Chapter 204 First Step

The value of items in Rise Online is proportional to the vastness of its worlds, as well as the rarity of obtaining each item.

A single Epic-ranked sword can cost up to 10,000 gold, which converts to approximately $100,000. The price of the same sword can be lower or higher depending on the level of wear, the amount of attack and defense attributes, upgrade level, base level, and several other factors to be considered when determining its value.

Mythic items are even rarer and more expensive than Epic items, not to mention Legendary items. Both of these ranks are the rarest for items in Rise Online and the proof is that an item of these proportions has never been seen at an auction on the World Market, the game's official item sales and purchasing platform.

At the World Market, players can purchase any type of goods such as building materials, magic potions, armor, books, equipment, and a multitude of items that other players are selling. Within the game worlds, the prices of all these things depend on where you buy them, as well as their quality and rarity in the region you are looking in.

However, Rise Online is not a PayToWin game, meaning you don't have to invest money to become strong. To ensure this, the game's developer revealed back in the beta test that it would not be possible to buy the in-game currencies in Rise Online with real-life money, at least not legally, so any player could obtain any item. No doubt this was part of what created so much hype around this VRMMORPG.

To try to frustrate those who would try to get ahead of other players through illegal practices, the developers implemented the classic level and attribute locks for using some types of items, so it would make no sense for a person to acquire, even illegally, super armor if they can't even use it.

Despite all these countermeasures to balance the community and the economy of the game, the Black Market did not take long to emerge and was created by the players themselves a few days after launch.

In the beginning, the Black Market used to be just a place where users could buy items with real-life money through instant bank transfers. Since some rich players were in a hurry to get the best items and get ahead from the start, the Black Market practice became famous because it was also more convenient for those selling items, as that way the merchants could charge more.

Months passed, and the Black Market was no longer a single place where illegal sales took place and became like an organization. There were no longer any fixed places where they took place, they were always in different places and only people who were invited participated. The Black Market became something where players could sell and buy items more easily and discreetly than they would have in regular stores or on the World Market.

Contrary to what one might think, normal items no longer became sold at the Black Market, as this place now served solely to trade items of very high value.

Players who choose to buy and sell items on the Black Market risk being banned from the game permanently, but it is undeniable that nowadays the best items appear first on the Black Market, or so most players thought...

Klaus knew about the Black Market, he had talked with Emma about it during an early night. However, it never crossed his mind to sell his items in a place like this. He had this conviction not out of decency or pride, but because he knew that sooner or later he would get recognized for his items and get the 2 million dollars, and he didn't want to risk being banned before that occurred.

Now, the real question Psyker had in mind was when that recognition would come.

The day after the trip to Galilei University City, he spent the first three hours of his day waiting for someone to come through the doors of his store, and once again no one did.

As he did with each passing minute, Psyker sighed. He wanted so badly the mountain of money he had always dreamed of....

As he imagined himself swimming in this mountain, to his surprise someone finally entered the store. The person was a gambler in beginner's robes, a boy. Outside the store he had a girl waiting for him, who also appeared to be a beginner.

The moment Kaizen looked at the boy's clothes, he knew that this was not the time he would be able to sell an item for tens of thousands of gold coins, but he was glad that this was his first customer.

"Welcome to the Equipment Store... Feathers of Crows!" Kaizen came up with a generic name for his store on the spot. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi, my name is Mikael57. I was passing by on this street by chance and saw impressive weapons in your window display. You are a player too, right? Shessh! That makes things a lot easier for me. I'm looking for a weapon to start hunting monsters."

"I see. I have a variety of weapons available. If I may ask, what is your class? I can recommend something based on that."

The boy seemed afraid to reveal his class, only in the end he did. "I am a Boxer. I've been leveling up with simple missions and tasks around town for the past three days and finally reached level 3 today, but I haven't fought yet and I'm afraid I may not be able to get used to the style of play of my class."

