Chapter 94: Deal (4)

"Hm? Is there a problem?" Kang Min-Gu tilted his head and asked at Kai's dumbfounded reaction.

"Oh, no. Nothing."

Kai managed the situation with an awkward laugh, cold sweating as he looked at the interface window before him.

Bargaining skill? This is...

A past memory flashed through his mind! It was the memory of purchasing the Riddle Skill Books at the Old Bookstore a few days ago.

Come to think of it, that’s when the Bargaining skill level went up.

Moreover, a message had appeared, stating that he could slightly gauge the other party’s feelings during bargains.

Okay. That much I understand. But that skill shouldn’t work on other players... would it?

However, the interface window still visible before him proved that this was indeed happening.

That means... Kang Min-Gu isn’t a player character!

Of course, this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened. In fact, some of the NPCs in the cash shop were operated by administrators.

So the Kang Min-Gu in front of me is a playable character based on an NPC.

Kai’s guess was close to the truth. The Kang Min-Gu before him was an NPC character specially created for this transaction since the branch manager had no time to play the game regularly.

This is an opportunity for me.

Of course, branch manager Kang Min-Gu couldn’t have predicted this situation. If he had known beforehand, he would have arranged a meeting in real life or created a personal character for the transaction.

Who would have thought a skill would activate by recognizing him as an NPC?

As a result, this situation was a huge advantage for Kai.

The Bargaining skill level is still low, so I can’t get detailed feelings, but...

Even realizing Kang Min-Gu’s emotions of anxiety and uneasiness allowed Kai to decide whether to roll the dice or not.

“Hmm... information about the event. I don’t know about that.”

Seeing the slightly uneasy expression on Kai's face, Kang Min-Gu cautiously asked, “Is there something about our offer that you find unsatisfactory...?”

“Yes. To be honest, I feel it’s a bit lacking.”

Kang Min-Gu shut his mouth at Kai's blunt words.

He’s different from his gameplay videos. Was he always this bold?

He never would have thought that Kai would play hardball in this situation!

Kai didn't give the slightly bewildered Kang Min-Gu any time to regain his composure and said, “There’s actually one piece of information I want. Just add that one thing.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you have in mind, and then I’ll decide.”

“It’s nothing big. You’re planning another land conquest event, right?”

“Hmm?”

Kang Min-Gu fell silent, completely caught off guard by the request.

Of course, we’re planning the land conquest event, but... why is he asking about that suddenly?

From Kang Min-Gu’s perspective, it was a puzzling question that naturally made him tilt his head.

Conquest events were meant for large and well-known guilds, which had no apparent connection to a solo player like Kai!

“We are planning it, but... may I ask why you’re interested in it?”

“I need to know at least the approximate date to prepare for it.”

“Prepare for it...?”

Kang Min-Gu showed an incredulous expression, but quickly realized his mistake and erased his expression.

Could he really be thinking of participating in the conquest event? Alone?

Kang Min-Gu skillfully suppressed the laughter that was about to erupt.

He’s quick-witted and smart for his age... but he’s still naive.

Kang Min-Gu felt a sense of ease. Even if he provided information about the conquest event update, Kai would achieve nothing.

That’s the limit of a solo player. The game is just like a society.

Moreover,

MID Online

was an unprecedented mega-society connecting the entire world!

Of course, Kang Min-Gu understood Kai’s mindset. As a successful person himself, he could empathize with Kai's feelings.

He’s at the stage when he would be full of confidence. Everything probably looks within his grasp.

Since his promotion to a Solaris Cleric, Kai’s path had been nothing but triumph. Though he wore the mask of Unknown, he had become an overnight star and even the world’s top ten guilds didn’t scare him. Naturally, small and medium-sized guilds wouldn’t catch his eye.

But he’ll soon learn that the world isn’t so easy. Perhaps this opportunity will make him a more mature adult.

Kang Min-Gu smiled, revealing his white teeth, and said, “Alright. I’ll provide the event schedule and the land conquest event update date in exchange for the video.”

Despite some twists and turns, it was ultimately a deal both parties were able to smile about.

***

The transaction proceeded smoothly.

Kai thoroughly removed any parts from the video that could hint at his skills or identity, and Pegasus had no choice but to comply with his demands.

Information about the event and the land conquest. This is perfect.

The official name of the upcoming event Pegasus was ‘Invasion.’ Event monsters and boss monsters would pour out across the continent, and players would gather points by defeating them.

