Chapter 10 - Guilty
“Shou-kun, what will you do today?”
“Hmm, gathering [Woodcraft] materials, and exploring the eastern side along the coast, I guess. I want to go to the western side when I’m a bit more settled.”
Today is purely Mion-san’s practice. I think relaxed gameplay that allows me to respond is better.
“You made that tent, right? Does it really have the [sleep logout effect]?”
“Ah, yes, it does. I guess as long as you can lie down and sleep, it’s fine.”
Well, if you’re logged in, there’s natural [MP] recovery, so it’s not exactly a problem even if you don’t build a tent.
“Normal players properly pay money to stay at an inn and log out~ Though it seems some people cut corners~”
“Oh, really…” If you’re in a city, there probably wouldn’t be any need to stay at an inn, though.
“In the Empire, if you log out standing in a plaza or an alleyway, NPC pickpockets apparently steal your money.”
“Seriously?”
“That’s scary.”
Nat started in the Empire, didn’t he?
Well, he’s not the type to be stingy in such situations, so he’s probably fine.
“[IRO] tries to take money from players in quite a few ways, doesn’t it…”
“I think it’s an inflation countermeasure.”
“Inflation?”
Mion-san asked. Perhaps she doesn't really feel it if she’s not the one playing.
“Players get richer as they play, and it would be boring if they didn’t, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You earn money by hunting monsters or making potions, and then you buy new equipment, and that cycle repeats.”
“Yeah.”
“When everyone levels up and gets rich, rare drop weapons and such can go for unbelievable prices. The sellers want to get a high price too.”
“I see…”
And when you hunt, hoping for rare drops, money accumulates too, you know.
“Rare drops might still be the better situation. There’s also buying up potions sold cheaper than you could make them.”
“Buying them up and selling them at a higher price?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s brutal…”
In real life, resellers buy up limited-edition items and sell them on auction sites at high prices. It really makes you understand why MMORPGs are often called a microcosm of the economy.
“So, what you were just talking about, is it about NPCs collecting money from players?”
“Yeah, like, gradually shaving off bits of money each day so they don’t get rich too fast? It must be hard, because if they do it too much, the game becomes boring.”
“In the Kingdom, a basic inn stay is 1000 Iris, which is about 2 or 3 goblins defeated and their [Magic Stones] sold, or one [Bicobit]’s worth of meat.”
So, it's cheap enough for even beginners who just started to manage. It would be problematic if they stumbled right there.
“Shou-kun, you don’t use money, right?”
“No. Or rather, my current money is 0 yen, no, 0 Iris. It seems you don’t get money if you choose an [Uninhabited Island Start]… Oops!”
“Pish Pish!”
I dodged a [Bicobit] that charged with its horns and jump attack, then swiftly defeated it with my dagger. That’s one night’s basic inn stay.
The eastern side must be a safe zone for beginner equipment, but I still need to find a way to get weapons and armor.
“Aren’t there any additional equipment for that~?”
“Ah, well, I don’t know what the initial equipment or items are for a regular start.”
Thinking it would be faster to show them, I opened my equipment menu.
If I place it around here, it should be easy to see, right?
“I think it’s the same as when I started…”
“President Bell, you started from the closed beta, right? How much initial money did you have?”
“30,000 Iris. Including lodging and food expenses, it’s enough to live without income for a while.”
Somehow, I feel like I lost 30,000 yen.
“Well, in exchange, I got a whole lot of [SP]…”
“Can you show us your stats and skills~?”
“Roger.”
――――――――――――――――――――
Name: Shou Lv.2
HP: 155 MP: 155
STR: 15 DEX: 15 AGI: 12
INT: 14 VIT: 14 LUK: 10
[Elemental Magic]: 1 [Dagger]: 1 [Dismantling]: 1
[Appraisal]: 1 [Throwing]: 1 [Woodcraft]: 1
[Stonemasonry]: 1 [Presence Detection]: 1 [Presence Concealment]: 1
Remaining SP: 31 Remaining BP: 0
――――――――――――――――――――
Hmm, lame.
I spent a lot of time on character creation on Day 1, and my character level only increased by 1 on Day 2.
“You have 31 [SP] remaining…”
“I expect I’ll be using them a lot from now on.”
Or rather, honestly, I’m worried if 31 is enough. How am I supposed to level up my character on this [Uninhabited Island], anyway?
I guess I really have no choice but to slowly chip away at the goblins I found earlier…
“Do you have any skills you plan to acquire~?”
“Uhm, [Fishing], maybe?”
“You talked about that yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah. If only I could procure a hook and line.”
I could just dig up some random dirt to find worms for bait; everything my dad taught me might come in handy.
Just then, I reached a spot where I could see the [cliff] on the eastern side of the island.
“Ohh~”
It was so beautiful, I’d describe it as scenic. I keep thinking full-dive VR is amazing.
“What a beautiful view…”
“Honestly, how did you find such an island…”
“Right~”
I myself truly wonder how I found it.
“Did you intend to start on an [Uninhabited Island] from the beginning?”
“Yeah. Well, it was more like, ‘it’d be nice if I could,’ but after realizing that the starting point selection map could be zoomed and scrolled, I spent four… almost five hours searching.”
Somehow, silence fell after my answer. They seemed utterly appalled.
Well, I do think I was a bit broken at that time.
“May I ask why you wanted to play solo so badly?”
“...Something like, I just wanted to relax by myself?”
Playing games with people is fun too, but I always seem to prioritize the other person’s enjoyment.
[Nat] knows this well, so he’s quite considerate, but then I feel a bit guilty about that too…
“Is it a nuisance that I’m streaming?”
“No, not at all. I intended to enjoy solo play, but talking with Mion-san while playing is fun.”
“That’s good…”
Watching someone else play a game is fun, but the reverse is quite enjoyable too.
If it were [Mashiro nee], she’d probably be nagging me with “Do this, do that…”
“Guilty.”
“Guilty, indeed~”
“Eh?”