Days passed by uneventfully.
Rimuru convened strategy meetings daily, but seven days had passed since the lizardmen were annihilated by the hobgoblins, and no plan had been formulated.
The Pig Emperor’s forces would attack one location, then another, yet they never ventured into the monster nation to cause trouble.
Consequently, Bai Ye’s earlier conjecture was reinforced: the number of summoned individuals was insufficient.
With an insufficient number, the hidden quest couldn't be triggered, and they could only stall.
This situation was akin to the "City-wide Chaos Forbidden Zone," where if the player count remained below one hundred, one could only wait.
Thus, Bai Ye continued his aimless wandering.
However, since news of the hidden quest had spread, the summoned individuals had become considerably busier, all engrossed in searching for it.
Truth be told, there wasn't an overwhelming sense of anticipation; it was primarily that aimless wandering day in and day out grew tedious, and they needed something to occupy themselves.
Indeed, the fifth and sixth scepters were soon crafted. The fifth came from the goblins, and the sixth from the wolf-fangs.
The monster nation was of a limited size, and the summoned individuals loitering there were also limited. Thus, news quickly spread that these two scepters were claimed by the summoned individual who had earliest found the scepter quest. This meant that person now possessed five scepters.
However, only Jin Xiangchuan knew that he possessed not five, but six scepters!
While others searched for scepters, Jin Xiangchuan continued his own pursuit and had also acquired the scepter from the elves. Therefore, he was now only one scepter short.
But…
He had virtually scoured the entire monster nation, yet Jin Xiangchuan could not find any trace of the last scepter.
Based on the guidance of other quests, Jin Xiangchuan believed that the seven scepters should correspond to the seven races with the largest populations in the monster nation. Thus, the final scepter should belong to the lizardmen.
After the lizardmen were wiped out by the hobgoblins, the surviving lizardmen had all relocated to the monster nation, becoming one of the top three most populous monster races there.
However, Jin Xiangchuan had searched every single lizardman and found no news about the scepter whatsoever.
Jin Xiangchuan was in a state of great distress. Without finding the final scepter, possessing six scepters was useless. If he couldn’t complete the quest, he’d be left with scepters to play baseball with.
And just as Jin Xiangchuan was agonizing…
“Hey!”
Jin Xiangchuan’s shoulder was suddenly tapped, startling him. He spun around abruptly.
“Bai Ye?”
Upon seeing who it was, Jin Xiangchuan felt a sense of familiarity.
As one of the earliest summoned individuals to arrive in the monster nation, and the only one who could freely enter and exit Rimuru’s mansion, Bai Ye was quite renowned.
Bai Ye held a bowl of shaved ice and asked, “How’s your scepter collection coming along?”
Jin Xiangchuan casually replied, “Almost there.”
“Almost how much?” Bai Ye smiled. “One short?”
Jin Xiangchuan paused, then said, “Two short.”
“Oh,” Bai Ye nodded. “Then keep up the good work. I’ll keep on wandering!”
Jin Xiangchuan’s heart sank. Bai Ye’s words seemed to carry a hidden meaning.
“Wait, wait!” Jin Xiangchuan quickly called out to Bai Ye. “Bai Ye, do you have a scepter?”
Bai Ye replied, “That depends on how many scepters you have.”
Jin Xiangchuan looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Bai Ye explained, “If you have six scepters, then I have the Lizardman’s Ruby Scepter. If you don’t have six, then I don’t.”
Jin Xiangchuan was utterly bewildered and asked, “So, do you have it, or not?”
Bai Ye pressed, “Do you have six scepters?”
Jin Xiangchuan thought for a moment and honestly nodded, “I do.”
Bai Ye then said, “Then I have the Lizardman’s Ruby Scepter. Do you want it?”
Jin Xiangchuan became immediately excited. “Of course, I do.”
Bai Ye stated, “At least an exchange for a black-quality item.”
Jin Xiangchuan almost spat out blood, looking at Bai Ye in disbelief. “Those scepters are all green-quality weapons.”
Bai Ye smiled. “So, now you understand why I asked if you had collected six scepters.”
Jin Xiangchuan was taken aback again, then blurted out, “Damn it, you’re price-gouging!”
Bai Ye nodded. “That’s right. You’re just realizing that?”
The fact that Jin Xiangchuan had not yet obtained six scepters implied that there was more than one trading party. Therefore, whether he was one or two short, Bai Ye would not have had the leverage to price-gouge.
This was because, regardless of whether they obtained the Ruby Scepter or not, they would be unable to complete the hidden quest.
However, since Jin Xiangchuan already had six scepters, then…
Bai Ye could name his price, and even toy with him, scorn him, torment him, and tease him, and Jin Xiangchuan would still have to grin and bear it, calling Bai Ye ‘grandpa’.
This was because, having obtained six scepters, Jin Xiangchuan would never let go of the final one.
Jin Xiangchuan was speechless. “But these are just green-quality items.”
Bai Ye replied, “That’s right. But completing all seven won’t make them green-quality anymore.”
“But I have the other six,” Jin Xiangchuan exclaimed in frustration. “I acquired them all through my own efforts, and I found the hidden quest myself. You only have one!”
Bai Ye countered, “But without the one in my possession, you can’t complete the set of seven. And without completing the set of seven, you’ll only have six green-quality weapons.”
Jin Xiangchuan gritted his teeth. “Do you know what reward completing all seven yields, that you dare to ask such an exorbitant price?”
Bai Ye stated, “A black-quality item.”
Jin Xiangchuan couldn’t help but freeze, because Bai Ye was correct.
Jin Xiangchuan asked, “Did you find this quest too?”
“I didn’t find it,” Bai Ye said with a smile. “However, these scepters, while green-quality, have permanent enhancement effects. They should definitely command a premium. Exchanging them for blue-quality items would be fine, wouldn’t you agree?”
Jin Xiangchuan nodded. “I admit it!”
Bai Ye continued, “Collecting seven blue-quality items, and still not getting a black-quality item in return, can that even be considered a hidden quest?”
Jin Xiangchuan said with a wry smile, “My quest reward is only one black-quality item. For you to now demand one black-quality item in exchange for your scepter, does that make any sense?”
Bai Ye replied, “No, it doesn’t.”
Jin Xiangchuan retorted, “Exactly…”
Bai Ye interrupted, “But without my scepter, you won’t get the black-quality item either.”
Jin Xiangchuan angrily exclaimed, “You can’t get around this argument, can you?”
Bai Ye spread his hands. “Without my scepter, you cannot complete the hidden quest.”
Jin Xiangchuan: “…”
Damn it, can’t you stop fixating on this point?
Jin Xiangchuan took a deep breath. “You have no use for that thing. Just give me a straight answer, alright? How can I get it from you?”
Bai Ye stated, “A black-quality item.”
“Damn it!” Jin Xiangchuan cursed, then said, “I’ll give it to you!”
“Anything less than a black-quality item, I…” Bai Ye suddenly stopped, then exclaimed in surprise, “You’re actually going to give it to me?”