Chapter 8: The Vice-Captain

“So now Royong is wearing the necklace, and holding the necromancy spell scroll, while Elia has the glove,” the barbarian priest approached again, casting a deep glance at Royong. “Actually, this can be considered as the completion of the transaction, right?”

“N-no, isn’t it?” Royong replied weakly, clutching the necklace on his chest and the scroll in his hand, his body instinctively shifting as if afraid someone might snatch them away. Yet, he stood his ground, not retreating a single step.

“You could interpret it that way,” Wendy sighed softly, knowing these people would not give up so easily. “Once the treasure chest is opened, whoever wants Elia’s glove can negotiate with her directly! But from my perspective, the transaction isn’t truly complete.”

“The necklace was mine, the spell scroll belongs to Elia, and the glove is Royong’s. Royong wants both the necklace and the scroll, Elia wants the glove, and I’ve ended up with nothing, losing a necklace for free. Therefore, whoever desires the glove must offer Royong something of equal value, provide me something equivalent to the necklace, and compensate Elia with something matching the scroll.”

“So convoluted—is that all?” The Storm Sorceress rubbed her temples, exasperated. “Are you just the middleman pocketing the difference?”

“Such malicious manipulation, utterly shameless!” the Wild Hunter shouted.

“Is that so?” Wendy smiled charmingly. “You all know better than I do the true worth of this glove. If it appeared elsewhere, the price would not be the same. If you find the terms unacceptable, you may simply forgo further trade. The glove will belong to Elia, and the transaction is settled!”

“Eh?”

“What?”

“How is the transaction concluded?!”

“No, no! We haven’t participated yet!”

“Let’s get moving, time for the quest! My staff is yearning for action!”

Amidst noisy protests, the group crowded around Royong, heading off into the distance.

Elsewhere, a certain plump member of a four-person party was catching his breath when he glanced absently in their direction. He froze.

Who was that Level 8 powerhouse surrounded by the crowd in the distance? Why did he look so much like Royong?

“I must be seeing things,” the fat Ger muttered to himself.

“Hey, you lazy oaf, what’s the hold-up? Get moving!” Ahead, Level 6 Matthew waved his massive sword and shouted.

“Coming!” Ger hurried after them, but after walking a bit, he couldn’t resist looking back. There was no sign of the others in that direction anymore. Yet, a lingering feeling tugged at his heart.

“That person really looked like Royong!”

“Royong? Where?” Phaeton and Rita looked over simultaneously.

Both were now Level 5. After completing the skeleton monster quest, their whole party had leveled up. At this point, Ger was Level 4.

But this small improvement made little difference. Aside from Royong, the oddity, all heroes had to grind their way up, slowly and painfully, with no shortcuts.

“You saw him?” Matthew, upon hearing Royong’s name, came over. “I’d like to find out his current level. Without a fixed team, fighting solo is reckless!”

“Exactly. No matter how skilled he is, he can’t pick up major quests or take on powerful monsters!” Phaeton likewise doubted Royong.

“Well, our strength is decent, but some people just look down on us!” Rita snorted.

“Uh…” Ger hesitated, rubbing his eyes hard. “Maybe I was mistaken. I just saw a crowd of Level 8 elites heading that way and thought it was Royong…”

“What? Level 8 elites?”

“Would they take on a quest with Royong?”

“Quit joking, Ger! You must be seeing things!”

“Right, not even a group of Level 6s would bring a Level 5 hero along!” said Phaeton.

“Indeed,” Matthew nodded, glancing at Ger. If not for his usefulness, he’d have dropped him long ago. Now, he was just making up the numbers.

After all, they needed more bodies…

“Heh, you’re probably right. Maybe I didn’t sleep well last night!” Ger managed an awkward smile, sounding guilty.

“All right, let’s get to the quest. It wasn’t easy to land it—let’s stay sharp!”

“Understood, Boss Matthew!”

…

Royong was already far away, oblivious to what had transpired here. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t care; all he wanted now were sparkling gems and gleaming gold coins.

