The appearance of the village chief indeed sent ripples of surprise amongst the players.
At this moment, the village chief turned towards Sebastian with a warm smile, saying, "Young man, thank you for bringing the Smith family's grandson back. Please, come in and have a seat."
Sebastian nodded, holding the child as he stepped into the yard, a sight that filled the onlooking players with a surge of envy and jealousy.
"This guy is really lucky," Jason commented in a deep tone amidst the crowd.
"Luck is also a part of one's strength," Mia stated, her eyes shining with intensity.
After all, no one had foreseen that a player could forcibly remove the child from that designated area.
Even if someone had considered it, bringing the child to the doorstep of the village chief's abode would have been deemed absolute lunacy, unless they had prior knowledge of the child's background information.
With this realization, Mia's curiosity towards Sebastian deepened.
"Captain, should we continue to stay here?" a team member asked.
Mia nodded, "We should get to know such a player better."
Unspoken was her belief that recruiting him into their team would be even more beneficial.
Aside from the North Wind Team, other players were also staring curiously at the village chief's yard, eager to know what kind of quest reward Sebastian would receive.
Meanwhile, after entering the yard, Sebastian made his way to the living room of the house.
Inside, the village chief gestured for him to sit and served him a cup of clear tea.
The faint aroma of tea filled his nostrils, rejuvenating Sebastian's spirit.
He picked up the cup and took a sip.
[You have consumed the village chief's green tea. Your spirit has permanently increased by 5 points.]
The notification in his ear took Sebastian by surprise.
He looked at the steaming cup of green tea before him, astonished at the potent effect it held.
A permanent increase of 5 points in spirit was not something ordinary items could offer.
It should be noted that a player would only gain 2 points in spirit with each level up.
Now, to gain 5 points with just a cup of tea was nothing short of miraculous.
It was truly worthy of the village chief, to have a cup of tea confer such immense benefits!
Sebastian couldn't help but take another sip, although this time no notification popped up.
It seemed that the tea could only grant the bonus once.
At this point, the village chief had cradled the child who had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Young man, you have brought the grandson of the Smith family here; what reward would you like?" asked the village chief with a smile.
What reward? Sebastian very much wanted to ask for an Epic wand.
But clearly, that was impossible. He earnestly responded, "Village chief, I merely stumbled upon this little one by chance; I did not do it for a reward."
[Darkstone village chief's affection +5]
"Very well, a truly kind-hearted young man," the village chief exclaimed, eyes brimming with appreciation.
Gaining 5 points of affection from the village chief was within Sebastian's calculations.
As for declining the reward, come on, it was just a formality.
It couldn't be that such a high-ranking village chief would genuinely not offer him any reward, could it?
Sure enough, the village chief continued, "How about this, young man? I have a scroll here. Consider it a reward for your kind gesture."
[You have received a scroll gifted by the Darkstone village chief]
The next second, a notification resounded beside Sebastian's ear.
He immediately checked his backpack, where, among the nine item slots, lay an object bearing the icon of a scroll.
[Scroll of Heavenly Fire]
[Quality: Epic]
[Description: After a five-second channeling period, summon a heavenly fire to strike enemies within a certain radius, inflicting 500,000 true damage, while afflicting the attacked enemies with a "burn" status, resulting in a continuous HP reduction...]
[Note: Single-use consumable]
An Epic Scroll?
Sebastian's eyes lit up, not expecting to obtain such a marvelous item.
Scrolls were extremely rare in the game, especially offensive scrolls, which could fetch up to 1000 gold coins in the [Original Realm], even with no open market available for them.
Particularly being an Epic Scroll, it would unquestionably incite a frantic bidding war from all major financial syndicates if made public.
After all, 500,000 true damage could easily annihilate a Boss-level monster, and the rewards dropped from such monsters were far more valuable than the scroll itself!
Currently, professional teams organized by major financial groups were strenuously strategizing to conquer various dungeons, aiming to enhance their own forces.
If Sebastian truly put this Epic Scroll up for sale, it would likely spur a buying frenzy, potentially making him wealthy overnight.
How could this not excite Sebastian?
Gathering his thoughts, Sebastian looked at the village chief and expressed, "Thank you for your generous gift, village chief."
"No need for thanks; you earned it," replied the village chief.
After saying this, he glanced at the time, "It's getting late; you should head back now."
Sebastian initially intended to further foster his relationship with the village chief, and it seemed like he had succeeded in doing so.
With no other options, Sebastian reluctantly left the yard of the village chief.
As soon as he stepped out, he was immediately surrounded by more than a dozen players.
"Bro, what was your quest reward?"
"The village chief's quest must have a hefty reward, right?"
"Brother, no matter what you got, I am willing to pay a high price for it!" ...
A cacophony of voices rang out, and Sebastian calmly observed the scene without uttering a word.
"Move aside, all of you, move aside!"
At this moment, someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
The players looked over and saw members of the North Wind Team, promptly making way for them.
"May I come and sit at your place?" Mia approached Sebastian with a smile on her face.
"Sure," Sebastian did not refuse.
"Then let's go," Mia nodded.
With the appearance of the North Wind Team, the players who initially intended to harass Sebastian wisely retreated.
Sebastian's home was located on the eastern side of the existence, where a large group of buildings stood, a place where many players chose to reside.
Of course, this referred to the affluent players.
After all, although the real estate prices here weren't as astronomical as in the outside world, a decent house still carried a hefty price tag of a full 100 gold coins.
Sebastian was currently renting his place, with a monthly rent of 50 silver coins.
This rent was actually quite expensive, primarily because his house was detached, unlike those stacked rental apartments.
Sebastian has always been someone with high standards for his lifestyle, preferring to spend extra to ensure comfort, a trait that remained unchanged even within the game.
Not to mention, he had just acquired 100 gold coins earlier.
Upon entering the house, Sebastian let Breeze out to play freely while Mia took a seat on the sofa.
The other team members did not accompany them.
"I didn't expect you to be so willing to spend money," Mia said, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
At present, since the game had just been launched, players were stretching every copper coin as far as it could go.
After all, the potions required for leveling up through monster battles and the necessary expenses for acquiring equipment demanded a considerable amount of money.
Few people chose to reside in a detached house unless they were very wealthy.
Sebastian chuckled and replied, "Life is already full of disappointments; shouldn't we at least indulge ourselves in the game?"
"I can totally understand that," Mia nodded.
Afterwards, she voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind: "May I ask, how did you know to take the child to the village chief?"