"Um... For a boxer, it would be best if you wore gauntlets or gloves. Still, I recommend that you use a more common weapon to get used to the game's combat gameplay and adrenaline rush first. Then consider getting gauntlets to start practicing with your class skills. Have you ever thought about using a sword?"

"And I can use a sword? I mean, I'm a Boxer... there's no restriction on other items?"

"No, actually, in Rise Online there is no such thing. Come with me, I have something perfect for you..." Kaizen said, turned around the counter and walked over to near his store window. "I have three types of swords for beginners. Sabers, Katanas and ordinary swords. Which do you prefer?"

Mikael approached the swords and looked at them closely. "Do you mind if I..." He pointed at the weapon with his index finger, asking to see the statistics.

"No problem. Go ahead."

"Okay."

The moment the boy opened the interface, three windows appeared, each referring to one of the swords that stood before him. Immediately, he was awestruck, for they were weapons with very good statistics.

"S-sir, I don't think you understand me. I am looking for something that is within my level, but these swords..." Mikael said, turning back with a fearful expression.

"Rest assured. I'm sure they are within your level." Kaizen affirmed, forcing a sympathetic smile that was not much of his custom.

"But the statistics are very high..." Mikael had seen beginner swords with 10 Attack, but never swords with 15 Attack and 5 Defense like the ones he was seeing now.

"If you're worried about that, you can check downstairs that there isn't a level lock. That's a Primal Rank sword that even an archer with 1 Strength could use."

The boy raised his eyebrows, surprised, and turned to the swords again to check if the seller was serious. To his surprise, it was true. There was no blockage that prevented him from using one of these swords.

It took Mikael only a few seconds to finally make his final choice.

"If that's so, then I think I liked the look of the Katana. She is shiny and very pretty. I'll have her." He stated. "How much does she cost?"

"The normal thing would be for me to charge 50 bronze coins for a sword like that. However, I was once a beginner too and I know how difficult it can be to find a good weapon with little money.... I think I can sell this Katana for 30 bronze coins to you, but only to you, all right?"

"Thirty bronze coins?" Mikael asked to make sure he heard right.

"That's right." Kaizen said, crossing his arms proudly.

As far as the boy knew, beginner's weapons could go up to this amount, but it was surprising that this seller would sell him such a good weapon for such a common price. This made Mikael feel grateful that he had found Psyker.

"You really are a very nice person, sir! Thank you so much for making that discount for me!"

"It's nothing, man." Kaizen took the katana and then gave this to Mikael. "Hold your new weapon and walk me to the counter, please."

"Right!"

"You're a beginner, aren't you?" Kaizen placed a hand on Mikael's shoulder. "If you are going to start hunting today, I advise you to buy a Fire Stone so you don't have to worry about the cold, and that is also a very good thing to light your way if you are exploring a dark area."

"A Fire Stone? Ow, I've never heard of that before, I'll have one yes!"

"How about a sheath for your new Katana? I bet I have some that will be to your liking. Better to have a sheath to have somewhere to put your new weapon than to leave it inside your inventory and die in a surprise attack because you didn't have enough time to equip it, don't you think?"

"Yes... I think so. All right, I'll have a scabbard too."

Before entering the 'Feathers of Crows' equipment store, Mikael intended to buy just one weapon to hunt some monsters and save the rest of the money he got from quests to buy better weapons when he evolved further, but Kaizen was so persuasive that he managed to make Mikael spend his one silver coin and still feel satisfied that he bought it there and not elsewhere.

"Bye! Thank you very much, sir!" thanked Mikael as he opened the store door with a smile.

"Don't forget that if you bring a friend next time you'll both get 20% off! See you!" Kaizen said.

When the door closed, Kaizen took the silver coin from Mikael and carefully placed it in a large chest behind the counter that had Rhyzer Park written on it.

This might seem like a day like any other for other people, or even for Mikael,57 but for Kaizen this day was the day he took the biggest step towards paying off his family debts. This was literally a new beginning.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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