Even when the passionate barbarian priest nearly pressed herself against him, he remained unmoved, his heart calm and steady. At this moment, the shadow of his first love lingered in his heart. Sometimes, his dreams replayed the scene of her rejection, her every word, her gentle smile.

“Oh!” Royong suddenly cried out, clutching his arm and staring in surprise at his side.

“What’s wrong?” Wendy asked.

“She pinched me,” Royong answered innocently.

“You all—” Wendy glanced at the group, exasperated. “Save your energy for the quest! There are newcomers in the team this time, don’t let things get out of hand and embarrass yourselves.”

“No worries! We’ve done this quest so many times, we know it like the back of our hand!” The barbarian priest was unconcerned, rolling her eyes at Royong.

Royong: “…”

“Howl!” The Wild Hunter summoned a giant wolf, which bounded across the wilderness, pouncing on monsters and dispatching them in moments.

It had to be said—a group of Level 8 elites in these wilds were a force to be reckoned with.

But Royong knew this was just the easy mode; everything was only beginning. It wasn’t possible to encounter max-level monsters right away—that would ruin the game.

As the wolf’s howl faded, the Wild Hunter approached, placing a hand on Royong’s shoulder. “See? Summoning magic is powerful. Want to learn it?”

“But didn’t you say you had no spell scrolls?” Royong asked bluntly.

Wild Hunter: “…”

“That’s just temporary!”

“Out of my way!” The Storm Sorceress shoved the Wild Hunter aside and strode between them. As she passed Royong, she winked. “Watch me!”

Whoosh!

She waved her staff, conjuring a small tornado that swept up a monster blocking their path.

It nearly carried off the Wild Hunter’s summoned wolf as well.

Moments later, a pile of shredded meat smacked the ground.

“When it comes to power, elemental magic is superior!” she declared.

“Melina, you—” The Wild Hunter whistled and directed her wolf to run further away, lest it suffer collateral damage.

“Don’t mind her,” the barbarian priest raised her staff, a gentle glow enveloping her, making her appear almost saintly.

“Holy Light!”

A ray of white light shot forth, purifying a filthy skeleton monster.

“If you want to learn magic, blessing spells are the best choice,” the priest said gravely.

Whoosh!

A magical arrow soared through the air, freezing a distant monster in place.

The creature's face seemed utterly bewildered, unsure what had just happened.

“A real man should—”

“You all, behave yourselves! All this fuss over a glove!” Wendy, growing annoyed, interjected.

“Royong, do you really not understand the value of that glove?” Wendy asked, genuinely puzzled.

“I do,” Royong replied honestly.

“Then why trade it away?!”

Not just Wendy, the others were also astonished.

“I don’t have a set, so it’s useless to me. Better to trade it for something practical—to improve my strength and survive.”

“Sound reasoning,” the barbarian priest was first to agree.

“Pragmatic and realistic—I like it!” The Storm Sorceress nodded in admiration.

“Hey, you’re all stealing my lines!” The Wild Hunter took the opportunity to sling an arm around Royong’s shoulder, whispering, “Royong, if you ever get anything good like that again, remember your big sister first!”

“Pah! Why should he remember you?”

“Why not me first?”

Halfway along the road, the group nearly broke out into a fight, leaving Wendy with a headache. Sometimes, trying to keep these people in line was no easy task.

Fortunately, Elia stood firmly by her side.

Wait—

Where was Elia? Why hadn’t she spoken at all?

As Wendy turned to look, a figure crashed into her arms—it was none other than the cursed witch, Elia.

“Elia, are you all right?”

At this moment, the cursed witch had none of her usual fierceness. She cradled the glove carefully, a dreamy smile on her face, her eyes filled with nothing but the glove.

Wendy: “…”

Was this quest ever going to proceed smoothly?

“Ahem!” Wendy cleared her throat, rescuing Royong from the midst of the group and announced loudly, “I hereby declare Royong as the vice-captain of our team!”