Chương 10: Chapter 9

Leaving his room, then descending to the ground floor of the inn, Sam was once again met with the hustle and bustle of the morning as people consumed their breakfast and Sarah flitted around, serving or even chatting with people. The moment his feet hit the last step, Sarah looked up and smiled at him, immediately approaching them. She smiled at Lucky, completely ignoring the rapid growth (after all, no matter how realistic the game was, it was still a game), and spoke up.

"Good morning, young Sam. Breakfast?" Sam simply nodded.

"That would be nice, Sarah. Thank you." She smiled at him warmly, then motioned to one of the free tables.

"Take a seat. I'll be there in a second." And with that, she left, presumably to get the promised breakfast for Sam and Lucky. The two of them looked at each other, then Sam shrugged and headed towards the indicated table, then took a seat. While he had eaten in the real world, inside the game, his character was rather hungry.

'Man, I can't wait until the game is properly synchronized to the real world… Keeping up with satiety will be sooo much easier…' he mused as he waited for his meal. Looking around, he still could only see NPCs in the inn.

'Probably eating trail rations and sleeping in stables to save money…' he chuckled, then refocused on watching the door which hid the kitchen behind it, waiting for the owner of the Green Stump to return with her promised bounty. Before leaving the inn, he paid for another five days of stay, knowing that soon he would have enough money and he wouldn't need to penny pinch.

After leaving with a warm goodbye from Sarah, who apparently appreciated people who paid promptly and didn't cause a ruckus at night, he headed straight for the butcher. While breakfast was filling, Lucky needed much more meat than was covered by rent at the inn. Sam paid the agreed amount of money and left with three packages of meat. One sliced into bite-sized chunks for Lucky, one into commercial grade slices, and one into the highest grade the butcher could.

After all, what was the point of gathering all these materials if he couldn't taste them? Sam planned on handing one of the packages to the proprietor of the inn and requesting steak for dinner. According to his inherited memories, the developers went all in with recreating senses, so the taste of the hog's meat would be probably divine. Wiping away the saliva that threatened to leave his mouth, he instead turned his attention toward the biggest building in the area.

The commercial district of the town of Greenwood contained several streets lined with numerous shops selling all manner of products, though they were all basic, being a small tutorial town. And in the middle of that district was the Merchant Association's local headquarters.

While in bigger cities, it would be a magnificent building where deals concerning millions of gold coins would be decided, here in the small town of Greenwood, the building was simply used for administration and dealing with product ordering and such. But they also performed a basic service.

As Magic Unbound decided to do away with the standard (and rather cliché, even in this world where VRMMO novels and their ilk were nonexistent) adventurer's guild, this was the place where common people could come and sell their loot. They had all manner of experts on hand that would be able to appraise the brought-in items, and then process them. And if not, then the Association would call in somebody from the bigger cities, or simply give the person a letter of recommendation, and send them to the city.

And, of course, they tried to fleece the adventurers as much as possible. And this den of greed was where Sam headed to sell all the wolf carcasses currently in his inventory. While he could have dressed and tanned the hides of the animals, after all, in his memories, the other Sam did so several times. He neither had the time, materials, nor inclination. Much easier, at least at this time, to swallow the Association's fee. Compared to the sleepy mage tower, the Association was bustling with activity.

Its giant doors were wide open and people were streaming in and out. These people were both dressed in noble apparel, followed by servants, and in simple worker's clothing, clutching papers in their hand as if it was their lifeline. Next to the building was a giant warehouse, and an empty lot where a lot of boxes, crates, and all sorts of containers were piled high, while wagons came and went, and people kept unloading and loading them.

At the same time, officials with very self-important looks on their faces walked among the towers of crates with clipboards, occasionally checking something off them. Sam took all of this in, then he squared his shoulders, dodged a few rushing people, some happy, some angry, and also entered the building. The inside was exactly as Sam imagined (and saw in his memories).

The floor was off-white marble; the walls were done with high-quality bricks and some wood paneling, and the ceiling contained several chandeliers that were illuminating the entire hall despite there being no windows anywhere.

