With nothing else to do, they all became street wanderers, spending their days exploring the Monster Country, eating, drinking tea, and chatting. The currency in the Monster Country was free, after all. While they couldn't buy anything to improve their strength, they could at least acquire daily necessities like talismans. However, the food and drink alone were enough to feast on for half a year to a year.
Suddenly, one of the chosen ones, biting into a glutinous rice ball, remarked, "It's not like we *can only* be idle. This place is unusual. I suspect it's a high-level area that just hasn't been developed yet."
Someone inquired curiously, "What makes you say that?"
The chosen one replied, "From the information I've gathered, the Monster Country isn't fully built and is still in development. Beyond the Jura Great Forest, there are places like the Human Empire and the Dwarf Empire. So, as the Monster Country develops, this area should also level up."
Jermas chimed in, "I know that too. I heard the ceiling for combat power in this region is the Demon King. Rimuru, that slime, is just the Lord of Monsters. So, there are definitely higher-level sub-regions than the Monster Country, or the Monster Country will become more powerful in the future, thus becoming a higher-level sub-region itself. Considering the entire area, it's bound to be a high-level zone. But for now, none of that concerns us. I'm more curious about what you meant by not *only* being idle."
The chosen one asked, "Haven't you heard?"
Bai Ye inquired, "Heard what?"
The chosen one stated, "I heard someone received a hidden quest from a native."
"Excuse me." At this point, a chosen one suddenly raised his hand. "That person was me."
After saying this, he stood up and moved to the center of the shop.
"It's just a small hidden quest. Collect the scepters of seven races, and you'll get a reward. So, if any of you have obtained a scepter, you can trade with me. Whether you want to trade your scepter to me or get a scepter from me, both are possible. I currently have the scepters of the Great Oni tribe, the Fairy tribe, and the Goblin tribe. I can also tell you where I got the hidden quest. I hope everyone understands that this hidden quest only has meaning if it's completed. If the scepters are scattered and no one can complete the hidden quest, it's meaningless. Therefore, cooperation and fulfilling each other's needs is the best strategy."
Jermas asked, "Does this matter have anything to do with the Pighead Emperor?"
"On this point, I can swear," the chosen one affirmed. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the Pighead Emperor's invasion. It's a side-branch hidden quest, mainly aimed at helping various races rebuild their homes."
Bai Ye rubbed his chin, scepters?
He had a ruby scepter, seemingly from the Lizardmen tribe.
As for whether the other party was revealing truthful information, Bai Ye felt it was likely true. If there was something they couldn't say, they would have kept quiet and profited secretly. There was no need to announce it.
Therefore, the most probable scenario was that the speaker was telling the truth, and fearing that others might obtain scepters, they decided to be upfront in public, actively seeking trades, either buying or selling. They weren't necessarily fixated on completing the hidden quest themselves.
Bai Ye could understand the speaker's mindset. Without all the scepters, it was meaningless. Driven by the desire to gain as much benefit as possible, it was a "divide and everyone loses, unite and everyone wins" mentality, a rather pragmatic approach.
Of course, some people might harbor the sentiment of "if I can't have it, no one else should either."
Speaking of which, the speaker was likely afraid of such people, which is why they publicly announced their intention and stated that selling scepters was also an option, not just completing the hidden quest.
Thinking of this, Bai Ye couldn't help but grin mischievously.
He seemed to be able to make a small fortune? 138 Read Net
After the chosen one finished speaking, he left the dessert shop. The others began to discuss.
However, their discussions weren't particularly heated. For a personal hidden quest like this, once it had been claimed, it held little significance for others. Even if others could get the same hidden quest, the original speaker already had three out of seven scepters, leaving others with no choice but to trade. Considering the trading costs, they might not gain much.
Therefore, most of their discussions focused on the fact that a hidden quest unrelated to the Pighead Emperor could be obtained in the Monster Country!
This implied that their decision to be mere wanderers might have been a mistake. Before the Pighead Emperor's invasion, they could have tried to gain some benefits from the Monster Country during this period of downtime.
After some discussion, many grew enthusiastic. They abandoned their glutinous rice balls and decided to act immediately, planning to explore and see if they could get any hidden quests from the natives.
Once most of them had left, Jermas saw Bai Ye leisurely eating his glutinous rice ball and taking a sip of green tea. He couldn't help but ask, "Bai Ye, aren't you going?"
Bai Ye glanced at Jermas and shook his head. "No, you go ahead."
Jermas hesitated for a moment, then sat back down in front of Bai Ye. "I'm not going either."
Bai Ye looked at Jermas in confusion.
Jermas ordered another plate of glutinous rice balls and then said, "I don't know why you're not going, but I know you're a cunning fellow. Since you're not planning to, it means this plan is unreliable."
Bai Ye sighed and asked, "Let me ask you, what have we been doing every day?"
Jermas replied, "Wandering around, eating and drinking, bragging, being street wanderers."
Bai Ye asked, "What are they doing now?"
Jermas responded, "Looking for hidden quests."
Bai Ye queried, "How?"
Jermas said, "Wandering everywhere, striking up conversations with natives... Damn."
Jermas finally understood. The method for finding hidden quests was no different from being a street wanderer. Bai Ye was telling him that if hidden quests were that easy to find, they would have been discovered long ago, which is why there were only two personal hidden quests so far: Bai Ye's and the one the chosen one who just left had received.
Therefore, according to Bai Ye's inference, there were likely only eight hidden quests in total!
Collecting seven scepters corresponded to seven hidden quests, and the eighth hidden quest was to obtain all seven scepters.
And thinking about it this way...
Bai Ye felt that the chosen one who had left earlier might have known this as well, which is why he deliberately publicized the information, hoping to use others to unearth all the scepters. He already possessed three, giving him a significant advantage, and he could then seek trades to acquire all of them.
As for others wanting to get scepters from him...
Holding three scepters, he was undoubtedly the party with more trading leverage, and the chosen one would not be at a disadvantage.
Unfortunately...
Bai Ye took a bite of a glutinous rice ball and suddenly smirked.
His smile sent a shiver down Jermas's spine.
...