“Damn it, Syl, are you doing this on purpose?!”
The bustling streets of Soma Town were as lively as ever, but a peculiar sight drew the eyes of passing players.
A ridiculously adorable loli with fluffy cat ears was playfully pummeling a stunning beauty with long black hair, their antics resembling a sister’s squabble.
“So heartwarming, such sisterly love. I’m healed,” sighed the male players.
“So cute! I want to take her home and raise her!” gushed the female players, their maternal instincts fixating on the cat-eared loli.
The duo at the center of this spectacle?
Syl and me.
And there was a reason for this scene.
To venture into the surface world, it wasn’t enough for just me to disguise myself as a player—Syl needed one too.
Thankfully, Alice, for all her quirks, had provided two sets of disguise gear.
I’d assumed they’d be identical, already picturing Syl with cat ears to match mine.
But instead, she pulled out a pair of bracelets.
Betrayed by one of our own!
“It was Lady Alice’s decision,” Syl explained calmly.
“Then let’s trade!”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. Both items are already bound.”
I silently pulled out my mental notebook, adding another mark to Alice’s growing tally of offenses.
Maybe it was my childish nature, but I quickly let it go, distracted by the vibrant atmosphere around us.
This was my first time in the outside world since entering Epoch, mingling with players.
Compared to the lifeless, monster-filled World’s Backside, it was a thrilling change.
“Syl, Syl, look! There’s so much fun stuff here!”
“Your Majesty, we’re not here to play,” Syl reminded me.
Her words snapped me back to our purpose.
I stuck out my tongue, embarrassed, and mumbled a defense.
“I-I’m just looking for places selling monster souls, okay?”
As if on cue, I spotted a player’s stall selling various monster souls—including a stash of Dark Bat Souls.
Just as I moved to drag Syl over, a critical issue hit me.
“Hey, Syl, do you have any money?”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Her predictable response left me deflated.
After all that effort, to be stopped by something as mundane as money?
But Syl’s next words sparked hope.
“Your Majesty, the castle’s warehouse still holds plenty of miscellaneous items.”
She was right.
Selling at a stall would take too long, and neither Syl nor I were cut out for haggling.
So, I pulled a dozen pieces of gear from the warehouse, priced them based on my past life’s knowledge, and tossed them onto the Auction House.
“If we’re going to deal with players regularly, we’ll need as many coins as we can get,” I mused while waiting for the items to sell.
“Relying on this alone feels like a drop in the bucket.”
Grinding for gear drops was out of the question—Epoch’s drop rates were abysmal.
I’d rather figure out how to make players die faster and drop more equipment.
“Syl, any ideas for quick cash?”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. I only know that completing tasks yields rewards.”
“Tch, figures you’d say—wait, tasks!”
I’d asked offhandedly, not expecting much, but Syl’s words sparked a revelation.
In Epoch, material drop rates were far higher than equipment.
Every material had a use—some for task submissions, others for alchemy or forging, and even the useless ones could be sold to NPCs for a few coppers.
But certain materials were shunned by players.
I vividly recalled from my past life, when Epoch first launched, that Bat Claws and Bat Venom were among them.
Useful only for crafting newbie gear or basic poison potions, and not required for any tasks, they were worth a pittance—100 Bat Claws or 50 Bat Venom for a single copper when sold to NPCs.
As a result, players discarded them without a second thought.
What they didn’t know was that these materials did have corresponding tasks—hidden ones.
In my past life, a warrior and a rogue had stumbled upon these tasks.
By collecting Bat Claws and Bat Venom and turning them in to a blacksmith and an apothecary in the Alwyn Empire’s Farns, they earned coins and experience at rates far better than selling to shops.
In hindsight, choosing Dark Bats as my initial monster nest was a stroke of luck.
I explained the hidden tasks to Syl, intending to drop the soul-collecting plan for now and rush to the Dark Bat leveling zones to buy up claws and venom.
But Syl hesitated, shaking her head.
“Your Majesty, such a large move will draw attention.”
I’d considered that.
In my past life, those two players had been as discreet as possible, yet their mass acquisition of Bat Claws and Venom still caught suspicious eyes, exposing the tasks.
Since the tasks would inevitably be discovered, I figured I might as well act fast and capitalize on the early advantage to build up funds.
But Syl shook her head again.
“Your Majesty, I have a way to earn money without drawing attention.”
She laid out her plan, and my eyes lit up.
“Syl, you’re a genius! Why didn’t I think of that?”