Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 17 – Cat Dad and Corrupted Guild Branch Manager

'This NPC is already being converted!' Xiaomao was inwardly surprised.

The corrupted spirit stone might have already corrupted Otto as the NPC showed a common symptom of being brainwashed by the stone.

There were four known symptoms.

- The patients always flaunted their corrupted spirit stones to others.

- They always searched for more spirit stones.

- They always mistook the stone for a precious jewel with a dream-like effect that they wished for.

- The sclera of the patients gradually darkened as the mutation slowly convert the host into one of Chaos Demon God's apostles.

Once the apostle transformation was completed, their behavior would change, and they would gather fellow Chaos Demon God's believers to fight against the Pangu Church.

This was a mechanism that Pangu Incorporate's CEO, Pan Xian, revealed in the later years after the usage of corrupted spirit stones was revealed.

And now, Otto showed three of the four common symptoms of being corrupted by the stone. It was a matter of time before his personality changed and began to wololo other people like a priest unit from an RTS series.

Xiaomao pitied Otto. Now that he was cursed by the stone, the only way to save him was to bring a bishop from the Pangu Church to cure him, which was nearly impossible at this stage of the game.

"I'm sorry, munya. I haven't seen them before, munya."

Ding

<You have chosen to refuse the offer.>

Otto laughed, "It's alright to deny it, but I can sense that you have one on you. You see, I'm very sensitive to the energy of this stone. Don't you need pocket money for your adventure in the future? I can buy that stone from you. How about 200,000 gold coins?"

Ding

<Otto has given you another offer. You may choose one of the following choices.>

<One: Accept the deal. You will obtain 200,000 gold coins, one passport, and a squad of elite adventurers under Otto to serve you for a month.>

<Two. Refuse the deal. Result: Unknown.>

<Three. Haggle for a better price. Result: Unknown.>

<Four. Forget the deal. All your stones belong to me, munya! Result: Otto and Seaside Town's NPCs will hate you.>

'What the heck are these choices?!'

Xiaomao scoffed at the game's attempt to toy with his decision. Only idiots would have chosen the last option and provoked the entire town of NPCs.

Xiaomao shook his head again, "This stone is too precious for me, munya. I can't sell it to you."

Ding

<You have chosen to refuse the deal.>

<Otto is frustrated because of your stubbornness. Current Hatred: 2 Stars.>

"…"

NPCs of this game always revealed their positive or negative impression to the players through the game system. Players could see how they thought of them in the relationship menu.

Being good to the NPCs gave players favorability stars. By having a higher star, players could receive various perks, such as discounts for their shop's items, free gifts, secret information, unique quests, or random treasures.

On the other hand, negative impressions and hatred of NPCs could penalize players. For example, strong NPCs could give abnormal status effects to players, such as curses. Townsmen and peasants might employ the guild's adventurers or mercenaries to hunt the players down while the nobles and NPCs with authority might constantly harass the players. Even shop owners might refuse to do business with the players.

Xiaomao sighed. He had done it now, and Otto might be the authority type that usually employed other NPCs to harass players.

Otto's eyes turned cold. He stared straight into Xiaomao's eyes.

"500,000 gold coins, and I'll recommend you to other guild branches. I'll enlist a veteran mercenary to protect you for 3 months!"

Ding

<Otto has given you another offer. You may choose one of the following choices.>

<One: Accept the deal. You will obtain 500,000 gold coins, one passport, 100,000 Contribution EXP, and a squad of veteran mercenaries to serve you for 3 months.>

<Two. Refuse the deal. Result: Otto will be enraged.>

Xiaomao started sweating. He sweated not because of the threat of making an NPC his enemy but because of the options.

The rewards for the first choice were too low!

Xiaomao remembered the future price of a corrupted spirit stone. After the Heavenly Dao Patch had been introduced, Chaos Demon God Faction's players offered 100 to 200 PACTs per stone at the minimum, and one PACT could be exchanged for one million gold coins!

One spirit stone's average price was 150 million gold coins!

This offer was a joke!

This was a scam!

Although it was a scam, regular players would have accepted this offer right away without hesitation. After all, the item couldn't be identified by normal means.

'Should I refuse again? This stone is my only clue to the first scenario quest, though. I can also take risks to trigger the chain quests, but is it really worth it?'

Xiaomao deeply exhaled and was about to refuse the offer and take risks.

But then, he remember that mysterious skill that came with him.

.

[???] (Bloodline Passive) – Mastery Max

Munya-munya munya munya munya. Munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya.

