Gideon watched the alpha bear thrash about as Rick’s flames consumed not only the monster but also the surrounding bushes.
The smell of burnt flesh and resinous wood filled the air, but Gideon felt not the slightest remorse for the destruction of the clearing. He wiped a drop of sweat from his perfectly smooth forehead, a trait of his Rare Elf Race, and adjusted his cloak bearing the stylized eagle emblem.
"Rick, ease up on that fire, you imbecile!" Gideon shouted, his voice sounding melodious due to his elven biology, yet distinctly coarse, a stark contrast to his noble appearance. "The blacksmith wants the hide intact. If you char the skin, he’ll dock our pay. It’s three silver coins per head! Do you have any idea how many wretched kobolds we had to skin in that filthy Novata Village just to get a single silver coin?"
Rick, a human mage who looked exhausted under the weight of his polished metal armor, nodded quickly, his brow furrowed with nervousness. "Sorry, boss. It’s just that these level 11 bears are way too tough. If I don’t blow everything up, they’ll close in on us."
Gideon shrugged, watching a thousand-year-old tree begin to burn behind them. "Fuck the forest. Those Thalendor elves are complete idiots, acting like every tree is sacred. They’re too soft for what’s coming. As soon as we’ve amassed enough money and power to buy influence at city hall, I’ll be the one calling the shots in that shitty city."
The group, sponsored by a small tech company that saw Gideon’s "luck" as a golden opportunity to climb the financial ladder, acted with unbridled greed. They didn’t see Elysium as a world or a new reality, but as a giant ATM waiting to be cashed out.
"Silas, have you finished skinning the other one yet?" Gideon asked one of the scouts who was kicking the corpse of a lesser bear to the side.
"Almost there, Gideon. The knife’s dull; this damn common steel can’t handle a thing," Silas complained, wiping the blood off his own cloak, part of the group’s uniform. "But man, you were right. Coming to Thalendor was our best move! While those idiots who bullied us in Novato Village must be fighting off hunger dealing with other humans, we’ve got so many suckers to scam, hahaha!"
Gideon let out a harsh laugh, kicking a mana flower that glowed on the ground, crushing it under his metal boot. "They’re stupid. They’ve been around for thousands of years and haven’t learned to capitalize on anything. They’re sitting on legendary resources and treating them like decorations. When the big groups arrive in force, there won’t be anything left, so we better secure our share now."
He looked at the trail of fire Rick was leaving behind as he chased the next bear. The trees of Mythlorien crackled under the intense heat, and the sky, once clear, was now stained by thick, gray smoke.
"Keep up the slaughter!" Gideon ordered, drawing a slender sword that glowed with an emerald light. "I want at least thirty hides before nightfall. If any of those elf guards come complaining about the fire, I’ll use my status as an Elf Noble to send them packing. They love a friendly chat."
The eagle’s group continued the slaughter, moving like a plague through the forest, completely oblivious to the pair of golden eyes and the blue mass watching them from the shadows, feeling the rage grow with every inch of Mythlorien they turned to ash.
-xXx-
Lohan watched the columns of smoke rising between the ancient trees and felt irritation coursing through his core. Those Players weren’t just hunting; they were destroying the ecosystem that he and Lisa had just begun to master.
If they returned to Thalendor to sell the cockatrice beaks and a nearby bear’s den had been set ablaze in that manner, upon investigation the likelihood of the blame falling on them was high.
With their reputation still being built, being labeled as the group that started a forest fire in Mythlorien would be a diplomatic disaster with the elves, possibly undermining the respect Intervar and the guards had for them.
However, amidst the anger, Lohan’s calculating mind picked up on a valuable piece of information in Gideon’s casual conversation. Three silver coins per bear hide? It was a profit margin slightly lower than selling these items to Intervar, but it still represented high profitability for ordinary players.
With more and more Players joining Astralis Requiem in the future, having diverse sources of income would be the best path for the guild’s stable development.
"So the NPCs in Thalendor, like this blacksmith, also offer direct quests..." Lohan thought, as he processed the remaining biomass in his reservoir. ’Intervar is a good contact for alchemy, but I believe I can start exploring metal and leather artisans now as well. When we return, I’ll turn Astralis into the main supplier for the entire commercial square.’
But for that, he first needed to eliminate such a noisy and annoying competitor, and the temptation to do so was great.
Gideon was a Rare Race Elf. With his Title: Predator, the chance of extracting a high-quality evolution by digesting him was 100%. The idea of consuming an elf’s essence and perhaps gaining superior magical affinity or qualitative agility made Lohan’s gelatin vibrate with anticipation.
"Lisa, change of plans." Lohan transmitted through the mental link, his voice cold and decisive. "We’re not going to bypass them. We’re going to eliminate them. If we let them continue, they’ll ruin our reputation before we even establish the physical base."
Lisa let out a low growl, her two tails swaying in lethal sync.
She, too, felt the affront and was excited by this side of Halon. "Alice, split the group. We’re going to use their smoke against them."
At Lisa’s command, the rest of the group went on alert and prepared for Astralis’s first PK mission, or at least, their first intentional PK mission.