.
.
.
--------
"What? How would we know?…"
Zaw smiled, starting his awaited explanation...
"Fray that boy, if there's one thing he's talented at is the sword."
"If he were to dedicate a third of his day training it every day, he would've reached the realm of Master within a decade, and he might've been stronger than me by now…"
"That was one of the reasons why I took him with me after all."
"But even though he's been training ever since he was 6, he is barely even a Polished rank Mercenary despite being 21 already…"
"Sounds rough." Dale said as he shook his head
'Let me guess, talented guy that decided to slack off due to some unimportant reason midway through his journey?'
'Not really uncommon, happens every once in a while.'
'A result of misguidance and lack of communication from master to disciple, or even father to son...'
'Of course, despite people being a reflection of their memories and experiences, some people are simply different from others.'
'The way each person's brains work can make even the most cared for knight turn into a demon when he's older, even if nothing ever happened to lead him that way.'
'It's just one of the many complexities of Human behavior.'
Zaw took a look at Dale before shaking his head.
"Looking at you makes me remember what the boy could've been if he had put more effort into himself…"
"You flatter me..."
'Better not say I've been training for about a year... Hum... Does Virtual reality distorted time count? Because if so, that increases to a few years...'
"The reason why he never improved is due to his incredible talent… I've never seen anyone better than him at wasting time!" Zaw said as he hit the table lightly, making the cups vibrate.
/Thud!/
"Considering his personality, he wouldn't be sleeping in some corner…"
"He wouldn't allow himself to do so, Fray is a very curious child, ever since he was young he sought martial training as a way for him to explore the unknown."
"And the fact he isn't here drinking with us, nor training… Means he can only be in one place… His second talent..."
"Hitting on girls."
""...""
Both Misgurd and Dale looked at Zaw with serene gazes.
"Pff..."
Misgurd held his laugh, already understanding the gist of things, while Dale simply felt out of place…
What was he doing here again?
/Thud!/
Zaw hit the table again, stunning Dale for a moment.
"This leads to my earlier statement... You know very well where he is... Just lead us to the place where the prettiest girls are and we'll find him in no time at all!"
"..."
"That darned brat has a knack for jumping training and going after any girl he finds interesting, even if they already have someone!"
"..."
"This has caused me a fair deal of trouble over the years, and more than once was I forced with looking after the messes he caused, to the point I've prohibited him from taking missions alone, especially towards secluded areas like countryside Villages..."
'I wouldn't even be surprised if a girl came to him carrying his child one day... No... I'm prepared for that day, it'll happen one day.'
"It's been a bit over 11 years since Fray came into my tutelage, I found him at a humble Martial arts hall in a small town I went to inspect... Just like now."
"I was quite surprised when I first met him, the kid had everything I had been looking for."
"Seeing his talent, I decided to train him myself since he wouldn't accomplish much in that rundown place he used to live in…"
"And I did need someone to take after me as the head of Inspection, as the others weren't really up to it..."
"I thought that making a candidate on my own would be better than waiting for a suitable one to appear."
"He didn't even grow well in there, getting into constant fights and all…"
"As for his parents... He doesn't like to talk about them, but they aren't that bad."
"It's just that... He doesn't agree with the choices they made, despite not being any better than them." Zaw added as he shook his head
Misgurd smiled and said:
"Don't lie, you just took him in because he looked like you."
"I… Alright, I did have some fun raising a kid…" Zaw replied after a chuckle, slightly embarrassed
"At first, he was focused, following the training schedule I set for him, studying what I told him to, but as soon as he became 16… That darned age..."
"You know how boys are in puberty…"
"I still think girls are worse." Misgurd mentioned as he started to think of his daughter
"..."
Dale remained silent throughout this exchange.
'Old people surely like to talk... Was there a need to explain his background lore?'
'Again?'
'They obviously already talked about this with each other, and in a sense, I'm thankful they're talking about it again for my sake...'
'But I literally don't care.'
'I find it alien, even...'
'Since, considering how I acted when I was younger... This guy is the definition of a bad boy.'
'Well, I do think I was pretty normal… I didn't cause that much trouble at all, playing my games and staying with my friends while some kids did drugs and alcohol… My father even called me boring once…'
'Albeit he also said he was happy and proud, saying he would much rather have a son like me than one that causes trouble all the time.'
'Most of my friends are pretty chill too, I guess we're sand of the same sack in a sense, albeit most of them have their own problems with their girlfriends and all.'
/Sigh…/
Zaw got up from his seat, saying: "Let's just go before he causes any trouble…" as he stretched his arms.
Misgurd replied by tapping on his shoulders.
"You talk as if anything bad could happen."
"Hm…"
"I'm saying this from experience, but Fray is just as good at seducing Village girls as he is at the Sword."
"..."
Dale thought that if that was indeed the case, then there was nothing to fear since he was pretty bad at training already...
Of course, that was only a stupid thought that crossed his mind, not exactly what he thought of him.
"Then we ought to move fast." Misgurd said as he got up from his chair
But he then smiled mischievously...
"If he actually manages to do such a thing, he'll certainly be beaten up by their parents!"
""BWUHAHAHA!""
The two laughed loudly while Dale remained silent.
