Rival

"I'm afraid I don't have that information," Jarxos replied with a sly smile.

Colt felt like the recording of what he assumed to be an old God knew more than he was letting on. However, there would be no point in pressing him for the information if he was not willing to share it.

"Ok, so what are you selling? Your shelves look empty." Colt took his time in looking around to emphasise his point.

"Well, it depends… Do you have anything to sell?" Jarxos flashed a cunning grin.

'Oh, his stock comes from the players? Wait. Does this replace the usual Auction Houses in some way?' If that was correct, then he had discovered a new major piece of information. Auction Houses were a good way of getting your items out to be viewed by many people quickly and overcharge for them. Did this mean the developers wanted to curb this behaviour? Or was there more to it?

'With all the buildings for sale, I think it's safe to assume you can have a store. Since we're Gods, is it to give craft types a chance to display their Power? Forcing people to travel to their store?' Colt frowned and initiated a trade with Jarxos. Putting all of the Wolf items in on his end.

"Hm, these are very basic items." Jarxos sighed as if he were disappointed. "They're worth 3 Gold in total."

Donna and Bean's share was worth 2 Gold while his was worth 1 Gold. That either meant that the materials were close to worthless, or Gold would be hard to earn. He accepted the Trade for now since there was nothing he could do to change the price.

"Alright, thank you for your custom." A Wolf Fang and a piece of Wolf Fur appeared in different cases on the shelf behind Jarxos. "Since you're my first customer in centuries. I wonder if you would be willing to make a deal?"

Colt immediately became wary. Most people would be excited if they uncovered a hidden bonus or first person benefit. However, Colt knew that these things could end up bringing nothing but grief down on a player due to the jealously that usually accompanied it.

"What kind of deal are we talking about?" Colt raised an eyebrow.

"I have here a map that leads to the final resting place of one of my old friends. How about you recover anything that she left behind and sell it to me so I can get some decent stuff on my shelves?" Jarxos seemed pretty confident that he could find some decent things in that location.

Colt thought about it for a moment. It did not seem like a bad deal, nor could he see how it could cause problems. 'He basically just wants to get his store up and running again. It'll actually benefit other players.'

"Sure, I'll do it," Colt replied after some consideration.

"Great! Here, take this!" Jarxos held out an old piece of parchment which Colt accepted.

[New Quest!: Tomb of Allevia]

[Description: Explore the Tomb of Allevia, Goddess of the First Flame, and retrieve her Legacy!]

[Rewards: +5 Stat Points for all Party members, Hidden Reward]

Colt's eyes narrowed like a hawk's as he read the quest description. The hidden reward did not say it was available to everyone in the Party, which probably meant only one person could claim it. However, he was intrigued by the idea of retrieving a God's Legacy. 'It should be something good, right?'

Since Jarxos seemed to have nothing else to say right now, Colt decided to take his leave. Out of curiosity, he decided to touch the barrier protecting the staircase on the way past.

[You must be Level 5 to enter this area…]

Colt smiled as he confirmed his earlier hypothesis. 'I wonder if there's some kind of bonus for each floor?' As he opened the door and stepped out onto the street, Colt's expression froze. The two men from the temple were with a woman he had never seen before. However, they were blocking the exit while keeping an eye on Beans and Donna.

"So, you're the first player to enter the store, are you?" The woman in the group stepped forward. "I'm Aeri."

Colt's eyes narrowed when he heard her introduce herself by her Gamertag. It just so happened to be one that he was familiar with. "Aeri? As in the team Captain of Kaleidoscope?"

"Oh? You know me?" Aeri seemed surprised. She did not recognise the avatar in front of her.

"Sure, your team beat Camelot to take Mayhem's championship title last season." Colt brushed it off by explaining it off as if he had watched it. When in reality, her team's victory cost him his job. "What are you doing in Pantheon, though?"

"Well, since you know who I represent, it should be obvious, right? We're checking the game out to see if it's worth investing our time in it." Aeri smiled as she stared at him curiously. "Now, let's get real for a moment. I'd like you to tell us what's in the store. Oh, and sell us whatever bonus you got for entering it first."

Aeri's smile appeared sweet, but Colt felt sick seeing it. She seemed confident that he had gained a bonus which made him think that her team had already uncovered something similar.

"There's nothing in the store. It just sells whatever the players sell to it." Colt shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big secret.

"And the bonus?" Aeri's eyes narrowed when Colt did not respond to that part.

Colt just smiled as if he had no clue what she was talking about. Aeri studied him for a few moments before showing a slight smile as her cheek twitched. "I guess you have nothing else to offer then? Oh well. Thanks for the information then anyway."

Beans waited until Aeri, and the two men disappeared before turning to Colt. "Why were you acting so weird with her?"

"Because… She's going to try and kill us to see what we got."