His virtual store was of the cheapest kind, A Small Store. As he chose the type and paid, he was presented with several options. He needed to choose a name, a category, a selling method, a slogan, a quality-check agency, and identification. 

For the name, Arthur named it Hidden Gems. He chose the artifact category and then chose artificial ones. He was torn between direct selling and bidding, so he chose the bidding system with a direct selling option. 

He would estimate the price the item would go for and include the option for customers to pay that price to buy it directly. He made the starting bid half the price of the selling option and moved on to choose a slogan. 

"A hidden gem is better than a flamboyant ore." 

Arthur wrote whatever occurred to him and then listed the Runes Research Department as his agency. He read somewhere that he can send his artifacts anonymously to the department to appraise them before it's sent to the community. 

As for the identification, Arthur simply used his student's ID number and it was accepted. Even though no one would have access to this information, he was still uncomfortable sharing them. 

However, he needed the points. The outside world's cash was useless at the moment. If he wanted to create better artifacts and buy better gear, he would need to get Jerano Points. 

Arthur returned to his room despite the student's stares and hostile gazes. If he was only hated for not fighting back, his strength would have solved the issue. But if he was a suspect of killing a student, his strength becomes a threat. 

As he entered his room, Arthur asked Lilo to construct another barrier to keep the gaze off him. He took out the items he bought the day Trevor died and took out the cores he had. 

For neo rankers, the artificial artifacts he was about to create were more than enough. With how efficient his runes are, even an artificial one would be like an extra skill. 

The inscribing moment was always a relief to his stressed-out mentality. He was doing the thing that no one else can, and it gave him a sense of fulfillment. 

***

As the days passed, the students grew antsy over their tasks. The fact that this week's practical class was about the party system and exploring dungeons. 

Unfortunately for Arthur, the exploring was done through virtual reality. He couldn't level up like this, so he had to team up with a few students who ignored his existence. 

The investigation was still ongoing. The day before, the college released a statement that no evidence has been found yet. They only mentioned that the cause of death was internal bleeding, but there were no signs of trauma or injury. 

The fact that no conclusion has been reached bugged Arthur greatly. The rumors about him being the culprit kept resurfacing as soon as they die down. With the resources that the college has employed, he didn't understand how they couldn't find the culprit. 

He had become the outcast and not even in a way that made him kidnappable. The gaze never left him, making him the worst target to be kidnapped. 

As they walked through the dark dungeon as a team, Arthur stayed to the back as support. He was grouped with five other students who he hasn't met before. There were two commoners and three nobility excluding him. 

He was shunned to the back and even though they discussed the signs of danger, none of them asked for his opinion. This practical test would award the people who complete the dungeon first, but there was very little chance of that with his group. 

"That's a dangerous route." Arthur used his keen senses for existence and felt the monster lying ahead. Even though this was a virtual reality, the 'existence' energy was very faint compared to the real thing. 

There was still contrast between nothing and something and contrast between something alive and inanimate. That's how he was able to tell there were monsters ahead. 

"There are no trails here." The archer looked at him with doubt. "I think it's a safe route. The other one is longer and darker." 

Even though he was dismissing Arthur, he was still polite about it. Arthur simply shrugged and looked at the leader, the highest-ranking person among them. 

He was a tribesman from Thiria with tattoos over his face. He looked at Arthur and sneered. 

"We do not respect those who bully the weak and bow to the strong." He said with a thick accent. "We go this way." He discarded Arthur's idea and kept moving forward.

'You really can't win every one. For me, it seems you can't win anyone.' Arthur sighed inwardly as he followed silently. If this was the case, he wouldn't intervene until the last second.

They went deeper into the dark path that was filled with gravel and stones. Tree roots came out of the walls and went into other walls making it increasingly difficult for them to pass through. 

As he was walking to the back, Arthur saw something move on the ceiling. It was subtle but he could feel its existence. It stalked them until the leader was trying to go from under a root before it attacked him. 

Two pairs of arms wrapped themselves around his neck as he let out a startled grunt. He took his sword and stabbed blindly upward. One of the stabs managed to strike the monster, making it issue a scream and reveal itself. 

"It's a Climber Corpse!" The archer shouted and started firing arrows at it to save the leader. However, he couldn't pinpoint its location because of its ability to blend into the surrounding. 

As the leader started wheezing, the monster suddenly went stiff and fell to the ground wiggling. Its long legs and arms were tied together by ethereal ropes that originated for Arthur's location. 

"Are you okay, leader?" Arthur asked as the Thirian man looked at him with a tired face. 

*** 

The VR capsule opened and Arthur rose from the chair. He picked up the items he had virtualized and left the VR training room. Most of the students had started to come out and as expected, Rae's team came on top. Then came Arlo's and Alice's teams. 

As for Arthur, his team's ranking was 19, just average. Since there were almost 34 teams, their ranking wasn't that bad. As he stood there, the leader from Thirian walked over to him. 

"Thank you for earlier." He said curtly. "How did you know there were monsters there?" 

"Well," Arthur smiled. It was time for some self-promotion. "I found a virtual store in the community that sells these Detection Cards. It detects lifeforms around you, making it incredibly useful." 

"Oh?" The man looked intrigued. "That's very convenient. Runic cards, however, are more expensive than artificial artifacts in the long term." 

"Mm, it's a small shop. One card is priced three points only." Arthur shrugged. He saw the man's eyes brighten. He leaned forward with excitement. 

"What is its name?"

***

Every day, countless stores emerge in Jerano. That's because not only students from all departments can create one, but even residents of the city. The residents can also purchase items from these stores, although the students got a discount for the items. 

Many mercenaries were living in Jerano. They had a part-time of protecting the city against any issue that may need their strength. They can also use teleportation circles to go anywhere they need to in the world.  These people needed these stores to supply them with survival items. 

That's why adventurers loved Jerano and their stores. There was a whole community of rating stores that would allow people to know what they're buying. 

John was a journalist browsing through the community for his next article, eager to spread the word about good deals or promising stores. However, there was a lack of these things as of late because of the rising prices of the items. 

This happened after the peace treaties between the Ilios Empire and Runera city failed due to the last events a few weeks ago. There was a statement about limiting the supplies to the kingdoms in fear of another war happening at the moment. 

Until a treaty has been signed, the prices of items would be high for their actual value. That's because runes were involved in every industrial field from either equipment or simply weapons to gather the resources for these fields. 

On the other hand, Jerano was a great place to buy these items. Unlike the outside world, the currency in Jerano was unified. You can't exchange money from the outside with the point Jerano used. You can only offer services that would win you points.

Through these services, Jerano was able to create an environment for innovation. These innovations needed Jerano's approval before they were industrialized, making the most of Jerano's profit from science. 

As he was stressing over the current issues, a single review caught his attention because of the Explorer Badge next to the name. This means this student was from Jerano's explorer's department, one of the elites in the world. 

The review was simple and uneventful, but it had five out of five stars as a rating for a nameless store. It mentioned the great prices this store had and the need to resupply as quickly as possible. 

John thought this man was an idiot, as he was giving away a good store if this was true. He entered the virtual store in question and the words Hidden Gems appeared in front of him. 

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