Chương 10: Looting the Boar King's Lair

"Did I hear that right? It was Clear Rain Pavilion's people? That guy wasn't an NPC?"

"Damn, that's hacking! I'm reporting them!"

"Clear Rain Pavilion is amazing! I want to join Clear Rain Pavilion!" … Voices clamored; outside Sunward Town was pure chaos. Violet and her people quickly swapped back into starter gear and scattered, slipping away from the field.

"What?! They killed the Boss? How is that possible? Didn't it have 100, 000 HP—and wasn't it that strong? How did it go down in under a minute?" Inside Sunward Town, Slaughtercharge was dumbfounded.

"Someone recorded it live—you can see for yourself." One of his men stepped up and opened a link from the forums, playing the video.

"It's him! Big Gunn!" Slaughtercharge's gaze sank, his voice cold.

"I didn't have proof before that he was hacking and wrecking game balance. Well, now I've got this video plus eyewitnesses. This time I'll get his account banned for sure!"

"Boss Charge, we didn't lose out either—free level up."

"Hmph, why don't you mention that Clear Rain Pavilion's lot gained two levels?" Slaughtercharge frowned. In Sunward Town, the only force that could stand against them was Clear Rain Pavilion—and now their whole crew was up two levels. For Slaughter the World, that was hardly good news. On top of the rewards they'd gotten from killing the Boss, no less.

"I'm logging off to deal with Big Gunn. The rest of you, pick up the pace on leveling—hear me?"

"Yes sir!"

"Hmph. Big Gunn? I'll make sure you choke on this." His face dark, Slaughtercharge logged off where he stood. … Meanwhile, in a third-floor private room in Sunward Town sat a man and a woman—Ryan and Violet, just off their collaboration. The table was piled with a dazzling spread of items and gear.

"We barely lifted a finger killing that Boss, so divide the spoils however you see fit." Violet eyed the loot heaped on the table, sorely tempted. But the Jungle Boar King had truly been felled by Ryan alone, so she couldn't bring herself to interfere much in the split. Ryan looked at her, surprised. In his eyes, guilds were profit-first to a one—he hadn't expected Violet to leave the division to him. Rare indeed. She'd already paid, after all; at the end of the day he was just a hired blade.

But since she'd put it that way, Ryan didn't stand on ceremony. He swept up a faintly glowing boar's horn and said, "I'll take just this. As for the rest, if your people can afford it, buy it outright." Violet started. Among the loot were seven or eight Black Iron-grade pieces—and he wanted none of them?

"But… we don't have that much gold." She frowned. The guild was pouring its money into a hidden quest right now and couldn't free up enough to cover this much gear.

"Azure Coin transfer works too," Ryan said.

"I'll let the lot go for one million Azure Coin. Not pricey, is it?"

"Not at all! Give me your account—I'll send it right now!" Violet brightened. What Clear Rain Pavilion lacked was gold. Azure Coin, they had in spades. System: [Ding! Your account ending in 6618 has received a transfer of 1, 000, 000 Azure Coin!] A million Azure Coin in hand, Ryan rose, said his goodbyes to Violet, and left the room. System: [Ding! Player "Violet" requests to add you as a friend. Accept?] Ryan paused, hesitated a few seconds, then tapped accept.

He felt good enough about Violet—one more friend, one more road. A solid choice.

"If you get any gear in the future, remember to sell to Clear Rain Pavilion first. We'll give you a fair price, guaranteed!"

"Will do." After messaging Violet back, Ryan didn't head to Victor Fane's residence to finish the quest. Instead he slipped quietly out of Sunward Town and made for the Boar Woods. With the Jungle Boar King dead, its lair should still hold plenty of good things—he wasn't about to let them go to waste. He was Level 8 now, sitting at the top of Sunward Town's level rankings. That last battle had earned him a full 10, 000 Sunward Town points, and pushed the Infinite Plunder & Acceleration System's EXP to 50, 000.

