The Widow's Secret

The door clicked shut behind Kael. He didn't move immediately his eyes remained on the widow standing a few feet away.

Something was different. A faint green glow had appeared beneath her name. Kael blinked.

[Tamable]

[Bond Success Rate: 1%]

His expression changed. He knew that prompt every monster he'd encountered since entering Ascension had carried it.

It was the condition required for his Bond skill. But seeing it attached to an NPC was completely different.

Wait.

Kael looked at the woman again. His Beastlord class had given him a passive ability that he hadn't fully appreciated when he first read it.

[Beastlord's Bond: Establish a bond with eligible targets.]

Eligible targets. He had assumed that meant monsters, maybe bosses. He had never considered NPCs.

Kael's mind immediately raced through the possibilities. Important NPCs controlled quests. Some owned shops. Others had access to information.

Some could introduce players to hidden factions or unlock entire quest chains. In his first life, players had spent months fighting over those opportunities.

If his Bond worked on them... This class is much more broken than I thought.

Kael glanced at Widow Hargrove. One percent that was almost laughable. But the fact that the system recognized her as tamable was already enough.

He filed the discovery away; he would test the limit of the class later. For now, he had something more important to handle.

The widow studied him from across the room. She looked older up close, but there was nothing fragile about her.

Her eyes were sharp the kind of eyes that noticed small lies before they became big ones.

Then her mouth curved. "Bit early in the day for a young man to be knocking on a widow's door."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Not what you're thinking." Her smile vanished. "Then say what you came for."

Kael didn't answer immediately. He was deciding how much information to reveal.

This woman wasn't an ordinary NPC in his previous life, players had eventually uncovered parts of her questline, and most of them had given up before reaching the important part.

Kael had no intention of wasting time on the same mistakes.

"I know there's more to you than you're letting people see."

The widow's expression hardened. "You should leave." She moved toward the door. Kael watched her hand reach for the handle. Then he spoke.

"The village chief know about you and the militia captain?"

Her hand stopped. The color drained from her face. She slowly turned around. "How..." Her voice became quieter. "How could you possibly know that?"

Kael smiled. "I know a lot of things."

The widow stared at him. For several seconds, neither moved.

Then she crossed the room, grabbed Kael by the arm, and pulled him farther inside. The door slammed shut. She checked the window, then the second one.

Only after making sure nobody was watching did she turn back.

"Fine." Her voice was completely different now. "Talk."

Kael leaned against the table. "I want to know what you're hiding." You don't get answers for free. "I expected that."

"Then prove yourself."

Kael smiled. "How?"

The widow folded her arms. "Three Iron-Tier Bosses." She paused. "And one Bronze." "Bring me their heads." Her eyes narrowed. "If you're really as capable as you seem, that shouldn't be difficult."

Kael almost laughed. Convenient. He already had exactly what she wanted. He removed his pack, then dropped it onto the table.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Four severed heads rolled across the wooden surface three Iron-Tier Bosses, one Bronze-Tier Boss.

The widow stared. Her mouth opened slightly. For perhaps the first time since Kael entered the house, she looked genuinely shocked. "You..." She looked from the heads to Kael.

"You already had them?"

Kael shrugged. "Something like that."

She picked up the nearest head and examined it. Her expression slowly changed whatever she had been expecting, this clearly wasn't it.

After a moment, she disappeared into the back room. Kael heard drawers opening, metal clinking. Then footsteps returned. The widow held a small silver token between two fingers.

"Take this."

Kael accepted it.

"Graystone Ridge." She pointed east. "Ten miles from the village."

Kael glanced at the token. "What's there?"

"A sealed passage." Her expression became serious. "Something dangerous is guarding what I need." She paused. "Inside is an iron strongbox."

Kael looked back at her. "And you want me to bring it here."

"Exactly."

The moment he accepted the token, the system appeared.

[QUEST ACCEPTED]

[The Widow's Treasure]

[Objective: Travel to Graystone Ridge.]