It’s similar to the orc expedition event. However...

Back then, about two-hundred players were competitors, but now there would be 700 million! Or course, the rewards for the event would also be far superior to those of the past.

The conquest event update is still a few months away, so I can prepare for that slowly.

The reason Kai insisted on getting the date for the conquest event update was simple.

“I need to know the date to start preparing.”

When the conquest event was updated, even guilds that usually stayed low-profile would start going to war. War meant opportunity, and that opportunity was to seize both money and fame!

And if push comes to shove, I can use the information I received as a bargaining chip.

The date of the land conquest update was still just a rumor, and only Kai knew it.

Inevitably, the value of monopolized information was very high.

But for now, growth is more important than thinking about these things.

That thought was right.

Getting ahead of oneself never ended well!

In fact, Kang Min-Gu was estimating that the Invasion event would occur roughly one to two months later. Since he would be informed of the exact date later, he just needed to prepare calmly.

For the time being, I should just hole up in the hunting grounds and level up a bit.

Originally, Kai planned to hunt leisurely like everyone else because with his current specs, he was confident he could grow faster than others even while hunting at a relaxed pace.

But judging by the situation, it seems I don’t have much time to take things easy.

In that case, he needed to go to a hunting ground where he could exert all his strength to its fullest, 100%, or even 120%.

It needed to be a hunting ground where he could level up to at least 100 without much trouble, and at the same time, where he could level up without attracting attention.

“No matter how much I think about it, there are only two places.”

One was the deep sea where he had been until recently. He could completely block out being seen by others and also get help from the merfolk. However, the only drawback was that the monsters in the deep sea were generally high-level.

And the other place is...

It was a graveyard filled with skeletons, zombies, and wraiths! Since there weren't many Clerics in

MID Online

, these hunting grounds weren’t popular among other players.

Hmm. If I were alone, I would go to the deep sea, but...

But now he also needed to raise Blizzard.

Thinking of Blizzard floundering underwater, Kai shook his head.

“The graveyard seems to be the better option.”

It was a place where he could fully utilize his power as a Cleric.

***

The Melbarun Graveyard was a place inhabited by level 110 monsters, usually skeletons.

Due to the nature of skeletons, the materials they dropped were just smelly bones. Moreover, Rare items rarely dropped, and occasionally, the field boss Black Skeleton Knight appeared.

In short, it wasn’t an appealing place unless one were a Cleric or a Paladin class.

The deserted graveyard looked so desolate it seemed like a ghost might pop out at any moment.

“Summon Blizzard.”

As he designated the location, a magic circle was drawn on the ground, and Blizzard was summoned atop it.

As he was summoned, a message window appeared simultaneously.

[Enhanced Summoning grants you “increased attack.”]

“Wow.”

Kai's face brightened.

From various tests of Enhanced Summoning, the attack power increase buff was among the better outcomes.

“Crooaar!”

As soon as he was summoned, Blizzard let out a roar!

He hadn’t yet been equipped with armor. To equip him, a hole needed to be drilled in the tail part, but there hadn’t been time to visit the blacksmith.

I’ll just quickly level him up to 100 and then drill a hole in the Armor of the Undead set to equip him.

Kai swiftly sliced the air vertically in front of him with his index finger.

“You hunt on the left, I’ll hunt on the right. Let me know if you’re about to die.”

“Krrrk!”

Blizzard slammed his tail on the ground, indicating he wouldn’t die so easily! Then, after receiving the buff, he eagerly dashed off to hunt.

“Then I should get to work too. This is nostalgic, feels good.”

When he conquested the Tomb of Gnolls, he had similarly faced a crowd of skeletons. However, what had changed since then was his growth.

Back then, I could only use Holy Explosion...

Now, Kai had a more diverse array of skills, and the purpose of this hunt was to practice using those skills more effectively!

I need to research the best damage-dealing cycle.

As Kai approached, a skeleton knight wandering the graveyard glared at him.

-Human... I will... destroy your... bones and flesh...

Clattering its jaw, the rude skeleton knight picked a fight out of nowhere!

The sword it drew from its scabbard was heavily rusted.

Of course, the moment one got hit, they would exclaim that it looks like it won’t do much, but that its attack power is filthy high!

First...

In the past, Kai would have cautiously focused on defense and analyzed the enemy’s pattern, but now, he didn’t need to bother. He had grown to the point where he could ignore the patterns of such minor bone creatures.