End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2), John Gold [ebook reader online txt] 📗

is pulling in cash hand over foot if the players all use the simplified interface! Besides the services, there’s the income tax - ten percent of all transactions going through the auction. The tip that appears tells me that eight percent goes to the government of that particular player, while the other two is kept by Lunar. On the other hand, Lunar takes all the money for services. With markups like that, it’s no surprise that items are kept within clans or sold on special forums outside the auction.

Femida put everything we don’t need up for sale. There’s a lot of loot that’s built up, and I could really use the money. My account only has half a million credits - only enough for three months at the orphanage.

We leave Dgar via the underground trade route leading to the southern slopes of the mountain range. As soon as the dwarf lands are behind us, we don our usual attire. The village clothes were getting on my nerves. Something about them made me feel helpless, and it had been weighing on me.

Radaam is a lot different from Ovidius in that there isn’t a second mountain range in the south, and almost a quarter of the continent is covered in snow. Radaam is located much farther south, and part of it covered by cold climate zones.

 A long trek across the continent lies before us. We need to traverse the cold lands and impenetrable forests where small villages are the only signs of civilization, places where players rarely go. The only ones to venture that far off the beaten track are there looking for the skins of rare animals. As it turns out, the local beasts have very thick fur that can be used to make high-quality clothing. We spend the trip hunting and collecting trophies.

Damage received: 50 (ignored: 705)

1973/2000

 

The bitter cold is starting to have an effect. Last time, it was really problematic, though it at least meant that Fem picked up solid resistance. After the trial with the League of Hunters, I was so weak due to the debuff that I had to continually heal us both. This frost isn’t quite as cold, so we can just keep marching along.

A week later, we get to the settlement that’s the farthest south on the continent. It’s a small hunting town call Mergad, and it’s nestled up against an enormous cliff that doubles as a windbreak. The modest wall and densely constructed buildings make Mergad look something like a house of cards. The houses are four stories high, built right next to each other all along the cliff. The rest of the city is occupied by public buildings. Most importantly, however, it’s the last city we’ll be coming across with an auction. We sell all our skins and pick up our money for the loot we got from the raid bosses.

We get less than I thought, just 700000 each. Player levels have grown significantly over the last year, meaning that the price people are willing to pay for goods has fallen. A lot of high-level players have followed the money into the crafting business. The downside of that, however, is that the market is now flooded.

Because it’s the last outpost of civilization on our journey, we decide to stop and rest.

Everything in reality is going well. I have my first friends among the orphans, and we swim in the lake together every day. The two dark-skinned boys, it turns out, enjoy jazz, and they give us orphans our first concert. May and Li Quan also play a duet for violin and piano. My many streams of consciousness and heightened mental faculties enable me to develop an ear for music, so I’m now playing some of the hardest pieces there are for piano. My teacher loves it all, even suggesting that I give concerts and start competing. That’s attention I don’t need, however. There’s just one academic year left before I get my specialist qualification, and I have the money and a detailed description of what needs to happen for me to get my citizenship in a separate account. Even if something happens to the orphanage, my money alone will enable me to become a functioning citizen. I won’t have to worry about anything else once that happens.

***

Leon and Merlen were relaxing during a corporate party at Star Ship.

Over the previous year, the company had been able to occupy 15% of the space ship construction market. Net profit had tripled, Leon’s share up to 51%, and Merlen’s to 15%. Owning such large chunks of the company enabled them to manage it much more efficiently. They no longer needed to run decisions by the board of directors, relieving them of burdensome approval and response processes. Merlen was always right behind Leon, and the newly acquired ability to use information meant they could pick the best way to grow the company. Still, Leon hadn’t done all that just to boost profits. He needed more free time for Project Chrysalis.

Nate, the head of security, walked up. All he cared about was keeping Leon safe, someone he believed in as if he really were a god. Nothing else mattered. He had no wife, no children, no girlfriend. Just work and his personal god.

“Leon, we found Sagie’s trail. He was looking for his parents and found an old man who told him that they headed for the floating cities. The kids headed off at sea, over the winter ice, and that’s all we know. Sagie probably spent half a year somewhere else, nobody saw him during that time.”

“On the other hand, he might have found his parents, who could be a nice button for us to push.” Leon grinned triumphantly and drained the wine from his glass. “Send Rachel and those two guys, Ownie and Grunt. They know his parents personally.”

The evening continued, everyone having fun, and nobody aware of