Foster got an idea after seeing a player in the world chat saying they were quitting the game.
In his previous life, he had come across a forum post about something called the Heart of the Territory. Every player could only have one, and having more than one was useless. If another Heart of the Territory entered someone else's territory, it would be automatically dissolved.
However, a player had accidentally discovered something interesting. If you throw a Heart of the Territory into another player's territory during the first two days of the Conquest and Slaughter event, it would cause that territory to be attacked by double the number of monsters. The only downside was that the extra monsters wouldn't drop loot.
Most players would never consider doing this, as it sounded more like a risk than a reward.
But Foster's Blade of Conquest progress was lacking in monster kills!
Without hesitation, he sent a message to the player who had said they were quitting:
"Hey, if you're really quitting and no longer need your Heart of the Territory, how about bringing it over to my territory? I want to experiment with it and see what it does."
"How about I give you $500?"
Foster sent the message and waited. To his surprise, he got an immediate reply.
"Heh, go die, scammer."
"Five hundred dollars? No thanks, I'll just kill your whole family!"
Foster blinked in confusion.
"???"
He was speechless. But instead of getting angry, he understood that in Heroic Epic, players initially treated it like any other MMORPG, so it was hard to believe that someone would offer $500 for a quitting account.
Foster just closed the private chat window and typed, "Idiot?"
Then he went back to the world chat and started posting again.
"Anyone near me want to quit the game?"
"Looking to buy Heart of the Territory—I'll buy it for $500 each!"
He was tempted to offer a higher price but was running low on funds.
Foster wasn't worried at all. If his progress continued smoothly, he would soon be able to sell some of the useless second-hand equipment to exchange for real-world money.
He kept posting repeatedly for a few minutes, and before long, some players were showing interest.
"Really? You'll actually give $500?"
"This game's too hard. If you're really buying, I'm selling!"
"Wait, you can get $500 for quitting? That's crazy!"
...
Soon, responses were flooding in.
Virtual helmets weren't exclusive to Heroic Epic—players could use them for other games as well, and quitting the game didn't come with much of a cost.
Foster's area wasn't filled with just players from the Earth region. There were also people from other planets. But since they were all grouped together, it meant their progression in the game was roughly the same, and they shared some common cultural traits, allowing them to communicate with each other easily.
However, just as the responses were pouring in, someone else spoke up in the world chat.
"Are you guys serious? I'm about to expose this! This guy's a pure scammer!"
"Yeah, I've seen scams like the $500 one before. If you really fall for this and go to his territory, he'll probably have a bunch of people gang up on you and kill you to steal all your equipment and resources!"
"Don't fall for this scammer. Player ID 1333…415—don't trust him!"
Foster couldn't help but laugh when he saw the message. It was from the same player who had messaged him earlier.
Before he could reply, he noticed that many players were starting to hesitate.
"Is this guy really a scammer?"
"Good thing you warned us. I heard that Gold Coins in Heroic Epic can be sold for real money now. He's probably trying to steal our resources!"
"Forget it, forget it. On the first day of the game, someone offers $500 for a useless Heart of the Territory? I don't buy it."
Foster realized that the player who had called him a scammer earlier was likely a social player. While Foster had been busy developing his territory, this guy had already made a name for himself among nearby players.
He spoke with enough influence that people were starting to doubt Foster's offer.
"Player ID 1645…122, I'll remember you," Foster muttered darkly to himself. Though this player was quitting and Foster technically couldn't find him, one day, when Foster broke free from Earth and dominated the universe, he would get his revenge!
After a few moments of internal grumbling, Foster switched gears and started messaging some of the other players privately.
"You don't have to believe me, but how about I send you the money first?"
"I'll send you $300, how does that sound?"
"You can trade all your resources to someone else if you want…"
His approach worked like a charm. Despite some lingering doubts, a few players agreed to the trade.
Foster's goal was modest—he only needed three more Hearts of the Territory to activate the 4x monster spawn and trigger the first phase of Blade of Conquest.
