Another POV:

Today was a bad day for Zenon.

He was in the middle of an important quest. He had to deliver a letter from the Capital City to the Trade City of Nerkia.

The distance between the two city was not short. For this quest, Zenon has already spent 3 days just to travel to Nerkia City. It was just a little more distance before he arrive at his destination.

"Nerkia City is only a little away. The quest deadline is tomorrow, so there is still enough time. If I successfully complete this quest, I will make a huge profit!"

"NIEEEEEGGGGHHHH!!!!"

"Hahaha... Of course, I haven't forgotten you, Stephanie! Later, I'll treat you to the most delicious grass available on the market!"

"FFRRR!!"

"Oh, you tired? Okay, let's camp here tonight. I need to sleep in the real world too."

Zenon driven his wagon to the side of the road and stopped there.

"Soon... We can replace this cranky wagon with a bigger one!"

Thus, he decided to camp on the spot. After petting Stephanie's head one last time, he entered his wagon and pressed the logout button. Unfortunately, he didn't realize at the time that the petting was his last moment with Stephanie.

When he logged in the next day, suddenly a group of vicious spiders swarmed him from all directions.

[⁂][Virulent Tarantula - Lv79~89] ×20+

Zenon was used to their kind of monsters. He had faced a few of Virulent Tarantula during his journey.

Back then, they were just passive monsters who preferred to use their nests to trap enemies. They won't attack anyone outside their lair, so as long as Zenon doesn't get close to them, then they won't be a threat. But today was different, they had suddenly left their lair and were actively attacking him.

Besides, their levels were higher than he remembered.

"SYITT!! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE!!"

If it's just one or two, Zenon won't have too much trouble. Worst case, he could run away and avoid the battle.

However, the spiders were persistent and attacked him in groups. Poison after poison shot through the air, destroying his wagon and the supplies inside.

Then he remembered about his horse.

"Stephanie?! STEPHANIE!!"

There was no answer. He looked in the direction his horse should have been but found nothing. His horse was gone with only the blood on the ground remaining, most likely he had been eaten clean before he logged in.

Zenon himself was already in a sorry state. He was paralyzed and could not use his right hand. Half of his armor was sprayed with a corrosive poison and melted into an unrecognizable shape.

The same poison was also eating his HP away. His death was certain. But if he died now, he would receive a Death Penalty and be unable to log in for a full 24 hours. The quest would be doomed to failure.

"DAMM IT...!!! NO! I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"

He must not fail this quest. The letter inside his inventory was an important quest item that must be delivered due on time. If Zenon failed his quest, then his favorability towards an important native will be dropped and he won't receive quests from that native in the future.

The effort that he had worked up until now will be wasted. That was not something he would like to see.

He opened his inventory and decisively used a Life Insurance Scroll to avoid the death penalty.

And then, Zenon respawned back to the Rosenweil Capital City.

He quickly catch up with the current situation after quick looking at the forums. However, his expression turned ugly as he tried his best to hold his tears. His wagon and his beloved horse gone, along with the supplies that he intended to trade.

"My wagon... my poor Stephanie..."

Although the horse was not from a rare breed, but 'Stephanie' had accompanied Zenon for a long time. It would be a lie to say he had no attachment toward his horse.

 

Zenon still vividly remembered the moment when he collecting gold little by little. He did a chore work in a shop owned by a native like a slave during his early days. He used his earned gold to buy the prettiest horse in the local farm.

That was the first time Zenon and Stephanie meet.

After that, they went traveling as a merchant to various lands, endured scorching sun and chilly rain together. Their bond was strengthened as they travel. 

Now, Stephanie was no more. He wouldn't be able to look at her comfortable expression when he brushed her again. Her unique neigh every time he greeted her as he logged in won't be heard anymore...

Poor Stephanie, it must be very painful when those spiders bit her with their venomous fang.

Zenon regretted very much that he was not even there to help so she had to unwillingly face a violent death.

 

But... he did not have time to be sad.

The quest!

"Wagon and horse can be replaced... But this quest must not fail...!"

His 3 days of traveling was wasted. He only has 16 hours left to complete the quest.

The wagon and the horse already gone. But, even if he still has them, it was impossible to go to Nerkia City physically before the time limit. Which means, he had to use another means of transportation.

"Teleport Gate... I did not have any choice left except for using it."

If he used the Teleportation Gate, he can arrive almost instantly at Nerkia City. There is no need to cross mountains and rivers. Though, if someone wants to use the gate, they had to pay an expensive fee.

One time teleport costs  1.000.000, and the gold will be deducted directly from the system window.

Thinking about it made Zenon want to cough blood. Even his lost wagon and the goods inside was only worth about half of that amount. The problem was, his current saving was not enough to cover that costs.

Without any other choice, he went to his rented stall in the market and sell the remaining goods that was inside his inventory. He also unequipped his damaged armor.

"This armor is already damaged so much... It probably can't be repaired anymore..."

When an equip durability becomes too low, the bonus effects got nullified, no matter what its rarity was. Once an equip become this state, repairing it would be a strenuous task. A wrong procedure might damage the remaining durability, making it shatter into particles.

Such a pity, this was an armor that have 2 slot essences. It was quite rare for an equip to have a slot essence, much less two. He got this armor from a chain quest reward with the C difficulty. As for the 2 soul essences, he bought them for a huge price, using real money.

Orc Pirate General and Fiertooth Wolf are elite monsters. A pack of mobs can only have one of them and their chance of dropping their Soul Essences was basically non-existent, almost close to zero. Such items obviously will not appear in the Auction Hall.

"This is too sad... I traded these two soul essences with my sports car, but now they had become junk..."

Zenon couldn't help but cry.

Although unwilling, he put the broken armor into his stall alongside the other items.

There is no use holding such useless junk in his inventory. Rather than filling his inventory space, might as well sell it. Hopefully, someone would be willing to buy it at a high price.

Not long after, he saw a little girl approaching his stall...