036

Elder Qin left the room to contact the guild master of the Library of Secrets guild. This left Mia, Alex, and Amethyst alone in the room. While Amethyst tried to maintain a cold expression, her curiosity got the better of her. She looked at Lucifer and asked,

"How did you do it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"How did you successfully raid a Hell mode dungeon by yourself?"

"I mean, it wasn't too hard, but it did get the best of me when I completed the hidden condition."

"Hidden condition?"

"Huh? You don't know about the hidden conditions inside dungeons?"

After Alex had asked the question, Elder Qin returned to the room. He was also intrigued by what Alex was saying and asked for more details. Alex simply smiled at this and saw the opportunity to make money. He looked at Elder Qin and said,

"While I would love to tell you, but I can't spill it for free. You, of all people, should know the power of information."

"That is true. How much would you like?"

"Well, that can be discussed separately. What did your guild master say?"

"The guild master has agreed to your terms. I already have someone transporting the stone here, and I also have the 30 people we want to teach the recipe."

"Alright, I'll have to go get it from the bank."

"Well, here's the contract. We've also added a non-disclosure agreement. Is that alright?"

"That actually works in my favor, so I'm fine with it."

Alex and Elder Qin both signed the contract. Then Mia and Amethyst also signed the non-disclosure agreement. Afterward, Alex became serious and asked,

"While money is important, I would rather trade information for information."

"Hehe, that's a good mindset to have, young man. How about we provide you with information concerning the Scholar Empire? Furthermore, if the information is especially valuable, we will even help you establish your guild here."

"That sounds like a good deal. However, I would like to have it as a system-enforced contract."

"Very well."

Elder Qin and Alex signed the contracts. The contract also assigns value to information not known to the other party that is revealed. Of course, the information had to be relevant to the main subject of hidden conditions. They also signed as guild representatives, making the entire guild subject to the contract. Alex knew that he would have to give the information first, but that was okay with him.

"Well, first off, what do you know about quests?"

"Well, quests are missions or objectives given by various factors from the A.I Thea. These missions are completed to create a predetermined scenario or impact."

"That is true, however, there is more to that. Quests are much more complex and have various scenarios. The higher-leveled quests have a significant impact on the area they're based in or even the world. These quests can also be completed in multiple ways and have different effects depending on how they're completed."

"I see, that does change a lot."

"Mhm, now let's get into hidden conditions. Hidden conditions are self-explanatory. They are conditions that are concealed from the player. Once completed, they can either increase the difficulty of the quest and, in return, increase the reward."

"Wait? When you said you had a hard time after completing the hidden condition, does that mean it increased the difficulty of the dungeon?"

"That is correct. Hidden conditions also apply to dungeons as well as quests. Another type of condition is the bonus condition. It doesn't increase the difficulty, and only enhances the reward. These conditions are not disclosed to the player but are only a bonus or a side quest to the original quest."

Elder Qin and Amethyst started to process the implications of this new information. Elder Qin smiled and thought this was very useful. Now he could advise his guild members to strive to go above and beyond when completing quests or dungeons. Satisfied with the information, Elder Qin began to provide his part of the deal.

"Well, the Scholar Empire has a distinct government compared to the other two empires."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we already know that. The Scholar Empire has a noble system while also having committees that handle most of the problems."

"Oh, alright, that makes this easier then. Apparently, the Duke household of Leven plans on starting a coup against the crown."

"That's not possible!"

Alex slammed his hand on the table in disbelief. He didn't believe a duke would stage a coup for a second. The main reason being it never happened in the past timeline, and also because each noble is bound to take an oath to the crown. While Amethyst seemed annoyed and angered by Alex's outburst, Elder Qin simply smiled and thought he had done his research.

"You're right, it would be impossible, at least normally. They have the help of the Devil Andras and have broken their oath."

"…"

Alex stared in disbelief at Elder Qin. The Devil Andras had been involved with the Violet Kingdom and even a duke in the Scholar Empire. This was beyond simple discord among nations and causing war. Alex even began to think this might be all part of a bigger and more sinister plan. He looked at Elder Qin and voiced his thoughts,

"If what you're saying is true, then this might be worse than either of us thought."

"While this might be bad, it shouldn't be too terrible."

"I'm sure you know some of the things that happened inside the Violet Kingdom."

"That is correct. If we didn't know, how could we claim information gathering as our specialty?"

"Well, the Devil Andras was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes of the Violet Kingdom. He even had the audacity to kidnap the Saint of the Church of Light!"

"How do you know all of this? While we know you were based in the Violet Kingdom, how could you have this detailed information of the event? Even we can't. You were there, weren't you?"

"That is correct."

Alex cursed himself for his oversight. He had let slip that he knew what had truly happened there. He could already tell they had pieced together that he was involved with a quest. A very important quest if it dictated the fall of a kingdom.

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A/N

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed today's chapter! Have a good rest of your day or night!

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!