Evolution Online: Building a Kingdom with 100\% drop rate-Chapter 35: Ch-: Unexpected Encounter
"Did I hear you wrong, or did you just say I can buy items using experience points?" Peak Sword said as he swallowed hard.
"Yes, you can use experience points," Victor said calmly.
Peak Sword did not hesitate anymore and opened the shop tab, and his body trembled with excitement when he saw that the first few items did indeed require experience points instead of money. "No way..."
He saw rows of items like armor, weapons, and potions—all of them required experience points to purchase.
Hmm, now that I think about it, I am an NPC. I should be able to assign players quests, shouldn’t I? Victor rubbed his chin as he pondered, then looked at Peak Sword, who had a pained expression, and an idea popped into his head.
"Brave adventurer, do you have time to help me?" Victor said, and his eyes lit up when he saw a notification.
[Ding Dong]
[You are trying to assign a quest to a player recognized by the Records]
[Please describe the quest and assign the rewards of the quest]
Victor saw another screen pop up and saw a space to write about the quest. Another section showed the rewards he could assign—from experience points to items. He excluded experience points, as he needed them the most at this time.
He thought for a moment and knew he could not be stingy with the reward, and then assigned a proper reward.
"Huh?" Peak Sword’s eyes widened when he saw a quest pop up on his retina.
[Ding Dong]
[You have received a quest from the Supernamed NPC ’Frost Eye’]
[Quest: Spread the Name]
[Description: The mysterious merchant Frost Eye has decided to open a shop, but as it is new, there is not much traffic. Help spread the name of his shop among players.]
[Clear Condition: 0/10,000 (can also use the player forums)]
[Rewards: A full set of Tier 0 Knight Equipment along with a Sword Skillbook] 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
"What?!" Peak Sword’s jaw almost dropped to the ground when he saw the rewards of the quest. Moreover, the full set was lucrative enough for him to accept the quest, as set items have additional bonus effects, and he had not heard of anyone—not even the top player Faceless—possessing a set item, not to mention a skillbook, which was even rarer than items.
He only knew that a few top players had publicly revealed they had skills during the Awakeners Association test, and he had heard that someone had set an absurd record just a few hours ago.
To think that I’d get the chance to interact with a high-level NPC this soon! This place is the best! Peak Sword thought, as in his opinion only a high-ranked NPC could give out such generous rewards.
He replied as calmly as he could, "I am willing to help."
[Ding Dong]
[You have accepted the quest]
"Good," Victor also nodded in satisfaction as he received the notification that the player had accepted his quest. He had a lot of Tier 0 set items which were common in the Silvernum territory, and he decided to use them as rewards. It might not be much for him, but for newbie players, this was precious early-game equipment which could give them an edge, and he also included a skillbook, which made the quest irresistible.
Peak Sword immediately opened the player forum, logged into his account, and created a post. Being a top player, he had millions of followers.
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[Mysterious NPC Merchant in Moonlight City!!!]
Hello, everyone, this is your boy Peak Sword. Today, while I was hunting, I was feeling frustrated as my progress had become slower because the monsters I was killing were not giving enough experience points due to my increased level. So, like every sane gamer would do, I went to hunt stronger monsters.
Guess what? They were much more difficult to kill with beginner weapons, so I went back to the city to buy better weapons, as drop rates are low for them. I did find what I was looking for, but the price was above my budget. Dejected, I was going to keep hunting weaker monsters and save money to buy better weapons, but at that time, I came across a huge signboard saying "Frost Eye’s Shop." Curiously, I went to check it out, and what I saw blew my mind.
The shop was filled with powerful rare items, and even compared to weapons and items that other merchants were selling, this shop had the same weapons with higher damage and armor with better defense.
The most important aspect is that the NPC did not take gold coins but used experience points for the exchange. Yes, that’s right—you read it correctly, the NPC takes experience points.
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Peak Sword finished his post and even uploaded screenshots of the shop showing items priced in experience points. Sure enough, within minutes, the post exploded in popularity.
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CrimsonSword99: Holy shit, it’s true—all the items cost experience points.
Noobjoke77: Look at these items, there are so many rare ones. Damn, just imagine what edge a beginner player could have with these items.
TheSwordIsSupreme: This must be the only NPC who does transactions using experience points. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was a player instead of an NPC.
Snowflake888: Moonlight City, was it? I will save some money and use the teleportation service to arrive in the city.
Flameking: I am coming right now.
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The post began trending in the top 3, and within minutes many players in different beginner cities started rushing toward Moonlight City regardless of the cost. They did not want to miss out on the items and were worried that if they arrived late, the stock would be empty.
[Ding Dong]
[You have completed the Quest]
[You have received rewards]
"Yes!" Peak Sword’s face flushed with excitement when he saw red armor, boots, and a helmet, and even a red sword appeared out of thin air along with a skillbook, dropping onto the ground in front of him because he did not have the inventory skill.
Victor looked calmly at Peak Sword and noticed a few items vanish from his inventory. Victor almost laughed out loud when he saw Peak Sword, without even looking at him, equip his gear and sprint toward the hunting grounds.
"Well, now it’s the waiting game," Victor mumbled as he patiently waited for customers.
Sure enough, within 10 minutes, he noticed the player activity in the city increase drastically and saw one player suddenly point at him and shout,
"Look, that’s the shop from the post!"
With his shout, the other players also looked toward Victor’s shop, and their eyes lit up as a horde of players rushed toward him, leaving the shopkeeper dumbfounded.
They all stood in front of Victor and quickly opened the shop tab without even acknowledging his presence. As soon as they saw the contents of the shop, their eyes lit up.
"Holy, it’s actually true! This NPC allows purchases through experience points!"
"Haha, this is great! I needed better equipment but didn’t have enough money. Now I can finally buy better gear!"
"But still, the experience points required are quite high."
"Hah, at this stage getting experience is easier compared to money. I would rather spend experience points, which I am guaranteed after killing a monster, than gold coins, which are random."
"Damn, others have already started buying!"
The players who were browsing suddenly panicked when they saw the stock starting to shrink. Victor looked calmly, as he had plenty of stock in his inventory which he had not listed in the shop tab.
"Hey, make way!"
All of a sudden, a commotion started from the back of the crowd, which caused Victor to raise an eyebrow.
Suddenly, Victor’s eyes twitched when he saw a large golden banner of a guild with a red lion as the sigil, and he mumbled, "Sigh, who knew I would meet them at such a place."
"Hey, stop pushing me! Do you know—" one of the players who had been shoved aside became angry and turned back, but his words got stuck in his throat when he recognized the banner. The other players also reacted.
"Damn, does this bastard from a guild think they can do whatever they want? I came here first! What kind of guild is the Crimson Lion Guild?"
"Do you live under a rock that you don’t recognize the Crimson Lion Guild?"
"I am new to gaming and started playing after the Awakener incident, so yes, I don’t know."
"Let me tell you—the Crimson Lion Guild is one of the top 10 guilds worldwide and has dominated many games, and is backed by the Hayes family."
"What Hayes family? One of those families rumored to control the world from the shadows?"
"Hush, don’t say such things out loud."
"Hey, look, it’s Matthew Hayes, the young lord of the Hayes Family!"
Victor looked at the young man. Yes, this was the same person who had cornered him—the one he had stolen from before he died. Compared to the slightly older version, this one was much younger and carried a hint of arrogance and contempt in his eyes.
’Tsk, before maturity, this guy sure looked arrogant,’ Victor clicked his tongue.
Victor watched as Matthew stepped forward and looked at him, and the words that left his mouth left Victor speechless"Hey, I want these items for half the cost—and throw in a few free items."
