Chapter 26- Not So Rich Abel

Abel looked at the pile of loot he had in front of him. The Rat Meat alone was nearly 200 pieces. He'd have to make 2 trips back and forth just to transfer the Rat Meat, much less the other monster parts.

'I definitely need to buy a spacial bag!' Abel checked the time and saw it was 6:30 pm in-game, nearly sunset in Veridia.

He planned to make a quick trip back to the city to unload all his goods and purchase a spacial bag and some other supplies. He'd then come back and continue his slaughtering spree in the dungeon. He'd see whether the dungeon finished at the third floor or if there was another level or two beneath it.

He felt quite torn as the dungeon was obviously a gold mine. He hoped there was a fourth floor after the next one but he was also quite worried. He lacked a lot of active skills that would make killing higher-levelled monsters easier and he was worried he'd get done in by the last monster on the third floor. He couldn't imagine fighting the monsters on the fourth floor if there was one in the first place.

'I'll see how much money I can make, maybe I should buy a stronger sword or better armor.'

He still had those 3 bottles of potions, around 30 rolls of bandages and 2 bottles of ointment left.

'I should also get some mana incense sticks too, my mana isn't increasing as quickly as my HP but my skills are demanding more out of it'

Abel quickly packed up all the most expensive loot he could fit in his bags. First, he placed all the Rat Lord loot and then all the Rat Sergeant meat he could. It was barely enough to take half of his current loot, while the majority lay haphazardly around him.

'There's still the stuff on the first floor too!' The reminder of the loot strengthened his resolve to getting a spacial bag.

He'd be able to stack the same things in a spacial bag as it would act more like a traditional inventory. The number of same-type items he could stack would depend on the grade of the spacial bag, but even the lowest grade bag could stack 3 items.

As he stepped out of the dungeon, he looked around to make sure there wasn't anybody nearby. Although the majority of players that started in Veridia would be in the city or on the path back to the city right now, he didn't want to take any chance.

This dungeon was his treasure trove and he didn't want to share it with anyone until he was done with it. By then, he might sell off this information if the price was right. But until then, it was his and his alone!

Abel quickly got through the woods, dodging all the small monsters that came to attack him on his way. Even if he killed them, they would barely give any EXP with his current level and he couldn't carry their loot. He would be wasting precious time on something near worthless so he ignored all monster attacks as he jogged back to the city with the sunset at his back.

He came across a few groups that were also heading back to the city after a long day in the known dungeon a little deeper in the forest. They looked at him in surprise as he was alone yet carrying 2 bulging bags. Some wanted to strike up a conversation but Abel didn't give them an opportunity and swiftly passed them by.

"Who the hell does this guy think he is… just because he had some loot and looks strong"

"Heh, I dare you to say that to his face instead of his back"

"Scram! I obviously can't deal with that guy, but it doesn't mean I can't deal with you…"

Abel overheard the chatter but ignored it all as he swiftly made his way back to Velskryn. After a short 20 minutes, he found himself back in the city and speedily made his way to the Artisans' square.

He dropped off his armor and sword to get repaired and then headed off to the Merchants Square. He planned to go to the same store he had dealt with earlier on. He liked their services and their prices were fair.

If a person wasn't careful in Faeron, even the NPC's could scam you which is why Abel asked for a trustworthy place to sell off the meat. He had read plenty of complaints online about players that got scammed by NPC's in other regions.

'Universal Bazaar… Heh, I'm probably their most loyal customer' Abel inwardly chuckled as he made his way into the shop.

Tring Tring

"Good evening Sir! It's good to see you again." The same old attendant was still manning the post, except this time the shop had another customer.

Abel couldn't tell if it was an NPC or a player as the in-game avatars didn't have any sort of indicator to tell. People usually differentiated between the two by their subtle actions or their manner of speech.

