They eventually chose the inn where the Rizzi Caravan stayed, and Teest booked a luxury suite directly.
Luxury suites were all separate houses, surrounded by colorful flowers, like a giant garden. Naturally, the price of a good house was staggering. Only two of the large luxury suites were rented out previously. One was rented to a female relative of the Alva Merchant Group, and the other was occupied by a young noble.
Nol barely saw one of the neighbors. It was a young redhead with a tall bodyguard following him. However, the distance between houses was quite far, and the view was mostly blocked by clusters of flowers, so there didn't seem to be any need to greet.
Needless to say, Nol liked this design. No one would complain about too much privacy, and not having to greet was even better.
Nol and Teest's suite was divided into five rooms, structured like a set of "吕口吕" characters—a large living room in the middle, with four smaller rooms around it serving as separate bedrooms, bathrooms, and a small kitchen. On the table in the center of the living room, hotel staff decorated a large bouquet of yellow roses and baby's breath and also provided baked cookies and cupcakes. The two bedrooms were diagonally opposite each other, and the soundproofing was pretty good.
Nol went to his bedroom, which was about ten square meters and furnished with a soft double bed and wooden table and chairs. He decisively closed the curtains, leaving the four moons out of sight.
He naturally wasn't planning to sleep.
Nol spread out the parchment paper provided by the inn and began to organize the information about Whitebird City in his memory.
Whitebird City was located on the northern border of Shidina and didn't involve the main plot. Its only significance was "the city that caravans must pass through".
The city was indeed ruled by the Swain family. But in Nol's impression, Lord Swain was a wealthy old man with a living wife, and their six children were all grown up.
Nol dabbed the paper with his quill. He wasn't quite used to this kind of dip pen.
Whitebird City had a mainline NPC named "Kermit the Old Craftsman". He was a reliable, weird old man who opened a magic item store in Whitebird City. Nol needed to check it out tomorrow. If the store was as described, he could get a lot of good stuff.
After all, they couldn't be chasing a killer in rags.
Nol sat at the desk all night, finishing the "Whitebird City Operation Guide". With the remaining time, he burned the Dragon Corpse Notebook and rewrote it in ink that was blood. This time he was meticulous and careful, writing the new magic on just one page.
Next to the self-created magic circle, Nol wrote a note in the common language:
[Necromancy: Consumes 10~100 MP, summons 1 low-level undead; this spell prioritizes consuming magical materials; the caster's minimum consumption is 1 MP/unit.]
[※The stronger the low-level undead, the more magic power is consumed.]
Summoned monsters had their own attributes, irrelevant to the strength of the summoner, which was very suitable for him now. Nol wanted to figure out a higher-level necromancy but was afraid that the Dragon Corpse Notebook couldn't handle it.
The truth was cruel. Even if Nol could create magic, he couldn't escape the basic rule of "the stronger the magic, the greater the consumption". He could cast weak spells within 100 MP on his own, but to increase his firepower, he had to rely on the power of the Dragon Corpse Notebook.
But the Dragon Corpse Notebook was like a disposable power bank. If he used it up, he'd have to carry a mountain of magical materials everywhere.
He must first solve the attrition problem of the notebook.
The sunlight leaked in through the gaps in the curtains. Nol snapped his fingers and burned the written parchment with will-o'-wisps. When he stood up, there wasn't even a trace of ash left on the table.
In the morning, Teest planned to purchase clothes and supplies, while Nol was eager to visit the magic item store. After a brief discussion, they decided to go their separate ways.
"I'll buy your clothes too," Teest said. "Remember to look around a lot. We still have the City Lord's daughter to find."
"Are you buying alone?"
Teest waved his hand. "I know your size. Don't forget, you were quite 'honest' back then."
"...."
Nol exhaled with a poker face. Just then, he noticed a small change—
Teest had hidden the Player's earring.
Back in the novice village, Nol heard from Bly. He said the Player's earring couldn't be removed. Even if the ear was cut off, it would grow back with the earring. To hide the "Player" identity, you had to cover your ears or disguise the earring. Teest clearly chose the latter.
