What Lillian wanted to ask about was, naturally, the iron ore inside the first-floor labyrinth.
Even if the blacksmith's quest hadn't existed during beta, players must have mined iron ore before. At the very least, players with blacksmithing-related sub-professions would have needed such materials to forge equipment and raise their crafting proficiency.
"Do you know where iron ore is distributed inside the labyrinth?"
"Iron ore?"
Argo looked at him in surprise. From her perspective, a launch player shouldn't be asking about that on the first day.
Her bright eyes blinked a few times, then she suddenly asked, "Did you pick up a quest that needs iron ore?"
"Yeah," Lillian replied honestly. There was no reason to hide it.
"I see." Argo nodded, thinking for a moment. "I do have information about iron ore, but…"
"How much?" Lillian asked directly.
"You're quick." Argo raised one finger. "Just one thousand Col."
"..."
Lillian fell silent.
He only had 1,300 Col left in total. Spending a thousand on information alone was pushing it.
Seeing his hesitation, Argo immediately tried to persuade him. "It's only a thousand—it's not that much. Once you finish the quest, the reward will definitely be worth more than that. And it'll save you a lot of time too~"
She wasn't wrong.
Time was money. Efficiency mattered. If he could learn the ore distribution beforehand, he'd save a great deal of time. Otherwise, getting lost inside the labyrinth at his current level would only increase the danger the longer he stayed inside.
But…
After thinking for a moment, Lillian suddenly said something Argo hadn't expected.
"You don't just sell information," he said. "You buy it too, right?"
"Of course." Argo looked at him. "Do you have information you want to sell?"
"Yes."
"What kind?"
"Information about the first-floor labyrinth boss."
"What?!"
Argo sprang to her feet, staring at him in shock. "Boss information? No—wait. If you mean the boss's stats and standard strategy, then forget it," she said. "All beta testers already know that. And it'll probably be public knowledge soon anyway."
"No." Lillian shook his head. "That strategy is outdated. The boss's attack pattern has changed—it's different from the beta."
Argo frowned slightly. "Really? You haven't even entered the labyrinth yet. How could you possibly have that kind of information? You're not trying to scam my Col with fake intel, are you?"
"If you don't believe me, then forget it," Lillian said indifferently. "I'm sure there's at least one information broker willing to take a risk."
"…Hmm."
Argo studied his face. He didn't look like a liar. She hesitated, calculating silently.
If the boss's attack pattern really has changed, that's incredibly dangerous. Even beta testers could get instantly killed if they're careless. That information would be extremely valuable… but if it's fake…
After struggling internally for a moment, she clenched her teeth and named a price.
"Three thousand Col. I'll buy it."
Even if it was fake, she'd only lose a small amount. But if it was real, she could flip it to anxious beta players trying to clear the labyrinth and make a fortune.
That was her reasoning—but Lillian shook his head.
"Too little," he said. "My information contains the key point for defeating the boss. The party that kills the boss gets exclusive items—and there's even a chance of obtaining a demonic sword. Even exclusive items sell for tens of thousands, let alone a demonic sword."
"…Then how much do you want?"
"Six thousand."
Lillian didn't actually know the perfect price. He only knew one thing—Argo was notoriously ruthless. So he simply doubled her offer.
"Fine. Six thousand it is."
Argo didn't haggle at all and immediately initiated the trade. "But I'm warning you—if this information is fake, I won't let you off."
"Understood."
She had the means to back that threat up. With her network of beta testers, finding people to deal with Lillian would be trivial.
...
[Col: 6000]
[Transaction Complete]
Looking at the notification, Lillian couldn't help thinking how absurdly profitable her business was. It was only the first day after launch, and she already had this much money. Compared to exploiting information asymmetry, things like highway robbery were laughably inefficient.
"Alright," Argo said eagerly. "The information."
Lillian nodded, gathered his thoughts, then spoke.
"The first-floor boss is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He has four HP bars. Every time one bar is depleted, he summons three minions to assist him."
"I know that," Argo said immediately. "When his HP drops to the final bar, he switches weapons to a curved blade and changes his attack style. All beta testers know this."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're not just going to tell me that, are you?"
"No." Lillian shook his head. "What I want to say is exactly this. During the beta test, when the boss entered its final HP bar, it switched to a scimitar. But in the current open test, the weapon it switches to is Nodachi."
"Nodachi?!" Argo gasped. "The weapon capable of rapid displacement attacks!"
"That's right."
