"?Orion! El hombre del momento!" El Verdugo boomed, spreading his arms wide as if greeting an old friend. His accent was thick but had a certain warmth to it. "I hear you have something... interesante for me."

  I decided to cut to the chase as I showed him the axe in the trade window. "Battleaxe of Ur’ka. Level 15. Rare. Perfect for someone like you."

  His eyes lit up, and he stepped closer, his grin widening as he took in the weapon. He quickly calmed himself though and coughed to hide his surprise.

  "This... this is a beautiful piece, amigo. What are you asking for it?"

  I knew what was coming. It was obvious that the gentleman had not yet seen a weapon comparable to this in Godsrealm, and he was ready to haggle for it hard.

  "Ten gold coins," I said flatly, watching his reaction.

  I didn't think anyone could have ten gold coins at this stage of the game, but maybe a group of five could have gathered around that amount if they were efficient.

  The smile faltered, just for a moment, before he let out a loud laugh.

  "Ten? No, no, no. Too much, amigo. For you, I offer... four gold coins."

  I raised an eyebrow, my voice steady.

  "Four? For a rare weapon at level 15? You’ve got to be kidding me. This is possibly the best weapon in Carpa as of now."

  One of his crew, a wiry rogue stepped forward.

  "Four is fair," he said with a smirk. "No players can even use it yet. You’ll sit on it for days if we don’t take it off your hands."

  "Then why are you here if it’s such a bad deal?" I shot back, my gaze unwavering.

  El Verdugo held up a hand, silencing his friend. "Relax, Mano Roja. Let’s be civil, eh?"

  He turned back to me, his tone softening.

  "Look, Orion. Five gold coins and fifty silver. It’s good money, and you get to walk away richer without the hassle of finding another buyer."

  I crossed my arms, pretending to consider it. Five and a half gold was still not that much, but part of me wanted to take the deal.

  With that much money I could gear up and not have to worry about it until level 15 or so. Still, I wanted to push my luck a bit more.

  "Seven gold coins," I said finally, meeting his gaze. "And don’t try to lowball me again."

  El Verdugo paused for a long moment, his eyes meeting mine with careful consideration.

  Then he laughed, clapping me on the shoulder with a heavy hand. "Trato hecho, amigo. Seven it is."

  The transaction was quick, the trade window glowing faintly as we exchanged items. The Battleaxe of Ur’ka disappeared from my inventory, replaced by seven gleaming gold coins. I tucked them away, nodding as El Verdugo admired his new weapon.

  "This will spill much blood," he said, before sinking the axe into his bag of holding. "Los Asesinos will remember this favor, Orion."

  "Just remember who sold it to you when it saves your life," I said with a grin.

  I knew from the very beginning of our interaction that El Verdugo was a trustworthy guy. Sure, he would do anything to get a better price, but once he gave his word, there was no going back.

  As El Verdugo and his crew walked away, their voices fading into the noise of the marketplace, I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction. I was hoping I'd run into them once again when we reach level 15.

  This man will stir up some trouble with his newly found weapon, and I was ready to see it.

  After I had dealt with my newly found friends I decided to contact the Carpa Crafter Group. I sent a message to Danzaborou as instructed in the forum thread.

  Hey, I would like you to make some equipment for me, if it's okay. I have plenty of materials and coins to spend.

  The answer came shortly after.

  That's what I like to hear! What kind of equipment will it be?

  Mostly medium armor, but I would also like a bow and arrows as well.

  Great! We can get started as soon as you'd like. I will be the one making the medium armor, and our carpenter, Kev will prepare the bow and arrows for you. Meet us at the leatherworking tent at the festival whenever you're ready.

  Heading there right now!

  As I closed the message menu I was already walking towards the festive grounds. Soon after I arrived, two players came up to me.

  "You're Orion, aren't you?" one of them asked. After I nodded, he continued. "I'm Danzaburou and this is Kev. Let's see what we're working with, shall we?"

  Danzaburou was a short, bald man in his late 20s, maybe early 30s, with a tattoo around his left eye. Kev was his polar opposite: young, tall, with piercing blue eyes, midnight black hair and a never dying smile.

  I laid out all of my materials on the crafting table.

  To say Danzaburou and Kev were amazed was kind of an understatement.

  "This is great!" Danzaburou said. "A perfect duskwolf alpha hide?! I haven't seen anything even remotely close to this!"

  After a second of thinking, he continued.

  "I don't think I have a recipe that could use this, yet, but don't worry! I have my sources as an established craftsman!" he winked before disappearing in the crowd.

  "What kind of bow and arrow would you like?" Kev asked.

  He was a tall, muscular, asian-american man with hair tied up into a bun, with a build that would have made me guess he was at least the blacksmith of their crew. Or their bodyguard.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "Level 10 and the best you can make," I answered. "Also, do you think these alpha claws or fangs could be used for them?"

  "Definitely! I have a couple of good recipes for them that allow for additional materials, so I'll make sure to get the best result for you!" he smiled.

  "I have no wood for them, however," I added.

  My current inventory was filled with materials from the Dusken beasts I had farmed the last couple of levels, but I didn't have anything else in terms of crafting materials.

  "That's not a problem. I already have access to refined cedar, which is the best possible wood type at this stage of the game. I will get them for you."

  At this point Danzaburou had returned.

  "Good news! I managed to get my hands on a recipe that will be perfect for you, Orion! Let me see your inventory once again, please?"

  I once again laid out everything I had.

  "Good, good! So what kind of armor would you want?"

  I hesitated. The only piece of armor I was missing was leg armor. Ideally I would have liked to use the alpha's hide for a breastplate, as generally those pieces were the strongest ones. However, my current breastplate was my best piece of equipment, and replacing it would likely not net me the most advantage.

  "I would like to get some leg armor made from the Perfect Duskwolf Alpha Hide and the Duskwolf Hides. The remaining duskwolf hides and duskhound hides should be enough for boots, a cloak, bracers and a hood."

  I was thinking about making a new breastplate as well but I wasn't sure whatever came out of the lakeside boar hides was going to be better than the exquisite materials I used for my current one. "Also use all of the claws and fangs for them if you can use additional materials."

  Danzaburou nodded. "It will be quite expensive, but you look like someone who could afford it," he laughed.

  I smiled. "I will pay whatever it takes. Also..."

  I turned to Kev. "Use the alpha claws and fangs for a bow and arrows, if possible."

  "Naturally," he bowed. Both of them looked like people who knew their crafts so I wasn't too worried. They sidestepped a bit to talk about the working process and possible fees and after a while they came closer to me.

  "So, Orion," Danzaburou sighed. "are you ready for the dirty financials?"

  "Don't worry, I'm not someone to scare easily," I laughed. "Bring it on!"

  "The recipe for the leg armor costs 80 silver coins. The materials you don't have such as leather strips, wood types, iron and other miscellaneous items will cost 1 gold and 20 silver coins," the two of them exchanged glances.

  "The work for the boots, cloak, hood and bracers is 20 silver each, adding up to 80 silver coins. The work for the bow and the arrow is 30 silver per piece, and the work for the leg armor is 50 silver coins."

  His expression was worrying, as if he thought I was going to flip the table on him. "Adding all of this comes up to 3 gold and 90 silver coins."

  They waited in silence, afraid of my answer.

  This was money that not many – if any – had access to at this stage of the game if they were playing solo like me.

  "Make it 4 gold then. When can I expect the items?" I asked.

  They were so surprised they couldn't answer my question without stuttering.

  "W...we...we'll be ready in two hours!" Danzaburou said finally.

  "Alright," I said, handing him the four gold coins. "Shoot me a message once ready."

  "Yes, sir!"

  To be fair, I was a bit relieved.

  Sure, four gold was a massive amount of money, but I just made seven twenty minutes ago, and I already had more than one gold on me even before that. Right now I still had 4 gold and 10 silver coins left.

  I didn’t want to venture out into the wilderness for these 2 hours, so I made my way to the village tavern.

  As it was still early in the morning, not many people were inside. A bard was playing a tranquil, ambient tune while the few patrons were drinking and eating, likely taking a break from the festival’s loud celebrations.

  I sat down at one of the tables and ordered a root beer and a honey cake from one of the barmaids. I got my order in no time.

  As I was sitting there, listening to the soothing music, enjoying my drink and the sweet taste of the cake, I felt surrounded by an unusual calmness.

  Ever since I started playing Godsrealm I was focusing on getting richer, stronger and more insightful about this world. Even when I was out there enjoying the festival, I was still trying to stir the waters for my own benefit.

  Now however, all I did was enjoy some quality me-time. I haven’t done this in a long time. In fact, I don’t think I ever had the time to do this. At least not since my parents died.

  I quickly dismissed these thoughts. I tried focusing on something else, and I realized that I was subconciously listening to the two men talking about something strange at the table next to me.

  One was a grizzled old man with a weathered face and a thick beard; the other, a younger farmer with dirt-streaked hands.

  They leaned close as they spoke, their words laced with unease.

  "You saw it?" the older man asked, his tone cautious.

  The younger man leaned in, his eyes darting toward the barkeep to make sure no one was listening. "I swear on me mother’s grave. It wasn’t natural."

  "What exactly did you see?"

  The younger man hesitated, lowering his voice even further. I had to strain to catch the words.

  "It was in the woods, past the northern ridge. A shadow, big as a barn, moving through the trees. But it didn’t make a sound, not even a twig snapping."

  The older man’s brow furrowed. "Could’ve been a bear."

  "Bears don’t glow," the younger man said sharply, his voice trembling. "There was this faint, bluish light, like it was coming from inside it. And the air felt... warm. Like summer suddenly came alive all around me."

  I sipped my beer, pretending not to listen, though my mind raced. A glowing creature in the woods? That didn’t sound like anything I’d encountered yet, but it definitely sounded worth investigating.

  "What did you do?" the older man asked, his voice hushed.

  "I ran," The younger man admitted, his knuckles turned white as he gripped his tankard. "Didn’t stop until I hit the village."

  "Smart," the older man said with a grunt. "Whatever it was, it’s not our problem. Let the adventurers handle it."

  "That’s the thing," The younger man said, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "When I reported it to the Association, they acted as if I was crazy."

  "Maybe you are crazy?" the older man coughed.

  "You know, even I started to believe that," the young farmer admitted. "But then I noticed the other officials glancing around, whispering nervously behind my back. I think they know something, they just don’t want to cause panic."

  "Whatever it is about, I’m not going near the northern forest," The elder said. "And neither should you."

  "Don’t worry, I’m not stepping in those damned woods once again. Not even if they force me."

  I took some mental notes regarding their discussion.

  If there was something in the woods that only came out at night, something that even the Adventurer's Association was wary of, it should definitely be a topic of interest for players.

  I wasn't sure if there was anyone else aware of this as of now, or wheter it was even more than just a rumor, but one thing I knew for sure: this night, I will pay a visit to the Northern Ridge.

  Of course that meant that I likely had to play more than twelve hours this session, so my cooldown period would be longer too. However, if I found something special tonight, it would all be worth it.

  When I finished my drink I still had about an hour left until my items were completed.

  I could have went and honed my crafting skills in the mean time, but ever since I found out about the crafter group's existence I felt like making more money to pay them was just straight up a better time investment than spending hours at the various crafting stations.