With Teest's striking silver-white long hair, the earring was usually barely visible under the hair strands. Now, he glued the earring pendant to his earlobe, painted it silver, and added half a pearl, making it look like a pearl earring with silver edges, which blended seamlessly with his silver hair.
He even made a pair for his right ear, making it even harder to spot any flaws. With that handsome face, these makeshift "new earrings" actually looked quite fitting.
Nol didn't know how many gadgets Teest had hidden in his waist bag. Shaking his head, he left the room.
...
"Kermit's Magic Shop" was even more exaggerated than in the conceptual draft.
This building was made of wood, leaning at odd angles with three stories. It was sandwiched between two tall walls, old and narrow, like a leaf stuck between teeth. Nol pushed the door open, nearly getting smacked in the face by a dried lizard hanging from the doorway.
The inside of the shop was even messier than the outside. 80% of the entire space was filled with shelves placed haphazardly, cluttered with goods—dried reptile corpses, jars filled with insect wings or spiders curled up, all sorts of unidentified minerals, leathers, and dried herbs. Thick books were crammed wherever space permitted, and metal tools piled up in corners.
They were all covered in a thick layer of dust, making them look almost the same color.
"Wow, a customer!" Just as Nol was pushing aside the dried lizard, a young man slid down from a ladder.
"I'm the boss here, Bob." The young man had short ginger hair that clung to his scalp, long slender limbs, and a big round nose. He extended his hand, which was smeared with a yellowish-green sticky substance, to Nol.
Nol stood up straight, not shaking the extended hand. "You're the boss? Where's Kermit?"
Bob whistled. "Where have you been? You're really behind on the news! Kermit disappeared two hundred years ago."
"…What?"
"I said, he disappeared two hundred years ago. He was the master of my master's master… or something like that," Bob said. "He went with the hero, Drake, to the Endless Sea to defeat the Demon King at the edge of the world. Everyone knows, ships that sail to the Endless Sea never return."
"What do you want with someone who died two hundred years ago?"
Nol stood there as if frozen.
How could this be?
The leader of the Dragon Clan was still Subelbot, the novice village hadn't changed, and the Players had just arrived… Nol subconsciously thought that this world was still in the process of "the main storyline of the game".
Even though "Tahe World" had AI assistance, the main storyline was still fully controlled by the production team. Nol was sure they designed events spanning about ten years at most within the game.
Old Craftsman Kermit, the Dragonblood Hero Drake… These were characters they designed themselves. Especially the hero Drake; he was an indispensable main storyline character.
And now, they all belonged to two hundred years ago.
Even the monsters encountered in the novice village weren't as frightening to Nol as this news. Whether it was the extra moons and gods or the bugged dungeons and systems, their foundation was still the game—the world he knew so well, the golden era he helped create.
Now, his only "information advantage" was questionable.
Nol couldn't help but shudder. Liches were naturally cold-blooded, and now his blood felt like it was about to freeze.
Upon reflection, there were hints. For instance, the missing tavern NPC couple in the novice village, the Lord of Whitebird City whose family details didn't match up, and this dilapidated store in front of him that was about to fall apart.
In the game's lore, it was set to be only two years old, so while it could be a bit run down, it had nothing to do with being "old".
"Hey, are you buying something or not?"
Seeing Nol zoning out at the entrance, Bob raised his voice.
"Sorry, I made a mistake," Nol responded quickly. "My ancestors were friends with Old Kermit. I thought his shop would be inherited by one of his descendants, Mr. or Ms. Kermit… You know, it's been two hundred years."
"A common mistake," Bob said. "So what are you here for?"
Nol cleared his throat. "My ancestors left a diary mentioning where Old Kermit hid blueprints. I was passing by Whitebird City and thought to check—just in case his heir didn't find it. That would be a significant loss. Also, I really want to buy some things."
Bob took a deep breath, dragging out a chair from a corner. "Come, let's talk."
In less than ten minutes, Nol found a hidden compartment in one of the ground-floor rooms. The parchment inside was as soft as new, but Nol's heart sank.
Just as he had suspected.