[Objective: Enter the sealed passage.]

[Objective: Defeat the Skeleton General.]

[Objective: Retrieve the Iron Strongbox.]

[Objective: Return the strongbox to Widow Hargrove.]

Kael accepted. The widow's eyes remained on him. "Bring it back."

"I will."

He turned toward the door.

"Unrivaled." He stopped. The widow looked at him carefully. "You've been asking questions you shouldn't know the answers to."

Kael glanced over his shoulder. "Is that a problem?"

A faint smile appeared on her face. "Not yet."

Kael left. The moment he stepped outside, the door shut behind him.

He looked down at the silver token in his hand. This is moving much faster than it did in my first life. And that was exactly what he wanted.

Before heading toward Graystone Ridge, Kael made one stop: the general store. He bought healing potions, mana potions, a few cheap arrows, some basic food. Nothing expensive he didn't need luxury. He needed supplies that could keep him alive.

Once his inventory was stocked, he walked toward the village square. The place was already crowded. Players were beginning to understand that equipment mattered.

Some had started setting up small stalls, most of them selling junk broken starter weapons, common armor, low-grade materials.

Kael looked around. Then smiled. Perfect.

He opened his inventory.

Equipment he no longer needed began appearing on the ground Iron-tier gear, skill books, weapons, armor, materials. He arranged everything across a temporary stall, then placed a simple sign in front.

[Premium Gear]

[Gold Only]

[Limited Time]

Within seconds, heads started turning. "Wait." "Is that Iron-tier?" "Level seven?" "Look at the stats!" Someone pushed closer. "There's a skill book too!" "What skill?" "Area damage. Mage class." The crowd grew.

Kael leaned against the stall and watched. He wasn't surprised. Four hours after launch, most players were still struggling to collect enough copper for basic supplies.

Gold was another world entirely. And Kael had equipment they desperately wanted. The problem was that most of them couldn't afford it.

A player picked up a staff. "How much?"

"Five gold."

The player nearly dropped it. "Five?"

Kael nodded. "Five."

"That's insane."

Kael shrugged. "You don't have to buy it."

The player reluctantly put it down. Another player immediately grabbed it.

"Wait!" He checked his inventory. "I have four gold and eighty copper." "Not enough." The player cursed under his breath.

Kael continued arranging the remaining items. Three cheap pieces sold within the first few minutes. The expensive equipment stayed untouched.

That was fine Kael wasn't in a hurry. Every piece would become harder to replace as players leveled.

But then something caught his attention. A green tag. Kael looked up.

[Tamable]

His eyes moved to another player. The same tag. Then another. And another. Every player surrounding his stall had it.

Kael's fingers stopped moving. His heartbeat increased slightly. He slowly looked across the crowd. Dozens of players. Every one of them.

[Tamable]

Kael's mind immediately returned to Widow Hargrove. It's not limited to monsters. His eyes narrowed. NPCs. Monsters. Players. If Bond worked on players too... that changed everything.

A Beastlord wasn't simply a class that controlled monsters. It might be capable of building an entire network of bonded individuals.

Kael didn't test it. Not here. Not with dozens of people watching. There was no reason to expose such an ability this early. He calmly continued selling.

Then someone suddenly pushed through the crowd. A young player appeared in front of the stall. He was breathing heavily.

"Hey!"

Kael looked at him. The player pointed at the equipment. "Can I pay real money for this?"

Several nearby players turned toward him.

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Real money?"

"Yes." The guy pulled out his communicator.

"Thirty thousand."

The surrounding players went silent. "Ten thousand real currency. Straight to your account."

Kael stared at him, then at the expensive gear covering his stall. A faint smile appeared. Four hours. And already, people were willing to throw real money at virtual equipment.

Kael looked at the player again. "Which item?"

The kid pointed at everything. "All of it."

The square went silent.

Kael's smile widened.Now things were getting interesting.