Novel Full Chapter 296: Buying Information, Aiden’s Worries
Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Buying Information, Aiden’s Worries
The moment Aiden stepped into the Skeleton Tree Spirit Space, he frowned and spun around to look behind him.
A pale, featureless figure wearing only pink underwear was walking toward him.
The weird outfit made Aiden instinctively take a step back.
“Friend, you’re a newbie, right? Those 100 Bone Coins are valuable. If you aren’t careful, you’ll run into serious trouble very soon.”
“Lucky for you, you met me. I’m Pink Undies. Nice to meet you,” the white figure said quickly.
Aiden frowned and repeated the name. “Pink ?”
As soon as he spoke, the white figure stopped dead. He stood up straight, pointing a finger at his pink underwear.
“That’s right! Do you see these panties? They are my symbol!”
“The Skeleton Tree Spirit Space is also called the Bone Realm. Aside from the core rules, it’s exactly the same as the real world.”
“Every new recruit gets 100 Bone Coins when they enter the Bone Realm. If you keep walking forward, people will notice you.”
“There are many scum out there who will use all sorts of tricks to scam or threaten you just to steal the 100 Bone Coins from you.”
“I’m a good guy and I don’t want to see you get scammed, so I’m here to warn you,” Pink Undies said seriously.
Aiden thought for a moment before asking, “You want to help me?”
Pink Undies nodded. “Right. Of course, there’s a price. If you pay thirty Bone Coins, I’ll tell you all the rules. If you pay fifty, I can even give you a personal tour.”
“And here’s the best part,” Pink Undies continued quickly. “Bone Realm has special perks for newbies. I know a trick that can double your 100 Bone Coins in no time.”
“Sure, it only works for newbies. If I tried it, I’d get nothing and might even lose some.”
“Don’t worry. This is the Bone Realm. I can sign a contract with you. I promise I won’t scam you, or I’ll be punished,” Pink Undies said in one breath.
Aiden’s eyes darted around, looking hesitant. “I just got here, so I don’t really know the situation yet. How about this: can you lend me some Bone Coins first? Then I’ll hand over my 100 Coins to you, and we can use your trick to make more.”
Pink Undies froze for a moment.
“Uh… I don’t have much on me right now. I can only give you ten. Is that okay?” he sighed, sounding disappointed.
“That’s perfect!” Aiden said, his voice full of gratitude. “Here, you give me the ten, and I’ll hand over my 110 Bones Coins to you.”
Pink Undies stood still, making no move to hand over the coins.
Aiden just stood there, watching him and keeping his distance.
After a long silence, Pink Undies finally sighed and asked slowly, “How did you figure out I was lying to you?”
Aiden let out a cold sneer. He wasn’t that stupid.
If a trick like the one Pink Undies described actually existed, Bone Coins wouldn’t be as precious as he claimed.
“Alright, you’re smart. But you know what I hate most? Smart people,” Pink Undies muttered, sounding defeated.
He said nothing else, turned around, and walked away in a different direction, as if looking for someone else.
Almost instantly, another figure appeared. Without hesitation, Pink Undies walked straight toward them and said:
“Friend, you’re in big trouble.”
…
Aiden took a deep breath as he watched the scene unfold.
If he hadn’t been so cautious, he might have actually fallen for Pink Undies’ scam.
“But this proves one thing,” Aiden thought, a glint in his eyes. “In the Bone Realm, lying isn’t against the rules.”
Instead of exposing Pink Undies right away, he turned and walked toward the massive Skeleton Tree nearby.
“Too slow,” Aiden muttered after a while, “can’t I just fly?”
Since entering the Bone Realm, all his equipment had vanished. That was expected; his gear couldn’t just split and follow his Spirit.
Suddenly, the white roots appeared again.
[Pay 3 Bone Coins for a brief flight ability. Valid until you leave the Bone Realm. Pay now?]
[Pay 2 Bone Coins to be instantly teleported to the Skeleton Tree’s roots. Pay now?]
Aiden stared at the text, his lip twitching.
Now he understood why someone like Pink Undies would resort to scams.
Bone Coins were indeed crucial.
Wanting to save time, Aiden chose to pay the two coins.
In an instant, his figure vanished.
