---Viktor's POV---
I looked up after closing the panel.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing one of the personal guards I had recently selected. The guard bowed slightly.
"There is a watcher named… uh, Hedgehog requesting to see you."
"Hedgehog?" I repeated.
If I remembered correctly, wasn't that one of the 50 players exploring the new map? How did he come back?
"Let him in."
"Yes."
The guard closed the door and left. Soon, the door opened again.
"Lord Viktor!" A voice rang out even before the person stepped in. Hedgehog hopped through the doorway, his eyes immediately darting around to take in the room's decor.
"Wow, you're living the good life, huh?"
I wasn't surprised by the casual demeanor of players anymore. I knocked lightly on the table, signaling for him to focus. Straight to the point, I asked, "What do you want?"
"Oh, right!" he snapped out of it and smacked his forehead. "Almost forgot. I've got something for you."
He pulled out a grayish-white bundle from his backpack. As he loosened the knot, a pile of miscellaneous items spilled out onto the floor: medicinal herbs, ores, weapons, and even two steaming potatoes…
I stared at the mess. As expected of a player's backpack.
He didn't seem embarrassed at all. He cheerfully announced, "Wait, let me find it." and started rummaging through the mess without hesitation.
After a while, he pulled out a small black-and-white orb, rubbed it against his clothes, and then held it up.
"Take a look. Can you use this thing?"
I was already browsing the forums on the side, glancing up casually, expecting little from his chaotic presentation. Honestly, I didn't think he would produce anything noteworthy. It was probably just some item the players deemed unusual, or perhaps the bone of some strange creature.
But as my gaze landed on the object, I froze. The orb, entirely black with a white diamond pattern encircling it, was about the size of a baby's palm.
"This is…"
I took the orb and immediately pulled out a fragment of an artifact I had recently obtained from the Blackrock Toad's hatchery. Aside from their reversed colors, the two spheres were nearly identical in size and shape.
Feeling the vibrant Snow God's energy emanating from the second orb, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disbelief.
"The second… artifact fragment?"
Hedgehog's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
"It's really an artifact?!"
He pressed his hands down on the table, celebrating excitedly.
"Hell yeah, jackpot!"
Recovering from my brief daze, my expression turned sharp. I grabbed the elated Hedgehog, stopping him mid-celebration.
"Don't get too excited just yet. First, tell me where you found this."
Hedgehog was just about to explain. He animatedly recounted the story of how he stumbled upon the artifact fragment.
The location was a wasteland not far from Nary Town. To ease the economic pressure of staying in Nary Town long-term, he and his Lucky Stars team had decided to take up mercenary work, it had a low barrier to entry, quick payouts, and no downsides apart from the potential for death.
Two days ago, while on a task in the wasteland, they captured a nest of rabbits. From the stomach of one particularly peculiar rabbit, they found this black-and-white orb.
"We thought it looked similar to the artifact fragment we found earlier, so we decided to bring it back for identification. And lo and behold, it's the real deal. Talk about a stroke of luck!"
He leaned back in a nearby chair, grinning so wide it nearly reached his ears.
I turned the icy orb over in my hands, my emotions a complicated mix.
"Truly lucky," I muttered under my breath.
Unlike magical beasts, monsters weren't confined to specific movement patterns and were essentially ordinary animals with a touch of magical talent. This made them an uncontrollable scourge in various regions.
With the sheer number of magical beasts in the wasteland, what were the odds that the players would catch the exact rabbit that had swallowed an artifact fragment?
I felt a strange sense of absurdity in this twist of fate. Not long ago, I had remarked that gathering all the artifact fragments was like finding a needle in a haystack. Thus, I had fully converted the energy in the first orb into usable power.
And now, mere days later, the second artifact fragment had already turned up?
"Two-thirds…" I murmured to myself.
A decent amount of progress, but it left me in an awkward spot, not far enough to celebrate, not close enough to relax.
Nearby, Hedgehog was still rambling on, sharing his "acceptance speech" for his good fortune.
"When I saw that one snow-white rabbit surrounded by gray ones, I just knew something was off… Hey, did you just say something?" he asked, not quite catching my muttering.
"Nothing." I closed my hand around the orb, cutting off his chatter.
"Alright, this artifact fragment is indeed significant. Your reward will be generous."
Hedgehog perked up instantly.
"Great! I've been waiting for you to say that!"
He gulped down a big mouthful of water before flopping back into the chair with a satisfied sigh.
"Ah, finally. Running all the way here nearly killed me."
While he lounged, I calculated the rewards for the mission. Given that most players venturing outside were high-level and didn't need experience points, and flooding the market with too many magicoins could cause inflation, I converted most of the reward into equivalent revival materials.
Then I took out two freshly written magic spell manuals. I had originally planned to put them in the shop, but this seemed like a fitting use.
"These are two entry-level spells: Flame Thorns and Reverse Flow. You can choose one to take with you. Don't underestimate them just because they're entry-level spells. In terms of magical precision and power, they're on par with intermediate-level spells and pack a serious punch."
"Power equivalent to intermediate-level spells?!" Hedgehog stared at the two yellowed parchments on the table, his mouth forming a wide "O."
The players should have a decent grasp of the differences between spell tiers. For melee classes like warriors, intermediate-level spells provided a solid boost to combat strength.
But for mages who specialized in spellcasting, true power came only with advanced-level spells, turning them into walking weapons of mass destruction.
That said, there was a clear gap between entry and intermediate-level spells. If entry spells were like firecrackers, intermediate-level ones were V40 grenades, offering a much more significant explosive force.
I watched as Hedgehog's excitement grew the more he looked at the artifact fragments, unable to resist the urge to reach out and touch them. Before he could even get close, I exerted a powerful force to shove him back.
