Chapter 285: Soloist and Wood Spirit Merchant 2

Chapter 285: Chapter 189: Soloist and Wood Spirit Merchant 2

‘It’s a facade. All of it is just a facade!’ Li Miao thought firmly.

But it wasn’t until the corpse had completely turned to ashes and dissipated that he reacted, dumbfounded.

‘Wait, that’s it?’

‘That’s all?’

‘A Level 28 mini-boss was gone just like that?’

Unconvinced, Li Miao searched the area, even checking the fountain’s water, but still found nothing.

The whole way here had been simple and easy, like a new-player tutorial some games make to prevent refunds…

‘There’s definitely something wrong.’

Although a thought couldn’t help but surface—’This game is out of ideas’—Li Miao still subconsciously felt it wasn’t that simple.

‘Whatever, I’ll go check out the ruined house first. Wasn’t there a merchant? Maybe that NPC knows something…’

After scanning the area behind him, Li Miao saw a remote path next to a cliff face. The Spirit Candle’s guidance appeared at that moment as well.

After traversing the path, Li Miao finally saw a ruined house.

After lighting the Milestone Spirit Candle, Li Miao walked toward the ruined house.

A smoky Campfire flickered in and out of view, and a small, thin figure stood with its back to Li Miao.

[Wandering Fire · Merchant of Unknown Origin]

A piece of information appeared in Li Miao’s vision, but strangely, it was positioned above the roof of the ruined house.

‘A bug?’

Li Miao muttered the thought to himself and didn’t dwell on it, warily approaching the small, thin figure.

“Hello, did you leave the message by the road?” Li Miao asked.

“Yes.”

Suddenly, a deep voice answered him, but it didn’t come from the small, thin figure. Instead, it seemed to come from… the ruined house?

RUSTLE…

After the sudden noise, the ruined house twisted, deformed, then coalesced, finally transforming into a tall, humanoid, bark-skinned creature right before Li Miao’s eyes.

He carried a huge Back Basket, which was covered with leaves. There was no telling what was inside.

The hard bark tore open, revealing a single, calm, emerald-green eye.

“My apologies. This is a precaution against those with ill intentions.”

“You, however, have come with good intentions. That is a rare thing.”

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lu Tan, a Wood Spirit Race merchant.”

“If you can provide sufficient Spiritual Material, we can conduct some trade.”

The Tree-man, Lu Tan, spoke calmly as he removed a pair of wooden gloves—part of the human-clothed decoy—and set them aside.

So that scrawny person had just been his disguise.

‘Good thing I had no intention of attacking him just now. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead meat…’

Li Miao’s eyelid twitched.

But he quickly came to his senses and sized up the other being with some curiosity. “You’re not trapped here?”

From the words of this Wood Spirit Merchant, Lu Tan, it seemed he wasn’t a character from a “dungeon,” but rather a dynamic story character.

In other words, someone like Le Ti or the Firewood Gatherers, who possessed the ability to think independently and had normal logical reasoning.

Sure enough, Lu Tan nodded. “You can think of me as a Wandering Fire.”

‘Just as I thought.’

Li Miao’s eyes lit up after confirming the other was indeed a dynamic story character.

If he were a dungeon merchant, his goods would most likely be worthless, and every player who entered the dungeon could meet him.

But a dynamic story merchant… he wasn’t someone you could run into just because you wanted to, and the things he sold were definitely not your average wares.

However, Li Miao had no Spiritual Material right now. If he wanted some, he would probably have to go back and find the Candlekeeper.

‘So, I should probably chat with this Lu Tan first and ask about the situation here.’

But Lu Tan seemed to have sensed his intentions. Before Li Miao could speak, he said, “Since we are both travelers in the dark, I think there is no need to discuss matters beyond trade…”

Lu Tan’s tone was flat. It seemed he didn’t want to explain much, nor was he interested in Li Miao’s situation.

This left Li Miao at a loss for words.

Just as he was thinking about how to respond, a quest suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[You have received a special quest from the Spirit Candle: Establish contact with the Wood Spirit Merchant]

[Quest Requirement: Keep the Wood Spirit Merchant here and find the Candlekeeper.]

[Quest Reward: Wax Oil ×50]

‘The Spirit Candle is also interested in the Wood Spirit Merchant?’

