Chapter 78: Lundebarun (2)
Lately, I've been spending a lot more time watching ‘Circuit Wiki’.
It was clearly a much more efficient way to acquire information when compared to obtaining information directly in the world of <Circuit> when considering the amount of time spent and the amount of information acquired in proportion to it.
The amount of information on the monitor that I just read was the amount I would’ve needed to spend to acquire as Mose in-game.
If I had to pick one that was the most impressive thing I’ve read, it had to be this one.
[Quicker leveling accelerates the time needed for ‘mining’.]
It was about one of the biggest keywords in the Circuit Wiki one could find, ‘mining’.
Of course, many people already know that the term ‘mining’ was not just a term commonly used for mining resources from the ground.
I too have heard a lot about this word ever since a long time ago.
[It is not an exaggeration to say that the current situation of the Circuit is the ‘age of tokens’. At this point and time when a single Ormachon token worth 150 million won, many players started to complete quests in order to acquire this wealth.
This act of completing numerous quests with only one blind purpose, different from the quests completed to simply raise one's own specifications in the game, began to be called the word 'mining' among many players.
As the average level of players increased, the number of high-paying quests requested by NPCs, in the beginning, began to significantly decrease, and the value of the reward began to plummet.
In other words, the average level of players has risen enough that the difficult quests presented by NPCs have become an easier difficulty for the current players.
Some of the leading users would have already secured a lot of Ormachon tokens by risking the pain and completing the difficult quests from the beginning.
There are even players who had acquired hundreds of tokens by finishing quests that reward the completer with many tokens at once, called the ‘lodes’.
As was the case in the cryptocurrency boom of the past, it is quite natural for leading people to dominate the market.
However, in Circuit, it was different!
You too can become the leader of this boom mentioned beforehand!
If you do not have an item with a high rank, it would be good to consider raising a lot of stats by simply 'leveling up'.
In the end, the higher your level, the more likely you are to succeed in mining.
[Stop all the quests you are working on right now, and try quests that can increase your experience points even if you spend money!]
It was interesting to me that the number of players who specialized in hunting for Ormachon tokens only started increasing.
However, just like the case with the price of magic items, as the average levels and stats of players increased, the rewards of the quests began to decrease, making it impossible to obtain tokens as easily as before.
It had become much easier and safer for people to go out and fight ever since the number of priest classes increased.
Due to this, the market price of magic items that have been in high demand plummeted, and at the same time, a circulation structure was created in which players who equipped the magic items went hunting and scavenging again.
The NPCs who had to hire brave NPCs who risked their lives to solve their problems could now easily hire players who were free from death and who are full of willingness so it was only a natural result for the rewards to be reduced.
And in the midst of such changes within <Circuit>, even I thought that I was in one of the leads.
Just like a person who bought a lot of cryptocurrency at a bargain price as soon as the cryptocurrency market started in the old days.
Honestly speaking, I still wondered why the tokens were so valuable, and whether the people who wanted to buy the tokens were actually real.
In the midst of such thoughts, the continuously updated transaction status on the token exchange website got rid of those wonders.
Circuit Wiki made me think of various things like this.
***
I frantically read information about Circuit on the Internet, then laid down on the connector again, logged in, and then opened my eyes.
The first thing that caught my eye was a leather pouch placed right in front of me on a glossy, dark wooden desk.
[You’ve done well, Mose.]
In front of it, on a small piece of parchment, the words were written in a cute circular font.
I could tell it was Khea’s writing at first sight.
I hurriedly got up from the spot and opened up the pouch, filled with jade-colored coins that were gleaming in silver lights.
[ Ormachon Token ]
Magic
Weight: 0.01kg
It is a token that is worth 1000 gold.
History: A luxurious currency that resembles the legendary dragon that is known to have its entire body covered in gold, Ormachon. It contains a minuscule amount of the famous Orma coil ore.
A notification window appeared in front of my eyes filling my sight. Another phrase appeared in my sight when I grabbed the pouch and lifted it up.
< Ormachon Token x 131 >
I could check the quantity right away without counting them one by one.
It felt strange to see the Ormachon tokens I had seen on the internet right before I connected to the game placed in front of my eyes.
And when I opened the door, I saw Khea in the corner sleeping with a blanket, as I expected.
Around her, there were two books on the floor.
I cautiously walked out to the hall, but her eyebrows twitched for a moment as she sensed my feeble presence right away.
And after a moment, her eyes opened up and she smiled as she saw me walking out of the room right away.
“You’re here.”
“Yup. Did I wake you up?”
“Not at all. Though your footsteps were as loud as the ones from a young troll.”
She flopped the blanket to the side as she got up from her seat. I found it absurd how beautiful she was despite the fact that she just woke up from her sleep.
I walked up to her and sat on the floor right in front of where she had slept.
She looked startled for a moment at my sudden movement but shortly after sat down in front of me.
“It seemed that my share was a lot more than yours.”
I took the pouch out of my inventory as soon as she sat in front of me.
Then she tilted her head to the side and gave a slight smirk, with her silky hair dropping down her shoulder along with her head.
“That is because, Mose, you did the harder work, of course.”