"Make your choice first," I reminded him.
Hedgehog gulped nervously. "Alright, alright. But I just remembered something."
He raised his right hand, spreading all five fingers, then added two fingers from his left hand after some thought. With a solemn and serious expression, he declared, "Actually, there are seven people who discovered the artifact fragments. Do you have seven of these magic spells?"
I stared at him speechlessly for a moment, then replied, "Keep dreaming."
Even a rookie who hadn't reached intermediate-level wouldn't be able to learn so many spells. Better focus on improving his strength first.
"Fine..." Feeling disappointed by his failed exploit attempt, he muttered that he'd think it over for now, then logged out to check the forums and discuss spell choices with other players.
I gave them 30 minutes before returning to my desk to study the black-and-white spheres in my hand. For a moment, I felt a bit of curiosity about the artifact's full potential. But considering that the divine power in the first sphere was already gone, even if I collected all the fragments, it might not work properly. I had no intention of risking my life in the Wolcen Mountains.
So, after a brief hesitation, I decisively drained all the divine power from the second sphere, gaining 3,000 divine power in return. The now-powerless sphere immediately lost its luster. The two black-and-white spheres in my hand now looked like oversized walnuts.
In fact, their only use left was as "walnuts" for idle fiddling.
Hedgehog, still waiting for replies from others, was curiously watching me handle the "walnuts."
"Hey, how many fragments of this artifact are left? What's it called? What happens when you collect them all?"
I hadn't planned to answer the question, but then a thought crossed my mind, what if the players actually managed to find the last fragment?
After charging Hedgehog a hefty consultation fee that made him wince, I briefly answered, "There should be one fragment left. As for the name and purpose... let's call it the Snow God's Key."
An artifact key to open doors, but what kind of doors? And what lay beyond them?
That remained entirely unknown.
"A key..." Hedgehog muttered thoughtfully.
I confirmed Hedgehog's abilities, only Level 13.
"How did you get back here?"
Only intermediate mages could activate teleportation arrays, and players clearly didn't meet the requirements yet.
"Had an old man outside help me open the array... Oh! I almost forgot."
He smacked his thigh. "I have something for you!"
He shot up from his chair, rummaging through his pack of junk. "Hold on while I find it."
So he would've completely forgotten if I hadn't asked?
Fortunately, he found the item quickly this time, a deep purple hexagonal crystal. The crystal sparkled like a starry sky in the sunlight. The flames in my eye sockets flickered slightly.
"A dimensional crystal?"
"That's right." Hedgehog tapped it on the desk, grinning. "We pre-ordered this from the Merchant Guild. The shopkeeper said it needed to be specially requested. We thought it'd take forever, but it only took ten days. I used it to get in here!"
I suddenly understood. After pledging allegiance to The Watchers, the teleportation array at Hollow's Edge had been guarded by the wastelanders, led by Fuki. Hedgehog's player-like demeanor and the dimensional crystal must've persuaded the guard to activate the array for him.
He cautiously offered, "Since we're all on the same side, we're giving you a great deal. What do you think?"
"No need."
"Brand-new, flawless, honest deal! Maybe swap it for another spell and, huh?"
His pitch got stuck in his throat.
My eyes glinted with mischief as I repeated myself. "I said, I don't plan to buy it."
Dimensional crystals weren't cheap. The players likely pooled their resources, hoping to exploit my need for one and make a quick profit. But this wasn't the first time they tried to make money off me. Too bad for them, they picked the wrong target.
I leaned back in my chair, fingers steepled. "I said, I have other ways to acquire dimensional crystals. I'm not short on supply."
If the players could buy from the Merchant Guild, why couldn't I? The players' crystal had arrived, which meant my own order must be ready for delivery as well.
Checking a message from Alyanne just then, my confidence grew. "Good. Inventory confirmed. We currently have 56 dimensional crystals in storage."
Hedgehog froze in shock, rendered speechless, then weakly tried one last time. "B-but having an extra one wouldn't hurt, right..."
Clearly, salesmanship wasn't his strong suit.
Once it was clear he had nothing more to offer, I silenced him with a spell. The moment the 30-minute time limit was up, and the spell choice finalized, I unceremoniously kicked him out of the manor.
---Third POV---
"Viktor! You should reconsider, seriously! I…"
Bam!
Hedgehog clutched his nose, almost slamming into the door, feeling utterly dejected.
"It's over—"
Their investment in the dimensional crystal was a complete failure.
A massive loss!
He kicked a rock on the ground in frustration.
"I told them, sales isn't my thing!"
The only reason he'd taken this errand was because NeverShowOff was holding onto the signal device, and everyone else was busy. And because he had been accused, falsely, according to him, of spying on NPCs bathing, resulting in his exile from Nary Town, leaving him plenty of free time.
He glanced at the Reverse Flow manual in his hand, feeling like the paper seemed unusually thick.
"Huh?"
He sat down and flipped through it, noticing something odd. The manual was written in English, intended for resale to players. It didn't take long for him to uncover the secret.
He split the manual into two parts, staring at them in surprise.
"Two different versions of the same spell?"
Not quite.
While they shared the same name, the training process and incantations were vastly different. Reading the notes at the end of both versions, his eyes lit up.
"So that's how it is!"
The left-hand version of Reverse Flow had greater power and shorter incantation time, but it couldn't be used directly outside, functioning like a system skill.
The right-hand version was a public version usable in the outside world.
However, the left-hand version could be practiced under the guise of the right-hand version, allowing for faster mastery and higher power.
In short, the right-hand version was a decoy.
By memorizing it, one could secretly train the superior Watchers-only version.
"I knew it!"
He grinned broadly, clutching the manual like a treasure.
"System-designed spells are always way better than those mass-produced wholesale junk spells!"