Chapter 27: The Demons & the Crafters
The Item Exchange island looked like a huge bazaar. Tons of stalls and shops were open for people, all of them manned by players.
In the Item Exchange part of the Nightmare Carnival, you can trade items for other items or Carnival Points. There are no NPC shops. However, each item can only be traded once, so people can't farm CP by constantly trading between each other. That's what the sites said.
Anyway, the big number of people ironically made it easier to sneak away with [Lurk] once the people on the bridge lost sight of me while I dodged the crowd. That was horrible...
But even if I lament over it, the deed's done and I can't change that fact. If I ever meet those guys again...death!
"Welcome...?" - Al Azif?
The discovery of the shop was easier than the planned execution of those jerks. The place looks like an old pub, but it's located far from the main street, so it's reasonable that most people wouldn't want to get this place for the event. Except if you're roleplaying as some shady guy or someone naturally eccentric as the prof.
...this guy is Al Azif, right? I heard he had evolved into some Mimic, but the guy behind the bar counter looks human to me. A brown-haired, bespectacled young man dressed as a noble or a magician depending on which part of his appearance you want to go for first.
The stranger thing is the creature sitting on one of the chairs by the counter. It looks like a pink rabbit, but its upper front tooths are too long, plus it has two equally long fangs that point upward. To finish the freaking look, it has two coal-like eyes that make it look simply scary.
"Miss, is there something you want?" asked the man I assume to be Al Azif. While talking, I had this nasty feeling of being Identified..., oh. Right, the mask. I removed it so to prove who I was.
"...! Miss Gara-*bonk*-ouch!" - Al Azif
The guy went on his knees, or he tried to. He hit his head on the counter in his hurry. The pink rabbit looked at me with shock in his eyes (I think. It's not easy to know with that kinda face).
"Gara..., the princess!?" - Pink rabbit
"Hello. Be at ease." - Garami
"It's the princess." - Pink rabbit
The rabbit went from shocked to acknowledging in five sec flat. Now that I've had some time to think about it, aren't those eyes similar to mine when I was a Grey Demon? If so...
"Trapped Demon?" - Garami
"That's me~! My name's Jillfried, but just call me Jill." - Jill
The pink rabbit, Jill, talked casually, but I felt there was some exhaustion in his voice. Probably because he's yet to clear his Dungeon. And even evolving.
"And that guy is...?" I asked, pointing at the man holding his head behind the counter.
"That's the prof. I was surprised as well." - Jill
The prof, Al Azif, emerged from the counter with a bump on his head while I was talking to Jill.
"Do not spoil my self-introduction! *Cough*, as Jillfried told you, I am Al Azif, the professor within demonology." - Al Azif
"...weren't you supposed to be a Mimic?" - Garami
"That is correct! I am glad that you remember. My race at this time is the Book Mimic. This is my real body, by the way," said Al Azif while showing me an old book...huh?
"Your "real body"?" - Garami
"That is correct. This appearance of mine is the product of one of my skills: [Mimic Avatar: Humanoid]. It produces a new avatar, a "Token", that I can switch into when activated. It is one of the skills I obtained when I evolved, with the other being the [Levitation] skill." - Al Azif
Both skills are so the player can move around even as a book. Cool. I got [Create Trap], and it turned into a favorite of mine, but this guy got two good skills while I only got that one and [Sleep Demon's Touch]. Well, the touch may turn more useful from now on, but still.
"That's nice..., you guys get to evolve..." - Jill
"? Can't you evolve inside your Dungeon?" - Garami
"Well, that's-" - Jill
"The weaker enemies are too quick for Jillfried to catch, and they are naturally resistant towards his magic as well, so he is stuck at Lv.3." - Al Azif
That's horrible!
"I got lucky the first few days, but then I lost the special item needed to catch the weaker enemies." - Jill
"And that was...?" - Garami
"A fishing rod..." - Jill
Ah, so it's a fish-type Dungeon.
"That is why he came to me to ask if I knew of someone who sells good fishing equipment. He is also troubled that there are fewer people who challenge the Dungeon he is trapped in due to the influx of beautiful players. The possibility of a Succubus alone is not good-." - Al Azif
"Hey, stop that!" - Jill
"It is the truth. We have a prime example right here," replied Al Azif as he gave me a fancy-looking drink. "On the house," he said. Cool. Even if it's just an ice cream soda.
"What else can I do for you, princess?" asked Al Azif as he cleaned the stuff behind the counter away.
"Need some buyers." - Garami
"So you're participating as a seller. What do you have for sale?" - Al Azif
I showed the two demons the list of items I had with me. Their faces sunk while reading it.
"Princess..., where did you-, oh. These flowers, they are from your Dungeon?" - Al Azif
"Bingo." - Garami
I'll keep quiet that I'm cultivating the Dark Lilies.
"You don't say. Okay, I think I have some potential buyers on my friend list. I will take it from the rumors that you do not want many people to know about your current location, correct?" - Al Azif
I nodded while drinking my soda. So the stuff on the bridge did spread. I figured as much, but hearing about it depresses me once again.
"Then I will ask some reliable people to arrive here." - Al Azif
"Is that okay?" - Garami
"Why yes. Unlike Jillfried here who still struggles with his Dungeon, you are the first clearer of the hell-mode Racial Start. People would love to make connections with you." - Al Azif
Really? With plain old me?
