Chapter 37: The Shabby Treasure

Dahav clenched the yellowish-brown pinewood bracelet tightly in his hand.

Its appearance was rough and uneven, with irregular curves that made it impossible to call it beautiful or stylish.

Nor was its performance impressive.

[Cypress Bracelet]

• Grade: Common
• Category: Lowest Rank
• Usable Level: None
• This bracelet is made by Mendelson, crafted from wood he carved himself. Due to the worst craftsmanship and scarce materials, it ended up looking shabby and plain.

It is an extremely ordinary bracelet without any special features.

It lacked any special options, and even its basic stats were inferior to common equipment of level 5.

Receiving this as a quest reward at level 20 hardly qualified it as a good item.

Yet Dahav was smiling.

He didn’t care about the appearance, and the lack of options was entirely expected.

After all, this wasn’t an equippable item in the usual sense.

The true ability of the Cypress Bracelet was to act as a ‘key’ to unlock the Hidden Shop within Sky Ridge.

The Hidden Shop of Mayu.

According to information released at the end of this year, 2038, the reason why it was unlocked wasn’t due to competition or rivalry, but something quite absurd.

“Well, who would’ve thought such high-grade info would leak through Tom.”

Originally, the Hidden Shop in Sky Ridge was monopolized by a party formed by close friends called ‘Aiollos,’ generating huge profits.

Buyers were always curious about the source of the shop’s goods, often asking for information, but the merchants never revealed their secret foundation, keeping the Hidden Shop’s details completely under wraps.

However, as popularity rose among the ASA users, so did the number of people seeking the Hidden Shop’s items. Greed grew, and disputes over profit distribution broke out.

This eventually led to internal division, and unable to bear the conflicts among friends any longer, Aiollos—the party leader—exploded in anger and publicly revealed details about the Hidden Shop through a YouTube video.

-NPC in Sky Ridge, Mayu’s Hidden Shop can be unlocked. However, the conditions require sufficient Reputation and possession of the Cypress Bracelet, which acts as their emblem obtained through quests in Sky Ridge. Additionally, the recipes for the potions we sell will be revealed in the next video.

The potions and doping items supplied by Aiollos’ party were outstandingly effective, regardless of whether the user was a beginner or an expert.

Naturally, the response was explosive, and many players scrambled to unlock the Hidden Shop.

Sky Ridge quickly transformed into a place where not only players around level 20 but also high-level players who could no longer gain experience visited to raise their Reputation.

Yet, Mayu’s Hidden Shop was never easy to open.

Sufficient Reputation.

Though it didn’t sound difficult, this was the real core challenge.

Raising Reputation among Sky Ridge’s notoriously prickly citizens was as difficult as winning over a scornful mother-in-law.

So, Dahav originally planned to visit only after reaching a certain growth threshold, but with the previous Emergency Quests cleared, his Reputation was more than enough—overflowing, even.

‘If I have this Cypress Bracelet, I can unlock it right away.’

[Do you really want to select the ‘Cypress Bracelet’?]

There was nothing else he needed, and since it was the essential item to unlock Mayu’s Hidden Shop, he nodded without hesitation.

[‘Cypress Bracelet’ has been granted as a reward.]

[Reward has been delivered. It has been moved outside the Sky Ridge warehouse.]

Mendelson squinted at the bracelet in his hand and shrugged his shoulders before asking,

“Surprisingly, huh? I thought this kind of thing would be useless to an outsider like you.”

“Is that so? Well, I just picked it because it caught my eye. The simple yet freely designed shape! Whoever made it definitely had good taste.”

Though Mendelson covered his mouth with his hand, a grin peeked out from between his fingers.

“Ahem! Still, choosing that bracelet shows you’ve got better judgment than other outsiders.”

Leaving a good impression was important, and remaining calm was the best way to earn points.

He raised his thumb with an exaggerated gesture and said,

“Your instincts must be excellent, Mendelson.”

“Hmm, Shazam could easily fall for that. The guy can’t stand compliments. But I won’t be so easygoing.”

Despite his words, Mendelson’s exaggerated smile seemed as if it could tear through the ceiling.

“Well… I’m a little embarrassed since it sounds like praise.”

Matching his expression, Dahav replied, and Mendelson finally realized his feelings were obvious, scratching the back of his head and pursing his lips.

“Ahem… Just so you know, no matter how much you flatter me, Alexandra has strictly ordered that the test must be thorough. She won’t let it slide.”

“Of course. That’s what I want too. Please don’t hold back.”

Mendelson sighed.

“There’s no need to be so dramatic! It’s going to be harder than dealing with the Harpy Tribe now.”

Though he anticipated it wouldn’t be easy, hearing it so straightforwardly made Dahav a little nervous.

“Hmph. But they won’t give you something impossible to handle.”

After gathering his resolve, Dahav nodded and said,

“I’m ready.”

Seeing Dahav’s firm expression, Mendelson relaxed slightly, nodded, and said,

“Dahav, you said you truly care about our citizens, right? Alexandra doesn’t fully trust that yet, so she told me to test you. Prove your sincerity by helping our people with their troubles. Gain a Reputation of over 200 in Sky Ridge.”

Ding—!

