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A quest alert window popped up for all players of Arcana Online.
But this time, it wasn’t the usual blue window. It was a golden window, something no one had seen before.
[Main Scenario Quest conditions fulfilled.] [CHAPTER 1: Protect the World Tree.] [Time until invasion: 719 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.]
The news came as a shock to players who had no idea that a main scenario quest even existed.
This news quickly spread across countless community sites, reaching the number one spot in real-time search rankings.
Many players began moving swiftly.
The World Tree was located in the forest where the Forest Tribe lived.
The Forest Tribe—no, the elves—were so powerful that each one could rival a high-ranking player. If you annoyed them, you could be shot by an arrow and die the moment you entered the forest.
Above all, fighting elves in the forest was pure madness.
How could anyone defeat elves who flew through the trees like flying squirrels?
To participate in the main scenario quest, players would need to build a good relationship with the Forest Tribe in advance.
But elves were infamous for being unapproachable.
When many players visited the forest, half were chased away, and those who resisted were killed.
The players who found themselves rejected had no idea about the struggles of the Forest Tribe.
They had just managed to solve a noise problem and were finally hoping to get some rest, only to be bombarded day and night by visiting players, preventing them from getting any proper sleep.
Since the black market only opened at night, I didn’t return to the hotel and headed straight there.
I held the ticket in my hand.
[Black Market Ticket]
You needed a ticket to enter the black market.
The entrance to the black market changed locations every day, but the ticket displayed the current location on the back.
When I arrived at the marked spot, two large men were guarding the door.
“Please show your ticket.” “Here you go.”
After checking my ticket, they opened the door.
As I stepped inside, an incredible sight unfolded before me.
Numerous stalls were lined up, with a variety of races buying or browsing goods in front of them.
Humans, elves, beastfolk, dwarves—it seemed like every race was present.
I stared curiously at a dwarf for the first time, and when he noticed my gaze, he looked back at me.
“What business does a young miss have, staring at an old dwarf like me?” “Sorry! I’ve never seen a dwarf before. Your muscles are impressive!” “Ha! You’ve got a good eye, young miss! Come by my shop later, and I’ll give you a special discount!”
I watched the dwarf walk away, laughing, before moving on to explore the stalls.
They were selling mana stones here too.
[??? Mana Stone]
It was a mana stone, but its grade was unknown.
“Miss, give it a try. If you’re lucky, you might get a top-grade mana stone.” “Is it random?” “That’s right! Just 50,000 gold per try!”
The lowest-grade mana stones cost 1,000 gold each. Low-grade ones went for 100,000 gold.
The lowest grade was just a pretty rock with no practical use.
When I gave Dragon-Dragon a lowest-grade mana stone, he spat it out.
Lately, he’s been getting picky, barely even eating low-grade stones anymore. Should I give this a shot just for fun?
Who knows? I might get something mid-grade or higher.
“Bweeee.” “You’re saying not to do it?” “Bweeeeee!” “You think with my luck, it’d be cheaper just to buy one!?”
I pulled out 50,000 gold from my inventory.
“One try, please.” “Bweeee!?”
“Pick wisely.”
I chose one of the many mana stones, and it transformed from a small stone into a bowling ball-sized gem, and the information appeared.
[Top-Grade Mana Stone] A mana stone used for advanced magic research.
“Wha-wha-what…!?” “What the heck!? How did that get in there!?” “Bweeee!?”
All three of us stood there, jaws dropped.
Wait, what did he mean by that?
The rules of the black market.
Once a transaction is made, it can’t be undone.
If you try to go back on a deal, a fixer from the underworld will come knocking at midnight.
I quickly bowed to the stall owner, who was looking at me with teary eyes, and walked away as I heard something heavy hit the ground behind me.
I didn’t hear anything. Nope, nothing at all.
“Bweeee?” “Oh? Didn’t Dragon-Dragon just say it would be cheaper to buy one?” “Bweee.”
“See? You were wrong. So, I’m keeping this.” “Bweee!”
“Wait, you’re mad? It was just a joke!”
