"You made a thousand bucks? Woah", Tom said as he and David ate ice cream on their way home.
"Yeah! Just need to make a few more blogs, then I will be one of the few rich kids", he smirked.
"Oh yeah. Orion has been getting popular day by day. It is estimated that nearly a tenth of the population play the game daily", Tom said.
"I also need a way to force people to play the game and level up before it's too late", David thought but listened to Tom, who had much more to say.
"My servants told me that more organizations started investing resources into the game. Like advertising their brands in-game or making popular players endorse their brands. This has led to a currency exchange. You can convert your money in real life to in-game coins for a fixed rate."
David remembered that in his past life, he traded all his coins for real money like a dumbass. He had to pay for it later as the currencies set by humans were discarded. A universal currency, 'credits,' took place after the merging. In-game coins could be converted to credits, but not human currencies. This meant that some influential organizations that didn't capitalize on Orion started to fall eventually.
"We would need a lot of coins once we entered the kingdom", David thought. The currency system in Orion was very crude and medieval. The minor currency was copper coins, used to buy basic amenities. 100 copper coins made 1 silver coin, which could be used to purchase cheap materials. 100 silver coins made a gold coin, a rich man's currency. It could be used to buy a variety of stuff. And finally, there was a platinum coin worth 100 gold coins. Small villages could be fed for an entire year using a single platinum coin.
"Currently, I have 10 silver coins after selling all the materials. I expect to get a good number of coins for selling the sword. I have no idea how much a soul stone would cost. I just hope it's cheaper", David thought.
He then looked at Tom, "I think we should focus more on buying in-game currency. I will use all the money from blogs and convert it. I think you should do the same as well."
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Tom smiled.
"Aah, the joys of having a best friend who knows what you want.", David muttered to himself before replying to Tom.
Guild," David uttered. Simultaneously, Tom chimed in, "Woman."
"Woman?" David queried while Tom, in response, exclaimed, "Guild?" Their words collided in the air, each questioning the other's statement in synchronized voices.
"You pervert! Why do you want in-game currency for women? You tryna hit on some NPCs or something?" shouted David.
"What about you? You want an army of nerds who you can ask what one plus one is?" Tom retaliated.
"That's a low blow, Tom. I will remember this ", David said. "Which NPC is it, by the way?"
"She's a wizard in the beginner town I was sent to", Tom replied.
"She is a fucking nerd Tom. What now!" David asked.
"But she's hot."
"Fair enough", David said, not arguing further.
"But you are right as well, we need to create our own guild. ", Tom said. "I will ask my party members what they think about it. We can start recruiting members."
"Now thats a good boy", David grinned. "I am hopping into the game; wanna join?"
"Nah, I have some work today," said Tom as he stood up. "Let's play again later."
David logged into the game, only to find James standing in front of him in a towel.
"GET OUT!" James shouted as David rushed out of the home.
"Well, he ain't letting me in again, that's for sure.", David muttered as he walked towards the auction house.
Different types of Auction houses existed in the world of Orion. Some were open to the public, while the others were closed-door auctions. They all were conducted by the same organization, and they were called 'Bid Emporium. The open auctions could be attended by anyone. Still, to give an item or weapon to get bid upon, the person would have to buy the organisation's membership. The person would also have to get the item checked to see if it was authentic or not. This allowed the organization to maintain its status of being the best at conducting auctions.
David stood before a building that didn't look very special, but two guards stood before it.
[ Level: 60]
"Both of them are as strong as the Academy instructors, " David said.
"State your business", one of the guards spoke in a cold and clear tone.
"I would like to give my item for the next auction conducted by your organization", David calmly said.
"You may enter", the guard said and stood aside, making way for David.
David walked inside to find the entrance area empty except for the receptionist, busy with her work.
"I would like to buy your bronze membership and submit my item for the auction", he said.
The receptionist looked at him before handing a card to David.
"5 silver coins", she calmly said. David quickly paid her the money and took the card before summoning the 'Frostfang Bite' sword and handing it to the receptionist.
"The Auction will soon begin. Would you like to participate as well?" she asked.
"Yeah. I need to buy an item", David replied.
"Okay. We will deduct the price of your item from whatever you spend inside. Have a great day", the receptionist smiled before standing up and taking David's sword inside the hall.
David also walked into the hall, finding out that many players and NPCs were already seated there, waiting for the auction to begin. He looked around to find a white-haired girl sitting in the corner. "Sarah!" he shouted, but to his bad luck, one another head turned around at his voice.
"Jason"