“A kind boss, aren’t ya.”
I responded with a little joke at her answer. Then she nodded her head as if satisfied,
“Yup, of course, of course~”
She said with a voice seeming to hold back laughter.
“I never thought that I could touch this much money as a Sworder, ever.”
Then Khea, who had changed to a worried voice for a moment, looked me in the eye.
Her eyes were mysterious and beautiful, as if clear jade, the color of a bud leaf, had been boiled in boiling water to thick viscosity.
Whenever she looked at my face with a piercing stare, I couldn’t help but avoid her eyes.
“The Silver Cats Society may take action for this.”
Khea carefully opened her mouth to speak about the incidents that happened yesterday.
Clearly, what we did yesterday was something out of the ordinary.
Generally speaking, some may take this simply as completing a ‘lodes’ quest, which numerous people yearn for, from what I saw on the internet.
To be honest, I couldn't say I wasn't really worried. Not only that I wasn’t a player that blindly played this game to obtain tokens, I was a player who very well knew the consequences of the aftermath that the quest could bring.
These were worth hundreds of billion won.
This didn’t feel real at all. Even the two tokens that I sold previously felt like a dream to me as of now.
“Are you worried?”
I passed my worries to her without realizing it.
As if she was thinking the same thing as me, she answered my question with a smile on her face.
“Sworders always live on with worries even bigger than that, right?”
“You do have a point.”
I immediately agreed with her words.
Missions that I received as a Sworder were clearly missions that were so incredible that I was afraid to challenge them.
I did receive a lot of help back in Langeru but the existence of that Garnas still gave me a chill down my spine just by imagining it.
Lairo, the biggest turning point I've faced since I started playing this game, also exhausted me for days.
When I came to think of it in that way, the Silver Cats Society’s pursuit didn’t seem like a thing to be worried about at all.
“Anyways, I don’t know what to do with all these tokens.”
She took a token from her inner pocket and skillfully flipped it with her thumb.
“They’re worth 1000 gold per token, right?”
“Mose, when was the last time you visited the trading office or the Bank of Arantas?”
“Hm, I’m not sure since I haven’t been there in a while...”
“So you don’t know anything about the situation happening there?”
Unfortunately, I didn’t search for any information about the thing she said.
I was only looking for information that interested me, so I had no idea what she was talking about.
“What happened?”
“It’s become a lot more difficult to trade tokens in trading offices or banks nowadays.”
“More difficult?”
“Yes. Tokens aren’t traded at the trading offices or banks because players trade them at a higher price. People like me would love to sell tokens to players, if they had some to sell.”
I did remember seeing the price go up exponentially when I checked the exchange website the other day.
According to the announcement posted on the website, the value of Ormachon tokens increased significantly within <Circuit>, but the words that came out of her mouth were completely different.
“From what I heard, the price of the tokens went up by a lot in Circuit too, no?”
“Tokens are literally currencies issued by the Bank of Arantas. A 1,000 gold bill isn’t worth 1,500 gold, right?”
She explained to me, raising her finger as if it was common sense.
If so, then what were those announcements that I saw on the exchange website?
As the Orma coil was depleted, the token’s scarcity increased, its value increased accordingly.
As I was immersed in many thoughts, a certain thought flashed through my mind.
Maybe, the Ormachon tokens of <Circuit> were already being received as real currency rather than in-game currency by real people.
To put it simply, it was like a value created by people of the real world’s investments and speculations.
After thinking like that, I reached the conclusion that it would be difficult to trade my tokens in the future.
Of course, it was a simple task if I just exchanged them at the Bank of Arantas at the regular price, but I am also a human being.
In reality, this token is 150% more expensive than in Circuit. There were many risks involved in transactions between players, but since the risk was worth the return, I was willing to take the risks. That was what got me greedy.
“Khea, how are you planning on spending those tokens?”
“I’m taking this opportunity to try and fix my armor and sword. I'm thinking of entrusting it to <Thick Dwarf’s Nail Industry>.”
She sent me a wink after answering my question.
“A Sworder’s equipment is what saves their life, right?”
She said, with a smile.
“How about you, Mose?”
She asked me back this time.
“I’ll have to wait and see. And like you said, Khea. I should also take this opportunity to fix my equipment.”
It was necessary for me to fix the Attoria’s armor set and my dull blades. The items I had were obviously more valuable than all the tokens I had combined.
It was clear to me that gold was much more convenient than tokens.
Besides, I didn't even have the courage to trade in the token market where things like ‘real life problems’ interfered in this way.
Thinking back now, I was proud of myself for somehow trading 2 tokens using the exchange website.
“Of course, all of this has to be done after meeting Sharan again.”
She answered me with a smile on her face after listening to what I just said.
“Of course.”
Moments later,
“Mose, my master who holds the rudder of the wind. Soon, the SkyLord will enter the air space of Lundebarun. I hope you’re holding tight to the rope of destiny for your new journey.”
Elsha’s resounding voice filled the entire hall.
As soon as she finished speaking, Khea and I ran to the window and looked outside it.
Soon, large text appeared in my sight.
< Lundebarun >