The next morning when Hill got out of bed, he carefully reflected on last night's sleep. He hadn't felt this bone-weary in many years; a deep sleep that left him radiating a comfortable vibe upon awakening, surrounded by Spirits of Nature rejoicing for him.
Hill quite liked this feeling of being human.
He pushed open the window to take a look and his mood plummeted instantly.
There was a queue.
A long line stretching all the way to the end of the street.
Hill had no choice but to wonder: if they knew the goods here were of such quality, why didn't they keep it a secret?
He felt the puzzle he faced when playing games in the past—why are there so many who cause harm but to no one's benefit? For a moment of showing off, posting on forums and drawing crowds to compete, it happened in every world.
To players who didn't know any better, perhaps they really were good people?
Hill listlessly descended the stairs and quickly summoned the store core, resetting the settings: after 30 people entered, the door would immediately close, and after one batch left, another could enter; everyone was allowed only 30 minutes inside. Hill also opened up the spare door next to it.
Today, Hill didn't dare to sit by the window and have breakfast; he gnawed on a couple of sandwiches and picked up a pot of tea to sit at the crafting bench: today he would only be buying, no appraisals.
He set up a sign for buying ores, herbs, and all kinds of materials, and on this Alchemy Plate, he listed all the materials he knew and the prices he was buying them for.
Thankfully, he had bound the store core, and Hill decided when he left, he'd take this one with him and give a new one to Fran.
Taking a deep breath, Hill ordered, "Open the door."
The store's door automatically opened, and the players in front pushed their way inside.
Hill saw that they were practically shoved in, all swearing at each other.
But it was still the familiar faces: Perfect Bald and his bunch.
Baldy cursed aloud, "Which short-lived moron posted on the damn forum!"
Xiao Liuliu scolded him, "Shut it, do you enjoy being warned every day!"
A Deer added, "Don't bother with the master, let him get banned a few more times; he'll learn."
Magic Sword followed, "Queuing in the middle of the night, insane. Let's hurry and buy, I still want to sleep!"
Hill noticed Old Auntie and Chattering, two people he hadn't seen yesterday.
They seemed like they had been called out of bed in the wee hours, all dull and listless.
Baldy saw Hill, who was sitting there smiling, and rushed over quickly.
Chattering was lined up behind him.
They knew Hill's identity.
Baldy put on a cute smile and gently said, "Mr. Polanio, I only found out after I went back that you knew Chattering before, even guided him. We are truly fated, aren't we!"
Hill took a deep breath and coldly replied, "I remember him. Perfect Bald, please speak your mind like you did yesterday. I don't discriminate against others' hobbies."
Suddenly, everyone inside the shop burst into laughter.
It seemed like they were all from their group.
Baldy himself began to chuckle foolishly.
Hill helplessly reminded them, "Each person can only stay in the store for 30 minutes, please make the most of your time."
Baldy hurriedly started shouting "Ah, ah, ah!" and pulled out a bunch of items.
Hill helplessly pointed to the sign next to the table, "You look at this, just ask me about what you want to know. Save money, save trouble."
Baldy crouched down to pat the sign, clearly he just wanted to know the purchasing prices.
Hill noticed Xiao Liuliu slapping the sign and sending messages on the side; it seemed like they still had people queuing outside.
Chattering approached and said, "Mr. Hill, long time no see."
Hill looked at this player who had already become a Magister, not very eager to talk: even though he knew how different he was from the players, he couldn't suppress his feeling of jealousy at that moment.
He sighed silently: Alright, remember they are just tools.
He smiled and said, "The Undead Tribe is really enviable, advancing so quickly. But I remember you liked herbs, are you interested in learning Alchemy?"
Chattering hastily replied, "Yes! We only have the most basic potion formulas, and they often fail to mix. I'm eager to learn proper Alchemy here."
Hill said, "You're already a Magister, ordinary Alchemists wouldn't dare to take you as an apprentice. If you really want to learn, find your way to my territory! I'll introduce you to an elder who will teach you, he's a powerful Alchemist."
Baldy interrupted, "Mr. Polanio, we turned in the ores yesterday, and even William came out! He said after verification, he'd give us a reward of Military Exploits, enough for us to get a big territory.
Where is your Magic Tower located? Can we build our territory near yours?"
Hill looked at the fake loli whose eyes sparkled with shrewdness, barely holding back a laugh, "My territory is outside the Western Border, it's rather peaceful there, not suited for you."
"Are you suggesting that the Northern Border is better?"
Chattering pulled on his hair secretly, whispering, "Newbie village isn't right for us."
Hill said, "Haifasardo's followers are still stationed at the border! There are still battles to fight. Aren't you planning to join in?"
Baldy, pulling at his ponytail, asked puzzled, "Rose?"
Hill was speechless; how do you normally refer to the God of Nobility and Monarchy? Do you just say it outright?
Xiao Liuliu, who had finished buying, came over and slapped Baldy's back, "The God of Nobility, of course! NPCs don't openly mention the Name of God; they use 'Rose' and 'Sword' as substitutes!"
"Those fools from the Noble Temple!"
