---Third POV---
Looking at the two people who were only marginally better dressed than beggars, NeverShowOff's head was full of questions.
He glanced behind him to make sure there was no one else.
"Where's Viktor? Finished the mission? Did you find the dwarf mentioned in the task?"
Surely the dwarf couldn't be… LootGoblin, right?
Garble struggled to poke his head out of the pile of silk and, upon seeing NeverShowOff and the others, his expression relaxed a little.
"Rescue failed. By the time we got there, all we found was a backpack. The person was long gone."
ProGamer_Daddy stepped forward to help, carefully lowering the silk-covered bundles they were carrying.
As soon as he touched them, he realized spider silk were much heavier than he had imagined.
"Where did you get this... uh, pile of black threads? And why is it so sticky?"
"You might not believe me, but it started out white," LootGoblin said with a face full of grievance.
Even after washing the silk with water, it was impossible to completely remove their stickiness. Along the way, they picked up all kinds of unidentified debris.
Now the silk looked like a giant ball of yarn that had rolled through a sewage ditch.
These spider silk, which couldn't be stored in their game inventory, had significantly increased the difficulty of their return journey. The thought of it made him furious.
He plopped down onto the ground but immediately jumped up in pain.
"Ah—I'm exhausted… Ow, ow, ow!"
Clutching his rear, he grimaced in pain.
"Next time there's some godforsaken special mission, I swear I'm not taking it!"
The whole trip felt like an obstacle course through a primeval forest. They even had to take a detour on the way back, exhausting him completely!
Garble began unloading the silk from his game inventory while explaining, "Viktor brought him along because of his racial advantages to search for the dwarf."
"Huh? Racial advantage again?"
Hedgehog flipped the worm meat roasting over the fire and cast an envious look.
"Why don't I ever get that kind of luck?"
"Heh." LootGoblin responded with a cold laugh. "If I could trade places with you, I'd tell you first thing."
"Because of those short little legs, I ended up walking at least a third more than everyone else!"
If you weren't the one experiencing it, you'd never understand the pain in his heart.
Now that Garble had started unloading, he also took out the spider silk from his inventory.
The ground was suddenly covered with white silk.
"See, this is the original color of the spider silk."
ProGamer_Daddy looked at the blackened clump near his feet, then at the pile of pristine white threads, his expression indescribable. "Impressive."
The contrast between the two states of silk spoke volumes about their journey.
---
The two returned just in time to catch NeverShowOff preparing dinner.
Having run around all day, LootGoblin was both hungry and exhausted, so he decided to stay and freeload a meal.
"Consider yourself lucky today! You've caught us on a good day—we're upgrading the menu!"
ProGamer_Daddy handed him a skewer of red meat.
LootGoblin took a deep breath, and the charred aroma filled his nose, making his mouth water involuntarily.
"Where'd you get the meat?"
Apart from the school of piranhas, he hadn't seen any creatures bigger than caterpillars in the game.
"Didn't you read today's announcement?"
"Red-scaled worms? This is worm meat?"
LootGoblin's hand trembled as he held the skewer.
He couldn't decide whether to eat it or throw it away.
"What, got a mental block about it too?"
Hedgehog stuffed an entire skewer of meat into his mouth, chewing as he spoke. "Don't overthink it. The taste's pretty close to chicken, just a bit earthy."
"Yeah, I'll pass."
After a long internal debate, LootGoblin still couldn't bring himself to take a bite.
He turned and stuck the skewer back near the fire.
"Ugh, another picky eater. Fine, leave it for me!" ProGamer_Daddy happily devoured the rejected skewer.
LootGoblin turned his gaze toward the empty village entrance.
"Where is everyone else? Logged off?"
"More or less. Two of them couldn't stomach the idea of eating worm meat, but they couldn't resist the smell, so they went far away to avoid temptation," Hedgehog explained.
Humans were funny like that—clearly tempted but unable to get over their mental hurdles.
LootGoblin chuckled awkwardly. "You guys have strong stomachs."
As a modern person with no shortage of food, he had no interest in expanding his diet like this.
But for those lucky four, their immersion in the game felt too real, like they were actually surviving in a fantasy wilderness!
NeverShowOff handed LootGoblin a sweet fruit.
"Tell us about your mission experience."
