Mysterious Merchant?

Spurred on by a certain streamer, a beast-taming craze swept through the game.

Many Players began forming groups and heading to Liuli District in search of lone beasts, attempting to tame them the way that streamer had.

Although the success rate was extremely low, the Players never tired of it. Before long, a few Players were riding enormous Corpse Wolves, drawing envious looks from those who had failed at taming them.

At that moment, a three-man team was attempting to tame a Corpse Wolf in Liuli District.

As they watched the Corpse Wolf tied to a tree struggle frantically, the three used every method they could. Just as the beast had been tortured to the brink of death and they thought they were about to succeed, a figure suddenly appeared beside the tree.

With the figure's appearance, the tree rapidly withered, while the dying Corpse Wolf whimpered in terror.

Wisps of black vapor rose from the Corpse Wolf and swiftly seeped into the black-robed figure's body.

"Fuck, are you looking to die?!"

Seeing their taming attempt on the verge of success get ruined by the figure before them, the three Players flew into a rage, drew their weapons, and prepared to confront him.

But then, the black-robed figure turned around, revealing a skeleton beneath the robe that gleamed with a dark luster. His scarlet pupils flashed, and several black vines burst from the ground, trapping the three Players where they stood.

"I ask. You answer." A hoarse voice came from the Soul Ferrying Envoy.

"An NPC?" The three Players were all stunned upon seeing him.

"NPC?" The Soul Ferrying Envoy was equally puzzled, unable to understand why these people called him that.

Watching the Players continue to struggle, the Soul Ferrying Envoy raised a hand again. The black vines immediately tightened around them.

"Tell me where you came from. Do you know why the Ghost Overseer stationed here died?"

"Are you one of General Shana's men?"

The three Players were no fools and immediately guessed where he came from.

"That's right. I am the Soul Ferrying Envoy under Lord Shana. Now, can you tell me about your origins and what happened to the Ghost Overseer?"

The three exchanged looks.

Are we screwed?

"Probably. The creditor's come knocking. I remember kicking that Ghost Overseer Commander once."

"Shh, he can hear you..."

"Was it you who killed Third Ghost?" Upon hearing their conversation, the flames in the Soul Ferrying Envoy's pupils surged.

"No. With your strength, how could you possibly have killed Third Ghost?!"

"Isn't he just an NPC? Why are you yelling? Like we're afraid of you. Let us go if you've got the guts. Once I change classes, we'll settle this one-on-one!" the leading Player said with a dissatisfied look.

"Change classes?"

The Soul Ferrying Envoy had heard another unfamiliar term and was deeply confused.

"I'll give you one last chance!" The Soul Ferrying Envoy's patience was gradually wearing thin. He no longer wished to continue talking with these three strange creatures.

"Don't kill us. The three of us hold grudges. Whoever kills us, we'll kill them back, so don't make a mistake."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Kill us, and once we get stronger, we'll definitely come back for revenge!"

"Heh heh. Come for revenge after death? I doubt you'll even have the chance to become Initial Souls."

But seeing their attitude, the Soul Ferrying Envoy knew he would get nothing out of them. He raised a hand again, and a mass of Black Mist poured into the vines.

The vines that absorbed the Black Mist rapidly grew, while sharp black thorns sprouted from them and viciously pierced the Players' bodies, wriggling within them.

"Hm? I can't extract their soul essence!" The Soul Ferrying Envoy was shocked to discover that these three Players' souls could not be absorbed, as though some powerful force had fixed their souls firmly within their bodies.

Refusing to believe it, the Soul Ferrying Envoy waved his hand again. A huge mass of Black Mist poured into the vines, whose surface became mottled with crimson spots, making them look exceptionally sinister.

Under the vines' massive crushing force, the three Players, who had pain blockers enabled, died with gloomy expressions. Their corpses on the ground slowly turned into Black Mist and dissipated.

But what left the Soul Ferrying Envoy utterly incredulous was that not a trace of soul power leaked from the bodies of the three dead creatures, while the souls that had been fused into their flesh vanished without explanation.

"Th-This is impossible!"

The bizarre scene thoroughly stunned the Soul Ferrying Envoy. The laws of the underworld dictated that after living beings died, their souls entered the cycle of reincarnation, while their soul power dispersed into heaven and earth. Everything before him completely overturned his understanding.

Just as the Soul Ferrying Envoy fell into deep thought, a five-man team emerged in the distance.

"Boss, look at that guy over there!"

The one called Boss was a Berserker carrying a greatsword. He had come to Liuli for the same purpose: taming beasts.

Hearing his underling, the Berserker looked up at the Soul Ferrying Envoy beside the dead tree in the distance.

"What is it? I don't see anything wrong with him."

"Don't you think he looks a lot like that hidden NPC the officials announced—the Mysterious Merchant?"

"Mysterious Merchant?" The leading Berserker's body jolted.

Many Players had heard of the Mysterious Merchant but had never seen him in person. Yet they all knew one thing: this NPC could sell plenty of good items unavailable in the store.

They had seen on the forums that one lucky guy had happened to encounter the Mysterious Merchant. After some haggling, he spent 5 Soul Coins on a fragment of the Rune Warrior class-change materials, then resold it for more than 100 Soul Coins.

They had been intensely envious at the time.

"Brothers, we've struck it rich!"

Excited expressions appeared on all five team members' faces as they hurried toward the Soul Ferrying Envoy, afraid he might disappear.

Still in shock, the Soul Ferrying Envoy seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned to look at the five Players rushing toward him with ecstatic expressions.

Once they got close, the leader walked up to the Soul Ferrying Envoy and patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother, selling anything? I'm buying!"

Soul Ferrying Envoy: "???"

"First time strangers, second time friends. Our meeting is fate; it was destined. How about giving us a discount?"

The Soul Ferrying Envoy was now completely dumbfounded.

He had no idea whether the brains of these bizarre creatures he had never seen before were stuffed with murky air. Nothing they said made any sense.

Seeing the Soul Ferrying Envoy remain silent, the leading Berserker began to feel uneasy.

Did I haggle wrong? But that guy on the forum who met the Mysterious Merchant never said how to haggle. What am I supposed to do?

After thinking it over, the Berserker smiled again and patted the Soul Ferrying Envoy on the shoulder.

"Brother, let's see the goods first. I heard you've got plenty of great stuff here."

"Yeah, yeah, let us see your rare items first," the other four Players said excitedly.