrong with your bodies?"

"I feel it..."

"It's like that."

The players gathered in the tavern looked at each other, their expressions subtly unnatural.

No matter how slow they were, they realized that this situation was not quite right. What kind of power could make them all gather together and then, coincidentally, think of the Star-Bearers and the caravan?

Each of them could feel that, a while ago, it was as if they were dreaming; everyone had methodically begun to report to their organizations and caravans. Then, as if possessed, they began to negotiate and operate, finalizing all contracts and routes in just a few short days.

This was an attack from the Star-Bearers, without a doubt.

But when their consciousness truly cleared, a belated notification made their expressions become increasingly strange.

【Notification! You have gained a new talent due to a special journey!】

【Talent: Blessed One】

【From: Star-Bearer】

【You have been noticed by a great existence, and his blessing can cause positive changes to your physique. Of course, this blessing is also a curse; you will feel hatred toward the offspring of the Dark Gods, but for every demon you kill, you will receive more powerful feedback.

The more demons you kill, the more you will use their power to strengthen yourself. The more you kill, the more you gain. To express his apologies, the Star-Bearer has sealed the power of a demon within you.

Use it well, and do not disappoint him.】

【Warning: This talent is very likely to lead to some abnormal situations. Please be aware.】

"... A demon's, power?"

Holy crap, killing monsters gives experience!

The favor of the gods and unique talents that they dreamed of on the forums—they had just obtained them for no reason?

Seeing the Blessed One status displayed in the player status bar, the players looked at the pale golden patterns on their arms and suddenly felt that working for NPCs wasn't so hard to accept after all.

At least they give a lot; the entry-level benefits had already reached a realm that everyone could only dream of. If you had said so earlier, wouldn't that have been fine? Why use such crude methods? For players, whoever provides the milk is the mother. It wouldn't be unacceptable for us to just kneel down and lick your toes.

Watching the flames light up at their fingertips following their mental thoughts, the many players looked at each other in the room, their hearts stirring with excitement.

Supernatural abilities, supernatural abilities that could be brought back to the original world—what else is there to say?

If being a dog means being a dog, and he's a bit crude, just treat it as being kicked once; what of it?

What's more, they even earned more than three times the profit from this caravan; he truly is a god descended to the world.

"Should we... just organize a church? Doing this in another world might yield some extra gains."

Looking at their fellow players around them, whose bodies were resonating as if they were lighting up with Runes, one player suddenly suggested in a low voice.

(End of chapter)