Garble swallowed his mouthful of roasted meat and nodded. "Alright."
A Q&A wouldn't be as comprehensive as a full explanation, so he began describing the mission in detail.
He emphasized the overly dense forest outside the safe zone and the glimpses they had of jungle creatures.
Even though Viktor had led them away from most monsters, the constant sense of danger was undeniable.
If they'd ventured out alone, it would have been far more dangerous. Most likely, they'd have found nothing and died.
He then focused on the dwarf's tracks and the goblin nest they discovered.
"According to Viktor, the goblin nest is very close to the town. If we go out, there's a good chance we'll run into it."
Hedgehog perked up immediately.
"A new hostile faction! Are we finally getting faction wars?"
"What are you dreaming about? There are only nine players. What kind of war are we fighting, a brawl at the village gate?" ProGamer_Daddy shot him a sideways glance.
Hedgehog deflated instantly. "Ugh, boring!"
NeverShowOff rubbed his chin. "It's impossible to start a war directly, but we could catch a goblin to test the waters."
Even though Viktor's information indicated goblins were social creatures, they wouldn't always act as a group when out foraging.
Setting traps near the edge of the safe zone might help them capture a lone goblin for research.
"I agree! Knowing your enemy is important before any battle!" Hedgehog was the first to respond enthusiastically.
After killing the worms, his muscles were itching for another fight!
Everyone enthusiastically discussed the details of the capture plan.
Listening to it all, LootGoblin's jaw dropped wider and wider.
"Are you guys insane?"
Viktor had warned that goblins could compromise the safe zone's protection.
But instead of avoiding them, these four lunatics were planning to provoke them?!
They even had plans for interrogating their prisoner through torture?!
The whole process sounded increasingly brutal.
He couldn't help but question himself.
Was this the gap between him and the first-tier players?
But this plan didn't involve him.
"Wait, don't get ahead of yourselves with the goblin stuff. Deal with the spider silk first!"
"Spider silk?" NeverShowOff repeated, confused.
"The white threads we brought back," Garble explained, briefly recounting the accident with the spider silk and their potential use.
"Weaving cloth?" ProGamer_Daddy's eyes lit up as he clenched his fists. "That's gold!"
Honeyvale had a massive shortage of fabric, and most players only had two sets of starter clothes they wore on rotation.
Even stiff grass fabric was running low.
If they could weave the silk into cloth and sell it, they'd make a fortune!
LootGoblin nodded firmly. "Moreover, I asked Viktor, and the marketplace does buy fabrics. As long as we can weave the thread spider silk into cloth, there's no need to worry about finding sales channels!"
Hedgehog lowered his head in thought, still doubtful. "But you also said it has to be woven into cloth. Do we even know how to do such work?"
ProGamer_Daddy thought for a moment and agreed, calming down.
"True. We don't even know how to weave silk, let alone spider silk."
"Look for tutorials online!"
LootGoblin pressed the sweetfruit in its hand to the ground and reasoned earnestly. "The internet is so advanced. Finding a weaving tutorial should be easy! How different can silk and spider silk really be?"
"Based on the current cost-effectiveness of tasks, even if you soak in the game all day, you'll only earn a few dozen magicoins at most. Once the spider silk cloth is ready, it'll definitely be tenfold in profit!"
"NeverShowOff, you're a gaming content creator. You must see the value in this."
All eyes turned to NeverShowOff.
He pondered for a moment.
Indeed, magicoins were the most important in-game currency besides experience points.
Don't be fooled by the current NPC marketplace, which only sold highly worn-out items, simple fabrics, and food.
After all, this was a magical world.
What if magical equipment suddenly appeared in the marketplace one day?
Saving money would never go wrong!
Finally, he relented. "What do you want to do?"
"Though the profit from spider silk is no small matter, it does require manpower and effort. I'm just a casual player. I can't handle this business, nor do I want to." LootGoblin openly shared his plan without holding anything back. "Just name your price, and I'll sell you all the silk I have. How about that?"
NeverShowOff exchanged a glance with the others. This was indeed a big business deal, and he couldn't decide alone.
"Give us some time."
The four players stood up simultaneously and huddled aside to discuss the feasibility.
The meat roasting on the campfire sizzled, and its aroma wafted in the air.
Even the worm meat they added last was starting to burn, signaling their discussion had taken quite some time.