After a short wait, the first player, clad in leather armor, approached him.
"Hey, are you buying Hearts of the Territory?"
"Yeah, yeah! That's me!" Foster replied enthusiastically.
Soon, several other players came by. Foster paid quickly, and one by one, the Hearts of the Territory were transferred into his possession.
...
Meanwhile, at the edge of Foster's territory, a young man with white hair and several skeletal soldiers muttered angrily to himself:
"Damn it, another competitor stealing my business!"
The young man's expression darkened. He was none other than the player with ID 1645…122, the one who had been bashing Foster in the world chat.
His luck had also been extraordinary. He had awakened a powerful golden Talent called Undead Creator, which turned all soldiers and heroes he acquired into Undead and gave them a 10% boost to all attributes.
The most crucial part of this Talent, however, was its ability to convert other players' soldiers into Undead soldiers as well!
Compared to farming monsters and killing players in the early stages, the white-haired young man realized that the former was far more efficient!
Originally, he had planned to pretend to be quitting the game in the world chat, and had already gotten into heated discussions with several players. He had hoped to lure them out into the wild for a quick ambush.
But then, player ID 1333…415 had swooped in and snatched up all his prey!
How could the young man not be furious?
However, as he watched Foster display a 40-unit branch army, the white-haired youth hesitated.
"I only have 19 soldiers right now, and I lost one while hunting earlier…"
"Tomorrow! I'll deal with this guy tomorrow."
"And… he really seems to have gotten his hands on a Heart of the Territory. Maybe he's discovered some hidden game mechanic."
"I'll crush him! It'll definitely be a huge profit."
"I'll get the Guild together tomorrow, and we'll deal with him, no problem."
The young man muttered to himself.
Since awakening his Undead Talent, he had automatically received an invitation to a guild called Scourge Branch 1457. Nearby, there were four others with similar Undead Talents, but their Talents were only blue or green.
According to the guild rules, they had to follow his commands.
The young man had initially thought that he wouldn't need to involve these subordinates and that he could quickly farm soldiers on his own, thanks to his powerful Talent.
But now… he had changed his mind.
Especially after seeing the message from player ID 1333…415, who had replied to his insults with just a single "idiot," only for him to get blocked right after. That only made him angrier!
...
Meanwhile, Foster was unaware that he was being targeted.
He had collected five Hearts of the Territory and had integrated them into his domain. After bidding farewell to the quitting players, Agatha finally appeared like a ghost.
"You did well."
Foster nodded. Agatha had successfully cleared the wild monsters around his territory and collected a total of 1400 Gold Coins, 1105 Stone, 1010 Wood, and 970 Crystal Ore. As for Equipment… nothing had dropped.
"How come you didn't come out earlier?"
Foster checked the resources and asked, a bit curious.
Agatha put on a shy expression.
"I didn't want to be seen by others…"
Her innocent, almost vulnerable look made Foster feel a twinge of desire.
"Stop pretending."
He teased her.
Agatha then straightened up, her gaze serious.
"Master, I don't want any man other than you to see me."
She seductively licked her lips, clearly showing that her loyalty was still on the rise.
Agatha was fully aware of her charm, but she refused to show it to anyone except Foster.
"Ahem… Very well."
Foster felt his blood rush again. Who could resist a beautiful character who was so utterly devoted to them?
"I'll reward you in due time."
He said seriously.
Then...
Foster logged off quickly once again and rushed to his computer. He opened a well-known gold farming website and listed two basic resource packs, each priced at 10,000 dollars!
This price was definitely a rip-off, but it was the first day of the game's launch, and Foster remembered that some wealthy players were always willing to pay high prices for resources. This was his chance to fatten up his little fortune.
Once everything was set up, it was just past midnight.
Foster quickly logged back into the game.
"I'm requesting to start Conquest and Slaughter early!" he rapidly typed, navigating through the interface.
As he did so, thick fog rolled in, and a terrifying roar echoed from all directions.
It was the kind of intensity that was several times greater than what he'd encountered on the first day!