Killing the Jungle Boar King had triggered Attribute Plunder too, adding 10 Strength and 10 Constitution—his overall stats up another notch. And killing the Boss had granted a Starter-Village Honorary Villager Badge. [Starter-Village Honorary Villager Badge: A symbol of honor in the starter village. Base attributes +20, Charm +5, Luck +2, EXP gain rate +20%. Bound: Big Gunn] A badge like this took effect just by sitting in your bag—it only cost a single slot.

"Here it is!" With the System's 10x Movement Speed, Ryan soon reached a gloomy cave deep in the Boar Woods. He took out a torch he'd bought in advance and stepped inside. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. System: [Ding! You have discovered the special scene "Boar King's Lair"!] The deeper he went, the more the acrid stench thickened—but for the good things waiting inside, Ryan endured it.

Soon he reached the cave's end: a stone chamber lit by flickering firelight, with five stout boars sprawled at its mouth. [Boar King Guard (Elite): Elite boars that guard the Boar King's lair, powerful in their own right. HP: 1, 500, Attack: 40, Defense: 30, Level: 5] For ordinary players, these guards might be hard to handle in such a dim, cramped cave. For Ryan, they weren't worth mentioning. He darted forward and dispatched them in a few quick strokes, swept up the loot, and stepped into the stone chamber.

[Truffle Wine: Once consumed, base attributes +1. Usage limit: 10 times.] Good stuff! Ryan's eyes lit up, and he cleaned out every bottle of Truffle Wine in the chamber. [Jungle Ring: Bronze grade. Agility +10, Strength +10, Attack Speed +10%. Camouflage: blend into your surroundings to become nearly undetectable. You cannot move while camouflaged.] Bronze grade! The corner of his mouth curled; he slipped the ring on, stats rising again.

Sweeping the whole chamber clean, Ryan came away with 100 gold, some potions, four Black Iron pieces, and a few Common items. He stowed it all, opened his contacts, messaged Violet, and sent over screenshots of the items' stats.

"Same place as before for the trade." … But just then, a thread had been pinned to the top of the forums—wall to wall with "hard proof" that the player Big Gunn was hacking and wrecking game balance. More and more players piled into the discussion, and it spiraled out of control. Victor Fane's Letter of Introduction System: [Ding! Your account ending in 6618 has received a transfer of 1, 000, 000 Azure Coin!] Another million Azure Coin in hand, Ryan finally let out a slow breath.

It was still a long way from one billion, but for him right now, it was a good start. In his last life, his sister Lucy Gunn had contracted a rare disease that required one billion Azure Coin to cure. In the end, before he could scrape the money together, she'd held on no longer and passed away. So in this life, he had to plan ahead—use his last life's experience to gather one billion Azure Coin as fast as he could, and cure his sister. Three months left. I have to make the most of every moment.

Ryan frowned, his gaze sinking.

"What is it? Something on your mind?" Having just taken in another batch of premium loot, Violet was clearly in good spirits—but sensing the heavy air around Ryan, she knit her brows and asked.

"It's nothing. I'll trouble you to keep an eye on Slaughter the World for me. If they make any move, let me know right away."

"Don't worry. You're Clear Rain Pavilion's partner now—if they dare pull anything, I'll be the first to come down on them."

"Thanks. I've got things to do, so I'll head off first." Ryan said his goodbyes and left the tavern. Watching his retreating figure, Violet's eyes went distant. For some reason, she sensed a thread of loneliness and isolation about him—something that, by rights, had no business clinging to a boy of seventeen or eighteen. …

"Chief, I've found the other ingredients!" Ryan called out in Victor Fane's courtyard. Bang! The door flew open under a kick, and the white-haired Victor Fane appeared, leaning on his cane, eyes fixed on Ryan with excitement.

"You… you mean it?!"

"Whether I mean it—bring out the rest of the ingredients and try, and you'll know!" The corner of Ryan's mouth curled, calm and assured.

