As Han Xiao was wondering if he could perform transactions with players, he began to laugh shadily.

“Hey kid, not bad. I only sell my goods to people I like, and I like you.”

Frenzied Sword’s jaw dropped.

‘My favorability dropped, but he still says that he likes me‽’

_____________

Do you want to open up a shop to Frenzied Sword?

Y/N

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‘Confirm.’

A shop window immediately popped up. The window was divided into two sections. The left section was titled ‘Item Shop’, and there was a system hint saying that it was possible for Han Xiao to put up items on display even if they were not currently on his person. The right section was titled ‘Skill Shop’, where Han Xiao could put his own skills up for sale. Han Xiao fiddled around with the settings.

_____________

Please set a price. You may select money, experience, or items.

You may also set buying requirements such as favorability, level, skills, class, etc.

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So far, Han Xiao had been dealing in Aquamarine’s international currency—the Aquamarine Dollar. The ‘Inar’ was the standard universal currency. Han Xiao discovered to his surprise that the shop function allowed him to set the item price in any currency that he had ever come into contact with.

An idea suddenly came to Han Xiao. ‘I can set favorability requirements to manipulate—I mean—attract players to keep coming back for quests!’

Han Xiao was reminded of how he had spent long hours grinding out high difficulty quests just to achieve exalted status with the Alliance of Light—all for the sake of a battleship.

Now, however, the tables had turned.

‘This interface is the best!’

A shop interface popped up in front of Frenzied Sword. As he scanned through the items, his eyes began to widen in disbelief.

“Godly equips!” he blurted.

“[Retractable Knife], [Incendiary Bullets], [73-Wasp], [Jackson Assault Rifle], [Bayonet Rifle]…”

Frenzied Sword was shaking uncontrollably. To him, all of these were ‘godly equips’ that would allow him to surpass any other player!

However, his expression changed when he looked at their price tags. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him.

Even the cheapest of them, the [Incendiary Bullets], cost a hundred dollars each, while the [Lightweight Mecha Arm] required 10 favorability!

‘This is daylight robbery! And how am I supposed to gain favorability with this NPC when completing his quests reduces it instead‽

‘No wonder this NPC’s danger level is so high. It’s definitely still too early to interact with him.’

But Frenzied Sword only knew true pain when he took a look at the Skill Shop.

[Basic Combat], [Basic Shooting], [Submission]… the sight of these skills caused Frenzied Sword to start drooling… until he saw their prices.

There was also a [Mechanic Class Change Tome], and an array of Mechanic skills, but none of them were as eye-catching as the [Energy Training Technique]!

“Godly skill!”

Han Xiao shook his head upon seeing Frenzied Sword’s reaction.

“You aren’t a Technician, so you are unable to learn it.”

By now, Han Xiao had already been solidified as a Secret NPC in Frenzied Sword’s mind.

‘If I can make him my teacher, I will definitely become rank 1 in no time!

‘But… I really wanted to be a Pugilist…’

That much was obvious from his in-game name.

‘Damn it! This had better be worth it!’

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Are you sure you want to become a Mechanic?

Y/N

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“Yes!”

…

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[Basic Weaponry] learnt. You have gained 500 exp, $100.

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Buying a skill was like paying for lessons, and Han Xiao’s skill level would remain unchanged.

Of course, the skills that Han Xiao had chosen to put on display were the more common and easily obtainable ones—not that any player would know at this point.

…

Frenzied Sword’s reaction to [Energy Training Technique] confirmed this. He obviously did not know that the skill was automatically given to all characters after the first advancement at Lv. 20.

It wasn’t that Han Xiao was trying to scam him, though. On the contrary, he had purposely set its cost at a whopping 10,000 exp and $3,000 just to make the shop look ‘nicer’. He had also placed a requirement of 10 favorability on it.

“Oh right!” Han Xiao quickly reverted Frenzied Sword’s favorability back to 0, which caused him to immediately have the wrong idea.

‘I must buy more things from him in order to increase favorability!’

Suddenly, the NPC began to walk away.

“Where can I find you‽” yelled a flustered Frenzied Sword after him.

Han Xiao thought for a moment before handing him a piece of paper with the workshop’s address on it.

As Frenzied Sword watched him leave, he began to grow excited.

‘This is my chance!

‘With those skills and equips, I will definitely be able to climb to the top!’

Suddenly, his expression froze.

‘I cannot let anyone find this Secret NPC!’

…

To a city as big as the Western Capital, a few beta testers were truly insignificant. For now, Han Xiao did not have any interest in them. The only reason he had come into contact with one was to test the NPC functions, and they certainly did not disappoint. Han Xiao was already thinking up ways to use them for scamming players.

‘Frenzied Sword…’

As Han Xiao thought back to the player from before, scenes from another lifetime began to play out in his mind.

In his previous life, Frenzied Sword had been part of the first batch of professional ‘Galaxy’ players. As a Pugilist, he had taken the first competitive season by storm and won one of twenty-four spots to represent China internationally. This honor alone had cemented his status as a legend.

Unfortunately, this future Pugilist legend was now a Mechanic.

Han Xiao did not know exactly how Frenzied Sword’s fortunes would play out in this timeline, but he did know one thing for sure: there would be no Frenzied Sword representing China in the near future.

The only reason Han Xiao dared to choose the Mechanic class was that he knew it would eventually become the strongest class. However, this was something that no other player could know. In fact, the class seemed so bad from the start that in Han Xiao’s past life, numerous gamers, including pros, who chose the Mechanic class would give up their characters and restart in another class.

‘I feel like I scammed him big time or something…’

Han Xiao shook his head.

‘Scam? Nah. He made the decision himself. On the contrary, if he can endure a few patches then he’ll have me to thank… yeah…’