303 It's Business Time

[BONUS]

Eventually, Ren and the others broke away from the armies after the meeting was adjourned. From all oddity, Sebastian came with them.

It must be because of Evie's quest with Meriyaah that the centaur was sticking to them like glue. Maybe he was comfortable within a group that they have common acquantance rather than stayed in the army without knowing a single soul.

That was even better news to Ren, for it guaranteed that Sebastian would prioritize healing them over the others.

"Isn't it safer in the armies?" Ragnar asked Ren when they broke out of the circle of shields and spears. Almost all the players were staring at them.

Ren and the others found themselves as the focus of baleful intent in a form of fixated, unsettling stares with homicidal designs that sought their end.

"Ren," called Dimitri of Fate Alliance Guild. He approached Ren with a handful of players, enough to intimidate them with numbers.

"Mind telling your schoolmates what you've discussed in there?" asked Dimitri to Ren with an amiable tone.

Other guilds approached them as well, but Ren paid them no mind. It was time to make business.

Instead of answering, Ren approached Isolde and gave her five [Amulet of Ooze].

"What's this?" Isolde asked in confusion.

"That . . . is the [Amulet of Ooze]," Ren declared with a voice loud enough for others to hear. "It gives its user physical advantage over any Ooze. When equipped with that, melee attackers will also be able to hit Jibby without being engulfed."

Everyone gasped and rumbling noises percolated in the area. Some believed what Ren said and wanted to get one for themselves, while most were skeptical about the whole thing.

Isolde didn't even look at the amulet's description to confirm Ren's words. She trusted him that much. But her cousin was different. Xian snatched the amulets from her hands and inspected them.

"It's true . . . ," he muttered after a short pause. He berated Isolde nonstop earlier for taking Ren's side, and now, this. This . . . was a game changer, and everyone knew that whoever wore one had an increased chance of slaying the World Boss.

With Amulets in his hands, Xian temporarily forgot about his grievances with Isolde. His mind was filled with rewards from killing the World Boss.

While everyone was busy, Ren gave Silvia, Tor, Roxy, and the other guilds who supported them earlier five amulets each.

"Too bad that I only have fifty with me," he said, face looking as fresh as the first sign of spring. "So after giving most of them to the guilds who have supported us, we only have ten left. Don't even think of stealing them. They're already stored in our bank."

"You're lying! That fake item couldn't possibly protect you from the Ooze," the others shouted.

"If you saw that soldier before who sliced Jibblinplip, he was wearing the amulet," Ren said as calm as ever. "It's the prize of getting inside that circle and talking with the Kingdoms' Generals. You get access to their life-saving item."

Though not all players saw what transpired with that soldier who wore the amulet, there were still some who saw it. They even thought that their eyes were playing tricks on them. Now that Ren has mentioned it, everything became clear why he was able to cut the ooze without being engulfed.

"If you don't believe me, then suit yourself." Ren shrugged. "You can ask Sebastian here since he's the NPC who brought the amulet."

All eyes were transferred to the centaur, who had a no-nonsense face. The battle scars scattered across his skin flung some eyes away out of intimidation.

"It's true. The Amulet of Ooze lets its wearer attack Jibblinplip without being consumed by it," Sebastian affirmed.

When Ren said it, others thought that it sounded like a scam. But it was different when an NPC proclaimed it. All doubts about the amulet were erased from their minds, and everyone clamored toward the armies to ask for the life saving item.

It didn't take a minute for them to return empty-handed, however, and resort to stalking Ren with their vulture-like eyes.

"Let's cut to the chase," Scar said. "How much do you want for those ten amulets?"

A grin flashed across Ren's face. Seeing this, both Evie and Ragnar shook their heads because they knew what would come next.

"Not much," Ren shrugged. "A million each," he declared.

"Scammer!" roared the players, while others cursed World Conqueror out in the open. Because of this event, Ren's group would soon be widely known as money-hungry mongrels. Not that they minded it. They even shared a laugh.

"Make some more noise, will you? I'm sure Jibblinplip would love it," said Ren.

Silence immediately descended as everyone took a look at the Continental Ooze who was busy avoiding the barricade of fire and ice, dancing left and right to consume the leftover food. It had definitely slowed down.

"That's overpriced," Erica of White Unicorn argued. "Those are just one-time use necklaces that won't even add anything to your ATP."

"It's not just a necklace," claimed Ren. "It gives you a higher chance to kill the boss."

Cang Lu of Sleeping Dragon sneered. "That's still too expensive. You're only selling a small amount of chance. I think we'll be okay with our mages."

Sleeping Dragon backed out and numerous guilds who were confident with their line-up followed. They were doing perfectly fine before, so they thought that they didn't need that necklace for something like kiting the World Boss. A long-range attacker would do the job.

However, those who knew the importance of the necklace stayed behind with gritted teeth. If they could mobilize both their Magic users and DPS, their chances of killing the boss would immediately soar to fifty percent.

"Two million for all of those amulets," bargained Dmitri. "Surely you can give your fellow schoolmates some discounts right?"

Instead of answering, Ren said with an even voice, "The rewards for defeating a World Boss is probably — not counting the Platinum and Golden Chests — at least five Crystal Chests. And there will probably be another Bonus Chest for getting the first blood of the first-ever World Boss.

"One book costs ten million in the Black Market. A fair price if you ask me. ( . . . continuation are in NOTES)