Chapter 10: Encountering the Beauty Again

Many of the top players in various games, as well as prominent figures from numerous studios and guilds, are members of this community. Ordinary players have no chance of entering without an introduction. Lu Kuan submitted his application to join, attaching a screenshot of the Blazing Soul Fragment. With this as his calling card, he was confident it would attract considerable interest.

Returning to the game, the in-game clock had passed noon. Now that his most urgent task was completed, Lu Kuan felt relaxed and strolled leisurely toward the Adventurers’ Hall in the southern part of the city.

The Lava Fortress boasted two most striking buildings: one was the lord’s manor, home to the fortress’s ruler, the arcane mage Tuke; the other was the Adventurers’ Hall where players obtained quests. The latter resembled an enormous pavilion, its size magnified dozens of times. At the center stood a notice board for quest selection. Lu Kuan wandered around the hall, picking up several quests related to the “Red Mist Forest” map.

“Hey, little brother, you there?” His message manager vibrated gently—a note from Old Lazy.

“I’m here,” Lu Kuan replied succinctly.

“Haha, you’re a celebrity in Lava Fortress now!” Old Lazy’s hearty laughter rang out.

Lu Kuan was puzzled. “How so?”

“Glory Guild just posted on the game forum, claiming you snatched their treasure and got a piece of purple gear…” Old Lazy explained.

Lu Kuan raised his brows and smirked dismissively. These fellows were shrewd—making him the center of attention, a target for having treasures others coveted.

“Purple gear isn’t so easy to get, but I did obtain a blue weapon,” Lu Kuan replied, sensing Old Lazy’s probing tone and offering a simple explanation.

On the other end, Old Lazy breathed a sigh of relief. A blue weapon was acceptable; relic-level gear would have been outrageous. Glory’s people were likely muddying the waters.

“Haha, that’s what I thought! If you ever want to sell top-tier gear, I can find you a buyer. Oh, by the way, Old Deer, about that…”

Old Lazy laughed, brushing past the topic, then hesitated. “During our previous chat, you said you weren’t optimistic about the armor card market. Could you share some insight with me?”

This question had troubled Old Lazy all day.

This was no small business. Old Lazy was quite successful in real life, but with “Echoes of the Gods” just launching, game currency was impossible to buy, no matter how wealthy you were. They had scraped together 300 gold coins only by pooling resources among friends.

If things went wrong, he’d lose everything. Climbing back up in the game would leave him far behind competitors.

Lu Kuan chuckled inwardly—no wonder Old Lazy was a professional merchant. A casual remark had alerted him to hidden risks.

Lu Kuan was the only one absolutely certain that “Wild Desert” wouldn’t require armor cards. The game world evolved entirely via artificial intelligence; even the game company staff didn’t know the details.

After some thought, Lu Kuan decided to give him a heads-up.

“Old Lazy, let me give you a tip: from what I know, Wild Desert definitely won’t use armor cards. And think about it—besides deliberate rumors, what other sources could there be for such news?”

On the other end, Old Lazy was startled.

Right! He’d been so focused on profit, he hadn’t considered this. Unless you were the game’s AI, you couldn’t know these secrets.

His competitors were formidable. If they’d deliberately spread rumors in Lava Fortress and he recklessly invested, all their hard-earned gold would go down the drain…

The thought sent a chill through him, filling him with dread.

“Alright, Old Deer, thank you! I owe you for this. I’ll go handle things now and contact you later.” Old Lazy said earnestly, then ended the call.

Wherever there are people, there are rivalries. Old Lazy represented an interest group and naturally faced competitors. Such tricks were old hat to Lu Kuan; giving Old Lazy a hint and earning a favor was worthwhile.

Lu Kuan preferred to look years ahead. Letting Old Lazy grow was better than having the market dominated by unscrupulous, unprincipled traders.

…

South of Lava Fortress lay the monster zone for level 10 and above: Red Mist Forest. Most of the area was shrouded in a red haze, home to level 11 jungle wolves, level 12 black panther cubs, and most dangerously, level 13+ ogres.

In the silent undergrowth, a dark gray adult jungle wolf lay motionless, eyes fixed on a snowy white wild rabbit nibbling fresh grass a few meters away.

The wolf pressed its body as low as possible, belly nearly touching the earth, inching closer to its prey. The rabbit, absorbed in its meal, sensed no impending danger. In the next moment, it would become a feast for the predator.

“Swish!”

Just then, a bush on the other side rustled lightly. Accompanied by a faint whistling sound, an arrow shot out like lightning, striking the jungle wolf’s left eye with a thud!

The wolf howled in agony, leaping half a meter high. Before it hit the ground, a second arrow followed, piercing straight through its neck.

The wolf collapsed heavily, twitching a few times before becoming still. The rabbit, startled by the sudden chaos, had already fled. The clearing quickly returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Kuan emerged from the bushes, walked over, and pulled the arrows from the wolf’s body, nodding in satisfaction.

This hunting bow was far superior to the last one—powerful enough that a single arrow could incapacitate an adult wolf. The only thing vexing Lu Kuan was that he’d wandered the forest for two hours and still hadn’t encountered an ogre.

Tomorrow’s advancement quest required an ogre’s tooth. That was Lu Kuan’s main purpose here, but ogres were scarce in Red Mist Forest. So far, he hadn’t even glimpsed one.

“Do I have to venture deep into the jungle? There are several ogre nests there, but the monsters are so dense. Facing a swarm of level 13+ creatures could end very badly…” Lu Kuan habitually scratched his chin, torn.

Just then, a commotion echoed faintly from the depths of the forest—a girl’s startled cry, the crisp snap of breaking branches, and several guttural roars.

Lu Kuan’s face lit up. Just as he’d hoped—those were ogre cries.

He quickly gathered his spoils from the wolf, plunged into the woods, and sprinted toward the source of the sound.

Soon, three graceful figures burst from the thicket, running straight into Lu Kuan.

Perhaps surprised to encounter another player in the forest, none of the three wore masks. Their charming faces stunned Lu Kuan, especially the leading female warrior. Her slim, oval face, elegant brows, and striking eyes—despite her panic, a natural coolness lingered in her gaze.

“It’s her?”