MoP: Ch. 185

---Third POV---

Hedgehog chimed in from the side.

"Even if the game map really is that big, wouldn't you spend several months just traveling on the road?"

"More than that," Lux said as she sat on the steps of the Magicians Guild. "There are vast wastelands along the way, monster territories where hardly anyone ever goes. A year might not even be enough."

NeverShowOff looked at the two wagons packed to the brim.

"It's not too late to regret it now."

From the very beginning, LootGoblin had helped act as a go-between for the players and the Magicians Guild. He had said back then that he wanted to profit as a middleman, help the vice guildmaster get promoted, and then go together to Sylvia.

Everyone thought he was joking.

Now the rewards were out. The new version wasn't about opening up new maps or pioneering frontiers, but about building industrial city-states.

And he still wasn't giving up?

LootGoblin nodded matter-of-factly.

"Combat upgrades and life-building aren't my thing. The NPCs in this game are way more interesting. The farther you go, the more beautiful NPCs you get to see. If the scenery along the way is beautiful enough, it's worth it."

He patted the coffin leaning against him.

"Thanks for selling me the mobile save point. I won't keep anything to myself. On the road, I'll share all the beautiful girls of every race I meet with you guys."

The coffin was Child's handiwork.

If a player wanted to leave the newbie village without disconnecting, they needed a signal amplifier. If they wanted to connect to the network, they had to go to an altar in a church that Lux had personally baptized. If they wanted to save and revive, they needed the temporary revival points that had been set up earlier in the wasteland.

Fortunately, after Nary Town was occupied, all of those things became useless.

Child took the divine artifact from the Church of the Spring Goddess and tinkered with it for two days. Somehow, he actually managed to create a save point that combined all three functions. In the end, he sold it to LootGoblin for a high price.

He leaned back against a stone pillar with his hands behind his head and yawned.

"No need to thank us. You're basically testing the waters for us anyway. And one more reminder: although we've tested it and there are enough revival materials inside the coffin, it really can revive you from within. But how long it'll actually last, no one can guarantee that."

Hedgehog agreed wholeheartedly.

"This coffin can only be used by you. If something happens, we won't be able to come help you. You must keep your identity tightly hidden."

Given the reputation of The Watchers, getting caught would not end well.

LootGoblin waved his hand confidently.

"Don't worry. With Aurora around, my identity won't be a problem."

Not long after Nary Town lost contact with the outside world, Aurora planned to head to another town's Magicians Guild first, using the excuse of being a survivor. With the number of newly registered mages she had recruited, thanks to the Magicians Guild's amazing merit system, it was enough for her to secure the position they had already discussed, President of the Magicians Guild in a prosperous city-state somewhere in Sylvia.

Although their relationship, which had lasted less than a month, completely ended once LootGoblin revealed that he was from The Watchers, after various negotiations and arrangements, she eventually agreed again, after passing Viktor's inspection and approval, to take him along when she left. This time, however, it was strictly an employment arrangement. Once they reached their destination, they would immediately part ways.

LootGoblin glanced a few times toward the guild's main entrance but didn't see anyone.

"She probably won't be here for a while. I'm about to start playing single-player. What are you guys planning to do?"

"Us?"

Child exchanged glances with the others and spoke first.

"Uh, level up, fight monsters, grind experience, do events? Summer vacation is almost over. I've got homework to catch up on, and next semester will be pretty busy, so I won't be online much."

Lux was surprised. "You can't even log in while sleeping?"

"I need to aim for guaranteed admission. I need twice as much sleep time, and logging in wouldn't be for gaming anyway," Child said calmly.

Lux sucked in a sharp breath.

"Didn't see that coming. You're actually a top student."

NeverShowOff said with a warm smile, "It's fine. Securing a guaranteed admission spot is more important."

Hedgehog squeezed in eagerly and made a recommendation.

"If you run into any problems with studying, you can go find Daddy. That guy's a top student too. You'll definitely have a lot in common."

"Count on it. I won't hold back," Child said, making a gesture. "By the way, what are you guys planning to do?"

NeverShowOff rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment.

"Probably follow the version content and stay in Nary Town as civil servants? Right now there's only a barebones town mayor here, and they're severely short on administrative staff. As long as you donate money and supplies to raise your reputation, you can get a pretty decent position."