Opposite the entrance was a long counter dotted with active receptionists, that were all wearing matching uniforms that showed a rather tantalizing image, a mandatory customer service smile, while behind them several assistants or other personnel were walking, or rushing around carrying small boxes, scales, paper stacks.

There were also several very well-equipped guards stationed around the room, keeping an eye on people and Sam knew there were also a multitude of magical defenses in place, as well as one very high-level individual who was responsible for protecting the building and what it contained if the worst happened.

Sam quickly got into a line that seemed to be dealing with regular people, not wanting to mix with the nobles (or their servants) who were all ushered through a side door the moment they reached one of the receptionists. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Thankfully, he only had to wait a few minutes before he was in front of the very attractive receptionist. She gave him a quick once over, noting the quality of his clothing, and spoke up.

"Welcome, sir, to the Merchant Association. I'm Tiffany. How can we help you today?"

'Well, at least she called me sir…' Sam thought wryly. He knew that the Association greeting changed depending on how influential and rich a person was.

"Good morning, ma'am. I'm here to open an account and sell a few wolf carcasses. Fully dressed, but not processed." Quick, and to the point. He wanted to be out of here and back to his quest. The woman's eyes glinted a little at the mention of the carcasses and nodded.

"Very good, sir. Then I will need an ID…" Sam just sighed and retrieved the prepared documentation, while also lamenting the universality of bureaucracy. Leaving the Merchant Association, Sam was rather happy. His haggling techniques weren't the best, but thanks to the inherited memories, he knew exactly the limits of the Association and what they tolerated from whom. After unloading his collection of wolf carcasses in the adjoining warehouse, Sam walked away with an even 10 gold coins and some change.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't much, but it was enough to get some more armor and prepare for his quest. Followed by Lucky, who was a big hit with the ladies at the Association, he returned to the armorer and purchased a very flexible leather armor, high-quality boots, a hooded cloak, and a proper belt. After that, he hopped over to the tailor to buy something better than his beginner clothing, paying attention to making sure that the purchased clothing didn't make too much noise when he moved.

Then, after changing into his new clothing and armor, he left the tailor as a changed man. And, of course, once again with an almost empty coin purse. Shaking his head, Sam checked his clothing, did a few stretches, while leaving the cloak in his inventory, then spent a few minutes once again looking around, trying to spot players. And to his luck, he did indeed spot them, in even greater number than the last time. Apparently, the game started picking up, but thankfully not much. NPCs still outnumbered players.

It was only thanks to his inherited memories that he was able to spot them. Although with the streamers, it was rather easy. Nobody walked around with a weapon and that amount of cleavage while gesticulating at nothing. Seeing them, Sam became a little thoughtful.

'Should I stream? With my knowledge, I could be popular…' But then he shook his head. Back in his previous life, he tried it once, but dealing with people and keeping up the commentary exhausted him beyond belief. Streaming wasn't for him.

'Plus, this way I can enjoy the world better…' And with that thought, Sam signaled for Lucky, who was currently being patted by two old ladies gushing about him, and headed for the exit from the town. He was ready. An hour later, Sam and Lucky were back in the forest, though this time much deeper. He still made sure to take time to hunt a few hogs and wolves and pick up any plant that he knew was worth something. And as they headed deeper, Sam also made sure to make a little more noise than necessary.

After all, somehow he would have to lure out those awful wolves that were causing trouble to Greenwood. And not even another hour later, just as he was packing away the remains of the latest hog they had killed, while Lucky snacked on a few prepared meat slices from the butcher, he heard them.

Sam immediately shoved the remains of the hog in the inventory, not caring what happened to it, then lunged for Lucky and pressed the surprised wolf, while keeping Lucky's mouth shut with his hand, while also keeping his own body down, and in the cover of brushes while sharpening his ears.

"Where the hell is that guy?"

"Greg said he'd be around here, right?"

"That's right," came the prompt response from the second voice, tinted with frustration.

"But seeing as the guy is not here, I'm goin' to have a really nice talk with that idiot…." The other couldn't have cared less based on the voice.

