Villain Ch 43. Digital Dominion
Allen paused for a moment, considering Gilbert's invitation. He knew that accepting it could be dangerous, given the risks involved with revealing his true identity to other players. But he was also curious to see the game from a different perspective, to understand what drew players like Gilbert.
With a deep breath, he decided to accept Gilbert's offer. "I prefer to play alone, but sure. I'll give it a try," he replied, hoping that his disguise skill would be enough to keep him from being recognized.
Larissa shot him a warning glance, clearly concerned about the risks he was taking. But Allen just smiled reassuringly, silently promising her that he would be careful.
Gilbert turned his gaze to Larissa. "Are you a player too? That's awesome! We should definitely play together sometime," he said, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.
Larissa hesitated for a moment but ultimately declined. "I usually play with my friends. You know, gamer girls' night," she explained before Gilbert could even ask. "But thanks for the offer."
Gilbert nodded understandingly, but Allen could tell Gilbert was disappointed. "That's too bad. A friend of mine is planning to create a guild, and I wanted to help him recruit as many players as possible," he said, explaining his interest in finding new teammates.
"Isn't that something that can only be done after the character has reached level 45?" Allen asked, his voice betraying his curiosity.
Gilbert nodded eagerly. "Yes, that's right. Most players are still hovering around level 15 to 20 right now, but we predict they'll be able to reach level 45 within a week or so. So in the meantime, pay-to-win players are quickly snatching up Authority Crystals to create their own guilds. My friend already bought one last night. It's a limited item, after all," he added with a shrug.
Authority Crystal was an item mall for creating a guild. The game company only sold five of them daily and they couldn't be purchased with game coins, but with real money. Allen and the others also got a share of the item's sales since the guild creation had something to do with the war event. At some point, the war event may not be any different from the medieval era's type of war. Where the guild members were very important.
Each guild could also have a headquarters which could be upgraded as desired. But the game developer also provided a default gathering place for small guilds. Mostly at the inn or taverns scattered in every city. They could simply rent a room in one of the places. The duration was around one to two hours and they even had a waiting list system in case it was in high demand.
"Your leader surely moves fast," Allen said, trying to get the conversation back on track.
Gilbert nodded eagerly, a look of admiration in his eyes. "He immediately bought it when the item mall opened at 00.00 AM today. That's crazy. But I have to admit, apart from money, he also has good fighting and leadership skills," he explained, his voice laced with respect.
But before they could delve deeper into the topic, Gerry cleared his throat, his impatience growing more palpable by the second. "Ahem! Can we go now?" he interjected; his voice tinged with irritation. His gaze was on Gilbert. The annoyance etched on Gerry's face.
Looking down, Allen could see that Gerry's plate was already empty. "Or do you prefer to spend the rest of the day looking for the game store through the apps?" Gerry added with a dry smile.
Gilbert quickly stood up from his seat. "No, no, no," he answered, a hint of desperation in his voice. "You know most of the store's reviews are fake. It's hard to find a credible game store. Some shady stores prefer to sell fake things over the original," he explained quickly, as if he was in a hurry.
"What about online stores? I know one that has a good reputation," Allen offered, trying to be helpful. He knew Alice's online store was a safe bet.
Gilbert shook his head. "Well, sorry. I need it now or I can't be online today," he refused, his tone becoming more urgent. Allen could sense the desperation in his voice.
"It also has a big offline store. You can check it out," Larissa offered, a small smile playing on her lips.
Gilbert turned his attention to her. "Really? Do you have the address?" he asked eagerly.
"123 Dragon's Way. The store's name is Digital Dominion," she replied, her voice smooth and clear.
Without hesitation, Gilbert whipped out his phone, his fingers moving quickly as he typed in the address. "Cool," he said with a grin.
Then, Gilbert turned to Allen. "So, should we exchange numbers? Or do you prefer to exchange Discourd ID?" he offered, referring to the popular chat app commonly used by gamers.
Allen paused for a moment, considering Gilbert's proposal. "I prefer Discourd. Here's my ID," he said, taking out his phone and showing Gilbert his app ID.
"Thanks, man. I'll add you later," Gilbert said.
Gerry stood up from the table. He let out a soft sigh. "Can we go now? Or are we planning to stay here all day?" he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Gilbert looked up at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Come on, Gerry, don't be such a stick in the mud. We're just getting to know each other," he teased.
But Gerry responded to him with an annoyed stare.
"Okay, okay," Gilbert said quickly and turned his gaze to Allen and Larissa. "Well, I should probably get going now. I don't want to keep Gerry waiting too long." He stood up from the table. "Thanks for the help, guys."
"Take care," Larissa said with a wave, and Allen nodded in agreement as Gilbert and Gerry went out of the restaurant. As Allen watched Gilbert leave, he couldn't shake off his curiosity over Gilbert's leader since a player with both money and skill was rare.