Although players were very interested in experiencing a taste of official power, the city management positions were packed every day, and the streets were full of players chasing other players around. But positions a level higher, more complicated, with more restrictions, like financial and internal affairs work, actually attracted very few players.

He planned to take the Lucky Stars and work in Nary Town for ten days or half a month. This task not only paid a generous salary in magicoins, but also came with experience points, local reputation, contribution points, and other rewards. An extremely high cost-performance ratio. Finishing it would raise them at least five levels, plus grant access to the third-floor library of the Magicians Guild.

Hedgehog rubbed his hands together, itching with excitement.

"This is the easiest way to earn contribution points, aside from straight-up donating resources. Once I max out my SAN value, I'm going on a spur-of-the-moment trip too."

Lux blinked in surprise.

"Wait, your SAN value still isn't full?"

Back then, the two of them had hovered together on the verge of deleting their accounts, fellow sufferers whose morality scores were equally failing. This mission's contribution point rewards were so high that even if his SAN dropped to 1, earning 990 contribution points would fill it right back up.

And he still wasn't capped?

NeverShowOff shook his head helplessly.

"You're underestimating him."

Every time rewards were calculated, Hedgehog's contribution points weren't low at all, but he burned through SAN far too aggressively. Those players who hid under NPCs' beds every day to eavesdrop on gossip didn't lose as much SAN as Hedgehog did recommending stockings to dancers at the Angel's Kiss.

To be honest, he was also curious about what had actually happened at the scene.

Lux sighed with mixed emotions.

"Then I'll just go back to being a nun. I feel like I'm about to officially change classes into a priest."

Child asked curiously, "Aren't you running those half-dead stalls anymore?"

"I sold them to GameLord420 and the others," Lux said heavily. "There are just too few players who really understand business. It's a lot of work for little reward..."

Mainly because the ice cream and potato dishes she knew how to make were things other players could make too. There was no scarcity. Once she found an opportunity, like LootGoblin, she'd try going alone to an NPC city to sell goods.

Just then, a red-haired woman emerged from the guild's main entrance, accompanied by a squad of guards.

The players fell silent at once.

LootGoblin pushed the coffin into the wagon.

"She's here. I'll be heading off first."

NeverShowOff nodded. "Safe travels."

The wheels slowly began to turn under the pull of the horses.

LootGoblin didn't forget to wave back.

"When I'm the first to meet an elf, I'll upload the photos to the forum immediately."

Lux put her hands on her hips and shouted angrily.

"So that's your real goal! I've told you so many times, not all sirens look like Claire."

And no one ever said that elves would definitely have beauties on par with Claire either.

Damn looks-obsessed guy.

She turned her head left and right, trying to find more solid evidence, when she suddenly realized a problem she hadn't noticed before.

"Oh right, where's Garble?"

"Only noticed now?" Child said, looking at her speechlessly. "He took a recruitment quest and went to persuade the captured White Dove sirens."

---

Nary Town Church, the underground prison.

Garble pushed open the heavy iron door and looked into the damp, gloomy cell, where two sirens sat as comfortably as if they were in their own home.

"I remember you don't need to live here."

An ordinary human prison could not hold sirens.

After Viktor and the others had sealed their magic and their strength, far beyond that of normal people, their treatment was no different from that of beastmen, and they were free to move about within the church. The fact that the two sirens were in the dungeon was entirely of their own choosing.

Hannah and Selina were wrapped head to toe in blood-stained bandages, their complexions far less vibrant than at the beginning. Having barely snatched their lives back under the effects of a spirit speech spell, their injuries were naturally not so easy to heal.

In fact, among the sirens, four had managed to survive.

The other two could not endure their half-dead state and, after falling into the hands of The Watchers, chose to take their own lives. The only reason these two had held on until now was to see Garble once more.

Hannah forced a miserable smile.

"If we weren't a bit special, how could we lure you out?"

Just a few days ago, she had still been planning that once she found the fallen siren who had defected to The Watchers, she would leave White Dove and live together with him in Nary Town. Just like the endings sung by bards, of love that crossed races, even with Selina's interruption, they would have remained happy forever. But just as success was within reach, she learned his true identity.

