Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Two days of rough travel brought (Player Name) to a waystation outside Pine City.
This waystation wasn’t even on the direct route to Pine City. It required a significant detour, passing over a large river and a steep cliff.
Initially, (Player Name) couldn’t understand why Platyr had traveled so far. Upon arrival and meeting the waystation owner, (Player Name) immediately understood.
The owner was a burly man with a Mediterranean build, clad in heavy armor. A scar ran from his jaw to his collarbone, making it hard to imagine how he survived such a grievous wound.
At this moment, Platyr was conferring with the Mediterranean man. (Player Name) and Claudia were leaning against the carriage, engaging in playful banter while secretly paying close attention to Platyr and the waystation owner’s conversation.
“Mr. Dornas, is the lord in good health recently?” Platyr asked, exhaling smoke from his cigar into the crisp morning air.
“The lord is doing well,” replied the waystation owner, Dornas, his voice deep and rough, as if his vocal cords were damaged. “However, Pine City has undergone many changes recently.”
“Oh?” Platyr’s gaze grew serious. Their kind of “merchants,” whose affairs were far from legitimate, despised unexpected changes. “Please tell me in detail what changes have occurred in Pine City.”
“A group of strange adventurers has arrived in Pine City,” Dornas said, stubbing out his cigar and pausing. He turned his expressionless face towards (Player Name), his lips twitching slightly.
Platyr nodded subtly at Dornas, signaling that (Player Name) was trustworthy. Reassured by Platyr’s endorsement, Dornas continued to share information.
“These adventurers have very flashy equipment and weapons, all in varied forms. They like to inscribe their armor with ornate patterns that serve no real purpose. Some have even added magic lamps to their longswords and shields. When we asked them about it, they actually said it was to make their weapons look shinier…”
Platyr: “???”
(Player Name): “…”
“Adventurers like that actually exist?” Platyr’s expression became even more grave. He stroked his chin, his tone grim. “If what you say is true, they are indeed very suspicious. Is there anything else?”
“Hmm…” Dornas paused for a moment. “Also, these adventurers are very inquisitive. My men told me something utterly absurd: they said one adventurer spent an entire afternoon questioning an old woman in her eighties in the south of the city. That old woman, who is a bit eccentric, actually assigned them a bunch of missions. Initially, the old woman had nothing, just a dilapidated house. Now, two days later, she not only lives in the best affluent district in the north of the city but has also adopted a group of professionals as godchildren.”
Platyr was speechless. He wanted to categorize these adventurers as a threat, but he felt it would be an insult to his intelligence to so easily label such brainless oddballs.
(Player Name), however, felt completely differently from Platyr. His heart was a jumble of emotions.
It had been a long time since he had encountered other players. When Dornas first described them, he hadn’t immediately thought of players. But as Dornas continued to speak about these “adventurers” being very eager to ask about missions, he became completely certain. These peculiar adventurers were the players from Winter City.
He was about to see his old friends again. (Player Name) couldn’t help but feel excited. His near-death experiences in the Eye of the Demon and the Whirlwind Dunes had left him with a profound sense of loneliness. Despite Claudia’s company, he was, fundamentally, a player. Being separated for so long from those players who had exaggerated behaviors, silly names, and always used “WTF” in their speech… he had gradually begun to feel detached from his own reality, as if he were an NPC in the game. Yet, he knew clearly that he was not. This sense of dissociation and incongruity often kept him awake at night. Fortunately, all of that was about to end.
“I find it very difficult to comprehend everything you’ve said,” Platyr sighed with a troubled expression. But standing before him was Dornas, the leader of the intelligence organization under the lord. If it weren’t Dornas, he would have already drawn his sword. His missions had been coordinated with the waystation owner countless times. And this seemingly ordinary bald man was actually a powerful Templar Knight. Therefore, everything happening in Pine City was the truth, no matter how preposterous it seemed.
“Prepare yourself well. The situation in Pine City is not optimistic. Those adventurers might be targeting the lord, so you must be careful too,” Dornas said, patting Platyr’s shoulder before turning back into his tent. His job was to coordinate intelligence; he didn’t concern himself with other matters, which was the best way to prevent his intelligence network from encountering problems. In fact, trusting the “Super Sweet Fruits” Mercenary Group today was already an exception. This was mainly because the events in Pine City were not a secret. A little inquiry would reveal the general situation. Those adventurers were too conspicuous. Every tavern and every table in Pine City was abuzz with talk about them.
Fifteen minutes later, Platyr led the merchant caravan to depart once more, their destination Pine City. No matter what had happened there, he had to complete the lord’s mission. However, he had removed all the luxurious decorations from the carriage. The team members accompanying the caravan were ordered to wear tattered leather armor. The magnificent warhorses were replaced with old, worn-out nags at the waystation, and even the carriage wheels were swapped for old ones, creaking noisily on the gravel road. The caravan’s flag was also changed – from the imposing and majestic Black Truffle Merchant Caravan to a nameless wandering merchant group. As for Platyr himself, he wasn’t enjoying the comfort of the carriage. He rode a nag, his figure concealed by his hood. His face had been meticulously altered by Dornas, ensuring even his parents wouldn’t recognize him.
Yet, (Player Name) couldn’t help but chuckle. Honestly, even with the naked eye, he couldn’t tell that Platyr had been disguised as a refined and gentle middle-aged胖子 (fatty). But for the players, Platyr’s name would never change.