.

He thought of yesterday's glitches that blessed him with a good item drop rate. He wondered if he could do it again since he had this mysterious passive skill.

'The drop rate is glitched right now. Yesterday's hunt might have been a fluke. But if this skill really allows me to get the 100% drop rate, I can probably get more spirit stones after I kill more elite monsters.'

Xiaomao's pupils expanded as he had an inspiration.

He stopped hesitating. Xiaomao brought the unidentified black stone out of his inventory.

For the long-term investment, it was better to yield now and find new stones from elite monsters.

"You're a good haggler, munya. I give up, munya."

Otto's face changed. He gave Xiaomao the brightest smile as he snatched the spirit stone from his tentacles.

"You should have done this earlier, young catopus. Very well, here!"

Otto put a jade plate with the town's symbol and a gold bar in front of Xiaomao.

Ding

<You have chosen to sell the unidentified black stone.>

<Otto has a favorable impression of you. Current Favorability, 2 Stars.>

<Otto has given you a gold bar (500K GC).>

<You have earned 100,000 Contribution EXP.>

<Otto will find you a squad of veteran mercenaries to escort you on your trip.>

Gold bars were treated the same way as banknotes in this world. Instead of throwing 100,000 gold coins at each other during trades, they used gold bars in various sizes as a substitute for gold coins.

Even the imprinted number, [500K], was visible on the surface, allowing everybody to recognize its value at a glance.

As for the jade plate, it came at the size of an ATM card. Though thicker, it was light and easy to store in a pocket.

Unfortunately, Xiaomao couldn't wear human clothes. He deposited both the gold bar and the jade plate in his game inventory.

And lastly…

Ding

<Your Contribution Level has increased by 1!>

100,000 EXP was enough to raise the Contribution Level from 0 to 1. From now on, Xiaomao could enjoy the game allowance of one PACT every week!

Just by logging in at least once a week, Xiaomao could earn one PACT every Sunday at 7 AM.

The number was insignificant. However, players could raise the level to the maximum of 100. Therefore, a player could potentially earn 100 PACTs every week.

Xiaomao glanced at his Contribution Level and snorted at it. The cap would be increased to 1,000 after the Landlord Patch was in effect. After that, more investors, gold farming companies, ambitious players, and pro-players would follow the trend and heavily invest in the game, causing the PACT price to soar.

But that was far in the future. Xiaomao put the matter to the back of his head.

He looked at the corrupted guild branch manager.

"Is there anything else, munya?"

Otto smirked as he played with the two black stones in his hands, "No. You may leave. Oh, you should wait in this town for a day or two. It will take a while to commission veteran mercenaries to escort you to the Yeet City."

"… Thanks, munya."

Ding

<You have received a new quest.>

.

Unique Quest: Suspicious Guild Branch Manager's Activities

You have been forced to sell the unidentified black stone to Otto. Fortunately, you chose to compromise and avoid a direct confrontation, so Otto no longer pays attention to you.

Still, this behavior is not something a guild branch manager should have. You should report this to the Yeet City's authorities or the Church of Pangu to report the suspicious activities of Otto.

Quest Objective: Find a bishop of Pangu Church or Guild Branch Manager of Yeet City's Adventurer Guild and report this incident to one of them.

Reward: Unknown

*[???]: Be wary of Otto's veteran mercenaries.

.

Xiaomao was surprised. He thought that he had chosen to end the quest series that related to Otto's greed. Instead, he triggered another quest.

Moreover, the trigger conditions were odd.

It was a unique quest, that only one player on the entire server could complete, and it was done in a first-come-first-serve fashion.

Xiaomao had doubts. If the triggering condition was to sell the stone to Otto, why hadn't other players done it before?

Was there a trick to it?

Then, Xiaomao read the last line.

'Be wary of the mercenaries?'

As Xiaomao left the building, he pondered about the line, which was colored in red.

Usually, red texts in-game were secret information that came from a legendary skill add-on, such as Protein from Fish. However, the mysterious munya-munya skill appeared and hinted to Xiaomao about the mercenaries.

It piqued Xiaomao's interests.

'Veteran mercenaries? So, refusing Otto twice and selling him for 500,000 gold coins might be the condition to trigger this quest since the first two offers didn't include them in the picture. I might be ambushed or backstabbed if I go with the mercenaries. Welp, I don't know what munya-munya skill is, but thanks for the clue, munya!'

Xiaomao giggled as he rushed toward another big building nearby.

The front signboard was easy to read.

Labor Guild

Aka the Slave Guild