"That really was you?!!" The NPC exclaimed, looking at his blemished face suspiciously. "Why?! Why would a ghoul help me? What if you're trying to hurt Sprigfield!"
How does one reason with a powerful man driven by fear? Jack knew only one way, bullshit like there was no tomorrow!
"You see. Here's what happened…." He spoke with emotion, half-crying.
He shared the story of a brave man who had delved deep into the mine in order to find his missing friend. Their bond was so strong that he went in despite knowing the danger.
Alas, he was soon captured by dark elves.
The evil bastards ambushed him in the dark, and he never saw them coming. Only when they brought him to their dungeons did he manage to see their true appearance.
That's how he fell in the hands of a mad alchemist who needed guinea pigs to test his potions. He tried to resist, but he was force fed a vile concoction.
He had felt his organs stop working, his blood growing cold, his teeth becoming sharp, and he had to endure the decay of his entire body.
That's how he had turned to this atrocity, one that would scare even his mother. If that wasn't enough, he had found his friend during his captivity, nothing but a skeleton.
Luckily, traveling alchemists in Town knew how to turn him back. He was now on a quest to regain his true human appearance.
Once done, he looked at his audience. Was the man gullible enough?
"Waaa. That's so touching!" The man and the little wolf were both bawling from the sad story.
"…."
The rest of the travel back was spent with the NPC chippering in, reassuring him that everything would be okay.
The man even wanted to accompany him to meet the alchemists. Hell no! It had already taken him so long to explain a single ghoul's presence!
Before long, he was joining the no-longer mimes, at the Inn. Their whole party was practicing in a small storage room at the Tavern.
On a small blackboard near the wall was inscribed today's lesson.
< What makes one human? >
They would go toward the main room, their features hidden by long hoods, and observe the customers.
After observing, they would share with the rest of the group.
"You need to complain about the weather!"
"You have to stare at the breasts and asses of the waitresses!"
"Once music comes on, you have to start a mating dance in the middle!"
The more Jack heard, the more he couldn't understand how they hadn't been caught already. They were like little chicks straight out of the nest, trying to learn by copying.
Then again, they had spent their whole lives playing crazy-looking mimes. Normalcy was an entirely foreign concept. Oh well… they happily prepared a ritual for him.
[Temporary Connection to The Great One Established!]
[The Great One Understands Your Troubles!]
[Ghoulish Transformation Reverted!]
"Woo!" (Congratulation, master!)
"Tch— A ghoul is way more handsome! Still, you can now infiltrate the enemy camp and kill them all! From the inside!!" A delusional ghoul cackled.
Now that he finally had his face back, it was time for him to savor the sweet rewards of his latest conquest.
He had a shitload of pearls to sell, plenty of random loot from the canyon/lake, and lots of gold from scamming players with the Trident.
All this time, he had been gathering a lot of random items. There were enough to fill a freaking cart.
He resolutely gathered all his wealth, turning it all into coins, enough gold coins to bury Moon Moon many times over.
He sold stuff at the Adventurer guild, at the general store, and finally at random NPC once the previous two had run out of gold!
In the Tutorial, a few golds had been hard to get. Not long ago, Forsaken had been reluctant to give him 100 gold. He now had made a profit of 2567 gold.
How many villages could he buy with that?! A lot!
"Woo!" (How much meat is that?!)
The little wolf was already salivating at the idea, a paw raised in a silent cheer. But, shouts of astonishment brought it back to its senses.
"What do you mean you don't have gold?! You're the adventurer's guild!"
"Bro, don't get mad at the clerk. I saw it all. He took all the gold."
"What?! Was there a robbery, when, where, who?!"
"Bro, calm down. It's like that…."
Similar scenes were happening all over Town. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. Everywhere Jack went, the NPCs ran out of gold.
Low-key? Who cares! He wasn't a ghoul anymore. So what if people tried to inspect him? He had nothing to reproach himself! (He had killed all the NPCs that knew his wrongdoings)
"H-how is this possible?"
"I guess that's the power of a guild."
"Yeah, there's no way that was just his loot that he sold." (It was)
"I-if there was a wealth leaderboard, he'd be number one for sure!"
The gossip brought many, especially young ladies eager to find a rich boyfriend. They eyed him with the eyes of thirsty cougars until Bubblegum came to his rescue.
She glared at the girls, sending them running, Jack's selling spree finally ending. They soon reconvened in the Tavern.
"Why are you being so high key? I feel like you could have easily avoided this attention by selling bit by bit. It doesn't seem to make any sense." She frowned.
"It's actually the logical choice. You know how this Town doesn't have a blacksmith? The repair squad is fine and all, but crafting powerful gear is hard here. This only leaves one option…."
"World Bosses and Dungeons, right? Let me guess. Both are quite hard to hunt in the current state of the game. So you're heading to the next city to commission gear?"
He wouldn't have to care too much about attention if he was leaving…
"That would be the logical choice, but actually no, not in this case." Jack grinned as he called the patron of the Tavern.
"Sir, I've already done as you've ordered. I've opened tabs for the gold-less merchants, with interest." He reassured at the end.
"Good, I need you to do one more thing. Tell our people to spread the word. Have them share with every Brave that I'm now selling Gold for Credits."
"Did you say credits, Sir?" The NPC was confused at first before finally leaving to accomplish his duty.
"If you need money, I can lend you some! There's no need to do that! Do you realize all the progress you'll lose?! I can send a few thousand right now." Bubblegum offered.
"Hum, you're right. I'll lose a lot….but a few thousand aren't enough. There's something I want to do IRL that's long overdue." He had sorrow and longing in his voice.
She realized that nothing she could say would change his mind as she observed his face. Whatever this was, he evidently cared about it.
[Ding! Detected the User Trying to Sell Gold!]
[Gold Selling Usually Warrants a Ban!]
[User Did Not Spam The Chat…]
[Analyzing Impact!]
Even as Jack heard this, he remained completely calm. Anyone else would have been biting their nails with stress, but he simply kept sipping his drink.
[Analysis Completed!]
[Announcement! Launching Gold/Credit Exchange!]
[Current Ratio = 1 Gold for 12.47 Credits! Please Trade Responsibly!]
Jack hurriedly opened the trading window.
"Sell 2500 gold." He nonchalantly declared.
"?!?" On the side, Bubblegum started choking for some reason….
