Elliot smiled gently: "What's up? Is there anything else?"
"Bro, thanks for helping us make some money!"
"I made a thousand bucks!!"
"Yeah, it's all about timing. Once the next batch of people comes, the price won't be this high anymore!"
The game has an in-built forum.
There are a lot of experts and streamers constantly posting guides.
By now, there must already be posts about the job change items.
It's going to be tough to make money from it now.
There won't be any more items to collect.
"Bro, where are you headed next? Can you take us along?"
"Yeah, bro, take us with you!"
"We'll follow you as our mentor, and share the earnings with you. What do you say?"
The few of them looked at Elliot sincerely.
But Elliot smiled wryly and said: "I'm just guessing here. Right now, I'm going to grind for levels!"
"Huh? Grinding levels?"
"Isn't there another way?"
They clearly weren't interested in leveling up, wanting to become professional merchants instead.
Seeing their disappointment, Elliot suggested: "Since you're not grinding, you could go to the Skeleton Cave to buy up some items and sell them here. You can still make a bit of profit!"
"Yeah, maybe some people don't know about this. We can pick up bargains!"
"Good point, alright, we're off then. See you around, bro!"
"See you around!"
Just as the four were about to leave, Elliot called out to them: "Oh, wait! I've got some shoes that increase movement speed. Do you guys want them?"
"With these shoes, you can move faster!"
"Of course we want them!"
"Haha, special deal—1000 gold coins for speed +1, 2000 gold coins for speed +2, 3000 gold coins for speed +3."
The four of them paused for a moment, clearly speechless.
"I... I have something to do, I'll go now!"
"I'll take a pair of speed +1 shoes."
"Bro, thanks to you, I made over a thousand bucks, I'll get the 3000 gold ones!"
The four hurriedly bought three pairs of shoes and left.
They figured they better leave before they got scammed by Elliot.
"Enjoy the deal!"
The shoes had only cost Elliot 100 gold coins each, and he was reselling them for ten times that amount—quite a bargain.
Once job changes were available, speed-boosting shoes would definitely become hot items.
Elliot only had 200 slots in his inventory, and equipment didn't stack, so selling a few wasn't a big deal.
Once the four left, Elliot checked his map, found the right direction, and headed to a road by the side of a mountain.
The monsters here were Horned Deer, Wild Boars, and Mutant Insects—level 6 to 8 creatures.
There were many people passing by, most of them level 10 players heading to the mountain pass for job change quests.
Nobody bothered hunting these monsters.
"Summon, come forth, Century-old Zombie!"
As the words left his mouth, the Century-old Zombie dramatically stepped out of the coffin.
"It's time to level up!"
Elliot had given up on the main quest for the time being to focus on grinding for levels to prepare for his job change.
He summoned the Century-old Zombie to fight the monsters.
These monsters had low attack but high defense, making them ideal for the zombie to level up against.
Elliot sat cross-legged on the ground.
He set up his stall again.
[Buying miscellaneous goods, books, +health and +speed equipment!]
A strange sight appeared on the road.
In the middle of the path, a person set up a stall while a zombie was off fighting monsters.
Curious people couldn't help but stop and look.
"How can he set up a stall in the wilderness?"
"Damn it, it's this guy again! I saw him collecting things earlier!"
"Must be a professional merchant!"
Elliot was so recognizable that many players recognized him immediately.
"System, enter stall mode!"
[Ding, you've entered stall mode. You can now remove your helmet, and your character won't log off!]
Stall mode was a feature in New World that allowed players to leave their character standing still while they handled real-world tasks.
It could only be used while setting up a stall.
There was no risk in the newbie village, as nobody could PK him there.
Elliot set Century-old Zombie to patrol and fight monsters while he took off his helmet.
It was already dark outside.
He picked up his phone and ordered a 15-coin pig's foot rice bowl.
He glanced at Gavin's phone number.
After a moment of hesitation, he pressed dial.
But before the call went through, he ended it.
"Forget it, I'll wait until I really make some money first."
Gavin had been taking care of their mother today and would go back to school once his shift was over.
Elliot had just graduated from college and hadn't found a job yet. His younger brother Gavin was still in school.
All their savings had gone into their mother's medical treatment.
Elliot looked around at the shabby rental apartment.
He silently swore to himself, "I will make 500,000!"
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Open up, quick!"
"Is the delivery this fast now?"
Elliot opened the door, confused.
Standing outside was a calm-looking girl who looked about the same age as Elliot.
"Where's the takeout?"
As Elliot sized her up, the girl sized him up too.
She frowned and waved her hand in front of her nose, clearly disgusted, and said, "What takeout? Are you Elliot? My mom said you owe 3 months of rent, a total of 6000 gold coins. When are you paying up?"
It was the landlord again, demanding the rent.
Since the place was close to the hospital where their mother was being treated, the rent was rather high.
Elliot awkwardly replied, "Sorry, I'll pay in a few days!"
The girl furrowed her brows, clearly annoyed: "You never go to work, thinking you can trick me? Either pay today or pack up and leave! I'm renting my house out to you, and you've turned it into a mess!"
The apartment was indeed a bit messy, but Elliot just didn't have the time to tidy up.
The girl angrily walked into the room and happened to spot the game helmet lying around.
"Ha, New World helmet? You're behind on rent, yet you're still playing New World?"
"Uh, a friend gave it to me. I don't know anything about it!"
Elliot tried to brush it off, but the girl was clearly very interested in the New World helmet.
Her large eyes sparkled as she suddenly smiled and said, "New World is fun, right?"
"Uh, I haven't had the chance to play yet!"
A shady businessman indeed, Elliot lied smoothly.
The girl pouted and suddenly said, "Here's the deal—give me a day. Once you level up, take me with you to grind. I can extend your rent by a few days!"
"Huh?"
"Don't you dare say no. If you don't agree, pack your things and leave. I'm not renting this place out anymore!"
The girl said triumphantly.
Elliot hadn't expected to be threatened by a woman.
In New World, hiring someone to level up for you could be quite valuable, enough to cover his rent, and extending a few days would be more than enough.
But he wasn't about to take her with him to level up. Who did she think she was? Pretty women wouldn't stop him from making money.
Elliot silently muttered to himself.
But the girl directly said: "Alright, it's decided. When you log into the game, add me as a friend. My in-game ID is SweetKelly."
Elliot: "Huh? What's your name?"
"SweetKelly! Remember it!"