At the thought of it, tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

"What's so good about The Watchers? They forced you to risk your life to take part in the Trial of the Opportunists, sent you alone to witness a battle at the level of a Magus... And even so, you never wavered at all?"

Selina's gaze was icy, yet faintly tinged with pain.

"When you found your companion's corpse, crushed flat like bread, did you never think about what would happen to you if you failed? Say something!"

Her voice suddenly rose. In the blink of an eye she rushed to Garble, gripping the iron bars and staring straight into his eyes.

Garble could see clearly, the bloodshot veins filling her eyes, and the suffocatingly heavy tangle of emotions within them.

He remained silent for a long time, then said flatly, "Nothing to say."

He couldn't explain to an NPC why players weren't afraid of death. Nor could he explain that NineTails turning herself into a compressed biscuit was purely her own bad fate, not an order from The Watchers. NPCs were destined not to understand players, just as he could not yet understand NPCs.

He placed a fish he had bought from a fisherman into her hands. Without opening the iron gate, Garble spoke through the bars.

"I'm here this time as a mediator. I just took on a quest. I wasn't deliberately avoiding you before."

"No?"

Selina's ferocious expression froze. She stared at Garble for quite a while, but he still made no move. There was nothing unusual about his body either. All the words stuck in her throat.

Hannah walked forward barefoot.

"How... how is that possible... You broke free of the Goddess of Love's divine envoys?"

"You mean those two parasites who called themselves a 'romance system'?" Garble replied calmly. "As you can see."

Seeing that they would need some time to process this, he continued, "The Watchers are in ruins right now. Many members are out of contact, and we're severely lacking in high-end combat power. You two are strong, and you're sirens. How about joining us? Although there were conflicts between us before, after that one called the Song of the Dead arrived, those conflicts were more or less resolved. We definitely won't deliberately mistreat capable people because of past actions."

Selina stared into Garble's eyes and, after a long while, finally spoke.

"Do you know that on us..."

"The one-way restriction on your bodies? The Butcher, as you call him, has already removed it," Garble added.

"A restriction?" Hannah looked at Selina in a daze. "What is that?"

"A method of remotely controlling the life and death of subordinates, similar to a slave contract," Garble explained from the side.

"Typical shady organizations use the excuse of creating a soul lamp, supposedly so headquarters can send rescue teams in case of danger, to trick newcomers into signing it. This is the information we've gathered. Is it correct?"

The bloodshot veins in Selina's eyes faded completely. She nodded, half helpless, half resigned.

"You know even more than I do."

Hannah stood there like a stone statue, staring blankly at the two of them.

A contract similar to slavery...

That meant that if she hadn't encountered The Watchers, even if she had found the fallen siren, she would never have been able to leave the church?

How could that be!

Meanwhile, Garble continued the negotiation in a businesslike manner.

"So, what do you think?"

"You're different from beastmen. You're bona fide prisoners of war. Even if you don't defect, you'll be forced into labor. That would only waste your other talents."

Which path to take, he believed both of them were smart enough to know. He glanced at the time on his status panel.

"Today is the last day you have to consider. If you still don't give an answer, you'll have to be taken to help rebuild Nary Town..."

"So you really don't like me?" Hannah suddenly cut across his persuasion.

The words at the tip of Garble's tongue were neither easy to say nor to swallow back.

Why was it that even inside a game, he could still run into such a classic question?

His forehead twitched. Gritting his teeth, he spoke, "So after everything I said, you didn't take any of it in?"

"That's not important!" Hannah shouted.

She bit her lip, her voice softening little by little.

"After all these days, when you face us, is this really all you want to say?"

Selina said nothing at the side, but she clearly looked like she was also waiting for his answer.

Garble looked at the two of them seriously. After a moment, he let out a heavy breath.

"Thank you for taking care of me in the dungeon. Otherwise, I wouldn't have reached Level 30 so quickly, nor discovered the oddities of the auction house."

Selina asked, "That's it?"

Garble fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"The personality I showed in the Trial of the Opportunists was an act. Obeying you was forced by the system. The sweet-talking lines I used came from another Watcher member called LootGoblin... My name is Garble. I'm not the Swiftwind you fell for."

He took the fish back from Selina and left without looking back.

"The deadline is this evening. Think it over carefully."

Bang.

The door slammed shut.