"Eh, it's not a big waste. We were already heading out for patrol."

"I don't care, Tim. That idiot wanted us to do his dirty work. Well, he should pay for it!"

"Alright," came the placating answer as the two men stopped only a few meters away from Sam and Lucky.

"Just make sure that you don't cause any trouble for the Boss! Ya' know how he is…" Sam could practically hear the shiver in the answer.

"Right, right…" they walked around a little more, and Sam heard as they rustled bushes and shook a few trees, but luckily (he glanced at Lucky who seemed to be enjoying being embraced by Sam) they didn't even come close to his impromptu hiding place.

"All right, I can't see shit here, so let's go back and get something to drink before I go an' have a nice talkin' with that idiot."

"Works for me…" Sam listened as the voices got a little further away, then slowly stood up, though he kept hunching to make sure he stayed hidden. Then he retrieved his cloak, pulled the hood down, and motioned for Lucky to stay silent.

"Shh. Let's go hunting!" Lucky gave him a big smile, then let out an almost inaudible growl, and without any further prodding from Sam sniffed the air, and began leading him after the men.

"Good boy!" Sam whispered, then after looking around, began carefully following Lucky, while also swiping away a small screen. [Despite being caught unaware you weren't found by the mysterious men! +1 LUK] Sam and Lucky followed the two men, as they unknowingly led the two of them on a merry trip in the forest as they finished their patrol, before heading back to their headquarters even deeper in the forest, near where the mountains met the forest, and there was an ample supply of caves, and even cave systems for bandits to hide. Which these men were. In the other Sam's life, the bandits only attacked merchants away from the town, and sometimes robbed lone adventurers.

But then the players attacked and a few of them got a quest to deal with the local bandits. The incensed bandits, under the orders of their Boss, decided that the best way to deal with this is to simply destroy the town. And thus, on a fine sunny day, they besieged the town. And the town would have held out with the help of the players. If it weren't for one lone guard that nobody cared for…

Opening some hidden doors, Greg the guard, the one that Sam kept annoying, let the bandits in, allowing them to attack the defenders from behind. In the end, the bandits were defeated because a group of royal knights on a training exercise (probably the game arranging them to be there for insurance) came by and defeated the bandits. And Sam was planning to preempt them by going to the bandit headquarters and dealing with the boss. And of course, looting the entire thing to the bedrock.

They have been operating in the area for a long time and amassed a very big fortune which the avaricious boss kept entirely to himself. Sam knew that he had neither the levels nor the experience to win a frontal assault against the criminals, as they were between level 5 and 10 with a few lieutenants around 15 and the boss probably level 20 or 25. But he had no need to attack head-on. Stealth was the name of the game. Following behind the two loud idiots wasn't hard.

Even if Lucky wouldn't be able to follow them thanks to his nose, they were still loud enough that Sam wondered how they managed to stay hidden. Then, after taking another step, he froze (Lucky as well) as a wholly unfamiliar feeling swept over him and suddenly in the distance he could hear some new sounds that previously were totally absent. He froze because he felt it with his mana. Then, before the panic could set in, Sam deep-dived into his memories, looking for the origin.

A minute later, he let out a relieved sigh.

'Ugh, that was close…' he thought, then motioned to Lucky, and they continued on their journey. The thing that he had felt wasn't some kind of super awesome magical ward that identified everybody who entered it, but a simple silencing ward that swallowed up any unnatural sound. According to his inherited memories, the feeling of an identifying ward was much more invasive. Plus, usually, they were paired to an alarm, so he would hear if he had tripped one.

Still, this proved that there was at least one moderately competent mage in the gang.

'Probably, either the boss or one of the lieutenants…' Sam nodded to himself and continued sneaking towards the bandit's hideout. But just to be sure, he took hold of his mana, and slowly began to expel it in front of himself, in a small cloud. It wasn't the best thing he could use to detect magical defenses, but he didn't have time to spend creating a spell or even learning one from the mage tower. As he watched his mana slowly tick down, Sam hoped he had enough time until he arrived at the hideout.