The best thing about the game was that you played in a sleep-like state, meaning you exited the game rested. You could play for days at a time if you had one of the pods since it was made to connect IVs that fed you nutrients and would regularly make your muscles work while cleaning any waste that you leave behind, but Leon definitely can't afford one of those yet, so he has to log out periodically each day in-game, to take care of business. In a week or so, the game would open the digital currency exchange, which would be when players could buy and sell credits with real-world currency.
Leon logged back in, having been out of the game for about an hour, so three hours in-game time. He checked his notifications.
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For use of the Gambling skill (non-active), you have earned EXP.
You have reached level 3.
For use of the Gambling skill (active), you have earned EXP.
Bonus: You have won a bet worth more than a million credits, you have earned EXP.
You have reached level 8.
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At every even level of a class, you gain a skill point, and for every odd level you gain a stat point, so right now Leon had 4 skill points and 3 stat points. He added the stat points to INT, WIS, and CHA since those were important to leading and managing things. Then he added 2 skill points to Management, unlocking his first advancement.
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Management has reached level 3.
Please choose Management Advanced Skill.
Station Management: Management of Space Stations.
Planet Management: Management of Planets.
Company Management: Management of Companies.
Chosen Management shall affect future growth. Additional Advanced Skills may be chosen when you reach level 6 and level 9 in Management.
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He chose Planet Management. The bonuses he gets to owning colonies and planets will greatly increase his yields and the skill is also a requirement to own a planet.
Leon put a point in Broker and a point in Marksman, increasing his buying power and his ability to fight. Checking out of his hotel, he went towards the pilot school. On the way, he saw several players running around doing tasks for who knows who, and some trying to figure out how different things worked.
The school had a few players talking to NPCs and paying to enter the school. Leon went straight to the Contracts Department and asked for a list of Pilots who had registered to sign contracts and their grades.
The list loaded, showing many around level 6 and a few at level 8 or 10. There was one at level 9 that had a standard contract, much like the ones he already signed, but this one had a requirement of hiring a specific medic. He indicated to the clerk to bring the pilot to him for an interview.
A standard human, though admittedly good-looking, came to the small meeting room Leon was currently in. The man had blonde hair and blue eyes, with a gentle look.
"Hi, I'm Starlight. I own a ship, saw your profile, and I had a few questions for you. Can you tell me why I need to hire the medic indicated?"
The pilot blushed a little, "That medic is my girlfriend. I promised her that I would get her hired on with whatever ship I join so that we don't have to spend large amounts of time apart."
Leon nodded; it didn't bother him. He had hired the couple already, so there were no problems.
"Can you share her profile and a copy of her contract?"
The pilot sent it over. The medic was level 6 and wanted slightly more than the other contracts he had signed, which was normal since medics kept the crew and passengers healthy. They also had the ability to deal with low-berth passengers, passengers that are put in cryo-sleep. While his ship didn't have low-birth passenger space, it was still a necessary skill to have on board, in case he comes across a salvageable ship with them.
"Ok, one last question. Can you and your girlfriend handle treating all crew and passengers respectfully, even if they are not standard humans?"
The pilot noticed my red eyes, and then nodded, "As long as we are treated with respect, we will treat others with it as well. My girlfriend has a tail, so I understand your concern."
Leon signed both contracts. Altogether he would need to be able to pay 260k every 3 months at a minimum, and 26% of his ship's profits, if it is more. His crew now consisted of, pilot John, medic Sherry, steward June, navigator Yuko, and engineer Lin. The full crew gained, now the fun part.
After giving John the meeting place and time, Leon headed over to the Pioneer's Office. This place was where people could purchase pioneering packages for taking over unclaimed planets. His task now was to prepare for his planet claim.
The man inside smiled at the not quite human captain that entered the building. Most pioneers were nonstandard humans, so there were times when the people buying a package would mistreat them, but seeing a nonstandard human come in meant that that was less of an issue.
"Morning, what can I do for you?" the man asked.
"Yeah, looking for a B-1 Pioneer Package. Food rations and settlement supplies should be 300 tons of space, and personnel should be no more than 300."
The man was surprised that the man who had walked in was familiar with how this worked, he was wearing basic clothes but clearly stated what his needs were in the introduction.
"How far is the planet you intend to claim?"
"Shouldn't be more than 2 Standards out from here. Just outside the settled ring of Volan."
The man nodded, then did some calculations.
For a B-1 package, with 300 tons of space for the necessities, and 300 mixed gender pioneers, it will come to 300k credits. Paid upfront."
Leon nodded and transferred the money, then left after signing the contract and giving the leaving date and ship name.
After all the work he put in today, it was early morning on the third day. He had just one more stop to make, and he could call it a day. He headed to the Market and bought 50 tons of food for his ship and 50 tons of repair materials and medical supplies. This filled his cargo bay completely and cost him 10k credits. Fairly cheap but a necessary expense.
He logged off and ate again. It was dark when he logged off this time, even so, the forums were abuzz with traffic. None of the players have noticed that you can sign up to be pioneers yet, but even so, the B-1 package he picked meant the lowest level of a pioneer he will get was 40 and it also came with Settlement Leaders for the Guards, the Gatherers, and the Craftsmen. While the three groups won't be making super-powerful machines right away, if raised properly, the settlement could build Space Stations and a Starship Dockyard. He remembered that the B-1 package was the point where the settlement would grow in size in just a few months, greatly increasing the output. Not as much as an S-1 package, but enough that he could earn a ton of money.
The forums had some speculation going on, and someone said they joined the guards of one of the starting planets. Nothing too special. There were also people who started guilds and were recruiting. The requirement to start a guild was Company Management, and either that or Station Management was required to start a fleet, though Station Management only allowed for a protection fleet, not a merchant fleet or combat fleet that can leave the system.