This is the bonus chapter for reaching 200 Powerstones.
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[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]'s eyes lit up, and he immediately replied in the channel:
"Damn, that's a solid gig!"
"Your starting identity is way better than ours!"
"We spawned into the Emperor's Children's 28th Expeditionary Fleet right off the bat."
"And not long after, the historic Cleansing of Laeran kicked off, and we triggered an epic-tier global quest for the entire Imperial faction..."
He paused, his tone dipping:
"Too bad we lost, though."
"Fulgrim still got his hands on the Blade of the Laer."
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars] went silent for two seconds before slowly typing out:
"Oh, so that was you guys."
"We got that quest notification too, but we didn't know the coordinates, so we couldn't go."
"It's okay, losing is pretty normal."
"The fact that you guys managed to complete 30% of the quest and win all of us 10,000 Imperial Coins and 10 nutrient paste tubes is already incredible."
"Even though we don't need nutrient paste here on Macragge, that 10,000 Imperial Coins is a massive help."
"Besides, we discussed that storyline too..."
Her voice took on a serious note:
"That storyline itself is massively stacked against the Imperial faction."
"Fulgrim's fall was a nexus point Slaanesh had been plotting for countless years."
"For players to try and change that...."
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] sighed:
"Yeah..."
"We watched Paul Dawn step in to stop it with our own eyes, and he just got blasted back by the sword's power—it even cracked his Terminator armor."
"If a player of that caliber couldn't pull it off, what could we do?"
[Sanguinius is My Husband]: "So we didn't have a choice, we had to leave the Emperor's Children."
"The 28th Expeditionary Fleet is just full of Chaos faction players now."
He paused, suddenly remembering something:
"Wait, you said 10,000 Imperial Coins is a massive help?"
"Isn't making 10,000 coins just a matter of having a pulse?"
"Back on Laeran, we could make hundreds just by killing a few Laer."
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars] laughed, a hint of bitterness in her voice:
"You guys were in a warzone. You could grind mobs for cash."
"For those of us who spawned on Macragge..."
"We have to honestly work for a living."
She paused, then continued: "Because the security here is way too good!"
"There are absolutely no shortcuts."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "Good security?"
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars]: "Yep!"
"You start a fight on the street, and a law enforcement squad will be there in under three minutes."
"You rob someone, and you'll have a city-wide warrant on your head in five."
"If you try to pull any shady stuff for quick cash..."
"There were a few players who tried robbing people early on."
"They stole stuff from regular Macragge citizens and tried to sell it to the System Shop for recycling."
"But you guys know how the recycling mechanism works, right?"
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] nodded: "Yeah, you have to hold onto an item for at least half an hour before it's registered as a player-owned item and can be successfully recycled."
"Exactly."
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars]'s voice carried a hint of schadenfreude:
"Those robbers hadn't even had the loot long enough to warm it in their pockets before the enforcement squad showed up and turned them into Swiss cheese."
"If they hadn't completed the beginner quest..."
"They probably would've gone into debt and had to take out one of those loans with insane interest rates."
Hearing this, [Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] and the others broke out in a cold sweat.
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars] continued:
"By the way, which berth are you guys at?"
"I'll ask my supervisor for some time off in a bit and come find you. I'll take you out to try some Macragge delicacies!"
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] looked up at the massive glowing number above the berth entrance and replied in the channel:
"214."
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars]: "Oh, you're right next door to me!"
"Hold on, I'll be right there."
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] suddenly remembered something and asked:
"Oh, right, how come you're the only one talking in the regional channel?"
"Where are the other Macragge players?"
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars] went quiet for a moment before replying slowly:
"Them..."
"They were backed into a corner."
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "Backed into a corner?"
"Yep."
"Backed into a corner by Macragge's society."
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars] began to explain:
"You guys just got here, so you probably don't understand the situation yet."
"Let me put it this way..."
"Us players here on Macragge are basically the class dunces in a school full of tryhards."
"We tried every gaming method imaginable to make quick Imperial Coins."
"Only to realize our IQs were getting completely steamrolled by the locals."
"We couldn't even flip goods for a profit margin."
[Sanguinius is My Husband] couldn't help but ask: "What about making money the normal way?"
"The normal way?"
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars]: "How much do you think a transport ship worker makes in a month?"
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] thought about it: "In a place like Macragge... it's gotta be at least... a few thousand local coins, right?"
"You wish."
Sea of Stars held up a finger:
"An ordinary worker takes home... one thousand five hundred to two thousand local coins a month."
"And that's only because they have transport ship experience, which counts as skilled labor since they have to move cargo and perform basic maintenance on equipment."
"Locals with no specialized skills can only do the most basic manual labor at first, making eight hundred to a thousand a month."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]'s eyes went wide: "That little??"
"Little?"
Sea of Stars turned to him. "Do you know the cost of living on Macragge?"
"Basic food rations, after government subsidies, cost fifty local coins a month."
"Standard apartment rent is one hundred to two hundred a month."
"Compulsory education and basic healthcare are entirely free."
"If all you want to do is survive, you can live very comfortably on five hundred local coins a month."
She paused:
"The problem is... what player logs into a game just to survive?"
"Who doesn't want to get stronger?"
"Who doesn't want to climb the ladder?"
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] looked thoughtful: "So they just..."
"Yep."
"Out of sheer desperation."
"They ended up taking the 10,000 Imperial Coins you guys practically gifted us, and went straight to the System Shop to buy memory enhancements or instant-learn skill packages..."
"Most of them went to study for the civil service exams."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "Civil service exams?!"
"That's right."
"Macragge's administrative system has a complete, merit-based selection process."
"Regardless of birth or background, as long as you pass the exams, you can secure the corresponding position."
"Once they realized they couldn't play this like a normal game..."
"Every single one of them started studying like their lives depended on it, determined to become people in power."
"They either want to become planetary governors, or join the Senate, the Administratum..."
"Or they rolled teenage avatars, bought physical enhancements, and marched straight to the Ultramarines recruitment headquarters to sign up."
"The players on Macragge are basically grinding themselves into dust every single day."
"They're working themselves to the bone, and loving every second of it!"
"Because Macragge is honestly a beautiful place. The people here are so driven and positive. I've even made a bunch of local friends."
She paused, her tone lightening up a bit:
"As for me, I stayed at the Leviathan complex because I genuinely like being a dispatcher."
"I used to love watching videos of people directing ferries into port, guiding these massive ships precisely into narrow channels. It was so relaxing."
"Hehe, I never thought I'd actually get to direct transport ships... these things are bigger than aircraft carriers!"
"I really love this job, and the pay isn't bad either!"
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]:
"Haha, that's great! I can tell you really enjoy it."
"Right now we're just transport ship grunts. We can take time off and leave as soon as we finish unloading this cargo."
"When that's done, we'd appreciate it if you could show us around and help us get our bearings."
[Want to Stroll Among the Sea of Stars]: "Sure thing! I'll come find you in a bit!"
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