kscans

Chapter 255 - Sorting and a Suspicious Game

(What was this item again...?)

Hayato was in the storage room, sorting items to decide whether or not to put them up for auction.

There were items he could identify in an instant, and others that made him wonder why he had kept them, so his warehouse organization wasn't progressing much.

To begin with, Hayato was the type of person who couldn't throw things away. He had a feeling that he would use them someday, which made it difficult for him to dispose of them. He could sell any item he had created himself without a second thought, but that was because he felt he could always make another.

And the unique equipment he had kept often went unused in the end. He did keep some things as a collection, but he had decided that he didn't need more than one of anything, so he was planning to take this opportunity to sell any duplicates.

(Maybe I'll just limit myself to duplicates today. Overthinking everything is inefficient. I feel like I could probably sell items I haven't used in over a year, but...)

As he was putting the items he planned to sell into a separate box, he heard a knock on the storage room door.

"Hayato-san? Are you in there?"

"Ren-chan? I'm here, what's up?"

The door opened just a crack, and Ren's face peeked inside. After spotting Hayato, she smiled and came in.

"Rose-san said you were in here."

"Oh, really? Are you sure it's okay for you to be logged in this early?"

"It's fine. My brother logged in to do some combat training, so I came along with him."

"Is that so? Then is Ash training on the third floor?"

"That's right. Since I'm mainly a magic user, I don't need to train, so I came here. By the way, what are you doing, Hayato-san?"

"Organizing the warehouse. I was thinking of putting some stuff I don't need up for auction to make some money. But it's not going very well. It's hard to part with any of it, you know?"

"I know what you mean. I have a hard time selling my curse items... Um, would you like some help?"

"Oh, really? In that case, if you find any duplicate items, could you put them in this box? I'm planning to sell anything I have more than one of."

"Okay."

Hayato and Ren worked together, putting items into a single box. Since they were mechanically putting in any duplicates, the work progressed much faster than before.

That said, the warehouse was packed with all sorts of items. When Ren found a strange item, she chirped with excitement.

"Isn't this a limited-time event reward item? Why do you have so many?"

What Ren was holding was a wooden carving. The carving was in the shape of a Chimera.

A Chimera is a monster with the body of a goat, the head of a lion, the neck of a dragon, and a snake for a tail. The wooden carving, like other furniture, had no special effects and was just a commemorative item.

It was an event reward from the early days of the game, a time when even Hayato's skills hadn't reached 100. Still, he had participated in the event with Ney and the others and obtained the reward.

"That item was a random reward. During the event period, I cleared the event many times with Ney and the others and collected the rewards. I eventually got the item I was aiming for, but for some reason, I got an unusually large number of those Chimera carvings. The drop rate must have been high."

"Wow, what was the item you were aiming for?"

"I think it was a pair of glasses. It was a fashion item with no stats, but it was unusual for equipment in that it had no durability. It was popular back then as a headpiece that would never break. I don't think many people use it now that there are better glasses available. But wearing those glasses might let you brag a little as a veteran player."

Owning an item that can no longer be obtained is, in itself, a kind of status.

Since items like the glasses and carvings haven't been re-released in new events, it's a small thing to be proud of, showing that you've been playing the game since that time.

"Come to think of it, there was a time when the number of people wearing glasses increased. Speaking of glasses, our Randa-san was saying something like, 'Glasses and braids are what make a class rep character!' Suien-san said she understood, but I didn't quite get it. I wonder if that's part of her role-playing too...?"

Randa was one of the Genesis Dragons, and an actor friend of Ash and the others. She dressed like a cleric, used holy magic, and during the battle with Agres Berion, she rode on his back, repeatedly casting recovery magic, making her an extremely annoying presence.

Suien was similar, another one of the Genesis Dragons, who had run rampant as Illusion Dragon Suien Mikazuki at the Spirit Country's World Tree. Due to a misunderstanding that Hayato and Esha were flirting, she had subjected them to a horror movie-like performance by climbing the World Tree, and Hayato still felt uneasy around her.

"Randa-san and Suien-san, huh? They come to the cafe sometimes, but are the other Genesis Dragons doing well? They used to come by the cafe often, but recently they've only come by occasionally, so I was a little worried."