One second later, Aiden appeared in a bustling marketplace.
“Look here! Epic Rank potions on sale! I’m covering the teleportation fee!”
“Bulk sale: a chance to mate with a Spirit! Target is a 3-meter-tall, 3-ton super pigfolk. Don’t miss this chance!”
“Information! All kinds of intel for 50% less than the big guilds. Guaranteed real!”
“High prices for Bone Coins! Whatever you want, I’ll buy it. 100% private, 100% safe. I won’t leak a single thing about you!”
Various figures shouted loudly, trying to sell their wares.
Aiden couldn’t make out their faces; he could only see their clothes.
They were all Abyss creatures who had chosen to hide their appearances.
Aiden suddenly felt like he was back at a street market on Earth. It felt exactly like playing an online game.
“Suncrest Mercantile is having a sale! Buy mid-tier intel and get a low-tier one for free! Today only!”
Suddenly, Aiden heard this shout coming from the entrance of a tent. He stopped and looked over.
There, a Ratfolk was shouting as hard as he could.
Aiden’s eyes lit up. All the other Abyss creatures here were hiding their looks, so a Ratfolk with zero disguise standing out like this was impossible to ignore.
Without hesitation, Aiden walked right over.
“Customer, looking to buy some intel? We at Suncrest Mercantile are absolutely trustworthy. We guarantee the information is real. If it’s fake, we’ll pay you ten times the value!” the Ratfolk said immediately.
Aiden thought for a moment and asked, “Are you really with Suncrest Mercantile?”
The Ratfolk pointed right at himself. “Of course! That’s the best proof right there!”
“Don’t worry, we don’t do one-time scams. Our intel is guaranteed real, so naturally, the price is a bit higher.”
Aiden nodded and followed the Ratfolk into the tent.
Only then did he realize that although the tent looked small from the outside, the inside held a space as big as a football field.
“Customer, I still don’t know your codename?” the guiding Ratfolk suddenly asked.
Aiden answered directly, “Nameless.”
The Ratfolk blinked, confused. “No name? This is the Bone Realm. Everyone’s codename is fake anyway. Exposing your real name isn’t a big deal. You can be honest.”
“Wait… your codename is really ’Nameless’?”
Aiden nodded, and Ratfolk’s mouth twitched slightly.
A few minutes later, Aiden followed the Ratfolk into a private side room.
Suddenly, a Ratfolk in a black cloak appeared. He wasn’t hiding his features either.
“Welcome to Suncrest Mercantile. I’m Ennis, a staff member here. That’s not a codename; it’s my real name.”
“Are you here to buy or sell intel?” Ratfolk Ennis asked.
Truth be told, in a Bone Realm where every other Abyss creature was hiding their looks, a completely exposed Ratfolk like this actually made Aiden feel he could trust him.
“I want to buy intel,” Aiden said quickly. “I need to know the location of the mysterious map shard from the Abyss Heartspire.”
Ratfolk Ennis paused, looking Aiden over a few times before saying, “Hold on, let me check.”
He rushed off immediately and returned just a minute later.
“Customer, intel about the map shard in the Heartspire is considered mid-tier. If you want it, it’ll cost fifty Bone Coins.”
“Fifty?” Aiden frowned. He only had one hundred Bone Coins total.
Wait, no, ninety-eight.
“Yes. Originally, this was high-tier intel. But someone just bought it recently.”
“However, that buyer didn’t choose to buy it exclusively. So if we resell it, the price is much lower.”
Aiden’s eyes widened. Someone had already bought intel on the Heartspire map shard before him?
Who was it?
The Flame God Ignis, or Ignis’s student, Cassian?
Aiden took a deep breath. “What exactly does ’exclusive purchase’ mean?”
“Intel is a resource, and it’s usually very valuable. As you know, the fewer beings who know a piece of intel, the higher its value.” Ratfolk Ennis explained.
“Exclusive purchase means you pay extra Bone Coins so that Suncrest Mercantile only sells that specific intel to you.”
Aiden immediately pulled out fifty Bone Coins and placed them in front of Ennis.
Ennis’s eyes lit up. He eagerly began counting the coins carefully.
Then, he pulled out a document and handed it to Aiden.