It was quite easy to tell an NPC from a Player when he came across one. For one, Players had their names displayed above their heads; NPCs didn’t.
Though others couldn’t, thanks to Gabriel’s Sapphire Eye of the Deep, he had another giveaway—he could also see their levels and health points.
The treasure wasn’t absurd to the point of showing classes and skills, but this alone was more than enough.
But right now...
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed into slits when he looked at the strange faces. Neither could he see names displayed above their heads, nor could he see their level or health points.
’They’re not inhabitants of this world... or Players either.’ His mind became a chaotic mess. There was only one reasonable explanation.
These people were not subconscious projections of Players magically transferred into this world. They had come here with their real bodies!
Towards the later part of the game, Players had realized this, and it caused quite the uproar.
But all that happened during the period before the Convergence. Hence the reason Gabriel was shocked—how were they already appearing in the game when it wasn’t even two months yet?
Did his actions hasten the events? This was the only thought that came to his mind.
Naturally, Gabriel knew how these people were transferred into the game... it was with the help of the developer—or at least the one who claimed to be.
All he knew about this so-called developer was that he had discovered this world and somehow created the technology that allowed subconscious transfer.
He was also the one who started bringing in "special" humans or other entities into the game. These entities were referred to as Deleters.
And what was their job? Getting rid of extremely dangerous bugs affecting the game.
Yes... just as you thought. Because the developers didn’t fully control this world, they couldn’t just snap their fingers and remove NPCs or trigger events at will to make the world exciting.
All this had to be done manually—with the help of these special humans.
And now, as they approached him, as if they had been waiting for him all this while, it was easy for Gabriel to put two and two together and realize why they were here.
However, despite knowing all this, Gabriel maintained a calm expression as if he was clueless.
"Good day, sir." The first one, a tall individual with green hair cascading down his temples and a pair of snake-like green eyes, spoke politely.
"How can I help you?" Gabriel replied coldly, sweeping his gaze over them. They were three in number, and each gave off a dangerous aura.
Two were male and one female—the green-haired pretty boy, a short bald man with a stoic face, and a busty woman with plump cheeks and Japanese features. Her expression was that of someone who didn’t want to be here.
"My name is Andrew," the green-haired one introduced himself, flashing pearly white teeth. He gestured to the girl. "Her name is Yumi, and the bald one is Garth."
"That’s good to know." Gabriel simply replied, not even bothering to tell them his name.
He could already tell these people knew exactly who he was and were simply playing along.
"Actually, we’re looking for a last member to join our party for a mission... would you like to join us?" Andrew asked.
This was a classic method. It seemed these special humans didn’t want to get rid of him in front of everyone, so they decided to go with pretense.
Gabriel didn’t give it much thought. He walked straight past them through the middle. "I can’t. Find someone else."
"Hey, wait—you’ll be paid handsomely!" Andrew called out.
Gabriel didn’t spare him a glance. He simply vanished through the double doors of the Adventurer Guild, leaving the three standing there.
"I don’t like his guts," Yumi complained, glaring at the door Gabriel had entered.
"Lucky for him. If the boss didn’t ask us to be secretive, we could’ve gotten rid of him right here," Garth growled, smashing his fists together.
Andrew didn’t comment. He placed both hands in his pockets and looked at the Adventurer Guild building. "There’s something off about him."
"Tsk. He’s just like any normal inhabitant of this world. With our special weapon, not even his insane strength and magic will save him."
"What now?" Yumi asked, turning to Andrew.
"Let’s lay low and return to base," Andrew suggested. "That look in his eyes... I doubt he’ll be easy to get rid of. We can take our sweet time. Besides, we’re not in a rush."
...
When Gabriel ascended to the second floor of the Adventurer Guild building, he stood before the glass windows and glanced down. He saw the three special humans entering a truck and heading toward the outskirts of the city.
While he was watching them, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he found Scarlet standing there.
"I was just about to come look for you," he said.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.
"The mission has been completed," Gabriel replied, turning his attention back to the city. "However, I have a request to make."
"You want to claim the territory for yourself?" Scarlet asked.
"Yes. I don’t need any reward for completing the mission... owning the territory alone is enough." He nodded.
"As you’ve probably figured out, the camp isn’t that important to the Adventurer Guild. However, we’d willingly hand it over to you—under one condition."
"What condition?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. He was expecting to hear something grand, maybe a demand for crystals or money. But what came out of the vice leader’s mouth next shocked him.
"I want your group to form an alliance with the Adventurer Guild. Promise to come to our aid in times of trouble, and we’ll do the same for you." She turned to him, her pale blue eyes locking with Gabriel’s electric pair in an intense stare.
"What do you say?"
***
Don’t forgot to vote for Extraction Talent!!!!!!