Li Miao was a little surprised. After accepting the quest, he chose his words carefully and then asked the merchant if he could wait a few minutes, promising to be right back.

Lu Tan didn’t say much in response, merely giving a slight nod of agreement.

Li Miao then quickly returned to Candle Island via the Milestone Spirit Candle, and as expected, the Candlekeeper was waiting for him.

After he explained the situation, the Candlekeeper quickly gave him a new quest.

[Quest Requirement: Inform the Wood Spirit Merchant of Candle Island’s situation and attempt to establish a long-term connection.]

After that, the Candlekeeper generously gave him a large piece of Scorching Charcoal Spiritual Material. Of course, any items he traded for would probably have to be turned in.

After doing all this, Li Miao glanced at the world chat channel.

As expected, most of the players who had been on the Mysterious High Platform had also arrived at the Side Stage Garden and killed the Soloist.

Many players were expressing their confusion, completely baffled.

However, now was not the time to focus on that.

Finishing up, Li Miao quickly looked away and used the Spirit Candle to teleport back to the ruined house behind the Side Stage Garden.

The tall Wood Spirit Merchant, Lu Tan, was still sitting there quietly. He hadn’t left.

Li Miao quickly went over to Lu Tan’s side and briefly explained the situation on Candle Island.

“Oh? A Candle Spirit?” A trace of surprise finally appeared on Lu Tan’s wrinkled, bark-like face. “I thought you were one of those solitary Firewood Gatherers…”

“We’re different from them. There are many of us, we have a demand for all sorts of items, and we’re in great need of merchants like you.”

Li Miao smiled.

“You’re probably not alone either, right? How about it? Want to make a big trade first?”

After hearing his words, Lu Tan fell silent in thought for a moment. He then took off his Back Basket, brushed aside the leaves on top, and after rummaging around for a bit, pulled out a piece of bark that looked as if it had turned to jade.

“…Learn the Spell on this, and you will be able to summon us when the need arises.”

“Of course, a response is not guaranteed every time.”

After handing the item to Li Miao, Lu Tan covered his Back Basket again.

Without a doubt, compared to the Shadow of Deceit, the Wood Spirit Merchant was far more cautious regarding the Candle Spirit.

It was clearly impossible to establish a mutual contact point like he had with Le Ti.

[Acquired: Strange Spell (Quest Item)]

‘But in any case, the quest the Spirit Candle gave me is complete. Once I turn in the quest item, there will probably be some more great rewards, hehe.’

Li Miao contentedly put it away, then turned his gaze to Lu Tan’s Back Basket.

“I’ve brought the Spiritual Material. Can I see what you’re selling?”

Li Miao took out the large piece of Scorching Charcoal Spiritual Material the Candlekeeper had given him.

Lu Tan nodded, then, under Li Miao’s expectant gaze, he took out another piece of bark engraved with characters.

[Acquired: Lu Tan’s List of Wares]

“…”

‘This guy really is cautious. He absolutely refuses to let me see what’s in his basket.’

‘Whatever.’

Li Miao pursed his lips and began to examine the items on the list.

However, when he saw the first item on it, he was immediately astonished.

[Gear Crystal Prosthetic Limbs: Five small pieces of Ember Spiritual Material, a Gaelguda Creation.]

The name, cost, and origin—nothing seemed out of place.

What astonished Li Miao was, of course, the mention of “Prosthetic Limbs” and “Gear.”

The combination of the two naturally brought to mind some steampunk-esque imagery.

“Lu Tan, these Gear Crystal Prosthetic Limbs…” Li Miao looked up at Lu Tan.

Seeing this, Lu Tan didn’t say much. He just silently took an arm constructed from Dull Crystal Ore out of his Back Basket.

Most of it consisted of crystals engraved with Spells, while a smaller part was made of metal gears and precision components. The hand, in particular, was exquisitely crafted.

“The residents of Gaelguda are passionate about studying Spell Technology. This is their creation, originally intended to make the maimed whole again.”

“This prosthetic limb can also be used as special equipment, giving you a third hand… provided you can adapt to it.”

“This information is free. If you want to know the detailed origins of any other items… that will cost extra.”

Lu Tan’s voice was deep, his expression calm.