"...Have I seen you somewhere before?"
The Blue Skin Guide, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, squinted at Chris--who was currently in an Asian squat--with a look of intense scrutiny.
"Who are you?"
Chris, who was currently tinkering with his Crystal Option, shot back with a casual glance.
Even if he wasn't wearing a mask, his expression and tone wouldn't have wavered in the slightest.
Why? Because Chris hadn't bothered to remember what the Blue Skin actually looked like!
So what if his skin was blue? Chris had only been in the Space Island for a short while, and he had already seen enough "alien" races, both real and fake, to last a lifetime. He'd even seen a few human sized Avatars. A guy who just had blue skin but otherwise looked perfectly human wasn't special enough to leave an impression.
The Blue Skin, on the other hand, was actually testing him. He didn't know for sure who Chris was.
Back when the Guide had been able to pull out five basic weapons from five completely different dungeons, it suggested one of two backgrounds.
Either he was a seasoned veteran who had survived multiple trials, or he was backed by a community, guild, or team.
The Blue Skin was the latter. One of his team's assigned duties was to monitor several specialized dungeons, including Ghouls 'n Ghosts, from the Mission Hall. This newcomer guidance mission, which technically could only be accepted once per player, was one he had personally snatchedup.
In truth, he had only told Chris and the others a portion of the truth back then. He had prepared those five basic cold weapons specifically because he knew the Ghouls 'n Ghosts world was the origin for their trial.
The rewards for being a newcomer guide were insignificant. What truly mattered were the connections. Every newcomer who managed to crawl out of Ghouls 'n Ghosts alive represented a potential future channel for acquiring items from that specific world.
Cast a wide net, catch many fish.
His team could easily afford that small initial investment.
Of course, the Blue Skin was mostly just following orders. Knowing what a cesspool Ghouls 'n Ghosts was for beginners, he hadn't harbored much hope. Since the team covered the cost of those five basic weapons, he'd handed them out without a second thought.
However, a few hours ago, he had unexpectedly received a system notification regarding a fulfilled contract.
The second party of that contract was "One Ear," the college student whose ear he had shot through to assert dominance. According to the contract, once the newcomer completed their trial, the borrowed equipment would automatically return to the first party: the Blue Skin himself.
He was utterly shocked to see the weapon return. It meant that "One Ear" had actually survived the ultimate newcomer hell that was Ghouls 'n Ghosts!
As for the other basic gear, the players associated with those contracts had all died in the dungeon. Upon their deaths, the borrowed weapons became "ownerless" items, naturally terminating the return contracts.
The result of those contracts allowed the Blue Skin to indirectly confirm the deaths of the other participants.
"One Ear" had survived, and the Blue Skin reached out via a system message using the player ID he'd recorded, requesting a meeting in the plaza. He was prepared to pay for every detail of "One Ear's" experience in the dungeon.
But to his surprise, the student completely ignored him. In fact, upon seeing the message, "One Ear" had immediately blacklisted him.
Among his peers, "One Ear" was certainly someone who could swallow his pride; he'd endured the humiliation of a perforated ear to borrow a weapon, after all. But that didn't mean he didn't hold a grudge.
After seeing the Blue Skin's message, "One Ear" didn't just block him; he'd already added the man to a very personal "must kill" list for the future.
'If I ever get the chance, I'm taking his ears off!'
The block had caught the Blue Skin by surprise, but it only served to heighten his curiosity about what had happened in the dungeon and how many people had survived.
So, the moment he heard a tip that someone in the market was selling the legendary Knight Armor from Ghouls 'n Ghosts, he'd rushed to the scene as fast as he could.
The Blue Skin's appearance was his "permanent" avatar in the Selection Space, much like a fixed character model in an MMO. However, many players preferred to spend a bit of currency to change their appearance every time they entered the Space Island--height, race, gender, and features could be altered at will. Without an exact player ID, the Blue Skin had no way of knowing Chris's identity.
He obviously suspected Chris was "One Ear," but he had no proof.
Of course, the various middlemen in the crowd weren't just interested in the armor. They were equally fascinated by the newcomer who had successfully emerged from that cesspool.
Unfortunately for them, Chris had sensed the shift in the atmosphere. After tinkering with his new four piece set long enough, he suddenly closed his stall and slipped away, ignoring the groans of the disappointed crowd.
Chris felt that the current market value of the Knight Armor had already exceeded its practical worth. Instead of selling it for raw currency, he decided to hold onto it. He'd wait until his next mission was confirmed before trading it to his next "victim" for exactly what he needed.
He'd come to this conclusion after seeing how desperate Old Van had been to trade for it, even at a massive loss.
...
East District, Mission Area.
If he hadn't known this was the Player Mission Hall, Chris might have mistaken it for a terminal in a major metropolis back on Earth.
Aside from players, there were numerous NPCs working as staff. Chris approached one who looked particularly approachable--a woman who bore a striking resemblance to a certain "Auntie Cas" from his memories--and began to ask questions. She was incredibly helpful, providing him with a wealth of information.
Every month, during the last ten days, every Selection Player was required to complete a mandatory dungeon mission known as a "Selection Trial."
Generally, these trials were based on randomized origins. However, as a player completed more trials and their rank increased, they would gain access to more useful information beforehand, sometimes even being told the dungeon origin in advance to allow for better preparation.
Generally speaking, these trials didn't have a brutal "insta kill" mechanism for failure. In Chris's newcomer trial, for example, if they had simply refused to push the main quest and HID for eight hours until the timer ran out, the mission would have failed, but an "Evacuation Task" would have appeared.
The Evacuation Task was much like the final stage of a chapter in Left 4 Dead. In most cases, it required the players to reach a specific extraction point within a time limit and hold it against waves of unknown enemies until the extraction was complete.
Of course, the original rewards would be gone. A newcomer might get a few hundred coins as a "consolation prize" just for surviving, but a veteran could expect heavy deductions in pay and benefits.
"And what happens if they fail the Evacuation Task too?" Chris asked.
In response to his question, the helpful "Auntie Cas" simply smiled.
"I'm not sure. No one has ever heard from them again."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]