167 The Merchant
Later that night.
Minutes until the game’s opening, Ren felt the vibration of excitement in the air. Even though he was the only one inside his house and pod, he felt the culmination of excitement coming from the millions of players worldwide.
After the countdown, the pod screen welcomed Ren to COVENANT, the update announcement flashed in front of his face. The four-hour real-time limits per day, the guild establishment and in-game currency, and . . . When his eyes went to the PVP, he took a twice over and read the paragraph word for word.
Ren’s forehead crumpled as he read the sentences. His eyes strained at the letters that said that PvP would start automatically after another player initiated an attack. There was no longer a [CONFIRMATION] with PvP, and Ren didn’t know how to feel about the whole thing.
The advantage was, Ren could attack anyone now without them having the option to decline. The bad news was, anyone could launched a surprise attack and they had to be vigilant as soonest as they left any village or towns.
In the past, it wasn’t like that. But why and how could it change now? Ren had no idea.
But this sudden announcement made Ren consider buying a vault in COVENANT’s Bank earlier. He had to be careful about his items now that the PvP had changed.
Looking at his items, Ren ran through them. To get that unit in Diamond Palace and so much more, he would auction [Phantom’s Revenger], [Basilisk Shield], and of course, the [Spell Book] that was definitely worth millions.
Now that the in-game currency was there, money and gil would no longer be an issue for the rich. They could buy gil with real money, and the sky was the limit.
When Ren was transported in the game, he hurried to Arcadia’s Bank, available in every city.
At the same time, the others were busy establishing their guilds officially. The process of applying for a guild was simple. They must have a name, leader, co-leader, a thousand gil and at least ten members.
And at this time, numerous lands in COVENANT were for sale, so the guilds could either buy or loan in the bank to construct their guild house in that empty lot. They could also hire an architect in the real world and have the blueprint submitted to the developers so their guild house could be constructed in the game, for a price, of course, depending on the complexity of the building.
Numerous new buildings were incorporated into the game, like the Axis’s shipping boat, Gambino’s casino, Rutherford’s inns, and the like. Of course, their buildings weren’t modern but suited the theme of the place they were built throughout Arcadia.
While everyone was busy organizing their guilds, the others were busy fighting their fellow players. But Ren didn’t mind any of that. He had a much urgent matter to finish.
Inside of Erendia, Ren went to the biggest bank in town and got the most expensive storage that didn’t have a limit. Though he had to pay a hundred thousand gil for the vault and another one thousand gil in succeeding months as service fee, he didn’t care. The one he bought made his life easier and more convenient.
Besides the no-limit storage, the bank icon appeared on his [Home Screen]. With that, he could access and store his items anywhere, anytime without the hassle of going to the nearest bank.
After making sure that Ren’s items were in safety, especially the [Pelka Meat] and [Inferno Scepter], since he was planning to sell the meat later on when tourists start pouring in so its value would double or even triple. While the [Infernal Scepter] was his most prize equipment as of now. He couldn’t risk having it stolen from him by thieves or risk the chance of dropping it if ever he was defeated in a PvP.
Ren then exchanged millions of his gil for real money in the bank. The NPC didn’t even bat an eyelid and only asked for his bank account to deposit the money.
After which, Ren received a message from New Eras bank saying that the money was successfully deposited into his account.
To be honest, Ren felt like this was all just a dream. And he was even afraid that the in-game currency was only an illusion until he saw those numbers in his account.
For a time, he only stared at it in a daze. Never in his life that he had that much money. He always thought about what it would feel like to be a millionaire overnight, and he had to admit that happiness only took a second, and the first feeling he ever felt was . . . Relief.
Relief that he could really make COVENANT a business and earn big bucks. Relief that they would finally have a roof over their head that he could call his own. Relief that he could finally uplift their life for the better.
Next, happiness and euphoria started to set in, and Ren took almost ten minutes to recover from his daze.
Ren was in an excellent mood as he contacted the Broker to get that unit in Diamond Palace. His money was still a bit short, but it wasn’t a problem since Diamond Palace would take half the price as a deposit, and the rest could be paid per month with interest, of course. However, he would finish paying for the house after he auctioned his items.
Securing their house was the first thing he wanted. And after that, everything would follow. He would have more money after he auctioned the three items in his inventory.
Ren didn’t mind spending all his money in that place. The important thing was that there was a roof over their head for many years to come. That at least pulled the thick knife off his chest, and he could finally sleep without worrying for his parents.
Ren then pressed the Arcadia’s Icon on his screen and pressed the Auction House. There were numerous auction houses in Arcadia, as well as banks. But Ren wanted his items to appear worldwide, and Arcadia-owned facilities were the way to go.
The other auction houses were simply restricted in that area, and players had to go to that Auction House to view there list of items for sale and make their bet. But it didn’t mean that the other Auction Houses owned by NPCs and investors alike were useless. Sometimes, these auction houses would send invitations to players to attend their auction if they have a good lineup of items to sell.
Arcadia’s Auction house never did that. The only advantage it had was its Icon on every player’s screen, where everyone got notified when there was a new item for auction. And the best thing about it was it had the option of hiding the identity of the players selling and buying the items. The downside was this Auction House charge thirty Percent compared to the regular Auction Houses that only charge ten to twenty.
It was a given since its advertisement was worldwide.
Ren also had the option of selling his items to Auction Houses owned by investors like the Gambino. But he bet that the investors were still busy establishing their guild and managing their business in the game to give serious thought about auctioning right now.
Besides crafting invitations, they also had to advertise and spend some gil, or even real money, to do that. Not to mention they had to organize the event as well. And only three items for sale weren’t worth the return.
Another thing, Ren didn’t want to risk his identity by selling in Auction Houses owned by rich and powerful people.
He’d stick with Arcadia’s Auction House, where it was safer and convenient for him.
After selling his items to the Auction House, he set the timer to one week. Another perk if he was auctioning there. He could adjust the time and day of when he would like to stop the auction, and the one who bid the highest was the winner.
A very convenient and less hassle way of selling his items if Ren says so himself.
Ren then closed his screen and didn’t even take his first step when numerous notifications rang in his ears.
[Your Item SPELL BOOK has a NEW OFFER!]
[Your Item BASILISK SHIELD has a NEW OFFER!]
[Your Item PHANTOM’s REVENGER has a NEW OFFER!]
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A/N
I know I said 100 000 gil every month in the past but I realized that its too much of an exaggeration so I only made it 1000 gil a month.
Sorry for the confusion �