Patty was just relaxing and watching cat videos on the internet when all of a sudden, he saw a green portal-looking vortex appear just in front of him. He tried to touch it with his hands, but his hands just passed through the portal as if it didn't exist at all. It was a projection that he could see but couldn't touch.
"What is this?" Patty asked. He thought that it was the system's doing, but seeing how it was silent, he guessed that it wasn't. He then looked over to the Virtual World again and saw that the Neanderthal-looking guy was also staring at a green vortex in front of him.
As Achram threw the brown fur coat to the portal, it instantaneously passed through the vortex and right towards Patty. He was staring at an actual fur coat that looked very vintage and old. He could still smell the musky scent of the actual bear it was taken from.
"Slime, what is happening?" Patty asked.
The swirling green vortex suddenly morphed to have a mouth and 'talked' to Patty. "Master, this is one of my Diplomatic Skills that allows me to mediate trade between two parties. He's thanking you for saving his life."
Patty looked at the fur coat and the jewelry he got and was instantly disinterested. He was not the kind of guy to wear these kinds of things because he didn't care about his looks. He would just be wasting energy picking out clothes and wearing different styles each day. That's why Patty always liked to wear plain white clothes and shorts whenever he was at home. If he didn't have to wear his school uniform, then he would have just worn plain shirts to school.
"Cool, but useless." He wasn't going to benefit from these at all, except maybe if he sold them to a museum or something. But it wasn't worth the trouble.
Patty was going to throw all of these things back when all of a sudden, a few black rocks were sent over the portal. At first, Patty thought it was just another trash object, but when he looked over it more, his heart just skipped a beat.
"Is that…is that…IS THAT A KORE?!?!?!"
Patty couldn't believe his eyes. He was so surprised that he got up off his bed and grabbed the four Kores in front of him. These were more crude and unrefined than the ones he was used to, but everybody would recognize that black tint that was even blacker than space. This was a Kore and a high-quality one at that!
The more black and opaque a Kore was, the more expensive they were. The darker a Kore, the more powerful its properties were. Fiendish Armaments armed with Kores doubled their destructive output, generators powered with Kores doubled their electric outputs, and the higher purity Kore you had, the wealthier you were.
Kores replaced gold. Although gold was shiny and expensive, it didn't have any uses. When Kores were discovered, it was suddenly the symbol of wealth. The currency could always go up or down as time passed by; one second you're a millionaire, and the next you could be on the verge of poverty. But Kores were timeless. No matter if the world has turned into an apocalypse, Kores always proved valuable to everyone.
Most wealthy groups and elites make sure to store high-quality Kores in their vaults, like how people back in the day hoarded gold. Even banks and establishments like those stored high-quality Kore as a tangible resource that became their permanent way of staying in business.
Patty was looking at a Kore that was at least 30% pure! And that's not all. There were a total of five more Kores, with each one being more pure than the previous one.
30% pure Kore
40% pure Kore
45% pure Kore
53% pure Kore
59% pure Kore
70% pure Kore!
He couldn't believe the amount of money he was holding in his hands. He was finally rich! He immediately searched the internet for the current prices of Kores with these kinds of purity.
10% pure Kore = 1,000 Chains
20% pure Kore = 10,000 Chains
30% pure Kore = 20,000 Chains
40% pure Kore = 40,000 Chains
50% pure Kore = 80,000 Chains
60% pure Kore = 160,000 Chains
70% pure Kore = 320,000 Chains
For context, 10,000 Chains was just the minimum wage for one whole month of hard work in this country. If Patty worked as a barista in a coffee shop, or a fast food server for six days a week, 4 weeks a month, then Patty would earn just about 10,000 Chains after tax. That was menial hard work, standing all day taking orders, wiping down tables, and serving customers all day long just to barely keep up with the costs of the city.
A 20% pure Kore equaled that of a one-month minimum wage job. For Patty, that was just about enough to pay for all of his electricity, internet, food, and water for an entire month. He used to say that he would be satisfied if he was able to earn 10,000 Chains a month just by staying in his bed doing nothing.
Patty was looking at a 30% pure Kore in his hands right now! This was the most he'd ever had. And the best part was that this was the worst Kore that was given to him. The best one was a whopping 70% pure Kore.
If he was able to sell off everything in his hands right now, it would be 696,000 Chains! With that amount of money, he could buy a new house! He could buy a new hovercar! And if he thrifted and spent as little money as possible, he could retire and never have to work ever again! This was life-changing money that would only ever be possible if Patty won the lottery or something.
He couldn't believe his eyes. How could the Neanderthal even get this kind of stuff? Was he secretly a very wealthy guy in the Virtual World? Or was he so thankful to Patty for saving his life that he gave all of his riches to Patty?
Patty immediately threw back the fur coat and other paraphernalia back to the Virtual World. He didn't need those. He only needed the Kores in his hands.
Achram kneeled and looked over to the portal, hoping that his sacrifices to the Icy Rock God would be enough to thank him for his grace. If that wasn't enough, then he would offer his own life.
His heart dropped when he suddenly saw the fur coat and his necklaces get thrown back to him. Has he angered God because of his impudence? He couldn't believe what he'd done. The God must have been angry because he sacrificed a useless black stone to him. It is an offense worthy of death.
"Forgive me! You must take my life to atone for my sins!" Achram screamed to the portal.
But then, Slime turned back to his usual slime figure and hopped in front of him. "The Master was very pleased with what you gave Him."
Achram looked up at Slime, confused. Wasn't the God angry at him, that's why he threw the sacrifices back to him? "Is it true?"
"Yes," nodded Slime. "Those Kores are something that the God treasures."
"Kores?" Achram thought back. The only thing from his sacrifices that wasn't thrown back were those rocks he haphazardly threw in. "Those useless black rocks?"
Achram sank deeper into his knees. He couldn't believe how humble and forgiving the God of Icy Rock was to him. He accepted those useless rocks because he was being considerate of Achram. It was the God's way of telling him that he didn't need expensive fur coats and jewelry, he only needed the sincerity of those that worshipped him.
The God wasn't materialistic. He accepted the useless black rocks to teach this lesson to Achram.
"Look at all the money I have!" Patty screamed as he threw the Kores in the air. If he knew that the Virtual World could give him this kind of benefit, then he would have paid attention to it much earlier. Speaking of which, could the Neanderthal have more of those Kores?
The Diplomatic Slime listened to Patty's words and relayed them to Achram. "The Master appreciates your service and is willing to let you stay and live in His paradise for as long as you like."
Achram raised his hands and praised the top of the snowy mountain. "I, Achram, pledge my fealty to the God of Icy Rock."
The Slime was ecstatic with this news. They finally got their first citizen! Now, it was time to make him work and advance the kingdom! "The God would appreciate you if you helped in the construction and development of our kingdom."
Achram nodded. "I will do everything that I can for the God's kingdom." Not only that, if he ever had the chance to go back down to the village again, he would gather all the Kores just thrown in the ground as a present for the God.