VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn

Chapter 206  Gathering Intel

Val and Arthur had an awkward amount of time and which wasn't really fit to go outside.

"Hmm… since we don't have enough time to go out and do quests, it is better to just stay here." Arthur replied.

"But won't that be wasting playtime?" She asked as to her it felt enough.

"Not really, and we won't be wasting anytime either." Arthur replied. "We'll be productive and gather some information."

"How?" She asked.

"The age old gamer method of getting information… Talking to NPCs and listening to their conversations of course." Arthur said with a smile.

Hearing that Val was intrigued and went along with him.

Arthur brought her along to various places in the town, whether it be taverns, eateries or just places where NPCs gathered. They had some food and enjoyed it while also being able to learn more things about the people.

Even if Arthur had knowledge of what was going to happen in the future, he didn't know everything. In order to learn about the minor events that could happen along with those that were left to probability, he needed to gather it manually.

The best way to do this was to simply obtain it organically. Even if there were many logs and detailed guides on the forums, players still needed to learn how to look for information on their own.

With how varied and detailed Morpheus Online was no one could have 100% of the information with full assurance. There were always bound to be outliers and the only way one could learn about this was by being there physically.

This was the entire reason why major guilds set up massive information gathering departments in the game. There would be tens of thousands of players involved in this that were merely tasked with talking with as many NPCs as possible as well as trying to learn about secrets and report them.

Guilds and E-sports teams invested millions into this in order to obtain as much information as they could. Since this was what provided them the advantage over the others.

Arthur had learned this well enough and was even employed by a few people in the same job whether it be guilds or individuals. As such, he could be considered a veteran, at least compared to the players at this current time and was better than everyone.

He taught Val to look into the minutia of the conversation of NPCs as well as how to find links to various things that could happen.

Arthur showed her how different information sources had different values as well as links to various kinds of information.

For example, taverns had NPCs that were rather varied and also provided similar kind of information that wasn't exactly detailed. But it was the best place to gather rumors as well as learn some secret information that the drunk NPCs would let slip from time to time.

Then there was the town market where the NPCs would provide more detailed information depending on who the player was talking about. In particular shops the players could obtain decent information but on the street it might be more crude.

This was also affected by the reputation of the players. The higher the reputation they had, the more and better information that could be obtained.

In some cases, bits of information were locked for the players who had high reputation.

At the very least, in order to obtain any decent information a player needed to be at the Friendly level. If they were at the favored level, they would have access to more limited information and being venerated basically meant they would get access to all the hidden information.

The latter was what Val got to experience since the NPCs would just talk to Arthur openly and reveal things that she couldn't even believe.

It ranged from whose wife was cheating with whom, all the way to the 'messengers' of nobles that were seen inside the town.

It was simply stunning for a normal player as this was information that could make or break a lot of quests. Of course, it was up to the players as to how they wanted to handle it.

Arthur didn't let Val go wild and told her when it was best to use this kind of things. He told her it was best to not leverage it right away as a threat but use it when talking normally with NPCs to enable the best pressure.

It was not something that Arthur would normally teach, but with Val he felt a lot more trustful and also realized that it was easier molding her with his experience.

If he succeeded, he would have a party member that was also a veteran without having to go through the long period of grueling struggle that he had to in his life.

Additionally, Val had the natural talent to back up her skills in the game which gave Arthur better hope than he would normally have.

At the very least, he could tell that she was an anomaly in his life with how she had grown stronger than others and thus was worthy of keeping her by his side.

"I never thought that there would be this kind of work I could do too… not only is it productive, I get to enjoy stuff too." Val said as she sipped on some juice.

"Morpheus Online is amazing and life-changing. It is up to the players to utilize it to their best." Arthur said upon finishing a large bowl of stew.

It was a kind of stew that he was sure he wouldn't get in his city, and was also way cheaper. The one thing that players liked to enjoy A LOT in the game was food.

After all, they couldn't exactly gain weight nor have any bad effects in the real world with the food and thus it was very popular.

In fact, there were content creators that were specialized in the food culture of Morpheus Online. There were massive dedicated sties as well as video channels that were all centered around the in game food.

Even in the real world, it grew big enough that there were certain companies specializing in 'culinary tours' of Morpheus Online.

Many of the people taking part in these kinds of tours would be rich, but under leveled. And if they wanted to enjoy the various kinds of foods they would have to go to the distant locations in the game which were not exactly accessible by newbies.

As such they would be carried by the high leveled players and also provided protection by them until they reached their chosen location.

This ended up becoming popular 'escorting job' issued by the players themselves and had a good amount of renumeration too.

A whole new aspect of tourism opened up with the game and the money involved in it was simply unthinkable.

Nearly all of the major guilds were involved in this and obtained a part of their income from it. Arthur of course knew this and was clearly gathering information to sell for later.

This was information that didn't really have long term value and was better for a one time sale.

As such he could keep it for a while until it was the right time to sell it, rather than make a guide for it on the forums.

"I had fun today, Arzhur. I hope to see you again tomorrow." Val said as she looked at the log out timer getting closer.

"I'll see you tomorrow too." Arthur nodded his head. "Though will you log in at the same time or later?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm still busy in the real world and have a few obligations to take care of. Though soon enough I'll be free of them for the most part and be able to play the game as I want." Val explained.

"That's good, I'll look forward to you finishing school." Arthur said, surprising her.

"H-how… How did you know I was in school?" Val asked in disbelief.

"Your words and what we talked about over time was enough for me to figure that out." Arthur chuckled. "And considering your archery skills, I reckon you are one of the talented younger archers." He stated.

Val was shocked at first even feeling a bit scared, but then realized that all that Arthur had said was from information she had given out first.

'It's not the first time people have found out about me.' Val thought. 'Plus this is Arzhur. He's in an even more sensitive situation that me if I think about it.' She thought.

Which was true, since Arthur's level and scope of knowledge could bring about chaos that would shake the game for a long time.

It would also cause trouble for Arthur in the real world as he would likely be swarmed by many people as well as companies wanting to ask him or interview him.

As such, she understood that Arthur had a lot more to lose than she did.