'What a bother…'
'Can't they just ask any of the other young adults around the Village to deal with him? I bet he would be scrapped by most of the girls here anyway, going by what Zaw just said...'
'They are literally no joke, many of the teens and young adults in the Village grew up with tonics from Yumi's father, and albeit they never really made good use of their bodies, they have started to follow their vocations.'
'In the last two weeks, the old people weren't the sole ones to improve, and even if they lack a lot in some areas, the young boys and girls around the ages of 17 to 25 have greatly improved.'
'Still, it may be hard for a bunch of kids that started training half a month ago to defeat a Mercenary with a decade of training, but if they just as much get even with him, that would massively shatter his pride...'
'If I got his personality right, of course.'
'Should I just sit this one out?'
…
Dale eventually followed Misgurd and Zaw as they moved around the Village in search of this sneaky boy.
And as he walked, Dale kept his eyes open for 'suspicious' movements.
A lot has happened recently, and he's been forced to keep track of many things at once, and his schedule was pretty much full.
But he did remember each notification, keeping track of things as time went by.
And right now, he was trying to keep an eye on something very distressing…
…
[...]
[Merchants are profit-oriented beings, where there is profit, their hands will reach]
[Due to the exclusion laws currently in effect within Resko, a Secret market shall open]
[The Secret Market does not discriminate based on Reputation and Karma, it's up to you to keep it running or to shut it down]
[...]
…
'The black market...'
He had no plans of shutting it down, especially since he knew about the rule of ownership, but he did want to know its location.
Resko wasn't that big of a place... At least, the areas that aren't in ruins or covered in sand and dust.
So unless they truly decide to stay hidden amidst the dirt, the areas where they could conduct such a meeting would be few and far between.
As such, as long as he kept a close eye on the players, he would eventually find it.
Be it inside the game as Dale, the Elder, or through the game forums as Dale, the University student, after he logs out, he would find out where this market is held.
This market is likely going to become a key aspect of Resko, as controlling it would allow him to manage one of the biggest variables flopping around in his hands…
The annoying PK players.
This secret market could end up empowering them more than he wishes destabilizing the players' equilibrium, so he needs to put a leash on it while he still can so he can guide it in accordance with what's necessary.
And also, this market would allow him to milk the players even further...
Items, information, and more, all of it would pass through it… Of course, under the pretense, it actually succeeded.
Players would oftentimes act outside of common sense due to the fact they consider this world to be fake or a game, treating everything lightly, like a child that doesn't understand the dangers of the world.
Hence, a simple yet 'fool-proof' idea like a secret market outside of the regulations could very well fail, even if many were to benefit from it, much to the organizers' despair.
Dale even considered making one himself in case his current plans of takeover failed, instigating people here and there, setting up the stage, and by using his identity as an 'NPC' he could very well chain events and situations, creating something indistinguishable from normal in-game events.
In fact, his actions may very well trigger an in-game event, making everything even more real...
He had been experimenting with that by using his ability to issue Quests in order to figure out just how far will the game system allow him to mess with the world.
If he ordered someone to build a house, would the system treat it as part of Resko and allow him to sell it through the game-system mechanics?
Or would it be unique in some way shape or form? Perhaps a mix of both depending on how he orders the house to be built and by whom...
Like before, he asked for the repair of an old restaurant near Illia's Inn so she and a few others could enforce their Cooking-related abilities, and it's now in operation under her hands.
A shop that creates a massive revenue stream of several Copper Zulls every day...
All of this money and the resources come from the players themselves.
Quests are issued by the Mercenary Guild or the Shop itself, the players go hunting, getting materials and coins, and they then spend everything in there, enriching the shop while the players get their buffs to redo the process more efficiently.
It's a pretty simple money-making machine, a process the players would definitely try to mess with if it wasn't for the fact that it was made by the NPCs...
At least that is what they believe in.
Still, this was only one situation, Dale couldn't be sure if it would work properly again, so he needed time to experiment and sharpen his ideas.
Such research would take a very long time to bear fruition.
As for the market... Apart from everything already stated, once the merchants leave, who would take care of the Market? The players?
Unthinkable… It had to be either him or someone under his control.
He cannot allow an unknown man/group to control it, who knows what they might plot behind the scenes?
The players already tried to steal things once, and failing once means nothing to them.
Because this is just a game for them at the end of the day, a game that's worth a lot of money to boot.
Streams, in-game items, and more, the entertainment industry was the biggest in the world for a reason, and gaming was at the very top right now.
Such a massive game and with the growing traction that is slowly building up...
Even a simple Copper coin could go for hundreds of dollars right now, this was how valuable they were right now.
Dale himself had already 'sold' some coins through the market, investing in other groups by using different identities.
And that was only coins, who wouldn't want to control a market that has hundreds of such coins flowing within every day?
When the risks are low, but the gains are high, why wouldn't they act?
If this was a real-life situation, few would risk their lives over this as it would be plain suicide to try and steal an item when guarding it was a High-Level super boss.
The chances of death would be extremely high...
But from the players' perspective, it's just a few levels and perhaps some extra punishment, it could completely screw them in regards to their standing in the competitive world, but if they do succeed, they could shoot up to the top.
Dale had no intentions of allowing such people to exist in his territory…
…
.
.
.
Notes
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel