RagingTiger felt a little dizzy.
Did he… did he really just add Blackshade as a friend?!
He checked his friends list multiple times, and after confirming that the ID was indeed there, he immediately sent a message to his guild leader:
"Drake, I did it! I added the boss as a friend!"
Drake suddenly felt a pang of jealousy.
He was the one who met Blackshade first.
But still, having his vice leader establish a connection with Blackshade was good news.
Before this, he was the only one in contact with Blackshade, which always felt risky.
What if one day Blackshade got annoyed with him and just blocked him? That would be a disaster.
With that in mind, Drake replied:
"Good. Make sure you treasure this connection. Whatever you do, don't piss him off. Otherwise, I will be pissed. You got that?"
RagingTiger confidently responded:
"Relax, I won't do anything to make him annoyed!"
Having sworn his loyalty, RagingTiger turned to Tristan and said, "If you ever need anything, just say the word. I'll be there."
Tristan nodded. "If anything comes up, your guild leader will handle it. I'm heading out."
With that, he stepped back into the teleportation circle.
"You possess the [Village Protector] title. You may teleport between newbie villages for free. Destination: Newbie Village #9527. Confirm teleportation?"
Tristan was slightly surprised.
He hadn't expected this title to come with such a hidden perk.
Too bad it didn't waive the teleportation fee between the main city and newbie villages.
Still, it saved a lot of money.
With current gold prices, 50 Silver Coins wasn't a small amount.
Tristan was rich enough to afford consecutive teleports, but for regular players, using the free teleportation to the main city was already pushing their budget.
"Teleport!"
As soon as Tristan arrived in Newbie Village #9527, the village chief Giruva came running over.
From a distance, he shouted excitedly, "Hero! You've returned!"
The players nearby, who had been handing in their quests, were stunned.
The village chief… just disappeared?!
One of them nearly dropped his jaw to the ground.
He had just spent hours cleaning out the village's toilets, and now this old man was running off?
Was he trying to avoid paying him?!
Unacceptable!
The player immediately chased after him—only to see a new figure appearing at the teleportation circle.
A player?
That was odd.
The newbie village teleportation circle could only be used by players Level 10 and above…
Then he took a closer look and suddenly shouted:
"Holy shit, it's Blackshade!"
Nearby players immediately perked up.
"No way, isn't Blackshade in the main city? Why would he be here?"
"Dude, check the ID carefully. There are a ton of imposters lately."
"Ugh, don't remind me. I just got scammed by a guy named [Blackshadé]. He took 10 Copper Coins from me! Unbelievable!"
"…How did you even get scammed for 10 Copper Coins?"
"He said he was founding a guild and needed startup funds. If I donated, he'd make me a vice leader."
"…"
"…You kinda deserved that one."
As word spread, more players gathered to see if this was really the Blackshade.
Fortunately, confirming his identity was easy.
At this stage of the game, anyone wearing a full set of actual gear had to be Blackshade.
Everyone else was still stuck in their starter rags.
Soon, Drake and his team arrived, practically sprinting.
Drake bowed apologetically. "Sorry to make you come all the way back."
Tristan waved it off. "It's fine, I had time."
Since he could teleport between newbie villages for free, it was no trouble at all.
Besides, Drake was a valuable business partner—it was only right to show some goodwill.
After some brief small talk, Tristan got straight to business.
"These are the items I'm selling. I won't overcharge you—500 per piece, 80 pieces total."
In truth, Level 10 common gear could sell for even more.
The game's drop rates were insanely low, after all.
But Tristan didn't really care.
These items were basically freebies. Selling them for 40,000 was more than enough.
The real money came from higher-grade equipment.
Drake's eyes were practically brimming with tears.
The boss really looks out for me.
He knew very well that these Level 10 items, though only common-tier, were far from useless.
On the contrary, they were extremely valuable.
Once players hit Level 10, enemy stats spiked drastically. Just one extra piece of gear could greatly improve grinding speed, making these items far more valuable than their base price suggested.
With these 80 pieces, Drake could outfit four or five elite squads, who would then farm even more gear for the rest of the guild.
It was a snowball effect—IFA was about to power up fast.
The surrounding players overheard the deal and were completely dumbfounded.
80 pieces of gear?!
Was Blackshade hacking or something?
They had been grinding rabbits for hours, their starter daggers already dull, and all they had to show for it was… rabbit fur.
Meanwhile, the boss casually dumped 80 pieces of real equipment?
Absurd.
Also—just what kind of bag was he using?!
And yet, the real shock was still coming.
Tristan pulled out the Rabbit Fang Dagger and Bloodletting Blade.
"You've seen their stats. How much are you offering?"
Drake and his team had already discussed this earlier.
After some quick calculations, he cautiously proposed:
"The Rabbit Fang Dagger is Black Iron Grade, so… how about 20 Gold Coins?"
"The Bloodletting Blade is Silver Grade, but since it requires Level 10, would 200 Gold Coins be fair?"
At current market prices, 200 Gold Coins translated to roughly 1 million dollars—an incredibly high price.
But the Bloodletting Blade was worth it.
A Level 10 assassin equipped with this weapon would experience a massive power spike, making both grinding and class advancement quests far easier.
And class advancement was the real game-changer.
If it helped a player clear a higher-difficulty class quest, the returns would be far beyond just 1 million dollars.
Fortunately, this price matched Tristan's expectations perfectly.
Business is business.
He didn't need Drake to overpay just to please him.
So long as the price was reasonable, the deal was set.
No need to make it feel like a favor.
After a brief moment of thought, Tristan nodded. "Sounds good."
He wasn't the type to drag things out.
With a few quick taps, the transaction was complete.
220 Gold Coins received.
The additional 40,000 was directly transferred to his virtual wallet.
With the trade done, Tristan didn't leave immediately.
Instead, he gave Drake a puzzled look.
"…You're only Level 4?"
"…"
Drake was speechless.
Did you even look around? Most players here are Level 1 or 2! Level 4 is already high!
But then he saw Tristan's level—11.
Drake fell silent.
Yeah… fair point.
With a bitter smile, he explained, "It's not that I don't want to level up faster… it's just impossible. The gear you gave me is for Level 5 and up—I can't even equip it yet. Grinding takes forever."
Tristan thought about it.
That made sense.
Considering he needed Drake's cooperation for future plans, he decided to help out.
Of course, not for free.
"I'll power-level you for an hour. However much you gain depends on your luck."
"One hour, 500,000 dollars. Fair deal, right?"