DeokuTeima ~ C28

 

Chapter 28: The Altar Story

 

 

I sneak out from under the bridge and rush to the southern small square.

 

Thanks to my efforts, Alyssa's shop is still open. I quickly take out the fruit I just got and speak to Alyssa.

 

"Good evening."

 

"Are?! Welcome! What's up?　Could it be that you got some great information?　Just kidding."

 

"Well, it's not really information. It's more like....... Anyway. I'd like you to take a look at this."

 

"Hoho."

 

Alyssa's eyes widened when she looked at the fruit of the Water Guardian Tree that I showed her. As a cat beast woman, her pupils are vertical. Her eyes are really like a cat's eyes.

 

"How did you get it at this season?"

 

"This season? So it's easy to get them when the time is right?"

 

"Every year in April, the Water Guardian Tree bears fruit. It seems that NPCs are harvesting them, and for a short period, there will be an item in the NPC store called 'The Fruit of the Water Guardian Tree'. I have seen them before during the beta test, in March and April, and they cost 3000 G each. That's pretty cheap for a rarity 3 item."

 

"So, does that mean even though the rarity is 3, I can buy it eventually?　And the price is quite reasonable."

 

"I guess so."

 

"So this is not really a great item?"

 

I am disappointed. I'm disappointed, Spirit-sama!　If this is the case, the high-grade fertilizer would be better.

 

"Oh, but... That's just a fruit of the Water Guardian tree, right? I've never seen that before. Basically, it's the ripe fruits that are available in the store. I've seen some players pick up fallen fruit on their own, but what they got was also ripe fruit."

 

"It doesn't make any difference, right? In fact, it is more effective when the fruit is ripe."

 

"For direct consumption or for use in medicine, yes. But for you, maybe it's better if it's not ripe?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"You can't convert ripe fruits into seeds."

 

I see. As expected from Allysa. She knows what I want.

 

"So, can this one be planted in the farm ......?"

 

"I'm sorry, I don't know. I've never seen one that hasn't ripened before, and I don't know if Water Guardian Tree can be planted in the farm."

 

"Well, it's okay. I'll try it."

 

"Let me know when you succeed."

 

"Okay. See you later..."

 

"Wait."

 

Alyssa stopped me as I was about to head to my farm. Seems that since I registered as her friend, we can now have simple contact with other players. Alyssa-san grabbed my arm from behind.

 

"What is it?"

 

"What? Not what, don't act dumb."

 

It's weird. My avatar is supposed to be pretty good-looking. Does that mean my emotion is very easy to read?

 

"I'm sorry. I completely forgot."

 

"I'd like to know where you got that. Well, I can guess that it is related to the announcement earlier. Or you don't want to tell me?"

 

"No, that is not the reason."

 

"Then tell me!　Right now!"

 

Alyssa's face gets closer to mine. Alyssa looks very scary when she wants to know new information.

 

"The Spirit gave it to me at the altar in the basement."

 

"Tell me more details!"

 

"Close, you're too close!"

 

Alyssa's face gets closer to mine, and she's scary. Alyssa is very scary when she wants to know new information.

 

"The Spirit gave it to me at the altar in the basement.

 

"Tell me more details!"

 

Apparently, Alyssa doesn't know about it. There was an announcement a while ago, and it looks like I'm the only one who's found that place.

 

Even though it's hidden, if you go under the bridge, you can see the door. And you can find the key if you take the trash pickup quest.

 

Alyssa looks really surprised when I tell her the story of how I found that door.

 

"The altar can only be accessed from the basement of the Adventurer's Guild on the first Thursday in April. I don't know what the requirements are for those who can enter. It seems that those who meet the requirements are given a skill called the Tree Spirit Invitation, and only those who have it can enter the altar on that day."

 

It's all a bit vague.

But I understand that being able to go to that altar at will is pretty amazing.

 

"Am I the first person who found that door?"

 

"Most likely, yes. The unique title is really amazing, Yuto. I think the God of this game loves you."

 

"I don't think so."

 

If he really loves me, I would be at the front line of the conquest right now with some very strong monsters.

 

"Hey, you're selling this information, right?"

 

"Well, I already told you, right?"

 

"It's our policy not to sell information that we haven't paid for. If you don't want to sell it, I'll keep it to myself for a while."

 

"No, that's why I'm here."

