"You're going to the Skeleton Cave?" "That place is full of level 7 or 8 skeletons." "We were planning to go too, but are you going to die if you go there?" Elliot didn't waste time talking. He directly took out the Wild Boar Leather Armor from his bag.
[Wild Boar Leather Armor]
[Position: Chest]
[Level Requirement: 6]
[Quality: White]
[Defense +25]
[Armor Rating: 102]
Seeing the leather armor, the two players exchanged a look.
"Alright, we'll take you to the Skeleton Cave!"
Elliot was overjoyed.
This leather armor wasn't anything special, but it could sell for a few dozen gold coins in the early game.
Spending a few dozen gold coins to get to the Skeleton Cave was well worth it.
[Ding, Robert0 has invited you to join a party. Do you accept?]
"Accept!"
With the help of the brothers Pig's Hoof and Pig's Large Intestine, there were no problems with monsters on the way. These were all low-level monsters from the newbie village, and any player of the same level could easily take them down. The Century-old Zombie also helped along the way.
An hour later, the three of them arrived at the Skeleton Cave.
Their levels had changed during the journey.
Pig's Hoof and Pig's Large Intestine had reached level 7, while Elliot had successfully reached level 5.
Without any main quests, it was impressive how quickly they leveled up. The leather armor had made it all worth it.
At the entrance of the Skeleton Cave stood an NPC dressed like a soldier.
There was a crowd gathered around the NPC.
Based on the time, most players had already completed their quests up to this point.
A group of players was angrily shouting at the NPC.
"Are you kidding us? We spent over two hours coming all the way from the newbie village, and now you want us to go back?" "This game is evil! If only someone had told us the rabbit fur and pig fur were useful!" "This is outrageous! We're back to hunting rabbits and pigs again? Two more hours of running back and forth, what's the point of leveling up then??" "Dammit, I'm not having it! Let us into the Skeleton Cave already, I just want to kill some skeletons!"
The NPC at the entrance, wearing golden armor and holding a silver spear, blocked the way.
He spoke politely, though: "Sorry, without the talisman, I can't let you in. Please bring me some rabbit fur and pig fur, and I'll make the talisman for you."
Elliot's eyes gleamed as he saw the situation: "I'm right on time!"
In business, it's all about being the first to know.
At the beginning of the game, no one else knew, but he did.
Now everyone else knew, so it was likely that the price of rabbit fur and pig fur in the newbie village would skyrocket.
As the merchants rushed here, the price of these materials would soon drop.
Elliot had at least an hour to sell.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed: "What's that?"
"A zombie? Is it a boss?"
"Is that the pet of that guy?"
The Century-old Zombie was indeed a showstopper, especially in the early stages of the game. Wherever Elliot went, it always turned heads.
Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Elliot smiled and said, "I'm buying rabbit fur and pig fur, 50 gold coins each. Limited stock, first come, first served."
He set up his stall right in the middle of the crowd.
"What? 50 gold coins each?!"
"50 gold coins, that's like 5 bucks. A rabbit fur and a pig fur cost 100 gold coins, 10 bucks… Why don't you go grab them yourselves?!"
Elliot laughed and said, "I'm faster than you!"
"Wow, you're shameless enough to admit it!"
"Pfft, you're just a bunch of broke players. I'll take them!"
"Right, I'll run for two hours if I have to. Money's one thing, but losing my position in the top ranks is another!"
Elliot had already calculated that the players who could make it this far were likely the strongest from the newbie village. They had completed quests and each had around 100 or 200 gold coins on them.
100 gold coins might seem expensive, but it was worth it for them.
[Ding, sold 1 rabbit fur!]
[Ding, sold 1 pig fur!]
The system notifications kept popping up.
As soon as others saw that it was selling, they eagerly started buying too.
They didn't want to miss out—once they entered the Skeleton Cave, it would be crowded with players, and they would lose their leveling advantage.
Some even sold their belongings just to get the items.
In just one hour, Elliot sold all 2120 rabbit furs and 2120 pig furs.
His inventory was now empty.
He had 212,000 gold coins in his bag.
"20,000 gold coins, hahaha!!"
Elliot felt a surge of excitement.
In just two hours, he had turned 800 gold coins into 20,000 gold coins.
The two brothers, Pig's Hoof and Pig's Large Intestine, were left stunned, staring at him.
"Brother, this is insane!"
"Sorry, I didn't save any for you guys!"
"No, no, no need to apologize! This was an eye-opening experience!"
"Thanks for bringing me here. I forgot to give you something!"
With that, he traded the Wild Boar Leather Armor to them.
"Haha, thanks! See you again if fate allows!"
[Ding, Robert0 has added you as a friend. Do you accept?]
[Ding, Richard8 has added you as a friend. Do you accept?]
After accepting the friend requests, the two of them asked in confusion: "Bigbucks, can I ask you something? Why didn't you do anything yourself?"
"Yeah, I've noticed you've been letting your pet do all the fighting. You've never fought yourself, are you a hidden class?"
Elliot wasn't about to reveal his secrets to two players he just met. He smiled and said, "I like to play the cool guy, you know? Not fighting makes me look like a master."
He didn't expect that this offhand comment would become his defining label in the future.
"Hmm, makes sense..."
After saying goodbye, the two of them went off to continue their own quests.
Elliot didn't let the 20,000 gold coins go to his head.
His goal was to raise enough money for his mother's surgery in one week, and he was still far from reaching it.
So he set up his stall right outside the Skeleton Cave.
On the shining golden sign, it read:
"Buying useless bones!"
"Buying speed boots, life recovery jewelry!"
"Bring your junk, get paid!"
After an hour, the first group of players who had completed their Skeleton Cave quests began to emerge.
Elliot's stall was so eye-catching that they couldn't miss it if they tried.
"Hey, brother, what are you buying these for?"
"Useless bones? Do they have any use? I'll keep one just in case!"
They observed the bones, just like the rabbit fur and pig fur.
The description was clear:
[Useless Bone: A bone from the Skeleton Cave. No known use.]
[Value: 15 gold coins.]
It could only be sold to the shop for 15 gold coins, but Elliot was offering 50 gold coins each.
Elliot smiled and said, "I'm just collecting them for fun. You can keep one for future use, but sell the rest to me!"
"Well, you're an honest guy. Alright, I'll sell you 2, just to make back what I spent earlier!"
They had spent 100 gold coins to enter the Skeleton Cave, but now they could make it back with the sale.
Elliot couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Honest? Have you ever seen a shady tycoon who's honest?
But many players were still cautious and didn't sell him their bones.
After half an hour of collecting, Elliot had gathered around 1,500 bones, spending 75,000 gold coins.
He also collected several hundred potions—both health and mana—and dozens of equipment pieces, all with bonuses to movement speed or life recovery.
Altogether, he spent 100,000 gold coins.
Meanwhile, a number of merchants from the newbie village had arrived, having bought pig fur and rabbit fur to sell in the Skeleton Cave.
With so many merchants competing, the profit margins were slim.
The prices kept dropping to 5 gold coins each for the furs, barely covering the costs.
Seeing that Elliot was still collecting the useless bones, they too began to follow suit.
"It's about time."
In business, it's a race against time. Once everyone knows, the profit disappears.
Though Elliot hadn't finished collecting, he decided to pack up and leave.
Just as he was about to call it a day, a girl timid
ly approached him and asked, "Boss, do you buy this?"
She handed him a blue book.
The title read: Sharpening Knife.
Elliot's pupils contracted: "Passive Skill: Sharpening Knife!!"