Chapter 1181 Before the Players' Arrival
Chapter 1181 Before the Players' Arrival
"…And with that, the shop's more or less open for business."
Wiping off the sweat dripping down his forehead, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the sight before him with a smile.
Dispelling the skill he'd been using all this time to help him arrange all the equipment and items for the players in advance, the young man soon let out a slight chuckle. "To think setting up shop would take me almost two hours just to finish."
"In any case, I've pretty much done everything I could to prepare for their appearance."
Recalling the smithy he used to own back in Clossbay City, Valyr began to walk around the shop portion of the building he constructed as he continued to smile.
Thinking about how he pretty much copy and pasted the layout he used in the smithy back then for the current shop he was making, the young man soon let out a bit of laughter.
"Well, I did change a couple of things," said the young man to himself as the thought came to mind. "Learning from my days of running the smithy, I made sure to arrange the items this time in a way that attracted all of the attention towards the important items."
With that, he shifted his gaze towards the center portion of the shop, glancing at the equipment and potions he put a bit more effort into creating.
"Though it's not as great as the things I can make nowadays, it's still more than enough to attract their attention," muttered Valyr to himself soon after, grinning at the thought of the players eventually looking at those items with greed.
Feeling like he'd done everything he could to get ready for the time the players appeared in Greater Beyond, Valyr soon made his way out of the shop, deciding to reward himself with a bit of rest after working hard for the past few days.
'Then again, I have no choice but to get back to work after they arrive.' Wryly smiling at the thought that popped up in his mind, the young man soon shrugged his shoulders at it before taking out a chair from his spatial bracelet. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Placing the chair near his shop's entrance, Valyr went ahead and sat on it, making sure that the chair could hold his entire body weight as he began to relax.
Watching the people within the village move through the streets as if they were in a hurry, the young man briefly thought back to the time he'd been moving at a pace similar to them.
'Even though 3 hours may seem like a lot of time, it's also not a lot of time considering the situation.'
Making up his mind to set up shop in preparation for the players, Valyr did not hold back whatsoever, using both his stats and skills to their very limits to make sure he had more than enough time to get ready for when the players arrived.
With that, he began to use some of his skills in unique ways, such as how he used the translucent arms to help move all of the equipment and potions in their rightful places.
Of course, with no racks, stands, or shelves to speak of, Valyr was also forced to craft multiples of them on the spot, thanking his past self for asking more than enough materials from the Blacksmith Guild before arriving at Daffors Village.
'I guess that's the closest I've ever been to embodying the essence of a one-man factory.' As this thought came to mind, Valyr let out a bit of laughter once more as he continued to savor the idle time he'd given himself.
Though, just before half an hour could pass with him doing nothing, a man appeared in front of him all of a sudden.
"…Say, Ylvar." Initially hesitant to ask Valyr for more information, William eventually mustered up his courage for the sake of the village.
Twiddling his thumbs as he found the right words to say, the man eventually let out a faint sigh. "I appreciate that you've given us a heads-up in advance. Because of it, we're able to roughly prepare for their arrival."
"However…"
"However?" At that word, Valyr sat up straight as he looked at William with a raised eyebrow.
"Well… for the lack of a better term, what should we do next?" asked William in response. "Do we really just have to give our problems for the Players to handle?"
Feeling as if his previous advice to the village leader might be dangerous, Valyr decided to clarify a couple things as he replied, "Pretty much. Of course, that doesn't mean you should give them every single problem you have."
"As long as you could solve the problem on your own, then it's better that you solve it that way," continued the young man. "However, for problems that may take more time or that might be beyond your means, then it's better for the Players to handle it."
"Aside from that, just treat them as you would anyone else." Valyr looked at William with a confident smile. "As the system itself said, these guys are pretty much us, but with abilities that make them just a bit more."
"Treat them as you would anyone else…" Muttering a part of the words Valyr said to him, William eventually had a look of realization on his face, now having a greater idea of what the young man meant.
With that, it was no surprise that the man thanked Valyr for his advice, to which the latter let out a slight chuckle in response.
Seeing that their conversation was now over, the two soon decided to head their separate ways, with William thinking that it would be better for him to share the information Valyr gave him with the others.
Though, just as he was about to head to another part of the village to disseminate it, William was forced to stop in his tracks as the young man began to talk to him all of a sudden.
"Oh, right." As if recalling something needed to do, Valyr gave William a look of brief contemplation before deciding to dispel [Thousand Polymorph].
"While I'm in this village, I'll be adopting a different identity in order to not be recognized. We don't want other people to come to this village because of me, after all."
Whoosh!
Within seconds, any signs of Ylvar in front of William disappeared without a trace, instead being replaced with Valyr's original appearance.
"Er… what should I call you, then?" Taking in a deep breath after being briefly stunned by Valyr's current appearance, William soon regained his bearings as he asked a question in return.
"Valyr," replied Valyr with a slight smile. "You can just call me Valyr."
"…Alright." Though he found it weird that the name the young man chose to use for his new identity sounded similar to his original one, William did not really dwell on it too much.
After all, it was only a matter of time when the young man in front of him would leave their village for greener pastures.
With that, the man soon left Valyr to his own devices once more, telling the latter that he planned on sharing the information the latter gave him with the others.
In response, Valyr merely smiled, watching as the man's silhouette gradually disappeared from his field of vision.
"…This might be a stupid move, but this will definitely spare me from a headache later on." Relaxing into his chair once again, Valyr decided to bring up the timer related to the version update in front of him, wanting to see how much time he had left to relax.
Though, he immediately changed his mind after seeing there were only 5 minutes left before the players arrived, prompting him to get out of his chair as soon as possible.
Letting out a faint sigh in response, Valyr briefly shook his head as he stored the chair back into his spatial bracelet, only to then smile as a couple of thoughts surfaced in his mind soon after.
"Welp. I've pretty much done everything I could beforehand."
"All that's left now is for the players to arrive."