The man didn't look middle-aged but he definitely wasn't young, probably in his late twenties. He had black hair, blue eyes and a scruff beard. He was dressed simply in starters clothing and didn't have any weapons on him. He seemed to be browsing the goods behind the counter when he turned around and took a look at Abel.

'Probably a player, a new one too. I should wait to sell my goods' Abel quickly discerned the truth after a quick glance then looked at the attendant before speaking,

"It's fine, I can wait. Take your time, this customer was here first after all."

"That's very kind of your sir, I'll be with you in just a minute." After replying to him, the attendant went back to serving his customer.

The man seemed to be torn between purchasing the spacial ring or the spacial belt on display. Abel wasn't the extroverted type so he didn't try to start a conversation. The guy seemed rich as the cheapest bag started out at 20 silvers, while spacial accessories started out in gold coins.

The cheapest bag would be able to hold around 100 items with a stack multiplier of 3. The most expensive spacial bag on display cost a whopping 1 gold coin but it could also stack 10 times and had an inventory space for 206 items. The lowest grade spacial accessory had a similar space but would be priced at 3-4 gold instead.

'What's up with all these rich players I keep running into…' Abel inwardly thought as he started checking out the different bags available.

While Abel was browsing through the different bags on display, the man seemed to have finally made up his mind and purchased a spacial ring for 4 gold coins. Just this in-game item was worth as much as Abel's savings for the past 2 years. Although it had the same space as the largest spacial bag, it was easier to access being an accessory.

After the man made his purchase, he didn't seem to be in a rush to leave and made way for Abel while browsing through the different goods they had on display, eyeing the different potions and trinkets.

"It's good to see you as always sir! Are you purchasing or selling this time?" The attendant smiled at Abel as he spoke, he was making a killing off of the poison that was refined from the Rat Meat.

"Both hopefully…"

Abel went towards the table and started unpacking his loot. He wasn't so wary of this other player considering the man just dished out more than 1,500 coalition credits for a ring and didn't seem to be done with his shopping just yet.

'Just when I thought I had become rich, I bump into someone that spent as much as a pod on a in-game item' Abel inwardly sighed as he unloaded his goods.

"You have quite the amount this time dear customer, let's take a look…" The attendant started calculating quickly and was done in merely 3 minutes. Abel didn't know if the NPC had some specialized merchant skill, but it was much faster than his own calculations.

"Oh, you came across a Rat Lord, how rare… it's meat can be bought for 30 coppers, it claws go for 8 copper coins each for a total of 16. The 2 teeth are worth slightly more at 9 for a total of 18 copper coins. You also have 82 Rats meat and 50 Sergeants' Rat Meat, 12 and 15 copper coins per piece respectively. The overall total comes to 17 silver and 98 copper coins."

"I wish to purchase that spacial bag over there" Abel pointed out to the bag he wanted and the attendant went and got it.

"Good choice sir, you can stack same-type items 5 times with an inventory of 125 spaces. It will cost 25 silver coins."

The attendant's smile bloomed at the business this young man had brought him. It seemed like Abel was his lucky star as his business had been great ever since his first visit.

Abel still had 7 silver coins and 64 coppers left from his earlier sale in the afternoon, he grit his teeth and made the transaction. When he thought about all the left-over loot in the dungeon, the pain in his chest was slightly alleviated. After his purchase, he was left with 62 copper coins in his virtual wallet!

The blue-eyed man at the side watched it all happen and wanted to strike up a conversation with this 'expert'.

"Hey little brother…"

When Abel heard the other player start a conversation, he looked at him cautiously. Although he knew the man wouldn't dare do anything in the middle of the city, he was wary of everything and everyone when he still hadn't finished his quest.

Perhaps the man noticed the Abel's suspicion so he held up his hands to show he meant no harm or offense.

"I just want to ask you some questions, seeing as you're quite experienced in this game" The man spoke calmly, he just wanted some information after all.

