Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 179: Fila the Profiteer

When the last blush of sunset had faded from the horizon and the camp filled with the sounds of voices, children's laughter, and the noise of settling newcomers, George finally pulled his gaze away. It was over. A final period had been placed at the end of a long sentence.

He buckled his pack straps with care, then hung the two Bloodthirsty Spears from the hooks on the outside of the pack. Above them, the thirty One-Star arrows and fifty hardwood arrows were lashed securely in place.

The thirty standard bodkin arrows and a short bow hung from his belt at the small of his back.

The Three-Star War Bow had its string removed, was stowed in its bowcase, and was lashed diagonally across the outer face of the pack with leather straps, angled sideways.

A dagger was strapped to the outside of each thigh.

One iron spear he intended to carry in hand at all times — and the One-Star training heavy wooden sword he'd refused to leave behind. That went along too.

Fila, Shelt, and Li Zhengxing waited patiently nearby. No one laughed at George for looking like an overloaded pack hamster. Cumbersome? Absolutely. But within all that bulk lay an enormous confidence in his own combat capability.

George ran cross-country drills most mornings in full gear. The speed and agility he moved through forest and mountain terrain with was genuinely awe-inspiring.

To put it plainly — on flat, open ground, George's straight-line running speed was nothing special. His attribute ceiling set that limit. The bald blacksmith Parya, carrying someone piggyback, could probably outrun him. But in a complex mountain environment with dense forest and broken terrain, only Hathaway and the Four-Star Hunter Little John could keep up with him. No one else came close.

"Let's go. We'll have supper at Cabin Station No. 1 tonight."George led the way, moving at a brisk clip. Fila, Shelt, and Li Zhengxing trailed behind at a moderate pace.

For the first twenty kilometers of flat road, all four of them walked at an even, unhurried rhythm — breathing steady, faces calm, entirely untroubled.

But once the terrain began climbing into the mountains, George peeled off the road and dove into the forest alongside it. Force of habit.

Fila and the other two stuck to the road, as any sensible person would.

'There's a perfectly good road right there — why go bushwhacking through trackless forest? Are you mad?'

The journey passed without incident. Once they reached Cabin Station No. 1, the four regrouped. They built a fire inside, hung the pot, and got to cooking — wood and stove were ready-made. Fila was in a good mood and put together a generous supper with brisk, practiced efficiency.

"Pity there's no wine," Li Zhengxing remarked with genuine regret.

"You ask for too much." Shelt cut him a sideways look. 'We're on an operation — and you're thinking about wine?'

At that moment, Fila glanced at George. "George, want to trade for some experience? Shelt, Li Zhengxing — if you've got any to spare, same offer applies."

"We'll pass — we've already maxed out fifteen One-Star attribute cards. Nothing left we need, unless you have Two-Star cards." Shelt shook his head.

"Hold on — are we allowed to just talk about this stuff openly?" George was surprised.

Li Zhengxing grinned. "Some highly sensitive topics are still off-limits. But when you get back to headquarters, you'll find there's a nine-tier Bad End table — Level 1 is the lowest, Level 9 the highest. Right now we're in a Level 1 Bad End state, equivalent to a One-Star Conspiracy Card. So conversations like this are perfectly fine."

"Speaking of which, little brother — how many of your One-Star attribute cards have you activated? Anything you're missing? Speak up. We'll help fill the gaps, at cost price. In the field it's 4.5 gold per card — normally at headquarters, One-Star profession cards start at five gold. Attribute cards, same deal — 11.5 gold each."

"Thanks. I'm still missing one Stamina Card, one Agility Card, two Strength Cards, two Life Cards, and three Defense Cards." George rattled off the list in one breath. At that, Shelt, Li Zhengxing, and even Fila looked at him the way prospectors look at an unexplored vein.

The three of them exchanged a glance and seemed to reach a wordless agreement. Shelt held up two fingers; Li Zhengxing, three; Fila, five.

Right then. What kind of silent code was this?

Shelt went first. "Brother, funny thing — I happen to have one Life Card and one Stamina Card. You seem like a decent guy, so I'll give you both for 23 gold. Deal?"

The price was slightly inflated, truth be told. A Stamina Card alone — George even had the recipe for it. One Lumberjack Card plus one Miner Card always produced a Strength Card, and at market prices that was only 10 gold. But Life Cards were notoriously harder to synthesize, so the bundled price was acceptable.

And besides — a major battle was imminent. Was this really the moment to haggle over a small premium?

George didn't negotiate. He handed over 23 gold and took both attribute cards.

Then Li Zhengxing grinned his most wolfish grin. "Brother — I've got one Life, one Strength, and one Agility. I won't beat around the bush: 34 gold for all three. What do you say?"

"Done." George agreed without hesitation.

He then turned to Fila. She wore a slow, mysterious smile. "Little brother — as luck would have it, I have three One-Star Defense Cards. As everyone knows, Defense Cards are the hardest to synthesize. On the open market they go for 15 gold minimum, and usually you can find the price but not the product. We've been through this mission together — I won't leave you empty-handed. Three cards, flat price: 50 gold. I'm only charging you 5 gold above market for handling. Fair enough? It's not easy to get into a mission like this as a lone civilian."

