"Mr. Hardy, please remain calm. The appraiser is already on the way."
In the VIP reception room of the Transcendence Merchant Guild in the Emerald District of Iron Wall City.
A human, a Dragonkin, and a dwarf sat on soft sofas, waiting for the supposedly higher-ranking appraiser to arrive.
They had just returned from Broken Sword Valley, and naturally, they were not selling Divinity Shards.
After Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword slashed that pulsing mass of flesh, it turned into a great deal of light and merged into their bodies, granting each of them 700 Faith.
But that did not mean they had nothing valuable left.
Centaur Heart
An item that increased maximum health. In the old version of the game, farming players would specifically grind for it. A bundle of twenty fluctuated around 20,000 gold, which came out to roughly fifty cents for twenty.
It could only add 1,000 maximum health. With abundant supplies, every player would eat a full bundle, so it was worthless.
However, in the world of the Second Playthrough, since the Alliance had not yet been destroyed, the description, "Consume it to extend your lifespan," was no longer merely background flavor text.
Naturally, the Centaur Heart's value had to be reconsidered.
While waiting, Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword switched to the backend, opened Amulet Owl's livestream, and checked on what the players doing welfare quests were up to.
The two of them had already saved enough Experience Points to reach level 30 and had even acquired a large Mining Mech. They were in no hurry to grind experience. Instead, they wanted to find an opportunity to advance.
Among the three advancement options Li Li had provided, none were classes they wanted to switch into.
After discussing it, they gave up the beginner welfare quests that rewarded experience and came to the Transcendence Merchant Guild with the scholar named Hardy to purchase advancement items.
Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword was aiming for swordsman and swordmaster, while I Don't Want to Pay the Penalty was aiming for Mechanic Apprentice and mechanic.
If NPCs in the game wanted to advance into those classes, aside from comprehending an "advancement opportunity," they could also use "advancement items."
These advancement items could be understood as something like Foundation Building Pills. They could greatly increase the chance of successfully advancing into the corresponding class, though players were guaranteed to succeed as long as they used one.
According to the Transcendence Merchant Guild's price catalog, the four advancement items together cost more than 40 million Alliance Coins.
After all, raising a skill from Lv1 to Lv30 through the Creator God's avatar only cost 26,285 Alliance Coins in total, while advancing and leveling up were completely free.
Once there was a comparison, it was obvious who had a conscience.
The VIP room's door opened. The newly arrived dwarf appraiser entered alone. After casually exchanging greetings with everyone, he picked up the still-pulsing heart on the table and examined it closely.
After only one glance, the dwarf appraiser set down the box, gave the three sellers—who still carried the earthy scent of mud—a careful look, and asked:
"How do you intend to sell it?"
Hardy let out a breath of relief and was about to speak when the Dragonkin pressed him back down.
"Let's see your offer. If it satisfies this old man, this old man can also produce a second and third heart," the Dragonkin said.
"What!" The dwarf appraiser's eyes widened as he rose from his seat. "You mean you have more Centaur Hearts?"
The Dragonkin stroked his beard and said:
"Didn't you just investigate our backgrounds? So? Did you decide we were country bumpkins you could manipulate as you pleased, or outsiders whose origins you couldn't uncover?"
"Th-that... you misunderstand." A fawning smile appeared on the dwarf appraiser's face.
Seeing that the timing was right, the Dragonkin stopped putting on airs and stated his price directly:
"The last auction record for a Centaur Heart was 452 years ago. It sold for 700 million old Alliance Coins back then. In this era, it can only be worth more. Fortunately, I have no interest in money."
Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword picked up the thick price catalog from the table, flipped to the page titled "Transcendent Advancement Items," and tossed the catalog in front of the dwarf appraiser.
"Give me one of everything listed here. Don't bother telling me the prices. I know you can manufacture some of these advancement items. They're deals with no cost at all."
"You must be joking. Quite a few advancement items listed here are one-of-a-kind originals," the dwarf appraiser said. "While a Centaur Heart is precious, it can only extend a mortal's lifespan by ten years. Compared to the opportunity to advance into a transcendent class, it falls somewhat short."
"Then give me these, these, and these."
The Dragonkin pointed at the pictures in the catalog. As though he knew the Merchant Guild's inner workings, he selected every mass-produced advancement item.
"I need to seek approval from my superiors." Sweat beaded on the dwarf appraiser's forehead as he closed the price catalog, afraid the Dragonkin might point to another picture.
Half an hour later.
The three completed their barter transaction and walked out of the Transcendence Merchant Guild's main hall.
Scholar Hardy looked at the two strange people he had met by chance. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the dwarf beat him to it.
"Do you want to come with us?"
Scholar Hardy's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Where to?"
I Don't Want to Pay the Penalty glanced at the academy insignia on Scholar Hardy's scroll, then confirmed with everyone in the backend group chat before saying:
"You told us before that we could permanently kill the monsters outside, and that we were this world's hope."
"So... naturally, we're inviting you to join the effort to save the world."
"I want to invite you to become the bridge between us and the academy."
Although they were not at Plague Village, the players remained in contact and knew that the others had accepted the road-clearing quest.
After discussing it in the group chat, they unanimously concluded that the next main storyline would be to establish a base in Plague Village, then use that base as a center to gradually resolve the corruption in Broken Sword Valley.
And with the Thirteen City Alliance at their backs, there was no reason for the players not to make use of these NPC factions.
As a Silver-rank NPC who formed the backbone of the transcendent forces, Scholar Hardy had not attacked the two out of greed along the way, which had already given them a preliminary indication of his character.
Though he had some issues keeping his lower half in check, which caused Li Yuan, who had a child with her, some mild complaints, that flaw was hardly significant.
With Scholar Hardy, their newest recruit, Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword and I Don't Want to Pay the Penalty took the subway back to the warehouse at their spawn point.
Li Li sat in a corner of the warehouse with his eyes closed, remotely controlling Lost His Mind and guiding the players to accept quests.
But to the two returning players, he looked like an old father left alone in an empty house.
They secretly took a photo before approaching Li Li and asking the newly awakened Creator God avatar to raise their levels from Lv1 to Lv10.
"Faith has turned into Experience Points, and the Sin Value has been updated too." The dwarf looked at his UI. "Sure enough, this game's updates only take effect after touching the core AI. Is the main storyline faction forcibly bound to us?"
He took out Gear Jelly, the advancement item for becoming a Mechanic Apprentice, intending to advance first and then raise his level to 30 in one go.
Just then, Li Li, who had been silent at the side, suddenly stepped forward and asked curiously, "What is that? Can you let me take a look?"
The dwarf swallowed the jelly in one gulp. "It's gone, but you can try this."
He took out a manuscript page covered in symbols and handed it to Li Li.
Li Li accepted the manuscript. His whole body suddenly grew hot, and the manuscript turned into streaming light that merged into his body.
He sensed the feeling from just now, then said to the three people present:
"From now on, you can come to me to advance into Magic Apprentices."
Before you continue