He had started this game after his younger sister had gushed about how great it was, so he wanted to test it out for himself. He had jumped into his luxury-edition NeuroNex pod after subscribing to Realm Quest and chose the same starting location as her.

"Information doesn't come for free." Abel responded frankly and told him he'd have to pay for any information from him.

"That's fine, I'll make it worth your while. Trust me." The man wasn't offended at Abel's blunt response and replied with a smile.

"Trust is earned, not given. Ask away and I'll tell you the cost of the information. Just yesterday I sold a bit of news for 15 silvers so I wont scam you either."

'Another fat sheep… How great!'

Abel thought for a moment and had the idea he could turn into an information broker for the rich and wealthy in-game. He quickly shoved aside these silly thoughts as he had run into dozens of players but only those 3 girls and this man seemed to be rich.

He was quite upfront and mentioned his transaction with the girls the day before. The man seemed quite sincere and meant no harm. Besides, Abel wasn't some scammer, he wanted to carry out an honest transaction.

If he had to rate the filth of the earth on a scale, then scammers would be right under rapists and murderers. To have the indecency to scam someone of their hard-earned savings would place you near the top of the scum list.

"I-… ugh I'm obviously new to the game… I didn't read up about it at all before logging in. I just heard it's a great game from… someone close. I figured I'd try it out."

The man seemed a little embarrassed about his lack of preparation but he honestly told Abel he was an absolute newb that had no knowledge of Faeron at all.

Abel quickly felt a head ache coming as he realized this man wasn't just new but knew absolutely nothing. He let out a sigh before speaking,

"Look, why don't you just log out and read up about it online? You can just do so in your pod. I can tell you some things for 20 silver coins but I don't have all day to sit and explain everything. What I'll tell you is stuff you definitely won't find online, I can promise you that."

"Yes Yes sure, that's fine"

The man nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice when he heard what Abel had to say. He felt a little silly that he hadn't thought of such a simple thing to do, but he was truly shocked at the freedom within the game. He started wandering around and before he realized it, he was at this shop buying equipment he thought he'd need.

"Very well, lets go outside first. It's rude to stand here and discuss things." Abel dragged the man out of the shop before he carried on.

"You should be aware of the central square, the place you first showed up. At the other end, you'll find the training citadel…."

Abel told the man about what he could gain and learn at the training citadel. The plus points of raising his stats and how it could aid him in the long run, even after gaining a profession. He also informed him not to treat NPC's like scripted bots that would ignore him if he wasn't interacting with them.

"Is that why you brought us outside?" At first, the man seemed confused as to why they had to leave the shop but now he understood Abel was just being courteous to the store attendant.

"Yeah, if we were there for a purchase then its fine. But if we treated his shop as a park bench then it might have pissed him off…" He carried on explaining about the favorability of NPC's and how easy it was to earn their ire.

"Anyway, this is pretty much the stuff you won't find on the forums. You can study the region for yourself with a simple Exploro search online. Now pay up" Abel finished his explanation as quickly as possible then reminded the man to pay his bill.

"Umm how do I do that exactly? When I paid in the store, it showed a notification to pay…" The man seemed to ask in embarrassment as he patted his avatar's pockets trying to reach for his coins.

Abel let out a sigh before explaining, "It's in the same tab as the currency exchange. You should have accessed it since you obviously exchanged gold for credits. Just access the amount and send it to the person in front of you, me."

*Ding*

Oscar Lockley would like to transfer 20 silver coins, Accept?

Yes/No

'Yes' It seemed all rich people liked to use their real names, Abel mused before he saw another notification pop up before him.

*Ding*

Oscar Lockley would like to add you as a friend, Accept?

Yes/No

'Yes' He figured he could also sell some information to this man, just like the girls from yesterday so he accepted the invitation.

"Alright, I have to get going. If I come across some more information I can sell, I'll send you a whisper. For now, I suggest you log out and actually do some research before logging back in." Abel swiftly took his leave with his pockets refilled, ready to spend on new weapons and armor!