Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 251 Quest Lock (Part 1)

Ye Ci cleared her throat in an attempt to cover up her slip of tongue, “Let’s go. Just focus on gathering the ores, you don’t have to care about anything else.”

Blossom did not miss Ye Ci’s small moment of embarrassment. He realised that the Solo King of the Eastern Continent was not the demon people portrayed her to be.

“Hurry up, the monsters will respawn soon!” shouted Ye Ci as she realised that Blossom was lagging behind.

“Alright, I’m coming!” her words snapped Blossom out of his daze.

This was perhaps Blossom’s best mining experience. He did not have to worry about any dangers nor was there any players who would compete against him for ores. The only thing that he had to do was to gather whatever ores that he needed. As he busied himself with the task at hand, Blossom’s thoughts wandered to Gongzi You, why would she do something like this?

As he sat by a mining spot to replenish his Stamina with bread, Blossom stole a glance at Gongzi You who was sitting nearby. She was scanning the surroundings for any signs of monsters, which she would then swiftly annihilate with her bow. A huge dinosaur with scary red eyes stood by Gongzi You’s side, staring at him with an intimidating gaze. Blossom could tell that the beast was not a friendly one.

Two Dark Boars appeared behind Blossom as he was eating his bread, and Ye Ci immediately directed Ol’ Four against the monsters. She acquired some common items and a 20-slot backpack from the corpses, which she traded to Blossom.

Blossom was taken aback by her gesture, “I-I don’t have the money to pay for this.” it was clear that he was feeling embarrassed.

“Just take it, I don’t need your money.” said Ye Ci, “Backpacks like this are very important for a Life Player like you.”

“But... Our contract says that all the loot drops belong to you...” Blossom was an honest person who abided by the rules of the system.

Ye Ci stifled a laugh. Blossom is such an inflexible person, “Well, since this belongs to me, I can give it to whoever I want. Just keep it.”

Blossom was backed to a corner by Ye Ci’s words. He could no longer refuse the backpack.

Six hours passed in the blink of an eye. Blossom’s face was a mask of anxiety, which was a direct contrast to Ye Ci who maintained a calm expression.

“What do you have in mind?” Ye Ci would of course notice the nervous stares from Blossom.

“I-I have only 100 gold coins.” Blossom let out a long sigh as he turned around to face Gongzi You.

“I know.”

“But won’t it b-be a loss for y-you? You’ve spent such a long time escorting me in this map.” Blossom took in a deep breath, finally mustering enough courage to speak out the following words, “The 100 gold coins is all that I have. I can’t afford to pay you more.”

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Blossom, “You’re right, I am at a loss here. I would’ve forgotten about it if you didn’t remind me about it.”

“I t-told you t-that I d-don’t have anything else t-to pay you with...” Blossom’s resolve crumbled in the face of Ye Ci’s carefree attitude. He was an honest person, and he felt guilty for taking advantage of Gongzi You.

Blossom know that Gongzi You deserved more than what he could afford. He did not know how much she was worth, but he knew that guilds would spend hundreds of thousands of gold coins to hire Gongzi You to clear a dungeon for them. There were even times when she refused their offer. But... On this day... He hired Gongzi You for an entire day with a mere 100 coins. This was just....

According to the forums, Gongzi You’s time was worth at least 300,000 gold coins. Even if we’re not exploring a dungeon, and the price is halved, I would still have to pay her at least 150,000 gold coins.

150,000 gold coins...

Blossom’s entire possession was not even worth 1,000 gold coins. For him, 150,000 gold coins was something that he would not be able to earn in his lifetime. If only I kept my cool after hearing the name ‘Gongzi You’. I would still be at the Town of Blair looking for a party. I would rather be looked down upon by the players there than to have a debt of 150,000 gold coins...

He was crying internally.

While Ye Ci could not read his thoughts, she could still see the Blossom’s shift in mood as the man sat dejectedly on the ground, completely giving up on gathering more ores.

“Is your inventory full already?” Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. It can’t be full so soon.

“No.” responded Blossom with a depressed voice.

“Well, carry on then! Or are you expecting me to help you out with gathering the ores?” Ye Ci was baffled by Blossom’s sudden change in attitude.

“I don’t feel like it anymore.”

“Eh?”

Blossom stared at Ye Ci with a saddened expression, “Gongzi You, I can really only spare 100 gold coins. I have 120 coins with me, but I need 20 gold coins to rent a lab... I guess I’ll have to pay you back slowly in the future when I earn some money by selling my products.”

“Pay me? What for?” Ye Ci was baffled by Blossom’s words. She was a person who would not overlook even the tiniest of details, but even she could not understand the meaning behind Blossom’s words.

“I owe you 150,000 gold coins...” Blossom almost cried.

Ye Ci was baffled by his words, “150,000 gold coins?” she had even began to suspect that she lent a huge sum of money to the man in a distant past. If that’s not the case, why else would he owe me such a large sum? Wait... I don’t remember lending money to him.

“I wouldn’t have joined your party if I knew that you’re Gongzi You...” Blossom was depressed as he thought of the fact that he had already incurred a huge sum of debt at the beginning of his gaming life.

“Oh?” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Blossom. She wanted to know what was going on in the person’s mind.