Hill watched the players in amazement: What's the God of Time and Space up to? No wonder the followers of the Noble Temple have been guarding the border, ready to incite conflict. This type of blabbermouth there's 100,000 of! The ears of the God of Nobility must be getting blasted, right?
Nobles and the God of Monarchy have always been rather narrow-minded. In the past, someone had provoked Their ire by cursing the rose and the sword, resulting in a divine oracle that led to the transgressor being killed by a legendary figure dispatched by the Noble Temple.
This time, it's likely to be a fight to the death.
Are they planning to use the God of Nobility as a sacrificial lamb to warn others?
Hill felt that if a fight did break out, it might not just involve Haifasardo's people— the Noble Temple would probably start capturing people right from the Mount of Gods.
Suddenly, Hill asked Baldy, "How many more people are you planning to bring for William's coronation this time?"
Without hesitation, Baldy said, "There are already over a million reservations, but we estimate we'll only let 500,000 in at a time."
Hill could only fall silent— no wonder William didn't want to deal with anything: it would definitely be a million coming in together.
He told Baldy, "The Western Border is only suitable for small families. If there's a war, you should go to Haifasardo in the south."
Baldy took out a tablet and carefully examined the border before asking Hill, "Which city is the closest to get out from your place?"
Hill smiled, "That you'll have to figure out yourself. I can't say more."
Baldy nodded regretfully, "Alright, we're in no rush anyway. I hope to see your Mage Tower soon."
Chattering pulled him aside, " Mr. Hill, what's the use of this herb? I only know it's called the Saintess's Tears."
Hill abruptly looked up, "How did you get your hands on this?"
"Is it very precious? I found it when passing by a forest cottage. After identifying it, apart from the name, there was just a bunch of question marks."
Hill sighed. Was this the advantage of having more people?
"This is a precious plant that only grows near devout practitioners of the Holy Series. The cottage you passed by was probably a spot where a pious devotee was living and practicing.
It's worth a fortune and can be auctioned. It could save a life, bring back the dead. It's not of much use to your Undead Tribe though."
Chattering was ecstatic.
Hill looked at him angrily, "That would be 10 gold coins, please pay up."
Chattering hurriedly took out the money, "Mr. Hill, please show some mercy, give an estimate!"
Hill said, "This only sells for Elemental Crystals. The prices fluctuate greatly. If the Old King hadn't died, it could have sold for tens of millions. Now if there is no urgent need for it, it might go for 5 million."
Baldy almost screamed, "What? That's 500,000 according to the exchange rate?"
Chattering gripped the herb tightly, almost unable to breathe.
People from their group were almost surging forward, forming a circle to inspect the herb closely.
Hill saw Xiao Liuliu flipping through the tablet and thought it was good to meet someone sensible.
As expected, Xiao Liuliu shouted, "Don't get excited! You can't get 500,000. Do you think the officials are stupid?"
Almost everyone started looking at their tablets.
Several exclamations of "Damn".
Hill heard Chattering breathe a sigh of relief, "Even a tenth of that would be fine."
"I thought there was a bug," Baldy said grumpily, "The taxes are so high."
Xiao Liuliu spoke irritably to a group of onlookers, "I'll take careful pictures and send them to the group! Now go pay up, it's been almost half an hour!"
A crowd scattered, screaming, to pay up.
Chattering suddenly asked Hill, "Would you take 5 million?"
Hill was somewhat puzzled, "It might fetch more if auctioned."
Chattering gave a bitter smile, "Our taxes are high, and if it's auctioned surely someone will spread rumors that I pocketed 5 million and make my life miserable."
After thinking for a moment, Hill said, "If you don't regret it, I can call an elder over. Or you could just keep it and sell it later! If William wins against Haifasardo, there will be wealthier people over there compared to Salaraldo."
Chattering insisted, "Could it exceed 1,000?"
Hill shook his head, "That it couldn't, the ceiling price is 10 million. All the great Temples have such medicines."
"Why didn't anyone give it to the Old King?"
"No Temple would give Sacred Medicine to a king indulgent in sensuality, profligacy, who is shameless and lacks faith."
Hill heard someone say, "I'd die content!"
Must be Romantic Drunk Red Dust, right? Hill thought: Does the name reveal character?
Chattering was adamant about selling, so Hill had him sit on the sofa by the window and wait, casually ushering Baldy and his group out the door.
Hill summoned his Nature Companion: a white falcon, particularly adept at flight.
Before leaving this time, Hill had finally decided to use Summon Nature Companion, truly afraid that he would summon a bear instead.
When he saw the response from Cohen, he was overwhelmed with gratitude; the huge surge of excitement made Cohen agree without hesitation to sign the companion agreement.
Hill asked Cohen to send a message to Adrian.
Adrian's father had spent a great deal of money to send him to Fran's side, incurring a huge family obligation. According to the norm, he must take care of the family for a thousand years.
Hill didn't want Adrian to be dragged down by his family when it came time for him to become legendary.
If there were enemies, that would be the perfect time to target Adrian.
No noble house would refuse such an item, and in the future, Adrian would only need to pull his weight when his family faced troubles.
If Adrian were to become legendary, that wouldn't happen for hundreds of years; by then his brother's sons might no longer be around, who would consider the welfare of future generations? Anyway, they wouldn't die.