"Is what you're saying true?!"
Argo's small face lit up with excitement. Without a doubt, this was extremely critical information. A scimitar and a nodachi had completely different attack patterns. If beta testers continued using their old strategies, they would very likely be instantly killed by the nodachi's high-speed attacks!
That made this information incredibly valuable. After all, beta testers were especially cautious with their lives. They were more than willing to pay for intelligence related to survival—especially when it could help clear the boss. Quite a few beta testers were aiming to secure the first kill of the Floor One boss to obtain exclusive items.
This was great. This intel could easily sell for ten thousand col! No, that was too cheap—at least twenty thousand! Hmm… if they couldn't afford it all at once, she could always let them pay in installments!
While Argo was calculating profits in her head, she suddenly snapped back to reality and looked at Lillian curiously.
"If what you're saying is true, then how did you get this information? No one should have fought the boss yet."
"Yeah. I got it through… external means."
"External means?"
"Oh, I'm neighbors with the game's developer, Akihiko Kayaba," Lillian said casually, spinning a blatant lie. "Once, while we were having tea together, he mentioned that if the open test were the same as the beta, it would be too boring—so he changed a lot of things…"
Whoosh!
Before he could finish speaking, Argo suddenly leaned in close, her eyes blazing as she stared at him.
"…What are you doing?"
"If you're neighbors," she said slowly, "doesn't that mean… you have access to a lot more important information?"
"Maybe," Lillian replied vaguely.
"…."
Argo leaned back, thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Even if you do, I can't buy any more right now. I need to verify whether your boss intel is real first. Only after confirming that you're not trying to scam me can we consider further cooperation."
"That makes sense."
"Then…" A sly grin crept back onto her face. "Now that you're swimming in col, do you still want that information from earlier? Same price—one thousand."
"Of course."
Lillian immediately traded her one thousand col. Argo followed up right away.
"Even if the boss's attack pattern changed, I don't think the dungeon map itself changed much. At most, the boss room's location might be different. Based on beta-test data, once you enter the Floor One labyrinth, you'll have three paths to choose from. If you're looking for iron ore, take the far-right path. Iron ore nodes can spawn randomly along that route, and there's also a safe room halfway through where you can rest."
"The right path. Got it."
Argo's information was genuinely useful. If there really were three branching paths, then without intel, Lillian could easily head the wrong way.
"Judging by your expression, you're planning to go into the labyrinth alone?" Argo asked. When Lillian nodded, she looked puzzled. "Seriously? You're only level 6. It's much safer to enter after level 10. And your equipment… it's all starter gear. Even regular mobs will give you trouble."
"I know what I'm doing."
"Planning to level along the way? That could work. But going in alone is still extremely dangerous. You should bring more potions, and anti-poison potions are a must. Still, none of that compares to one particular item."
"What item?"
Argo smiled faintly and raised her slender palm. In the next instant, light flashed, and a crystal-clear gemstone appeared in her hand.
"A Teleport Crystal."
A Teleport Crystal?!
Lillian's pupils shrank instantly. This was incredible loot! As long as a teleport point was set in advance, the user could teleport back after a three-second channel—whether in the wild or inside a dungeon! While some high-level dungeons had Crystal Nullification Rooms, Floor One definitely didn't. And even boss rooms allowed their use—Lillian remembered that teleporting in boss rooms wasn't disabled until well past the seventieth floor.
Having one of these was basically an extra life. It massively increased fault tolerance. What Lillian couldn't understand was how Argo managed to get something this rare on the very first day of the open test.
"With this, you can instantly escape the labyrinth," Argo said, smiling like a little devil. "It's a must-have item for solo players. Since I really liked the intel you gave me, I'll sell it to you at a discount—just five thousand col."
"..."
One thousand plus five thousand. Was she seriously going to squeeze all six thousand col right back out of him this quickly?
Lillian sighed internally. He really did want it. As Argo said, a solo player absolutely needed a Teleport Crystal. It could save his life in a critical moment.
And honestly, the price was cheap. It seemed Argo genuinely wanted to stay on good terms with him—perhaps she really believed his story about being Kayaba's neighbor and hoped to obtain more crucial intel in the future. Compared to that, a Teleport Crystal was nothing.
"…I'll take it."
"OK."
After initiating the trade, Lillian asked, "Can I ask how you obtained this crystal?"
"Sure," Argo said cheerfully. "Information on how to get Teleport Crystals costs twenty thousand col~"
"..."