My attack is at its peak now, Angel thought happily. It's almost doubled, but my health is still really low. They've made it so that healing is extremely limited and HP is weak right from the start. This makes the game even more realistic, and player progression will stay relatively slow. Add to that lifelike environments, fairly scary monsters, and a complex learning curve… Players will have to take things slowly—or change their underwear often—because there's good reason to be afraid if you're not a seasoned adventurer. As for me, I'm liking this game more and more.
Hmm, should I try to drop another sword to sell? But no player will have enough money for now. I could also sell one at a crazy price on the Online Market. I could even try farming goblins to see what they drop. The loot is less certain, but my goal is to increase my strength as fast as possible. If I sell the sword, that's fine, but it won't be enough to really move things forward. So I'll focus on those goblins. They hit less hard than wolves but are much tougher. With my current strength, I should be able to kill them without a problem.
After thirty minutes, the other two players headed back to town. Angel was alone for nearly an hour before more players began arriving. The wolves' attacks weren't to be taken lightly, and plenty of over-eager adventurers got themselves killed early. Angel stayed focused, killing monsters without pause all day long.
It was only when he hit his playtime limit that Angel stopped. He had played exactly 14 hours straight, meeting the goal he had set for himself. In any case, he couldn't have gone longer—the game had kicked him out to rest.
The game had started at 8 a.m., and now it was 10 p.m. A whole day had flown by. It felt like an instant to Aaron, but he still felt the physical and mental fatigue from this new experience.
Paul and Lisa were waiting eagerly to hear what he'd been up to. Paul had tried to find him in-game but failed. Knowing there were five different kingdoms and that players were assigned to one at random, he hoped at least to be in the same one as his friend.
"Yo, buddy!" Paul grinned. "Looks like you had a good time, logging out only now."
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah, it was pretty fun!" Aaron replied happily. "I didn't see the time pass. I got force-disconnected."
"You're insane," his friend laughed.
"You know me—and this time, I've got no time to waste. I'll only play like this."
"Still, take care of your health," Lisa said, worried about how much he was playing.
"Yeah, I'll be careful. Thanks for looking out for me," Aaron replied with respect and gratitude.
"Come on, tell me everything! You know I'm a total noob—I didn't get very far. Low HP and overpriced gear make it hard at the start."
"Yeah, they've set a pretty high difficulty level for beginners. But that's perfect for me."
"You must be at least level 4 or 5 at this rate, right? Most of the top players I saw in town were only level 2 or 3."
"I'm level 9," Aaron said, showing off a little.
"WHAT?! In just one day?" Paul was shocked. "But the max level is only 100—you could reach it in ten days if you keep this up!"
"No, I don't think so. The XP needed increases massively. But one thing's for sure—tomorrow I'll be level 10 and can start doing the main board missions."
"Wow, we're really not on the same level here."
"What continent are you in?" Aaron asked. "I really hope we're in the same one."
"I'm in the wolf territory," Paul said, apprehensive. He was scared they wouldn't be in the same region—it would ruin their chances to play and help each other.
"Awesome!" Aaron replied. "We're in the same zone. By the way, I got really lucky today—I dropped some good items, swords, and light armor. I'll give you one of each if you want."
"What? I haven't even seen a single person with a weapon! You're something else. With how valuable they are, I don't think you should give them to me—try selling them on the Online Market, you could get a huge price."
"Don't worry about that," Aaron said. "I'll sell the extras. Since we're still at the very start of the game, they're rare enough that I can put an outrageous price on them. What do you think?"
"I'm 100% on board. With how tough the game is, there'll always be rich players or hardcore geeks willing to buy."
"Alright, I'm logging into the Online Market to list my items," Angel said, excited. "I've got two swords and three light armor pieces to sell. You can sell as many items as you want—no restrictions, it's great."
"Yeah, if you grab dozens of swords, you could make it a business," Paul added.
"Mark my words—in a few days, these swords will be everywhere," Aaron said, confident in his gamer experience. "Alright, first sword for €300—overpriced, and I'm not sure it'll sell, but let's go for it."
Aaron hadn't even finished listing the second sword when the first one sold—it was incredible. Selling items in this game was a goldmine, and there'd always be people willing to pay a fortune for anything.
"The sword sold in seconds!" Paul told Aaron, who couldn't believe it. "How much for the second one? You need to go big, buddy—the first price was too low!"
"Let's make it obscene this time," Aaron said, thrilled. "We've got nothing to lose—I'll list it for €1,500. If someone wants it, great. If not, I'll just relist it in 24 hours."
Aaron listed the weapon, but this time no sale notification appeared. The two were a little disappointed but not discouraged, deciding to try their luck with the light armor.
"Alright, I'll put the first one at €700," Angel said. "Same deal—we've got nothing to lose!"
"Yeah, you're right," Paul agreed, feeling like he was gambling with the high stakes involved.
Suddenly, two sale notifications appeared. The armor and the sword had both sold—and at outrageous prices. The two friends looked at each other, then jumped for joy. It was unbelievable to sell in-game items for such astronomical amounts. They were so loud that Lisa stormed in, furious. She'd had a long day at work and had to get up early, and the two overexcited idiots were keeping her awake.
"Guys, you're pushing it—I never say anything, but…"
"Honey, come look at this!" Paul shouted, ecstatic.
"What?!" Lisa replied, still angry. She glanced at the screen and saw €2,500. She had no idea what was going on and looked utterly baffled.
"Honey, Aaron just made €2,500 selling three items!" Paul said, practically bouncing.
"€2,500 for three items? You're kidding, right?" Lisa was stunned.
"No, look," Aaron said happily. "And these €2,500 are for you guys! To pay back part of what I owe—and I'm not done making it up to you."
"Wait," Lisa said, "think about it—you need money more than anyone. Who says you can make this much every day?"
"Actually, it's simple. I know I won't be able to sell these weapons for the same price in the coming days. But I've had a blazing start in the game, and I'll find other opportunities. For now, this money is for you."
"Thank you…" Lisa replied, feeling a bit guilty for getting mad minutes earlier.
"Thanks," Paul said, unsure what else to say. €2,500 was a huge sum, and his friend had given it without hesitation—it touched him deeply.
"Guys…" Aaron said, holding his head, "I'm the one thanking you. Without your help, I'd still be moping around and wouldn't even have been able to buy this game."
"Well, in that case, I'll take the money," Paul said, grabbing his friend by the neck. "You're something else. I'll follow you to the death in the game. By the way, are you sure you don't want to sell the sword you were going to give me?"
"No, don't worry! Like I said, I'll do everything I can to help you in the game. It's important that you're strong too. You'll see—these two pieces of gear will change your life. You'll have no trouble hitting level 10 with them."
"OK, I'm seriously spoiled today—you're giving me €2,500 and gear worth thousands. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
The little group was in high spirits after such a day. Aaron then explained to Paul what he should do to get a good start and where to go. He also asked him to gather as much information as possible in town about player progress, etc. He simply didn't have time to hang around collecting that kind of intel. Paul agreed without hesitation—he enjoyed making new friends and chatting with other players. It was even fun for him, so he planned to spend part of each day fighting and the other part gathering information in-game. He would also keep an eye on everything being said about the game online. Aaron was glad to know he had such a solid backup.