 

"There are some things we need to check, right? Can you take me to the altar next Thursday?"

 

"No problem."

 

"Well, I'll give you 1,000 G in advance and 4,000 G if you take me to the altar. How about that?""

 

"No, no, that's enough. Is it really worth that much?"

 

"Then we have a deal. It's not directly related to the walkthrough, but it's a pretty interesting event. If other people can go to the altar, it'll be a great commotion."

 

Certainly, if I am in someone else's shoes, I might be willing to pay to go there.

 

"I also have this..."

 

I showed her the video I recorded in the hope that it would be proof of the information.

 

"The video of the Spirit?"

 

"Yes, I recorded the spirit."

 

"Wow, that's great....... Are you going to publish it?"

 

"What should I do?　To tell you the truth, I'm only a reader on the bulletin board. Even if you ask me to publish it..."

 

I've heard many stories of people not posting these kinds of videos and information on bulletin boards and being accused of hiding information.

 

Considering that, I think it's better to publish it. LJO has an in-game bulletin board that only players can use, but the hurdle is still high.

 

"Well, why don't you leave it to me?　I'll post it on our page for you."

 

"Is that okay?"

 

"Yes. In the first place, that's also the Sharp Ears Cat's purpose.

We collect information that is kept secret from other players for various reasons and publish it to the public. There are some players like Yuto, who can't disclose information, not because of their own greed, but because it's too much trouble or they're not familiar with the bulletin board."

 

In other words, you bring new information to Sharp Ears Cat, they buy it, then Sharp Ears Cat publishes the information. So the seller doesn't have to do the tedious work of posting it.

 

That's how it works, which is convenient.

 

"Please do that for me."

 

"Okay. Here 1,000 G for the video."

 

"Eh?　I've already received 1000 G, you know?"

 

"It's such a great video. It's also a good advertisement for our page. I can't take it for free."

 

Well, the people who want to watch this video will visit the Sharp Ears Cat page. Surely it will be good publicity for them?　Anyway, I'm very grateful. Originally, I thought she wouldn't pay me for the video.

 

"In that case, I'll accept."

 

"Yes. I'd also like some information on the title. The Great Tree Spirit's Divine Protection?　I'm really curious."

 

"Well, I don't mind."

 

"Thank you!　Here's 1000 G.

 

"Okay. But that's not the end of the story."

 

"......"

 

"What's with your eyes?"

 

"Well, I won't be surprised anymore to hear what you are going to tell me. What is it?"

 

"These... Do you know what these are?　Depending on the situation, I may buy your information."

 

I showed Alyssa the fire, water, earth, and wind crystals that I had received as a reward for my title. Then, Alyssa's eyes widened in surprise.

 

"These are...... attribute crystals!　Why, why do you have them?"

 

"I got it as a bonus for unlocking the Altar."

 

"This is amazing. It's extremely rare, even in Area 3. The Earth Crystal is the Gnome's rare drop, but I've never seen the others before."

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah. Are you willing to sell them?　I'll give you 3,000 G for each of them."

 

"Eh?　Are you joking?"

 

"I'm serious."

 

"Eeeh."

 

If I sell all of them, 120,000 G?　I can do anything with that much money. No, but... If the items are that rare, perhaps they have other uses. I can always sell it later. I think I'll keep it for now.

 

"No, I have no intention of selling it for now."

 

"That's too bad. But if you do decide to sell it, please come to me."

 

"When the time comes, I will come to you. So, how much for the crystal information?"

 

"Not necessary. I've already made a lot of money from your unique title."

 

"What?　Have you already sold the information about that title?　

You haven't finished the verification yet, have you?

 

"Yes, but if I wait for the verification, it will be four days later. That's too late. Most people won't be able to recreate their characters."

 

That's right. I've had it for four days. It'll take another four days to verify. That's a total of 8 days. After 8 days in the game, everyone should make some progress. The hurdle to recreating a character would increase.

 

"Before I sell it, I tell them that it is not verified. They pay me 1,000 G upfront and 3,000 G afterward if it works."

 

"But if someone recreates and gets a new avatar, won't you lose track of who's who?"

 

"Even if you recreate your avatar, your ID won't change, so it's okay. No matter what they do, we will definitely make them pay their debt…… Fufufu."

 

When I saw Alyssa laughing like that, I decided that I would never go against this person.