"They seem to be busy with filming and editing, so it looks like they don't have much time. But everyone is doing well. In fact, Suien-san and Randa-san have started cooking together so they can eat at home."

"Is that so? But are they okay with cooking? I mean, a hundred years ago, most nutrition came from energy tubes, right? Isn't this their first time cooking?"

In Hayato's era, the energy tubes were used as medical nutritional supplements, but in the era of resource depletion a hundred years ago, they were the staple food, so there was no need to cook. The taste was terrible, so most people deceived their sense of taste with a pseudo-signal to the brain to eat.

It would be difficult for Randa and Suien, who lived in that era, to cook. Esha, too, had become good at making chocolate parfaits, but other than that, she could only be trusted with bacon and eggs.

"They can manage sandwiches. Oh, and their curry and stew are delicious too. The rest, not so much..."

"I see. Well, could you tell them that I'll teach them to cook when they have some free time after the filming is done?"

"I'll let them know. Oh, that's right. Please teach me how to make pudding. I'm going to make a Bucket Pudding in the real world."

"Well, I won't stop you, but be careful. Unlike in virtual reality, there's a limit to how much your stomach can hold."

As they talked, Hayato and Ren continued to sort the items in the warehouse.

After they finished sorting, Hayato and Ren packed their item bags full of items. They were now heading to the auction facility in the Royal Capital to list them. This was still only a fraction of what they had to sell, with much more to come. This was just the first batch.

They informed Ash, who was on the third floor, and Rose, who was in the shop, of their plans, and then Hayato and Ren left the base.

In the past, Hayato had been targeted by various organizations, but for now, all of those issues had been resolved.

The Assassin Guild's master, Zack Orten, had come, but thanks to Hayato's suggestion, he was now busy constructing something like a coliseum, and there had been no contact since.

As for the bandit clan "Greedy Fire Serpent," their leader, Ban himself, had remembered his real-world memories and logged out, and all the members were in prison.

And as for the Ten Holy Demonic Swords, Simon had come alone, and since he was scheduled to go to the Eastern Country later, there was no chance of being abducted.

For these reasons, Ash and Rose had judged that an escort was unnecessary, and it was decided that Ren and he would go alone.

As they were walking through the Royal Capital, Ren spoke to Hayato.

"This is the first time we've gone out together, just the two of us, Hayato-san."

"Is that right? Well, Ash was always with us before. By the way, how is virtual reality? I think it's been a while since you've been outside the base."

At Hayato's question, Ren looked around. Then she took a deep breath.

"It feels nostalgic. It also feels like I'm back. But has the number of people increased? It seems crowded for a weekday morning."

"I guess it's because a lot of new people have started playing. You know, didn't I explain it a while back?"

"Oh, I remember now. Something about Ney-san becoming a sponsor. But I'm a little shocked that it used to be considered a suspicious game. I think it's a good game, though."

"Because the prize money was suspiciously large for a real-world prize, people thought it was a game from some shady company. And since the reproduction rate of the virtual reality was too high, right after the game started, people often said that it might cause brain damage."

There had been other forms of entertainment that used virtual reality before, but their reproduction rates were low. Most were not full-dive, but merely involved viewing virtual reality images.

Amidst all that, this game alone was abnormally realistic, so when it first launched, the news was abuzz with absurd stories about players being abducted in their sleep or being transported to another dimension.

And if it was unknown what company had created it, it was only natural for people to hesitate.

"I'm glad you started playing without worrying about such things, Hayato-san. Because of you, we are where we are today."

"I guess you can look at it that way. I'm glad I got to meet you too, Ren-chan, so I'm glad I played this game."

"Shouldn't you be saying you're glad you met Esha-san?"

"Why? And it's not like I'd say that to you, Ren-chan, when she's not here, right?"

"So if I call Esha-san over, you'll say it?"

"I wouldn't say it if she was here. I wouldn't know what she'd say in return."

"Then when are you going to say it!"

"Why are we assuming I'm going to say it in the first place?"

As they had this conversation, Hayato and Ren made their way to the auction facility.