Inside the city, Victor couldn’t help but feel the thrill of returning to a lively urban center. Brightmoon City was worthy of being called a regional city, its wide, paved streets bustling with activity and flanked by towering, Victorian-style buildings adorned with detailed moldings and wrought-iron balconies. Mana lamps lined the streets, though currently unlit in the morning.

  Despite the recent change in control, the city was still quite busy; it was as if the residents either didn’t know or didn’t care that House Brightmoon had fallen. People went about their daily routines, merchants hawked their wares, and children ran through the streets, oblivious to the machinations under the surface.

  Well, it’s not as if the Merlin family doesn’t have good governing abilities… Otherwise, they wouldn’t have grown so large and powerful, Victor thought.

  Victor then signaled subtly, and the players quickly split into three groups as per their prior arrangements. The players nodded, quickly slipping into the crowd. Victor just hoped that they would be able to complete their tasks without any trouble.

  Once they disappeared, Victor adjusted his robe, took a deep breath, and allowed himself to relax as he blended into the flow of people and made his way toward the city’s heart—the lord’s mansion. He wanted to see what the Merlin family was up to.

  Sean and his party—Chicken, Butterfly, Scarlet, and Patrick—strolled through the city’s bustling marketplace, awestruck by the level of detail around them. The rich aroma of freshly baked bread and roasting meats mingled with exotic spices from various vendors, making the whole market feel alive. The merchants’ loud bartering, the clinking of coins, and the chatter of townsfolk added a vibrant backdrop to their exploration, making it easy to forget that this was all just a game.

  “The devs have really outdone themselves with this new map,” Sean murmured, enchanted by the surroundings. Although the academy also had a market, it paled in comparison to this. Here, the scope was vast, and everything was handled by NPCs instead of players—their routines indistinguishable from real human behavior.

  Chicken gasped. “I can smell that stew from a mile away! Let’s grab some before we get on with our mission.”

  Butterfly rolled her eyes, smirking. “We’re here on an important mission, remember? Keep your drooling under control.” She darted ahead, her eyes filled with wariness. Nevertheless, she stopped at a fabric stall with bolts of shimmering silks and brocades on display. She ran her fingers over the vibrant colors, clearly as enraptured as anyone.

  “Hey, big girl, don’t just look around and touch everything. Buy something at least,” the vendor grumbled.

  “I-I will.” Butterfly harrumphed.

  In spite of being familiar with the game’s extreme immersion, they were still enamored by the realism. It was unlike anything they had seen even in the real world.

  Patrick surveyed the bustling scene, his sharp eyes noting every detail. “The NPCs here really feel as though they have lives of their own, no different from the ones back at the village,” he remarked, clearly impressed. “The server’s computing power must be massive to handle all of this.”

  “That’s not all,” Scarlet chimed in. “It’s as if they know we’re outsiders, but they’re choosing to ignore it.”

  She wasn’t wrong. In typical RPGs, NPCs often treated players as invisible or simply followed basic programming. In “Skyrim,” for example, you could walk right up to a guard, steal their armor, or even place a bucket over their head, and they wouldn’t bat an eye, let alone retaliate. Here, however, the NPCs appeared to be aware of their presence, giving their interactions an almost unsettling depth.

  Sean glanced around at the vendors, noting curious glances that were cast their way. It was hard to shake the feeling that, at any moment, someone might walk up and question their purpose here. Fortunately, they weren’t the only ones wearing hooded robes on the street.

  “Regardless,” Sean said, “we’ve got work to do. Let’s split up and get what we need.”

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  Their mission this time was to gather various products from the market that were unavailable around the academy and the village—exotic plants, minerals, and even rare animal parts that were abundant in this region. The headmaster had provided the necessary funds, and if that wasn’t enough, they were free to cover any additional expense with their own money. While it wasn’t as critical as securing the rare materials, magic metals, and ores that the other teams were after, the wide array of other useful goods gave them an excuse to explore more of the city.

  Meanwhile, William’s party was no less excited by their assignment. With both Mike and SuperNova absent from the expedition, Thunder and Locktekei had joined Zero, Storm, and William to round out the team for this mission.