In the design of "Tahe", there should be a fixed daily quest here. A Player, with system prompts, should discover this compartment and eventually bring Old Kermit into the main storyline.
The issue was, Old Kermit lived two hundred years ago, and Players had just entered the game a month ago. So the compartment remained undiscovered until now.
Bob, unfolding the parchment, grew more excited as he read it. "Praise the Goddess, these are all treasures! Oh, thank you, thank you—how much do you want for this? I'm willing to offer 10 gold wheels!"
This scene reminded him of someone. Nol gave a forced smile and asked, "Can I specify the compensation?"
"Since you've told me the truth, I should also be honest with you. Everything in the store is junk now; the only thing of value is money." Bob's head shook like a pellet drum.
"I only want three things. And before I take them, I'll let you check. If you disagree, I'll change my choice."
"Ah, okay then. Why are you so stubborn?"
Nol didn't hesitate about what to choose. He headed straight to the "three-floor junk room" Bob mentioned and started searching for his target items. Even if he remembered their models, in this junkyard-like place, it took him a full two hours.
The first item was a moldy-looking long staff. It was made of black wood, with obvious signs of damage at the top. The gemstone that was originally affixed at the top had disappeared, leaving only a bald, plate-like base.
[Incomplete Cursed Staff: An old staff that has lost its magical core. It currently cannot be used for casting. Only accepts cores with a cursed aura. When complete, the wielder's intelligence attribute increases by double, while other attributes are halved.
※Crafted by Cain Kermit]
Given that his other attributes had already been reduced by 99%, halving them again didn't make much of a difference. As long as he was weak enough, negative effects couldn't harm him.
The second item was stored in a ring box. It was the size of a fingernail and appeared to be the transparent wing of an insect.
[Fairy's Prank: Material unknown. Can hide items within dimensions of 6x6x6(cm) and can't be detected by any means.
Usage: Stick it on the item's surface; one-time use only.
※Crafted by Cain Kermit]
It was supposed to be a prototype item for the game shop, meant to hide unwanted accessories. Unfortunately, Old Kermit never made a mainline appearance, so it never had a chance to be listed in the system store.
The third item… he had only mentioned it as insurance. Since he found what he wanted, Nol returned to the first floor and casually took out a large tome titled "The Complete Recipe Book".
The cover was gray and black, covered in cobwebs, making it unappetizing to look at.
"That staff might be worth something if it had a magical core," Bob commented. "Cursed magical cores are incredibly hard to find, so you better think it through."
"The other two… ahem, together they're worth less than three silver hooks. Are you sure?"
"Then throw in some cheap materials for me. I want a rabbit fur brush, vine glue, magic-absorbent cloth, color-changing embroidery thread, and twelve colors of paint."
Unless absolutely necessary, Nol didn't really want to use the gold wheels Teest gave him. After all, it was agreed that it was Teest's money.
"All that won't even cost four silver hooks! But alright, you asked for it." Bob awkwardly began to pack.
Stepping out the door, Nol felt as if he was in a different world.
Four moons, a strange religious belief… 200 years.
Holding the broken staff in his right hand and a cloth bag in his left, his mind wandered.
If 200 years have already passed in this world…
Whoosh!
While Nol was sorting out his situation, he felt his left hand lighten. He instinctively looked up and saw a small figure disappearing around the corner.
Ah, a thief.
He was in a bad mood, so he didn't chase. His staff was in his hand, and his Dragon Corpse Notebook was wrapped in cloth, tied together with his money bag. There wasn't anything valuable in the bag, just some small items.
Wait, small items.
…The tool he bought for Teest was in that bag, and it was the only one of its kind in today's world!
Tucking the broken staff under his arm, Nol began to run.
The author has something to say:
Nol: As long as I'm trash, no one can curse me.jpg
A dignified Lich, steps out and gets his shopping bag stolen√
————————————
My biggest fear has come true. Once the (future) young couples have money, they won't even share the same room. I'm so sad…
Kinky Thoughts:
Whether it's Teest's money or yours, in the end, it'll all go into a joint account.
Drake is sometimes used synonymously to dragon or a specific type of dragon.