When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 695: Chapter 84: You Came Prepared, Didn’t You?

Chapter 695: Chapter 84: You Came Prepared, Didn’t You?

Aiwass and his companions sat at the table waiting, and soon Hebashia had prepared three cups of coffee and brought them over.

She looked so young that one might worry whether she could carry three cups of coffee without trouble.

“Has Pure White told you the specific rules?”

Standing on a small step beside the table, Hebashia distributed the coffee to the three of them and asked.

“I have a rough idea.

There’s a time limit…

right?”

Aiwass confirmed, “But you can go over it with them again.”

Hebashia nodded, then directly turned to Sherlock, who was also on the Path of Wisdom, “From the moment you take the first sip of coffee, you will be able to see another world, as well as the hidden mystical codices.@@novelbin@@

Once you drink the coffee, you won’t be able to converse with anyone else.

“The total effective time for each cup of coffee is approximately one hour, with a cup costing five hundred Gold Coins.

You can stay here without finishing the drink, but the transaction ends once you leave the shop.

You can wait for the illusion to end before taking another sip, using the rest time in between to jot down notes.

Or you can drink it all in one go, which would give you a continuous hour.

In this hour, you are free to look at as many books as you like, or choose to transcribe them.”

The young elf puffed out her chest with pride, “All the Codex Books and tomes here are not available outside.

As for finding a book, it’s very simple…

just follow your instincts.

Once you enter the illusion, the book that best suits you will glow in your eyes.”

Hearing this, Sherlock first turned to look at Aiwass.

After Aiwass nodded, Sherlock unhesitatingly took a sip of coffee.

Sherlock covered his forehead.

After a brief moment of dizziness, he got up with a hint of surprise, looked around, then gave Hebashia a slightly astonished bow before heading towards the bookshelves.

Following closely, Lily also drank from the cup of coffee in front of her.

After they had both gotten up and left, Aiwass turned to Hebashia.

“Miss Hebashia, if I want to outright buy a book, what’s the price?”

“Outright?”

Hebashia asked with interest, “You mean, take it away?”

“Yes, not an illusion.

I mean the physical entity, the actual Codex Book.”

Aiwass replied.

Although there were Codex Books here, one could basically only see the covers.

Because Codex Books have a special way of inheritance, one must read them continuously, and the reading will cause hallucinations.

And a person who has gone mad once cannot go mad again, so after drinking the coffee named “Paradox: Reality and Illusion,” they would not be able to comprehend the Codex Book.

However, other mystical tomes can be studied here.

The collection here is far from complete, but it is very rare.

The main feature is unique copies.

All have been collected by Hebashia from the Dream Realm over the years.

“Which one?”

“I haven’t decided yet.

I’ll wait to see what they pick.”

“No matter which one, if you want to buy it permanently, that’s going to be costly.

These are all unique copies here.”

Hebashia said with a smile, opening her right hand, “Fifty thousand Gold Coins per book, cash transactions only.

That’s a special discount, mind you.

The price might go up next time you come.”

“Fifty thousand?”

Aiwass confirmed, “You mean fifty thousand Star Antimony Coins?”

“That’s right.

In White Crown Coin, that would be around eighty thousand.”

Hebashia leaned on the table in front of Aiwass, lightly tapping her chin with her right hand.

Though appearing as a young girl, her actions resembled those of a noble lady.

Such childish yet mature gestures held no charm but were somewhat amusing.

She spoke at a leisurely pace, “However, there is another option.

“If you do me a small favor, I’ll give you the book, worth eighty thousand White Crown Coins, for free.

How about it?”

“—No need.”

Aiwass said, lifting his briefcase onto the table and opening it.

Inside were stacks of large silver notes, bearing the image of crossed staves and a sword with a white crown at the front.

They were also known as Knight Bonds, which in the early days of the founding of Avalon, could be exchanged for a knight’s service for a period of time or to accomplish a task.

Under Hebashia’s astonished gaze, Aiwass took out a small stack, “There is a total of two hundred and fifty thousand here.

I’ll take ten thousand, leaving two hundred and forty thousand to buy three books…

Would you like to count them?”

“…No need.”

Hebashia didn’t even have to count the money; she glanced at it and knew exactly how much was there.

