God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 14 - Meeting a Major NPC [2]

Gabriel passed through the city gate without any resistance. Furthermore, he didnʼt encounter Vera and Darius on his way.

He guessed they had probably returned to the Adventurer Guild after he ran off with the map—the only lead to the Grizzlenaught Bear cave.

After entering the city, he didnʼt head straight to the guild to submit his quest. Instead, he went to the black market to sell the loot from his hunt.

Although the transaction could have been easily done at the Adventurer Guild, Gabriel preferred the black market. Unlike the guild, which had fixed prices for everything, the black market allowed bargaining—meaning he could sell his items for even higher prices.

The Black Market District in Stellar City was a long, rundown marketplace crowded with adventurers and merchants shouting and selling their wares.

”Fresh monster scales! Still dripping blood—cheap!”

”Get your enchanted daggers here! Half price for today only!”

”Cursed scrolls, forbidden tomes! Donʼt ask where I got ʼem!”

Gabriel had visited this place countless times in the past, so he easily made his way through the throng of people.

”Now, where is that guy?” he muttered, narrowing his eyes. In his past life as a player during his newbie period, his relationships with NPCs were rocky at best. His reputation with most of them was nearly nonexistent, and no matter how many errands or quests he completed, he couldnʼt raise his reputation points.

Now that he was a fellow NPC, he hoped things would be different this time.

His eyes fell on the person he was looking for—a youth wearing light, full-body armor that revealed only his average-looking features.

The man was currently barking orders at his apprentices, shouting at the top of his lungs and spraying spittle everywhere.

”Oi, get to work, will ya! Stop keeping the customers waiting!”

”Yes, Master!”

”And you—hurry up! Stop moving like a snail!”

”Y-Yes, sir!”

”Of course, heʼs always shouting.” A small smile appeared on Gabrielʼs face as he approached the stall.

”Hey, stop right there!” one of the merchantʼs workers said, blocking his path.

”Whatʼs your business here?” the chubby apprentice asked, his gaze sweeping over Gabriel with mild disgust.

”Iʼm here to sell a few things,” Gabriel responded calmly, his voice emotionless. ”Iʼd like to speak with your boss.”

The apprentice sneered. ”Tsk. Whatʼs so important that you canʼt talk to me? Come on, show me your stuff. If itʼs nothing good, then scram.”

Gabriel remained calm despite the manʼs tone. After a moment, he said slowly, ”Iʼm here to sell off a few skills and wea—”

”Did someone say skill?” the merchant, Damian Graves, called out, his eyes lighting up when he overheard Gabrielʼs words. Though he seemed preoccupied, Damian had actually been paying close attention.

He quickly abandoned whatever he was doing and rushed over with sparkling eyes.

”Yes,” Gabriel replied as he summoned two skill scrolls, causing the apprenticeʼs jaw to drop in surprise.

ʼWhat is someone like him doing with not one, but two skill scrolls?!ʼ he thought.

The first thing that crossed his mind was, ʼDid he steal them?ʼ But he shook his head. ʼHe looks too frail for that.ʼ

Damian offered a professional smile.

”If you donʼt mind, will you come inside so we can discuss this properly?”

---

Some time later, the two sat opposite each other in Damianʼs office. The merchant furrowed his brows as he read through the descriptions of the skills.

”Contagion Spike—uncommon skill. Enables the user to launch a burst of bone spikes.

Mad Gnash—common. Temporarily boosts attack speed and power when below 50% HP.”

Damian placed the scrolls on the wooden table. ”These arenʼt bad. Iʼll give you $15,000 for the uncommon one and $10,000 for the common. Do we have a deal?”

Gabriel was inwardly shocked by the price. It was more than he had expected. At first, he was confused, but then he remembered the kind of person Damian was.

Despite his short temper, Damian was a very smart and calculating individual. Gabriel quickly deduced that there had to be a reason for the generous offer.

”Hahahaha.” Damian laughed. ”I know that look. Well, take this as a little tip—to encourage you to keep coming back.”

”I see,” Gabriel murmured under his breath. ”Actually, I also have a request.”

”What is it? Go ahead. If itʼs within my power, Iʼll help.”

”Alright then, Iʼll get straight to the point.” Gabriel held Damianʼs gaze. ”Iʼll supply you with more skills and weapons from now on. In return, I want us to be business partners. Donʼt worry—weʼll discuss the shares and profits later.”

Damian raised a brow, wondering if he had misjudged this guy. ”You do know how rare skill drops are, right? Even weapons donʼt come that easy. How do you plan to pull something like this off?”

Gabriel merely smiled and proceeded to retrieve several weapons and monster cores, placing them on the table to form a small pile.

A trace of shock flashed across Damianʼs face. The next moment, his eyes widened even further when he saw a third skill scroll in Gabrielʼs hand.

”Y-You... how did you get this many skill scrolls and weapons?” Damian stuttered, staring at Gabriel like he was an alien.

”More will come from where that came from,” Gabriel replied calmly as he placed the scroll back into his inventory for personal use. ”All you have to do is accept my deal. If I canʼt fulfill my promise, you have every right to terminate it.”

In his past life, Damian—the bastard son of the Graves multimillion conglomerate, one of the top companies in charge of skill scrolls, weapons, and other treasures—would become the most influential and wealthiest person in both worlds.

And in this lifetime, Gabriel wanted to invest early.

After all, if he wanted to stand a chance against Sutreʼs invasion, he needed to become a powerhouse before the convergence.

”I... I...” Damian stared at Gabriel for a while, struggling with what to say. He didnʼt know if he was making a hasty decision by trusting this homeless-looking youth, but he decided to go with his instincts this time.

”We have a deal, then,” he finally said. Both men stood up and shook hands.

”Oh, as your official business partner, I have a request,” Gabriel suddenly added.

”What is it?” Damian frowned.

”Fire the chubby-looking apprentice.”

”That all?”

”Yes.”

”Okay. Consider it done.”

---

Meanwhile, at the Adventurer Guild, Lily reported to her superior after a long day of investigations.

”Vice President,” she said, ”weʼve taken note of all the adventurers who were in the area around the time the three were killed.”

”Very good,” Scarlett replied, raising her head from the mountain of paperwork. She approached the window, her gaze fixed outside as she added, ”Summon all of them for questioning. And bring Alice—weʼll need her lie detection expertise.”