Alex arrives at the exchange stall, irritated by the crowd hovering around him, blatantly spying on his every move. One guy even stands right beside him, watching with a smug smile. “Let’s see what our powerful player has got for sale!” he says loudly, his tone smug.

    Not only is Alex annoyed, but he feels a sense of threat. He wants to keep his gains to himself. If he’s exposed as having wealth, some of these desperate players might even try to ambush him to afford a ticket. “Time for my favorite intimidation tactic,” he thinks, and with a quick move, he pulls out his trusty [Sword of Pluto], activating “Fire Sword” and triggering the effect of his cloak.

    In an instant, Alex darts around the player twice, disorienting him, then holds his still fire-infused sword inches from the man’s throat.

    “Talk to me like that again, and you’re dead. I might not be able to lay a hand on you in here,” he says loudly, glancing at the curious villagers watching their exchange with grins on their faces, “but the moment you step outside this village, consider yourself a corpse… NOW SCRAM.” He draws strength from [Commander Shepard’s Dog Tag], and the previously smug player screams in horror, bolting away in shock.

    The other players quickly back off, putting more than a dozen steps between themselves and Alex, now watching from a much safer distance.

    Suddenly, a young woman with a righteous look and small stature steps forward, looking a bit younger than him. “That’s not right! We’re supposed to band together to survive, not threaten each other! Stop this madness!”

    Alex, not in the mood to argue, turns away and heads toward the merchant in charge of exchanging treasures for tokens.

    “HEY! I’M TALKING TO YOU!” she yells, her voice growing angrier. Sёar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He glances back at her with an icy stare, his voice cold and sharp. “I don’t talk to dead people. Stay in this village and preach to whoever’s desperate enough to listen, while I secure my ticket to the exam and ensure my survival.”

    The woman falls silent, her righteous expression fading as a shiver runs through her.

    Finally, Alex approaches the merchant. It’s a typical horned snake-beast demon, but this one looks older; Alex notices wrinkles, and it has a smaller, more petite build compared to the other villagers.

    “Hello, Beautiful Madam,” he says with a slight bow, his voice smooth. “Apologies for the rude display earlier. I’m here to exchange a few treasures I happened upon in the forest. Would you do me the honor of naming the price for my spoils?”

    “Heeeee Heeeee Heeee. Oh my, I can’t decide if I ssshould feel hungry after ssstumbling upon such a delightful little man like you… or just charmed by your lovely mannersss. I am impresssssed regardlesssss, little tasssty human,” she says with a clear, loud, and almost warm voice. Her expression doesn’t show hostility—there’s something else there instead. Alex smirks, thinking of Tereza’s constant teasing.

    “Don’t tease me, please, madam! I blush way too easily if a beautiful woman does that to me!” he replies with a playful grin.

    “Heeee Heeee Heee, I’ve made up my mind. If you fail to get your token, I’ll buy you myssself. You’d be better usssssed as a pet than as food,” the demon says with a greedy but charmed expression.

    “Well, that doesn’t sound bad, madam, but I’ve got a few goals in life and some people waiting on me. Can I show you what I’ve got to sell?”

    “Jusssst dump it all here, and I’ll identify, rate, and value it for you, boy,” she says, pointing to a large, empty counter, which looks spotless, as if it hasn’t been used yet today.

    Alex then begins unloading his entire haul: all 36 [Sinerva Bird Corpses (partly damaged)], the two [Sinerva Bear Arms], the two [Sinerva Bear Legs], the [Sinerva Bear Head], the [Sinerva Bear Torso], his [Bloating Square Mushroom (damaged)], plus the three intact [Bloating Square Mushrooms] and the six [Small Bloating Square Mushrooms].

    As he empties his inventory, the look on the old snake demon’s face shifts.

    “Human… you are powerful,” she hisses, her tone filled with awe. “ come help your mother with thissss—it’s too much work for an old lady like mysssself!”

    A few seconds later, several larger and younger villagers arrive, eyeing Alex with a mixture of curiosity and respect. A handful of other villagers, including the navigator himself, gather at a distance to watch the transaction unfold.

    After some murmured discussion with her sons, the old lady finally turns to Alex with a calculating look and names her prices.

    “No bargaining: all six bear partsss, 30 tokensss. More than half of the birdsss are badly damaged; half are barely acceptable… hmm, and that one’s worthless.” She gestures at a particularly charred bird. “Half a token for that one, one for the others…” she continues. “Let’s make it 24 tokenssss for the birds in total. The six ssssmaller mussshroomsss: 6 tokensss each, so that’s 36. Ten for each of the larger ones, making 30. I don’t have much ussse for the damaged one. I’ll give you a ssssingle token for it, or you can keep it—it should sssstay fresh at least two weekssss, maybe longer inssside your inventory. What do you sssay, human?”

