"That's it for today's lecture. You all may enter the Myriad Sword Realm."
After a short quiz, Instructor Talon dismissed his class early, leaving the room to enter the Myriad Sword Realm himself.
Class 70 didn't waste a single second and immediately modified the positions of their slumber capsules.
They could live 24/7 inside the realm for months, if only such a thing were possible.
Daru stared at the ceiling, waiting until the thick and transparent protective lid closed before pressing his palms on his faintly glowing sword mark.
The world warped to a white void.
In the next moment, he found himself gazing at the huge cave entrance.
Daru pondered for a moment before deciding to turn back first.
He wasn't in a rush to unseal his sword, and he would probably still be able to unseal it today even if he returned to Agaron first and purchased a map.
He had five whole hours.
Plus, even if he somehow got unlucky and didn't obtain the remaining eleven Novice Swordheart Cores he needed, then tomorrow for sure.
Daru began journeying back to the starter city, traversing the Monkey Mountain, then the Critter Forest, which was now densely packed with novice Bladeborns.
He even met a few of his classmates, though none greeted him.
Most merely whispered among themselves as he passed.
Of course, he also didn't pay them much attention, merely opting to eliminate any Swordspawn he came across on his way back.
Strangely, the Swordspawns in the Novice Sword Plains merely ignored him, allowing him to return to Agaron faster.
Daru entered the city's reinforced wooden gate and looked around.
There were quite a number of novices walking about, some standing in front of the Waykeepers.
'Hmm…let's see…'
He, too, needed a certain Waykeeper: the Merchant.
'Plump guy with a cart…'
Daru didn't find the Waykeeper immediately, so he walked deeper into the city, to the side of the square.
He found the Merchant there and approached him.
At first, he didn't know how to interact with the empty-eyed resident of the Myriad Sword Realm, but an interface immediately appeared in front of him the moment he got close.
===
The Merchant
Fondness (Golden Eagle Merchant Association): 0
[Buy]
[Sell]
[Gift]
[Talk]
===
'Hmm?'
Daru naturally noticed the rather strange lines of text and unexpected options.
He thought he could only buy and sell items.
To satisfy his curiosity, Daru pressed the [Talk] button, but a notification appeared instead:
[The Merchant of Agaron refuses to talk. (Increase fondness through gifts first!)]
'I see…'
Daru then closed the notification and chose the [Gift] button this time, prompting another window to appear:
==
Choose a gift:
[Monkey Wine]
==
'Oh…so I can gift random drops, huh?' he mused, selecting the only option available.
[Please enter quantity.]
"Max"
[Gift (6) Monkey Wine?]
"Yes."
[You have gifted (6) Monkey Wine to the Merchant of Agaron. +60 Fondness to [Golden Eagle Merchant Association]!]
[Talk]
[The Merchant of Agaron refuses to talk. (Increase fondness through gifts first!)]
'Not enough, huh…'
Daru shrugged, not caring too much. He was sure that this fondness mechanic had some use, and he wasn't planning to ignore it, but he also wouldn't rush it.
He shall give gifts to the Waykeepers only whenever possible.
For now, at least…
Daru had nothing left to do except buy what he needed, so he pressed the [Buy] button next, prompting a window to appear.
Disappointingly, there were only three choices: the absurdly expensive low-grade health and stamina potions—priced at 20,000 Swordcoins each—and the Valmaris Continent Map.
The latter was relatively cheaper.
Relatively…
Still, Daru could afford 2,500 Swordcoins. The others probably don't even have that amount yet.
Or so he thought…
[You have purchased [Valmaris Continent Map] for 2,500 Swordcoins!]
The moment he closed the merchant's transaction window, a horse neighed behind him as it cantered past, capturing Daru's attention.
He turned to look, noticing that a majestic black stallion with faintly flaming hooves was heading for a red-haired young man waiting at the Agaron City Square.
Daru could somewhat recall that he saw this young man's face in the forums, and based on the color of his trial name, he was a B-ranker.
The fancy horse stopped a few meters from the novice, and the rider—an older man wearing glowing, runic equipment and a mini-cape—jumped off.
"Sir, I'm the courier sent by your mother and father. Please accept my trade offer so I can hand you what they sent."
Daru fell silent, merely continuing to observe.
A few moments later, more "couriers" arrived, each donning their own set of fancy armor and riding their unique, envy-inducing mounts.
They each headed to their young masters and young misses to complete their deliveries.
Of course, Daru couldn't deny that he somehow felt it was unfair, but he also strangely felt pumped.
This should make things more difficult and exciting...