"Oh?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by what the store assistant had just told him.
He had been searching all over the internet for solid information, digging through forums, wikis, and chat threads. But no matter how much effort he put in, nothing useful came up. He hadn't expected that a shopping assistant from Darunhua Mall would be the one to actually help him out.
Even more shocking—the assistant had managed to get the rare summoned beast egg of the "Big Sword Mantis"!
As it turned out, the materials Ethan had been hunting for had originally come from a mysterious figure known only as the "bearded master." That same shopping assistant, after failing to reach the bearded man on the first call, tried again the next day—determined not to leave a bad impression on the store's clientele.
When the call finally connected, the assistant introduced himself, "Hello, I'm the lobby manager at Darunhua. You can call me Leo."
"I'm calling about a material you sold—the Blade of the Big Sword Mantis. I wanted to ask where you got it from. If you're willing to share, we're ready to pay for that info."
The bearded master wasn't surprised. Trading dungeon information was a common practice among professionals. After all, people didn't just hand over valuable secrets for free online. This was the reason Ethan had found absolutely nothing useful in his searches. Much like that group of four he encountered earlier, people kept the best dungeon information to themselves—especially if it involved high-tier bosses dropping skill books or rare items.
"Alright," said the bearded master, "but I can only come by tomorrow."
Leo readily agreed, eager to help Ethan while keeping a good rapport with the mysterious seller.
Interestingly, the bearded man had a summoned beast egg lying around. He had originally planned to roast and eat it—yes, eat it—but had forgotten all about it. Now, seeing a demand for it, he figured he might as well sell it off. With all the money he'd spent changing cars this year, a little extra income wouldn't hurt.
The following day came quickly.
When the bearded master arrived and saw Leo, he squinted. "Hmm… you look kinda familiar," he muttered. Then he shrugged. "Must've seen you around before."
Without wasting any time, he got down to business. "The info is for an LV40 dungeon, market price—200,000. If you want it, pay up."
"And I also happen to have this summoned beast egg. Doesn't look like it'd taste good, so I'll sell it to you."
He tossed the egg onto the table.
The summoned beast egg rolled dangerously across the surface. Leo panicked and quickly reached out to catch it before it fell. His heart nearly stopped—if that egg cracked, how could he explain it to Ethan?
Trying to maintain his composure, Leo said, "Alright, I'll verify it now."
After checking the details, he confirmed it—this was indeed the egg of the Big Sword Mantis, the very one Ethan had mentioned.
Leo wanted to call Ethan right away. But being a responsible employee who respected customer privacy, he held back.
"We can offer 2.2 million for the egg," he said carefully, afraid the seller might back out.
"Deal," the bearded master grinned. "Total 2.4 million including the dungeon info. Just transfer it."
Once the transaction was complete and the funds hit his account, the bearded man chuckled, "Nice. Now I can afford that new car I wanted this year."
After he left, Leo finally reached out to Ethan.
When Ethan arrived and heard the story, he was stunned.
So all this time, the key information he needed had simply been hidden behind paywalls. No wonder the internet was a dead end.
But then came the real problem.
He checked his account balance.
Only 1 million left.
But the summoned beast egg and the dungeon info together cost 2.2 million. That left him short by 1.2 million.
Leo, being honest and genuinely wanting to help Ethan, refused to take any commission from him—even though Darunhua as a business would still profit from the resale of the information.
Seeing Ethan hesitate, Leo guessed the issue immediately—he didn't have enough money.
After all, Ethan hadn't been back since their last meeting, likely meaning he hadn't cleared another dungeon since then.
So what now?
How could Leo help Ethan save face, while also maintaining a good impression—and still close the deal?
Then it hit him—his first real brainstorm.
Meanwhile, Ethan opened his inventory, scrolling through what he could possibly sell.
There was the cane he hadn't let go of yet. Then the guardian suit gifted to him by the principal of the third high school. But he didn't want to sell that.
Wait… there it was—a sword he had completely forgotten about.
The "Silver-Rank Bloody King's Great Sword."
He pulled it out and asked Leo, "Can you check how much this is worth?"
Leo gave it a quick appraisal. "We could get around 200,000 for it."
Still not enough.
Ethan frowned. That left a big gap in funding. He didn't want to dip into the money given by his old school principal. He was trying to be independent now. And besides, he remembered the principal's bank account wasn't exactly overflowing.
Should he ask Fairwind for a loan?
No. If he gave Fairwind the chance, he'd likely never hear the end of it.
Then, suddenly, a thought struck him.
The bearded master—the one who sold the egg and the info—he owed Ethan a favor.
But Ethan didn't plan to attend Ravenshade University, so their paths probably wouldn't cross again. Still…
He looked through his phone and found the number he used during that previous taxi ride.
He hit "call."
"Hello? I'm outside but don't see you."
"It's Ethan," he replied.
"Ethan? Oh, you! What made you call? Thinking of enrolling at Ravenshade?"
"I've got a question," Ethan asked calmly. "How much is the favor you owe me worth?"
"…!?"
The bearded master froze.
What kind of question was that? How much was a favor worth?
As the top tutor at Ravenshade University, the man figured a favor from him should be worth at least 18 million, minimum. But instead, he simply asked, "What do you need?"
"Transfer me 3 million," Ethan replied. "And we'll call it even."
The bearded master paused.
Then he transferred the money.
And immediately felt a strange sense of loss.
Was that really all his favor was worth—just 3 million?
He scratched his beard, confused.
Was Ethan looking down on him?
Did he think he wasn't worth more?
Or maybe… was Ethan afraid the favor would go unpaid?
Something about it just didn't sit right. He sat there, trying to make sense of his emotions, and completely forgot about the customer waiting at the counter.
"Damn it," he muttered. "That jerk canceled the order and even left me a bad review?!"
-------------------------------------------------------
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
-----------------------------------------------------