After Lumiel's announcement echoed across the streaming screen, a massive wave of players charged straight toward the used gear shop at the edge of town like a dam had burst!
The narrow, muddy road that had once been deserted was now packed with hundreds of players clutching scraps of monster materials, broken weapons, and bags full of junk as they rushed in and fought over their places in line outside the shop. The wind chime jingled without pause, while the shop's door creaked as if it were about to collapse.
"Mister! Do you buy wolf fangs? Give me a C-rank weapon!"
"I've got twenty pieces of rotten iron ore! Give me some heavy-duty armor!"
"Quit cutting the line! I was here first!"
Sean stood behind the wooden counter, a faint smile resting calmly at the corner of his lips. He showed not the slightest sign of panic. Both hands moved with the speed and precision of a machine. The Dark Merchant Forge skill remained in constant use, and flashes of dark violet spectral light repeatedly burst into view behind the counter.
[ Synthesis successful: 'Rust-Poison-Coated Dagger (C-rank)' ] [ Synthesis successful: 'Thorn-Braced Steel Shield (C-rank)' ] [ Synthesis successful: 'Light Gale Leather Boots (C-rank)' ]
Sean wasn't handing out B-rank items like Lumiel had. Instead, he focused on creating C-rank items with options that boosted HP, Defense, or movement speed—the things players needed most to deal with the monster hordes. For every exchange, Sean set the price at "silver coins + high-quality junk materials," causing his material stores and shop purse to grow to enormous proportions in just a few hours!
Players who received their new equipment shouted for joy before spinning around and running back to fight at the city walls. The once-critical defense of Paldia was gradually turning around, becoming more and more manageable.
However, just as the atmosphere inside the shop reached its liveliest...
A frigid gust of wind swept in through the shop window. The cold seized everything, turning the drops of condensation on the ceiling into frost. The players' shouting and chatter outside abruptly fell silent, as if time itself had been forcibly stopped for a moment.
Sean paused with a material in his hand. His eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed an immense pressure seeping into the air.
Two figures stood motionless atop the wooden house across from the shop, surrounded by absolute darkness. Both men wore pristine white suits, utterly at odds with the game's medieval world of Atheria. On their chests, metal pins shaped like "three golden eyes" flashed ominously.
Neither man had a Level, a name, or an HP bar above his head... Only pitch-black letters floated there, radiating a terrifying presence.
'Administrator System: GM-01 (The Watcher)' 'Administrator System: GM-04 (The Enforcer)'
"An anomaly has been detected at the starting city coordinates—Paldia..." GM-04's flat, lifeless synthetic voice spoke softly, yet it echoed clearly within Sean's mind. "NPC ID: 9402 (Sean) has an item-stat distortion generation rate exceeding 400%... Classified as a critical system error (Data Corruption)."
"Data confirmed..." GM-01 said coldly. "The aforementioned NPC is exhibiting behavior that imitates human intelligence and interfering with the balance of the game's economic systems... Prepare to initiate data reset and erase its existence (Data Purge)."
The moment the words "erase its existence" were spoken, a large, glowing blue magic circle unfolded beneath Sean's feet. His body began to feel unbearably heavy, as if he were bound by invisible chains!
The GMs had appeared... and their target was to eliminate him from the system!
Sean drew a deep breath. Though his heart pounded wildly, his gaze was taut with determination. He absolutely refused to let anyone reset the new life he'd only just built!
"You think you can erase me...?" Sean muttered, his fingers brushing against the shop purse and the piles of ore he'd spent the entire night accumulating.
[ Warning: Interference from the highest system authority detected (Admin Protocol) ] [ Activating advanced Unique Skill: 'Dark Path Forge - Rule Distortion' ] [ Consuming 50 gold coins and all materials in storage to convert them into energy to prevent data erasure! ]
An enormous mass of deep violet flame erupted from Sean's body and slammed into the GM's blue magic circle with such force that an explosive boom thundered throughout the entire shop dimension!
The clash between the 'Dark Merchant' and the 'Game Masters' had begun beneath the shadows of Paldia!