  They ventured into the industrial heart of Brightmoon City, where plumes of smoke from countless forges rose into the air and the glow of molten metal lit the doorways. Here, among the city’s finest blacksmiths and metalworkers, they were tasked with a critical mission: securing rare magic metals, ores, and other items as specified on the headmaster’s list.

  While they weren’t entirely sure of the purpose of gathering these items, the reward offered—five hundred merit points each—was more than enough to keep them motivated. For a mission that could be wrapped up in a single day, it was exceptionally generous. As an added bonus, they were allowed to explore.

  William paused at the edge of the street, skimming the list on the holographic screen. “We have to be thorough,” he said, glancing at each party member. “Let’s split up and ask around about the rarer materials on the list. This city should have everything we need if we dig a bit.”

  Thunder nodded, staring at a towering forge at the end of the street. “I’ll check with the larger workshops—they’re bound to have access to bulk metals and might even deal in rare alloys.”

  Locktekei grinned and clapped Thunder on the shoulder. “I’ll go with you. You know, extra hands to carry any heavy finds.”

  “I’ll head to the local smiths,” Storm chimed in, eyeing the smaller shops where independent craftsmen displayed their wares and ornaments. “They might know more about specialized ores—maybe even the sources of some of the rarer minerals.”

  Zero, on the other hand, made a show of adjusting his nonexistent glasses and said, “I’ll take notes and help negotiate prices then. We should be able to save some money, which may give us a bonus in terms of reward.”

  William waited as everyone picked their direction with focused excitement. “As for me,” he announced, “I’ll talk to people around here and see if anyone has valuable information to share.” Naturally, he had a secondary motive—there could be beautiful NPCs hiding somewhere around the corner, and he didn’t want to limit himself to a single area.

  With their paths set, the party split up. William strode into the crowd with a sense of anticipation, wondering what—or who—he could find.

  In a lavishly furnished room lined with dark wood and lit by flickering crystal lamps, a middle-aged merchant sat stiffly, struggling to maintain his composure. Across from him sat a young girl in an acolyte robe, exuding an air of absolute confidence. Her calm expression belied an undeniable sharpness that kept him on edge. The merchant’s handkerchief had already made several trips across his brow as the conversation unfolded.

  “Ten platinum coins for all of this? Surely you jest,” she asserted calmly, her words as sharp as her penetrating gaze. “Even for an established trading company like yours, no one else would charge half as much for this quantity.”

  The merchant gulped, struggling to hold his ground as he was aware of what this girl and her friends standing quietly behind her were—mages. “Well, Miss Auralise. I must remind you that imports have been... costly, given the recent—”

  “In any case,” Monica, known as Auralise in the game, interrupted, tapping the edge of the table, “we both know you've secured these items at far below current market rates. Why should I pay double for what’s available elsewhere? It’s not like you can sell these items to anyone else given the current market situation. Five platinum coins, and I’ll take them off your hands immediately. Not to mention, you’ll gain the goodwill of five acolytes and the force behind us.”

  The merchant’s polite smile strained as he glanced at the gilded clock on the wall, mentally calculating the value of her offer. “I... I suppose. If it’s for building a friendship with esteemed guests like yourself, an adjustment can be made,” he stammered, wiping his brow yet again.

  “Now that we’re finally in agreement,” Monica replied, her voice softening as she extended her hand, “I assure you, this will be a transaction worth your while.”

  As they shook hands, Monica couldn’t conceal her smug smile. She had just struck a very good deal, securing not only most of the materials on her mission list but also establishing a connection with one of the largest trading companies in the city, the Gilded Rose. Although she had to admit that this wouldn’t have gone so smoothly without the help of the other players.

  Aphrodite, in particular, had proven invaluable; he’d assessed the quality and applications of all of the materials, even though some, such as magic ores, didn’t exist in the real world. It appeared that this player was very talented, and Monica was already planning to recruit him once they returned to the academy. His abilities surely would prove useful to her, whether in-game or in the real world.

  Monica then clapped her hands, instructing the other players to oversee the transfer of the materials to make sure every item they had agreed on was accounted for. As for her, she intended to savor the small luxuries of the Gilded Rose trading company headquarters and enjoy the tea that her servant, Dominique, had served her.

  She had earned this moment.