“Well they said in the forums that people would hire you with 300,000 gold coins to clear a dungeon. You’ve been escorting me for almost an entire day, so even if we’re not in a dungeon I’ll still have to pay you at least 150,000 gold coins. But that’s a lot... How am I going to pay you...” Blossom was depressed.

Ye Ci stared silently at Blossom. She had a sudden feeling that he was an idiot. He was honest, but was also an idiot. This was a rare phenomenon in itself in modern society. A naive person like him would never stop moving forward to achieve a goal, which was why people like him tend to succeed easily. Ye Ci did not know how Sir Ditty was able to recruit this honest, naive, and slightly foolish player into his guild, but if he was sincere in his words, Ye Ci had a way to bring him into her guild.

It was a golden opportunity.

I’ll be the idiot if I can’t get Blossom to sign some form of contract with me.

“How are you going to repay me?” Ye Ci’s eyes were two narrow slits at this point, and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she stared at Blossom, “You can pay with your person of course.”

Blossom was stunned. Cough raked his body as he nearly choked on his saliva, and his face was a dark shape of red.

Ye Ci was dumbfounded by his response. Did I say something wrong?

Blossom stood up and took a few steps back. He clung on to the collar of his shirt and glared at Ye Ci. His face was red with anger as he spoke the following words to Gongzi You, “Even I have a bottom line alright? No matter how poor I am, I will never sell my body!”

Ye Ci’s expression darkened when she noticed the grave expression on Blossom’s face. Just what the hell is this guy thinking...

“Even if this is a game, I’ll never do something so immoral! I’ll never agree to this!” said Blossom as he noticed Ye Ci’s darkend expression.

Ye Ci’s expression darkened even further. If only I’m a warrior... I’ll cleave this guy’s head open with my sword and see what’s inside. He’s so idiotic that he doesn’t seem like a normal human being.

“Hey hey hey...”

“I’ll never give in!” Blossom cut Ye Ci off with a determined expression, “You can’t force yourself on me even if you’re the Solo King!”

“Aren’t you thinking a little too much?” Ye Ci’s face was shrouded with darkness. She was suddenly reminded of Fleeting Time. What will Fleeting Time do in a situation like this? I bet he’ll kill that guy just to shut him up even if he’s a future Grandmaster-tier Goblin Engineer.

“No! You’re the one who said it!” Blossom shook his head.

Ye Ci rolled her eyes, “Blossom, don’t you think that you’re being delusional?” Blossom had obviously interpreted her words very differently.

“Huh?”

“I only wanted to recruit you into my guild! Didn’t you say that you owe me 150,000 gold coins? I was trying to tell you that you can come work for me to pay off your debt! Just what do you have in your brain? Why are you thinking of such weird things?” said Ye Ci as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Eh?” Blossom was embarrassed when he heard Ye Ci words. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to hide away from Ye Ci. Despite that, he refused to go down without a fight, “You’re the one who said some weird things.”

“That’s because you have a dirty mind.” Ye Ci had never lost when it came to trash talking, and there was no way she would lose to an idiot like Blossom.

Blossom immediately changed the topic, “You were talking about inviting me to your guild, am I right?”

He had only found out that Life Players were sought after by major guilds not long ago, and had always wanted to join a guild. From what he heard, a guild would help gather crafting materials for him, which meant that he no longer had to hire players as his escort. His application to several guilds, however, were rejected because of his Beginner-tier guild. This was why Blossom was excited when Ye Ci told him about her desire to invite him into her guild.

“Didn’t you owe me 150,000 gold coins? I won’t collect the payment from you. It’s not like you can pay me anyways.” Ye Ci voice was full of confidence as she spoke to Blossom. Since he was the one who brought the topic up, and she herself had nothing to lose, Ye Ci did not even feel a hint of guilt as she mentioned the man’s debt.

Blossom lowered his head. He knew that he was not able to pay his debt.

“Come to Upwards Ho! then. We’ll provide you with the materials you need so that you can level up, and the guild will pay you according to your product output. What do you think?”

“I’m even getting paid?” Blossom blinked. Surprise was evident in his expression. Fate was his first game, and he had heard that Life Players could earn a living through the game in the later stages of the game. He never knew anything about having a salary, “You’re not asking for payment, and will even give out salary to me? Is there really such a good thing in this world?”

A scowl appeared on Ye Ci’s face. I really am talking to an idiot, aren’t I? Doesn’t he know how the economy in this game works?

“So are you going to work for me or not?” Ye Ci finally lost her patience. Unlike Carnivore and Pea Cake, Blossom was a total newbie who had just started learning Engineering. There was no way she could educate him about the dynamics of the game in a short amount of time, which was why she made the decision to pass the burden on to someone like Timely Rain.

“Am I really getting paid?”

“Yup.”

“Alright!” Blossom was excited. He had expected to only able to earn money from the game after a few years of investment, but he was already receiving an offer of employment, “I’ll go with you then.”

Guilt crept into Ye Ci’s heart as she stared at Blossom. It was like she was swindling a newbie. A newbie who was also an idiot... Will karma catch up with me in the future? The feeling of guilt, however, disappeared after mere moments. She had a feeling that Blossom would cause no end of trouble to innocent players, and she was doing the world a favor by taking him under Upwards Ho!’s wings. Perhaps Sir Ditty was thinking the same thing back then...

Look at me! I’m such a great person!