Dragon-Dragon’s sulking was so amusing that I couldn’t help but laugh.
Teasing him was becoming more and more fun.
When I promised to give him one back at the hotel, he finally brightened up and smiled. He’s just too cute!
Does he even realize how much this thing is worth?
A low-grade mana stone costs 100,000. A mid-grade stone is 1,000,000. A high-grade stone costs 10,000,000.
But a top-grade one? The price is whatever someone is willing to pay.
“Our little Dragon-Dragon, do you know how much this is worth? It’s super expensive.” “Bweeee!” “You’ll pay me back later?”
My little Dragon-Dragon sure talks big, huh?
He confidently declared he’d pay me back tenfold, no, a hundredfold, but it was just too cute.
As I wandered through more stalls with Dragon-Dragon, chatting away, I couldn’t find anything particularly interesting.
In novels, they always sold legendary swords, magic swords, or at least ego swords, but here? Nothing.
After wandering for a while, I checked the time and realized the auction was about to start.
Heading to the auction venue, I showed my ticket again. They handed me a sign and a mask.
My number was 44.
“Please wear the mask and head inside.” “Thank you!”
I wasn’t thrilled with the number, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Once I donned the mask and entered the auction hall, I saw many people, all wearing unique masks.
I guess this was to prevent people from knowing who won the bids?
I took a seat in the back and waited as a man, who appeared to be the auctioneer, stepped onto the stage.
“Thank you all for your patience! Tonight, we have rare and valuable items that will light up the night, so I hope you’ll participate enthusiastically! Now, for our first item!”
In the auction, you couldn’t use any item appraisal skills.
You could only inspect the items visually, but nothing really caught my eye.
From gemstones to swords, staffs, and accessories, all sorts of things were up for bid, but I couldn’t tell what any of them were.
“And now, the next item is a summoner’s dream: a spellbook!”
For summoners, a spellbook is a highly coveted item.
Yet no one was bidding?
Is summoning that unpopular?
The auctioneer started at 10,000,000 gold, but before long, he was calling out 100,000 gold.
“Any takers at 100,000 gold?”
I raised my sign, and the auctioneer quickly hammered it down, eager to finalize the sale.
I guess he didn’t want me to change my mind.
Summoning for the win…
After the auction, I claimed my item and looked around the black market some more, but there wasn’t anything else that caught my eye, so I headed back to the hotel.
As I lay on the soft bed, I heard a cute sound.
“Bweee, bweee.” “Is my little Dragon-Dragon being adorable!?” “Bweeee!” “Of course, you can have it!”
I pulled out the top-grade mana stone from my inventory and handed it to him. He joyfully gobbled it up.
“Is it that good?” “Bweee!”
Whoever summoned this little guy is the luckiest person ever. He’s just too cute!
I recorded a video of Dragon-Dragon munching on the mana stone for a while before lying back down on the bed.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.” “Bweee.”
If only Dragon-Dragon could come with me to the real world.
Sigh. Life sure is hard.
In all my thousand years of life, I’ve never experienced anything this humiliating.
It hasn’t even been a year since I turned into a dragon, but still, I am a dragon.
I glanced at my sleeping contractor, feeling conflicted, before turning to the view outside the window.
The sky was full of stars.
No, I should call them constellations.
Each one of those cunning things is targeting humans.
I don’t understand why people think they’re so beautiful.
One of them, exuding a sinister aura, began watching my contractor.
[Don’t even think about it. He’s mine.]
At that moment, the bright star vanished, and another star took its place.
These beings, always waiting for their chance.
I suppose I should issue a warning.
I looked up at the sky and delivered my message.
[On the day I ascend, unless you want to face me, disappear.]
At that instant, all the stars in the sky simultaneously blinked out.
The city was thrown into chaos as darkness suddenly enveloped everything.
I slipped back into my contractor’s embrace and settled comfortably.
After spending a thousand years asleep in cold water, I thought I’d never feel warmth again.
But in my contractor’s arms, I could sleep as much as I wanted.
That’s how warm and cozy it was.
I closed my eyes and waited.
For the contractor to wake up.