Chapter 180

▪️HIDDEN QUEST?

In a dark, secret room.

The atmosphere amongst the individuals hiding in the shadows was somewhat oppressive.

After a moment, the seemingly leader-like figure let out a sigh.

“So…these elves haven’t directly clashed with the Church of Death, but on the contrary, there were even subtle indications of cooperation between them?”

“That’s right.”

A hoarse voice replied.

“Putting aside the question of whether these elves are truly aligned with an evil deity or not, it seems that their visit to Blackrock is primarily motivated by business interests. Despite their remarkable combat skills, their presence in Blackrock seems to be mostly focused on conducting business rather than anything else…”

“Are you saying that all our covert provocations have failed?”

“Unfortunately, even resorting to the elf slave trade, which they supposedly despise, didn’t succeed in provoking their anger. Instead, it even resulted in several of our colleagues going bankrupt…”

“…”

“Barain, I heard that they have even started selling themselves as slaves?”

The one with the deep voice asked another person.

“That’s correct, but the elves that were sold had a strong sense of pride and chose to end their own lives.”

An elderly voice replied.

“So that’s how it is…”

The deep voice carried a hint of surprise.

However, shortly afterward, the leader let out a scoff.

“They would even sell their own kind. It seems they have truly fallen as well… caravans, mercenaries… hehe, but perhaps it’s for the best!”

“What are your Eminence’s thoughts?”

The individual with a deep voice didn’t answer directly, but instead posed a question.

“I heard… that the upper echelons of these elves have also entered Blackrock City?”

“That’s correct. I’ve already made inquiries about it. These elves are actually comprised of three elven mercenary groups and a business guild. Their leaders have all come to Blackrock City.”

“In that case, bring them all here,” the deep voice declared.

“Bring them here?” the other two voices exclaimed, taken aback.

“Hehe, after listening to your reports over the past few days, I’ve also come to realize that these elves may seem friendly, but their true priority is profit. They are even willing to buy and sell their own kind for money. So, why don’t we try to win them over for our own benefit?”

Blackrock City.

Little Salty Cat strolled along the bustling streets, curiously observing everything around her.

She had just concluded a deal with the dwarves on behalf of Moe Moe Committee, with the Church of Death as a witness, filling her heart with joy.

By utilizing spells to accelerate crop growth, Moe Moe Committee had accumulated an abundance of wheat, rice, and sweet potatoes that exceeds their consumption needs. The recent discovery of the dwarven faction has presented her with an advantageous opportunity to profit from selling their guild’s surplus inventory.

The dwarven tribe primarily lacks food, but they are rich in ores and magic stones, which are precisely what the Elven Forest currently lacks.

Ores can be smelted into metals and be used for forging equipment, while magic stones serve as mana catalysts for teleportation arrays and can also aid the players in their meditation training.

Although there are still some mineral deposits in the depths of Rivendell, they are not easily accessible.

Of course, the main reason is that players lack the necessary techniques and manpower to mine these deposits.

Mining is both a technical job and a labor-intensive task, not to mention the challenges involved in smelting and refining minerals. Consequently, any knowledge players might find regarding mining on Earth would currently be of little use to them at the present.

It might be feasible in the future…once they have more manpower when the public beta opens, coupled with the assistance of the crypt spiders.

Unfortunately, presently Spider Queen Rosé holds a negative opinion of the players, and thus far, no one has been able to convince her otherwise. Furthermore, the players have numerous other in-game activities that generate significantly much higher profits with less effort, hence no one has bothered to develop the mining industry.

Therefore, upon discovering these dark dwarves whose skilled in mining and smelting, the players instantly shifted their focus to befriending the dwarven race.

Exchanging their cultivated crops for refined metals, ores, and magic stones with the dwarves proves to be a mutually beneficial deal.

Moreover in a remarkable display of cooperation, the three prominent guilds united together to strike a business deal with the dark dwarves living underground.

Once the deal had been concluded, Little Salty Cat felt immense joy and began leisurely exploring Blackrock City.

This marked her second visit to Blackrock City. Ever since the players had unlocked this new underground map a week ago, they had swiftly established a good relationship with the local inhabitants.

The dark forest across the city has become a new hunting ground for players, where they can hunt monsters. Meanwhile, Blackrock City has transformed into a temporal base of operations for players to replenish their strength and rest.

Despite occasional frictions that occurred outside the city, the two factions managed to maintain surprisingly harmonious relations within its confines, defying the well-known preconceived notion that elves and dwarves couldn’t stand each other.

Of course, one of the reasons was the strength and sincerity demonstrated by the players, and up until now, the dwarves have yet been unable to find the true origins of these strange elves.

They only knew that the players came from the surface, by utilizing the entrance to the underworld in Rivendell. Additionally, the dwarves had also noticed that the players appeared to worship a mysterious deity known as Evé, and they were astonished by how the players had managed to bypass the enormous gatekeeper spider.

However, some dwarves began to suspect that the so-called elven goddess mentioned by the players might actually be a false deity. After all, no one in the world of Saigües had ever heard of a god named Evé.

However, being part of the chaotic underworld, the dwarves didn’t care much about the beliefs of these strange elves.

In fact, most dwarves themselves didn’t place much importance on their own faith, and the majority of Blackrock City’s residents were merely shallow followers of the Death God.

It wasn’t that the players boasted about subduing the spider queen, but rather, the dwarves simply refused to believe it.

Subduing the Crypt Spider Queen?

That was almost a legendary existence!

And the players themselves truly cannot explain the intricacies of how it occurred, as doing so would require them to disclose the goddess’s involvement, something that Evé herself had explicitly forbade…

Little Salty Cat shook her head and continued strolling around the dwarven city.

Blackrock City boasted a significant size, despite its local population numbering only in the thousands and judging by the city’s architecture, it indicated a rich history, likely spanning several hundred of years.

While she was strolling alone, suddenly, a small figure blocked her path.

It was a hooded dwarf wearing a dark gray robe with his expression partially obscured from view. Upon noticing Little Salty Cat’s puzzled gaze, he then offered her a slight bow.

“Respected Miss Elf, good evening…” he greeted her.

Good evening?

Little Salty Cat instinctively raised her head and gazed at the ceiling of the cavern.

Above her, only the fluorescent stones embedded in the cave walls emitted a soft glow. The entire underground cavern was perpetually deep and dim, leaving her quite baffled as to how these dwarves could even discern the difference between day and night…

“…Hello.”

She responded cautiously, feeling both vigilant yet still curious at the same time.

Could it be… that she had encountered a slave trader?

However, haven’t these guys already disappeared ever since those users on the forum started a scam wherein they committed suicide after pretending to sell themselves for money?

She became a bit puzzled.

Salty Cat looked around and realized that she had arrived in a secluded alley where hardly anyone could be seen.

In an instant, her vigilance heightened up a notch.

While Salty Cat hesitated whether to call out to her fellow guild members or not, the mysterious dwarf spoke again.

“Miss Elf, are you one of the leaders of the Elven Mercenary Corps? You see, my master greatly admires the bravery of your group and wishes to make a deal with you…”

“A deal?”

Salty Cat was slightly taken aback.

Then, suddenly, an idea dawned upon her.

Wait…

Could it be that she was about to encounter a hidden quest?