"Good! Come with me!" Victor Fane returned indoors, went to a study off the side, and shifted the books on a shelf in a precise sequence. With a creaking groan, the shelf against the wall slowly split apart to either side, revealing a deep tunnel. Fane led the way, and the two soon arrived at a sealed underground stone chamber. It was no small space; fist-sized night-luminous pearls were set into the walls, lighting the whole chamber bright.

At its center stood two waist-high stone platforms, each about five meters across—one bearing a purple-gold alchemy furnace, the other a forging anvil.

"Come with me." Fane led Ryan to the platform with the alchemy furnace. With a clang, he opened the furnace, drew out several ingredients, and set them on the ground.

"Give it a try." Ryan took out the Boar King's Horn and the Fire Spirit Fruit, set them with the ingredients on the ground, then drew out the tattered, antique prescription and brought it close. Hmmm— A brown-gold light kindled from the old prescription, instantly wrapping around the ingredients.

"That's it! The formula's right! Hahahaha…" Victor Fane suddenly burst into laughter, weeping for joy, excited tears streaming down his wrinkled face. After so many years, he'd been ready to give up—and now this young man had worked a miracle and truly found the right ingredients. From here, if he could refine the elixir, the deed was as good as done.

"Young brother, thank you!" Fane said earnestly.

"This is your reward!" System: [Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the hidden item "Victor Fane's Letter of Introduction"!] Just one reward—but enough to thrill Ryan to the core. This was the gateway to the hidden class Mystic Spirit Alchemist! With this letter, he could enter the Mystic Spirit Medicine King's tutelage directly.

"Now, I'm about to begin refining the elixir. Would you be willing to lend me a hand?" Fane's next words froze Ryan on the spot. What—this quest had a continuation? But the guide he'd read had the quest ending right here. What was going on? Never mind that. If there's more, then more it is. He was already guaranteed a profit, and the follow-up rewards might be richer still.

"At your command. I'll give it everything I have," Ryan said gravely.

"See that smithing anvil over there?" Fane raised a withered hand toward the other platform.

"Go there, work the bellows and kindle the fire, and refine nine Fire Seeds to give to me." Ryan nodded and went to the other platform.

"Remember, as you work the bellows, mind the flame's flow and intensity—complement them as best you can, or you'll refine no Fire Seed at all!" Fane cautioned, then bent to take up a heap of tools and began processing the ingredients. Refining Fire Seeds—this was the first Ryan had heard of such a thing. In his last life, his life-class had been Blacksmith, and an experienced one; he'd spent his days at the anvil, every piece from his hands fine enough to sell briskly on the market.

But refining Fire Seeds at a smithing anvil—that he'd never heard of, nor did he know the point of it. Still, since Fane had asked, he could only settle his mind and refine the seeds as the quest demanded. And the moment he started, Ryan met with bitter failure. Experienced as he was, the motions came easily—but achieving the bellows-and-flame harmony Fane spoke of was monstrously hard.

With his current control, he could chain a dozen-odd successful motions at most; any more, and as the flame strengthened, its flow grew unpredictable, and matching it perfectly became as hard as climbing to heaven.

"I didn't expect it to be this difficult," Ryan muttered, caught off guard.

"Chain thirty-six successful bellows-and-flame matches, and you can refine one Fire Seed," Fane said, glancing at his progress.

"Brute force won't control the flame. Try another angle—settle your mind, adapt to the flame's rhythm, feel it breathe." Rhythm? Breathe? Ryan frowned, turning it over carefully. Fane's words seemed to open a brand-new door for him—and his shock gave way to excitement. Fail. Again. Fail. Again. … Time after time, he adjusted and practiced. At last, Ryan began to grasp the breathing rhythm of the flame, his bellows-work growing more practiced.

"Not bad—a fine seedling!" Fane stroked his beard, satisfied. In a single day, he's already feeling out the flame's rhythm. Astonishing talent.