    Alex is pleasantly surprised. The deal seems more than fair, and to his surprise, he’s already met his token goal! He bows and retrieves the damaged mushroom, stowing it back in his inventory. “That sounds fair, madam! And while I’m here, may I take a look at your inventory to see what else you have for sale?”

    “Sssssure, young warrior!” she replies, her attitude shifted now, her eyes holding a slightly wary respect after assessing Alex’s haul. “But firssst, here issss your payment!”

    [Warning: Once players permanently leaves the village or the time reaches January 4th 10AM all remaining Tribaio Village Tokens will vanish]

    Alex hears the system''s message and nods, not protesting since these details seem reasonable.

    The first thing he spots is the Ticket he needs, priced at exactly 100 Tokens. Without hesitation, Alex buys it immediately to avoid any temptation that might lead to his death by greed.

    [Navigator’s Ticket]

    Side Quest updated:

    Mission: Gather in the village center with your Ticket at exactly 10 AM on January 4th

    Reward: Safe passage to the Hunter Exam site

    Time Limit: January 4th, 10 AM

    Failure: No navigation towards the hunter exam site.

    “Heeee Heeee, ssssmart decisssion, human! Greed isss a ssslow and inssssidious killer,” the old saleswoman says with a smirk.

    “Where have I heard that before?” Alex mutters, chuckling. “Are we not in the Sinerva Forest but in the Darkest Dungeon instead? Though I remember it was about overconfidence, not greed. Either way, I’d better steer clear of both!”

    He continues browsing her wares, noting an array of impressive green-quality weapons: a bow, a spear, and also several other items.

    [Tribaio Hunting Bow]

    [Tribaio Hunting Spear]

    “Damn, these weapons are massive!” Alex thinks. “Their stats are strong for Green items, bordering on Light Blue territory, but the wielding requirements are just as high. They’d also slow me down with their size and weight.”

    He browses through a few other items, mostly gray-quality food that barely recovers any HP, as well as white-quality armor priced at 20 to 30 tokens each. Finally, he spots two items that immediately catch his attention.

    [Skillbook: Poison Resistance]

    [Poison Resistance]

    [Tribaio Sacred Poison]

    "I see… so the idea is to buy the skill first, then as a reward, you can attempt to ingest and survive the [Tribaio Sacred Poison],” Alex thinks, eyeing the items with a mix of curiosity and caution.

    Alex analyzes the peculiar skill before him. “Poison resistance is useful, sure, but to waste an entire skill slot on it? No way. It’s just not worth it. The only remotely interesting part is that reaching level 10 basically grants immunity to all poisons. That could be valuable for some people, but… four additional stat points aren’t worth sacrificing a slot on a skill like this.”

    He contemplates a strategy. “The smart move would be to learn the skill, use it to survive the poison, then unlearn it once I’m back in the Fantasy Realm. I think unlearning a skill costs 5000 FC, that would definitely be worth it! I see the optimal way to use these items, but…” he sighs, “I don’t have a free skill slot!”

    Alex feels frustrated, realizing the Realm seems to be pushing players toward keeping an empty skill slot for scenarios like this. “So either you cripple yourself by taking on life-threatening missions without the skills you need, or you fill up with skills and miss out on rewards. Both choices come with major drawbacks.”

    He glances back at the prices. “Anyway, that skillbook costs a hefty 200 tokens, and the poison itself is 300. Not like I can afford either one right now! Still, I might aim for the skillbook eventually. I could buy it and sell it back in the Fantasy Realm. Not sure if anyone would be interested, but it’s worth a shot. Or maybe the weapons would be easier to resell…” He shrugs. “For now, the only thing I know is: I’m done for today.”

    “Well, thank you so much for showing me your wares,” Alex says, bowing again to the saleswoman. “I’ll do my best to earn more tokens and be back soon to pick up a few more things.”

    Leaving the small stall set up for players, Alex checks his inventory and notices his MP is almost fully recovered. Naturally, he plans to use the evening and night to stock back up on Annihilation Grenades lvl 3, a full 13, with a duration that will last the entire day. He also notes that he still has plenty of item slots open, using only 22 out of an estimated 39, since special items don’t consume slots. “At least that’s not going to be a problem this time,” he says with relief.

    Choosing a safe spot near the village guards stationed by the main hall, where the navigator and village elders live—Alex settles in. He trusts these system-controlled guardians far more than the desperate players, who seem to be edging closer to guaranteed death and might try something reckless to steal his items and afford the ticket.

    With a sigh, he pitches his small tent, climbs inside, and begins conjuring grenades. His feet and body ache with exhaustion, but the prospect of being well-armed tomorrow keeps him focused as he prepares for another day of survival.