[Quest: Proof of Qualification – Sincerity]

• Rank: C
• Quest Details: Alexandra has ordered Mendelson to test this outsider’s sincerity. Mendelson will prove this by solving the citizens’ problems and raising your Reputation in Sky Ridge beyond 200.
• Clear Rewards: 70,000 XP, +50 Favor with Mendelson, unlocks linked quest ‘Proof of Qualification – Confirmation’

Reading the quest details, Dahav only pursed his lips.

“…..”

Seeing Dahav’s silent attitude, Mendelson said as if he expected it,

“Of course, it won’t be easy. The people of Sky Ridge have suffered a lot through many wars, and their hearts are broken. It’s going to be very difficult to open them up. But if you clear it, the Lord will surely recognize your sincerity…”

Mendelson’s words faded in Dahav’s ears.

It wasn’t because he thought it would be difficult.

‘I already have.’

The Emergency Quests gained at the hunting grounds were heavily focused on Reputation and raised it by about 20 points each.

Completing ten such quests meant he had already hit the 200 mark. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say so.

As Dahav kept mumbling, Mendelson cautiously added,

“Still, you seem to be the most well-liked outsider, so if you ask earnestly, I might recommend someone special to accompany you.”

Dahav immediately shook his head vigorously.

“No, this too is part of the test. Otherwise, my sincerity won’t be conveyed. I’ll just gratefully accept the feelings.”

Mendelson patted his shoulders a few times and raised his thumb as if praising him.

“When people are stuck in trouble, even naturally they ask for help. Well done!”

[Favor with Mendelson has increased by 25.]

[Additional 25 Favor gained for your just attitude.]

[Achievement unlocked: Honest Path]

Only a blue notification appeared, but with such a high favor level, unexpected variables could arise. So, he took his leave and backed away hastily.

“Thank you for your kind words. I will definitely succeed.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll recommend this to Alexandra in secret…”

Hearing Mendelson’s voice behind him, Dahav hurriedly left the room.

***

As the saying goes, environment shapes people; the citizens of Sky Ridge were unusually rugged.

It was natural.

Being the frontier between several neighboring countries, Herb played the role of the frontline, which meant countless war experiences.

Moreover, surrounded by mountain ridges and leveraging the advantage of Herb City, they tried to prosper through logistics. But even so, they had to constantly fend off fierce harpies, piling up the citizens’ troubles, making them wary.

Thus, winning the hearts of Sky Ridge’s citizens and raising Reputation was more than twice as difficult as in other cities.

“How many months has it been already… I haven’t hunted properly, and I’m tied down…”

“About two months, precisely 59 days…”

The real time was 59 days, which equated to 177 days in game time—about half a year.

This was the same amount of time Aiollos’ party had invested to raise Reputation to 200 in Sky Ridge.

“59 days… neither you nor I are exactly sane.”

Though Aiollos—the party leader—expressed disgust verbally, his actions were based on cold calculation.

“Still, with rare ingredients sold only in a Hidden Shop, we could make potions and armor, make some profit, and maybe strike it rich, right?”

Mayu’s Hidden Shop.

By sheer luck, Dahav had cleared an Emergency Quest while passing through Sky Ridge and obtained this information.

-If you accumulate enough Reputation in Sky Ridge and bring the Cypress Bracelet to Mayu, a Hidden Shop will open, where you can purchase rare herbs and materials not available elsewhere. Furthermore, if you fulfill certain conditions there, you might be able to buy unique special items.

From low level to high level, potions and doping items were essentials.

If one could buy rare herbs from Mayu’s Hidden Shop, process them into potions, and sell them—

‘You can monopolize distribution and sales in the market.’

In other words, it wasn’t that hard to earn a lot of money.

On top of that, although the exact stats weren’t confirmed, there was a unique item existing only once on the server that could be obtained.

That’s why giving up was out of the question.

Moreover, the tedious Reputation grind was finally nearing its end.

“Still, I got it up to 194. Just six more to go, and all the effort will bear fruit, letting me savor the sweet rewards.”

“Yeah, let’s make some money from the Hidden Shop and finally drive a foreign car in our twenties!”

“Finally, after hardships comes happiness.”

Just as the whole party happily anticipated the completion of their grind, Derrick—the member with the most worries—sprinkled cold water.

“Uh… what about Dahav? He just came in five days ago and seems to have returned already.”

Aiollos’ party averaged level 50, so in Sky Ridge, where level 20 to 30 players came, they usually intimidated newcomers to drive them away.

But Dahav was far from an ordinary target.

‘From what I’ve seen in gameplay videos, he’s a top-tier talent who wouldn’t be out of place even in the top 10 guilds or the number one, Heaven.’

Dahav himself wasn’t threatening, but if he joined a high-ranking guild and held grudges from the past, trouble could arise.

“Forget it. He’s not someone you want to make an enemy of. Plus, if he only briefly came five days ago and just returned now, there’s no need to worry.”

“Yeah, Derrick, you worry too much. Remember how hard we worked for two months? Even if he was an admin who came back with ten Emergency Quests in five days, that’d be different. But that won’t happen. We’ve got this.”

Even if he was that lucky, he wouldn’t receive something as unimpressive and useless as a shabby Cypress Bracelet without knowing about the Hidden Shop and clearing quests with difficulty.

“True. Stop worrying and think of the path of flowers ahead as we wrap this up.”

Aiollos’ party moved forward, unaware that their careless decision might soon lead to their ruin.