"Any chance of a discount?" George kept his face a mask of pain, while internally he was overjoyed.

"No. In fact, to anyone else I'd start at 60 gold. Little brother, opportunities don't knock twice — and I won't cheat you. Ask Shelt or Li Zhengxing if you don't believe me."

George looked at Fila for a long moment. There was absolutely no doubt about it: this woman was a profiteer.

And a cultured one at that, which made her twice as dangerous. The way she'd waited for exactly the right moment — George was beginning to think she'd joined this mission specifically to fleece the front-running Rookie King. No wonder Hathaway had always looked at her with such displeasure.

"Fine."

George didn't bother arguing further. No point.

50 gold changed hands instantly, and three Defense Cards were his. To make sure it wasn't counterfeit, he immediately activated and used them on the spot. Real, no question — his Defense shot up by 6 points, reaching 14. Then immediately his stomach growled with fierce, hollow hunger, a shadow trailing every attribute activation like clockwork.

He was about to reach into his pack for dried meat when Fila produced a gold-trimmed card with a smile. A moment later, a massive braised pork knuckle materialized in front of him.

If it hadn't been room temperature rather than steaming hot, George would have thought she was performing a magic trick. A One-Star Resource Card, clearly.

"Little brother, this is a Three-Star dish, full weight and full quality. It restores 500 Stamina within one hour. Don't hesitate — we march early tomorrow, and unexpected combat is always possible. Get your remaining attribute cards activated while you can. I won't deceive you: just 20 gold!"

Unbelievable. She was still going.

George endured the gnawing hunger as best he could and replied with a strained smile: "Big sister, I've only got 13 gold left."

"Ha — who are you fooling? Someone with a shot at the Rookie King title in a century? You've got at least 200 gold sitting in your pocket. Let me be direct: my second profession is Merchant. Three-Star Merchant, if you follow. I joined this mission for one reason — you, the Rookie King. Right now your coffers are at their fullest. Honestly, I originally planned to go to Joffrey's camp, but there was no roster spot available. That Hathaway woman, too refined for her own good — hmph. Good-looking doesn't excuse scheming. I see everything. One question, little brother: are you buying or not?"

"15."

"18."

"15."

George held firm. Attribute cards had to be bought — quality food didn't. He had plenty of dried meat in his pack.

"Fine, fine — 15 it is. I'm actually taking a loss at 15, you know. Though, if you can bring me a Two-Star spotted deer later, I'll buy it for 20 gold!" In that instant, Fila became the platonic ideal of a profiteer — a Three-Star Merchant operating at terrifying efficiency.

George didn't waste energy on words. He handed over 15 gold. Given the circumstances — with battle looming — rebuilding his combat power quickly was genuinely worth it.

And he had to admit, the Three-Star braised pork knuckle was extraordinarily good. He ate with oil running down his chin and a look of pure bliss on his face. One word: divine.

Once it settled into his stomach, a wave of warmth spread through his entire body. The hunger that had been gnawing at him melted away in moments.

Without delay, he activated the remaining five attribute cards. His Life shot up to 210. Stamina reached 250. Both Strength and Agility climbed to 23. Combined with his Defense at 14, plus equipment and title bonuses, the numbers were becoming quite impressive.

With the Bear Hunter title equipped, Strength could peak at 24. With boots and the Dog Butcher title, Agility could reach 25.

As for Defense — counting the Noble Crest Armor, base Defense was now 29. Core vitals Defense reached 37.

The scale of the improvement was staggering. George felt slightly unreal about it, as though this couldn't possibly be his own stat sheet.

But when he looked at his remaining gold, that dreamlike feeling burst like a soap bubble.

'Damn. 122 gold — gone just like that. Only 193 left.'

122 gold was equivalent to 1,220 Household Contribution. Even rounding down to 1,000 — just think about what it had cost him to accumulate 1,000 Contribution points. And Hathaway — to earn those 1,000 points, she had spent a month as someone's servant, pouring tea, dancing by day and entertaining by night. Then she'd trekked hundreds of kilometers to the summit of a distant Snow Mountain and spent over twenty days hiding in the cold, waiting to assassinate a Final Boss. All for 1,000 Contribution.

Looking at the two mercenaries now, then at the profiteer Fila — was headquarters devaluing the currency? No. Gold wasn't the problem. Gold was being underestimated. Underestimated so severely that a Three-Star Merchant had waltzed into a Final Boss battle specifically to swindle the number-one Rookie.

And then there was Leon, and Clyde — veteran players who had spent countless missions grinding away just to save up 500 gold as startup capital for a Title Task.

"Little brother — I also happen to have a family heirloom Magic Rune. Adds +1 Agility, can be fused into your boots. And I'm only asking 20 gold!"

This woman still wasn't done.

'Not listening. Not looking.' George would not be swindled again.

He closed his eyes and allocated his remaining Free Attribute Point directly into Strength, bringing it to 24. With the Bear Hunter title, that made 25. Though his Stamina still hadn't hit 300, it was enough to barely manage three consecutive shots — or two consecutive shots with certainty.