"Sure, keep on smearing salt on my wounds! Prof, I'll go to that buyer you recommended. And I'll keep quiet about things here," said Jill and nodded his head toward me regarding the last part before jumping out of the building.
"...why a bunny?" I asked Al Azif after Jill had exited the building.
"The Pink Demons? I suggest it is because rabbits are a fertile race?" - Al Azif
"Not because its evolution looks good in a bunny outfit?" - Garami
"Do not forget, princess, that the Pink Demon can evolve into an Incubus as well." - Al Azif
Ulp, that's a nasty thought. Let's forget that one...
---
A while later, three people entered the pub. One is a tall man with long ears dressed in something that looks like a lab coat. Another one looks like a fox-eared girl dressed in a kimono-like outfit. The third is a..., a loli? She's wearing a leather apron and a tool belt filled with stuff like a smithing hammer and pliers.
"Hey, professor. Is this the big seller you told us about?" - Long-eared man
"This is her, yes. Garami, these three are some of the best crafters currently in the game. The Elf is-" - Al Azif
"Ah, I can do that. The name's Crow. As Al said, I'm an Elf and a crafter. My class is Potion Maker." - Crow
That means..., he's evolved his class! Oh, so envious...
"My turn then~? Call me Aino~. I am a fox-type Beastkin, and my class is Weaver~." - Aino
So that's where the kimono came from. It's handmade..., ain't that impressive?
"...Tylin. Dwarf..., class, Smith." - Tylin
She's a Dwarf. Not so loudmouthed, but it fits her. Is she what you could call a "legal loli"?
"As you heard, these people wish to buy the items you showed me before," said Al Azif to me after the introduction. "They have also agreed on keeping your identity a secret from the other players."
"A cheap price to pay if I can get the chance to meet the first Dungeon Clearer in the game." - Crow
"...got something against that?" - Garami
"Why should I? Rather, I want a Dungeon for my use." - Crow
"You would only fill it with herb fields, you potion maniac. Just by some fields from the NPCs." - Aino
"Sh-sh-shut up! Those things are too expensive for me!" - Crow
Huh, guess those two have some history. Tylin is nodding off, so maybe all three of them are friends? "Used to each other" may be the closest way to describe them.
"People, we need to return to the subject." - Al Azif
"Right, the purchase." - Crow
"Fine with me~. I can bully Crow whenever I want to." - Aino
"Crow..., equals..., nice bullying." - Tylin
"You girls!?" shouted Crow at them with tears in his eyes. Why did Al Azif bring someone this pathetic? Can they even use the materials I have to offer?
---
After THREE hours of business transactions, the three crafters, no, the three crafting aliens walked out of the pub with great smiles on their faces.
"I'm dead..." - Garami
"You still have HP left, so relax. Here, on the house again." - Al Azif
I took the cup of tea and slowly drank it while feeling more exhausted than even after the boss battle with the Vile Queen.
"...would things have gone better if the loli wasn't here?" - Garami
"You mean Tylin? Most likely." - Al Azif
"Then why did you invite her?" - Garami
"Simply due to her being the biggest collector of strange items among the crafters up to now. If there is someone who would pay for unknown items, no matter their usefulness, it would be her. And her pockets are deep." - Al Azif
Ah, that explains why she wanted to buy all my items at the start. Then the elf and the fox started to complain and had a little war of words, with me sitting right in the middle of the crossfire. It was horrible...
In the end, the loli went home with some Dark Lilies, a few chunks of Concrock that I'd kept in the corner of my room, a Darkland Toad- and Frog's eyeballs that I'd gathered during my training week, several other random stuff that had been taking up space, and the Magic Shield of [Metal Wall].
After the devil disappeared, I didn't have any other uses for it, so I sold it. In return, the loli sold me a set of throwing knives and a belt to keep them in.
The elf got 120 Dark Lilies, plus the rest of the eyeballs. It seems that not many people can go to the Darklands, so they must have some value as a rarity. The Lilies are supposed to be part of some Element Cream medicine. Not sure what that's for. Better take a look if I reach a city once.
And the fox got the rest of the Lilies. She wants to use them for coloring cloth and give the clothing properties of the Darkness attribute. I also sold her a yarn of magic thread, which I created on my own with the [Mystical Thread] skill. Thinking back, it was a damn good job of me to escape that Emergency Quest. Well done, me.
"No need to look so gloom. 5.000 CP is the same amount as winning first place in one of the four daily battle tournaments." - Al Azif
Maybe so. There goes the need to look for Points for the next two days. But, CP and AP are two different things...
"You know how people get AP from this event?" - Garami
"There have been some AP-related prizes for the challenges in the combat area-" - Al Azif
"Rejected." - Garami
No way I'm participating in a public combat match. I don't have the stats or the skills for that.
"No wonder. Then how about the mini-event areas?" - Al Azif
"...in plural?" - Garami
"Yes. One of the areas is designed after a Japanese festival fair. You pay with Sol or CP and get to play the games there. The prizes are special lottery tickets with various prices, such as Skill-Up Potions or rare items." - Al Azif
Lottery, meaning a gacha. Which again can mean I may end up with only "consolation candies"...
"As for the other area, it's Las Vegas." - Al Azif
"Sorry??" - Garami
"I am not fooling around. The whole second mini-event area is a huge casino district. Bet CP and you can win even more." - Al Azif
Gambling, huh. Compared to the complete randomness of the gacha, that may be more in my style...
Okay, time to show the world again the "Stella-style gambling arts" after a good and too long time~.