Chapter 73: Suspicion

Anyways Blazewind slowly took the brooch from Iris. The moment his fingers touched it, he felt a gentle natural energy flowing through the accessory.

He stared at its attributes for several seconds. Then he let out a long breath.

The tension that had been weighing on him since receiving the mysterious guide finally disappeared.

In its place was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Hope.

His eyes sharpened. He no longer hesitated. Whoever had sent them this information had deliberately hidden their identity.

They had also withheld the most important details. That meant the anonymous sender clearly didn’t intend to simply give everything away.

But none of that mattered right now. This opportunity was real. Blazewind immediately opened the encrypted communication channel and sent a message to the anonymous ID.

Only a single sentence appeared on the screen.

"Guide verified. It is authentic."

After a brief pause, he added: "Name your price."

...

Inside a semi-underground parking lot, Aiden leaned against his vehicle and looked at the message forwarded by [Phantom Eyes].

It was from Blazewind.

A faint, knowing smile curled at the corner of Aiden’s lips.

He had already prepared his price. He quickly typed his response.

"The remaining portion of the guide, along with key difficulty tips for the subsequent stages, will cost 500 gold coins.

Alternatively, you may pay with an equivalent-value share of the first batch of Forest Whisperer accessories—any three pieces."

The price was astronomical by the standards of the current player base.

Five hundred gold coins were enough to drain most of the liquid assets of a medium-sized team.

But Aiden wasn’t worried. He knew exactly what he was selling. A complete hidden-quest guide that could potentially equip several of Ember’s core players with top-tier early-game accessories was worth far more than ordinary equipment.

More importantly, it offered Ember something even more valuable. A chance to break through the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s blockade.

Aiden was confident that Blazewind would make the right choice.

Sure enough, after a brief silence, a reply arrived.

"500 gold coins. However, we need to pay in installments. 200 gold coins upfront, and the remaining 300 after the guide has been verified as accurate. Is that acceptable?"

Aiden smiled. "Acceptable."

He agreed without hesitation. There was no reason to rush. Slow and steady won the race.

Besides, keeping Ember under a certain degree of financial pressure wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The more they invested in the Fallen Elven Camp, the harder they would work to extract its value. The harder they worked, the faster their team would grow.

And the stronger Ember became, the more trouble they could cause for Dragon Sovereign.

It was exactly what Aiden wanted.

The transaction was completed quietly through black-market channels.

Not long afterward, 200 gleaming gold coins appeared in Aiden’s account.

To him, they were barely worth mentioning. But to any player at the current stage of the game, 200 gold coins represented a considerable fortune.

And there was another benefit. Every coin flowing into Ember’s hands was money they could spend on strengthening themselves rather than allowing Dragon Sovereign to monopolize the available resources.

Aiden was effectively weakening his enemy while strengthening a potential ally.

Killing several birds with one stone.

And what had he sacrificed? Nothing more than a piece of "memory" stored inside his mind.

Information that, sooner or later, would have been discovered by someone else anyway.

The deal was practically free. Once Ember obtained the complete guide, the entire team seemed to have been injected with a new source of vitality.

The previously uncertain path through the Fallen Elven Camp suddenly became clear.

The dungeon was still difficult. The monsters were still dangerous. And mistakes could still cost them dearly. But now, they knew exactly what they were looking for.

Every quest objective had a purpose. Every hidden trigger had been mapped out. And every difficult section came with warnings from the guide.

With clear goals and the promise of extraordinary rewards driving them forward, the members of Ember fought with unprecedented enthusiasm.

One week later, they succeeded. The hidden quest line was finally completed.

And the first batch of five Forest Whisperer accessories fell into their hands. The effect was immediate.

Several of Ember’s elite players equipped the new accessories, and their combat capabilities rose sharply.

The Rogues became faster. The Rangers became harder to detect. The Mages gained greater Spirit and improved mana recovery.

Their entire combat formation became noticeably more cohesive. Then came the real test.

During a subsequent field resource battle against the Dragon Sovereign Guild, Ember found itself facing a larger force.

Ordinarily, the outcome would have been obvious.

But this time, the result shocked everyone. Despite being outnumbered, Ember won.

They tore through Dragon Sovereign’s formation, seized the initiative, and successfully snatched a small elemental crystal vein right out from under their noses.

The news spread through Ashford City like a stone thrown into a still lake.

"Ember actually turned things around?"

"Did you see their Rogues and Mages? They’re practically wearing an entirely different set of equipment!"

"I heard they got it from a hidden quest in the Fallen Elven Camp."

"Apparently, the rewards are insane."

"The Dragon Sovereign Guild actually took a hit this time!"

"Hahaha! Serves them right!"

The discussions spread rapidly throughout the player community.

For the first time in a long while, people were beginning to look at [Ember] differently.

They were no longer the team constantly being pushed around by [Dragon Sovereign].

They had bitten back. Hard.

When Damien received the news, his expression became terrifyingly gloomy.

He sat silently in his office, staring at the battle report displayed on his terminal.

Ember had been under his pressure for so long that he had almost become accustomed to their inability to resist.

Yet now, they had suddenly obtained a hidden opportunity and even managed to take a resource from him.

Damien’s fingers tightened around the armrest. "Where did they get those accessories?"

His subordinate hesitated before answering. "The information we’ve gathered points toward a hidden quest in the Fallen Elven Camp."

Damien’s eyes narrowed. A hidden quest. An opportunity capable of transforming several of Ember’s core members overnight.

It was too convenient. And for some reason, a single name instinctively surfaced in his mind.

[Reaper].

’Could he be involved?’ Damien’s gaze darkened.

But after investigating every available lead, he found nothing. No connection. No transaction. No trace.

Nothing that could serve as evidence. His suspicion remained only a suspicion.

Damien slowly leaned back in his chair. For the first time, he realized that the situation in Ashford City might not be as firmly under his control as he had believed.

And somewhere beyond his reach, an unseen hand had just moved another piece onto the board.