137 THE MAGICAL MAP
Kazan cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Kazan. It's about time someone came and who the hell are…?"
"Who we are isn't your concern," Leo replied coldly. "But you three idiots blocked the exit with all this fucking annoying webbing."
"Are we helping them?" Yun-Yun asked.
"No," Leo replied bluntly. "They're not our problem."
"Wait! Please!" Toshi begged. "We'll give you anything!"
Leo and his companions did not respond to his plea. They were looking for a way to get past these trapped people.
"Everything," Li-Jung added desperately to convince them to help.
Leo paused, tilting his head. "You're players, aren't you? What's your business in Sodom's ruins? You don't look local."
"This ruin opens once a year for adventurers," Li-Jung explained. "Mages from across the continent come here to explore. It's easy to get in with the right connections."
Leo rifled through their belongings, pulling out an emblem which surprised him.
"Even the Cho In Ann gang is here?" he mused, inspecting the CIA insignia. "Thought you guys specialized in space magic. Can't you just teleport out?"
"We would if we could", Kazan added impatiently.
"We're low-tier," Toshi admitted. "Tier 3, at best. We came here to improve our magic."
"Any elders came with you? … they'll come to save your asses," Petunia asked.
"No, we're alone. Please, help us," Toshi said.
Leo crossed his arms. A thought came across his mind as he looked at the C.I.A token. "Fine. I'll help—but only if you hand over all your System rewards."
"Our System rewards?" Kazan balked. "Are you serious?"
"Take it or leave it," Leo replied coolly.
The mages exchanged reluctant glances before finally agreeing. They had no choice in the circumstance.
"All right," Li-Jung sighed heavily. "But you'd better keep your end of the deal."
Petunia stepped forward and initiated the trade.
"Who's Black Pink? None of you look like a Black Pink," Kazan asked, frowning as he noticed the name tied to the trade request.
"Just accept the damn trade," Petunia said with a sly smile, waving him off.
Petunia had been stuck with the description "Black Pink" since joining the realm, something in her character profile she'd been unable to fix. It had become a source of personal irritation.
"I don't see a Black Pink among the three of you," Kazan added.
"Black Pink" was an irritant to Petunia ever since she came to this world. There was always the description over her head that any players would recognize immediately followed by laughter.
Leo helped Petunia change the description over her head. Now only "Petunia" can be read above her head by players. However, Leo couldn't change her real username. When she was trading with other players "Black Pink" still comes up.
Petunia skimmed through the inventory, reading off the items aloud:
Potion of Healing ×5Potion of Mana ×3Antidote to Tier 5 Svad Poison ×1Temporary Strength Increase (50%) ×3Immobilizing Spell – Tier 5 Svad ×5
"All consumables?" Leo said, eyebrows raised. "Not a single permanent item? Pathetic."
"We just started our quests!" Kazan snapped, visibly annoyed. "What did you expect, Potions of Immortality?"
"They must have something permanent," Petunia mused, her gaze narrowing. "They wouldn't have made it all the way here from the East without a few permanent rewards."
Leo folded his arms, his tone cold and commanding. "I need at least one permanent item from each of you. No exceptions."
Kazan and his companions exchanged glances again before sighing in defeat. They reluctantly added their gear to the trade inventory:
Direction Compass – A magical item that always points north.Mini-map ×2 – Displays the surrounding area within a 50-meter radius. Its range can be extended with additional maps.
Petunia transferred the directional tools to Leo, as he was leading them.
Satisfied, Leo tossed them a knife. "Here. Cut yourselves out. It'll take time, but you'll manage."
"This wasn't the deal!" Kazan yelled while Toshi tried cutting the web around him with the knife in his mouth.
"You're alive, aren't you?" Leo retorted. "The knife's a freebie. Consider yourselves lucky we didn't kill you for the trouble."
As they left, Petunia glanced back. "You're ruthless, you know that? We could have released them easily."
"They're not low-tier," Leo said. "If I freed them outright, they'd probably turn on us. This way, we're gone before they can try anything stupid."
Yun-Yun shrugged. "Always better to be safe."
And with that, they disappeared deeper into the ruins, leaving the mages to their fate slowly cutting the webbing on them with the knife Leo gave them.
----
"What are you doing?" Petunia asked, watching Leo fumble with his interface.
"I'm trying to figure out this damn map feature," Leo grumbled, his irritation clear.
"Don't tell me you haven't activated it yet? Everyone gets the map feature right after the beginner quest," Petunia said, raising an eyebrow.
"My handler's a fucking pain in the ass," Leo muttered.
"Are you talking about me?" Vanessa chimed in suddenly, her voice dripping with mock innocence.
"Yes, Vanessa. I need you to activate the map feature for me," Leo replied, shooting her an annoyed look.
"Oops! Didn't I already do that?" she asked, feigning surprise. "Oh well, don't bother with it. It's not worth the effort."
"Cut the crap and just activate it. I need access to the mini-map extensions," Leo demanded.
Vanessa smirked, clearly enjoying his frustration. "Fine, fine."
A translucent map suddenly materialized before Leo, revealing a detailed magical layout of the surroundings, spanning fifty meters around him. At the bottom of his view, a new tab appeared with a map icon—the mini-map toggle.
Leo wasted no time.
He tapped on the mini-map extensions he'd took from the Cho-In-An mages. The map expanded instantly, its reach growing with each extension he activated, increasing by twenty-five meters per upgrade.
"Finally, something useful I can steal from other players," Leo muttered, a sly grin forming on his face.
"Happy now?" Vanessa asked, her tone half-teasing.
"Not quite. Activate my trading function next," Leo demanded.
"What? Are you planning to blackmail other players already?" Vanessa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Does it matter what I do with my features?" Leo countered, his voice sharp.