When they finally returned, LootGoblin casually tossed aside the core of the fruit it had eaten.
"So, what's the verdict?"
"500 magicoins to buy out all your silk."
LootGoblin refused without hesitation, "No way! That's too cheap!"
His eyebrows furrowed as he continued:
"The game backpack has five slots, and each slot can hold up to 999 of the same item."
"I've maxed out the slots and still have leftovers. I have at least 5,000 strands of silk in hand."
"Viktor said the thread spiders are Tier-1 magical creatures, with all their talent points focused on their silk. This stuff is definitely not cheap."
"You're trying to buy it at a price that's not even worth a single magicoin per strand? At least 2,000 magicoins!"
ProGamer_Daddy took a deep breath. "2,000? You really dare to dream!"
A player grinding daily in the game would need 40 days to earn 2,000 magicoins! And he wanted to make that much in a single special mission?
NeverShowOff looked serious. "1,000 coins. No more. As you said, it's all speculation. No one knows the true value of thread spider silk."
"We also need to account for the risk of damage during the weaving process and other potential losses. If we don't buy, we can still make do with the silk we have and start a business."
"But your silk? I doubt you'll find another buyer willing to take it off your hands."
Currently, there were only a handful of players capable of producing four-digit sums of magicoins, and most were in their squad.
The scene grew quiet for a moment.
LootGoblin looked up and sincerely said, "I've been your loyal fan for ten years…"
"Playing the sympathy card won't work." NeverShowOff turned his head away expressionlessly.
To be honest, he was still not used to the shock of the character's appearance that LootGoblin had chosen after all these days.
"1,000 magicoins is the highest price we can offer. We can't risk everything on the silk."
NeverShowOff's tone was sincere and heartfelt.
"If thread spiders suddenly become overly abundant in the coming days, we'd lose everything, including our pants."
This successfully made LootGoblin swallow the retort he was about to make.
"Fine, but I want the deal done today!"
ProGamer_Daddy frowned. "Can't we pay in installments?"
They had been planning to use their coins to buy a plot of land where they'd build a house.
The longer they delayed, the greater the risk another player might buy it.
LootGoblin looked at him like he was an idiot. "If you want to delay, I wouldn't mind waiting longer and going for a profit share instead."
"Hey! How come I never realized how annoying you are?" ProGamer_Daddy rolled up his sleeves, pretending to hit him.
"Alright, stop it," NeverShowOff intervened, stopping the leaping ProGamer_Daddy.
Profit-sharing was off the table. A one-time buyout was the most cost-effective option.
After consulting with the others, NeverShowOff agreed.
"Fine, let's do the deal today."
The four of them had about 2,200 magicoins in total.
Completing the transaction would leave them only 200 coins short of buying the land.
Just one more day of grinding wouldn't hurt.
After all, they hadn't bought the land immediately, assuming other players wouldn't catch up to their progress anytime soon.
One more day didn't matter.
LootGoblin grinned. "Great, let's do it!"
They skipped their meal and went straight to Viktor for notarization to complete the magicoin transaction.
Magicoins were not light.
Most players found them too cumbersome and only exchanged a few physical coins to carry around.
To check their balance, they relied on the in-game panel.
However, players couldn't transfer funds directly through the panel.
Therefore, any virtual magicoin transactions required an NPC to process them.
Initially, Edgar handled magicoin transactions.
But after he left, the task fell to Viktor.
The five players quickly explained the reason for the transfer, leaving Viktor stunned.
Originally, he had planned to open a marketplace channel for thread spider silk the next day to help players liquidate their inventory.
Then he'd figure out how to deal with the silk himself.
He didn't expect the players to already be attempting to weave it into fabric!
For such efficient and resourceful players, he was fully supportive.
"A magicoin transfer? I'll get it done right away!"
Using GM privileges, he adjusted the balances on their in-game panels and symbolically sent a transaction record notification.
The deal was done.
After reciting some standard lines, Viktor thoughtfully gifted them a detailed guide for processing thread spider silk, hoping they wouldn't make unnecessary mistakes.
However.
Just after his compliment, the players revealed their true nature.
ProGamer_Daddy rubbed his hands together and approached with a grin. "Great Lord Viktor, I'd like to ask for a favor…"
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50 advance chapters!
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