With a touch of reluctance, she asked, “Aren’t you going to ask what I want you to do?”

Smiling softly, Aiwass nodded, “Yes, I’m not going to ask.

Once some things are known, it becomes difficult to extract oneself from them.

A job worth eighty thousand White Crown Coins must demand more effort than the value of the coins.

Compared to time, I’m still wealthier.”

“…You came prepared, huh?”

Hebashia closed her briefcase somewhat helplessly, taking the money, “Fine…

that works too, since you’re friends of Grey.

Take whatever you like.

Consider these three cups of coffee on the house.”

“Then, wouldn’t you add some sort of gift?”

Aiwass asked with a grin, “In general, when customers make large payments in stores, they usually receive something extra.

Even if it’s paid in installments, during the holidays they get gifts, right…

With over two hundred thousand, wouldn’t you like to add something more?”

He came here initially just to conduct an experiment.

In the game, the storyline with Hebashia also required eighty thousand, which is why she was also known as Hebashia Eighty Thousand.

Later on, in the main storyline with the Calamity Demon Dragon, it was with the help of Hebashia Eighty Thousand transformed into a big sister that the players were saved…

That makes her a powerful NPC ally.

She’s different from Vivian.

Although reincarnated, she’s still from the Path of Wisdom.

Therefore, she hasn’t lost much of her strength.

——Her reincarnation is more akin to re-cultivation, escaping from beneath the Geometric Celestial Marshal to strive to become a Celestial Marshal with her own strength.

Her trajectory is very similar to that of the Silver-Crowned Dragon’s in the past.

She demands eighty thousand right off the bat; if you can’t pay, you have to help her with a troublesome long-term mission——and naturally, the players can’t afford it.

Because the maximum carrying limit for a player’s bag is only 9999 White Crown Coins; they can’t give the full eighty thousand.

In other words, it’s similar to Pokémon’s bike quest, where from the beginning, the price is unpayable, and you have to take on the mission.

Strictly speaking, Hebashia’s place counts as an anniversary quest.

You can choose three Codex Books from her, and any limited Codex Book that appeared in the pool but isn’t going into the pool within two months is available to choose from——this started from the third anniversary event, and every year one more book is added to the stock.

Essentially, you can get the highest rarity Codex Book for free.

The second and third books come with extra gifts under the pretext of “custodial spending of one hundred thousand” and “custodial spending of two hundred thousand”——again, because players can’t really pay.

So, it’s nominally about spending, but actually, it’s a reputation reward.

Aiwass didn’t want to run the long mission that required traveling between multiple countries, so he decided to try coming with money instead.

He brought so much money mainly to try giving Hebashia eighty thousand.

And she actually took it.

“…Fine then.”

Hebashia sighed, seeming somewhat resigned: “But just these three books, okay?

If you want more later, you’ll have to help me with some tasks…

Honestly, I’m not so in need of money, but rather short on errand runners.

I’m not greedy, I just asked for eighty thousand to stop you.

I didn’t expect…”

She didn’t expect they could actually afford it.

She glanced at Aiwass and then at Lily.

Was it the “Prophet’s” guidance?

No, it doesn’t seem to be her.

She seems to be the heir of the Grey Celestial Marshal…

“As for gifts, I intend to give you two.

Consider them the custodial spending rewards for one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand White Crown Coins.

For one hundred thousand, I can give you a rare book on mysticism that isn’t a Codex Book; for two hundred thousand, I can give you a piece of equipment.”

Hebashia pondered, “But I don’t have many collections here…

Shall I make a list for you?

Or would you like a recommendation?”

“Give her a weapon,”

Aiwass pointed at Lily, “You decide.

As for the books…

May I pick one myself?”

“Hmm.

Anything without the ‘Codex’ suffix is fine to take.

Or you could ask them later…

Take one, and if you want to read the others, you can always come back.

Books other than Codex Books seem to take up less of your time.”

Hebashia nodded.

What she meant was that she acknowledged the Codex Books she stored were actually just a gimmick.

The items did exist, but it was more about showing off to you, not really intending to lend them for you to read.

However, she was willing to share the lower-tier books——roughly, that was her thought process.

“Thank you very much.”

Aiwass replied respectfully.

Then, he drank the hallucinogenic coffee without any hesitation.