Chapter 253 – Leaper Ring (1/2)

Chapter 253 – Leaper Ring

It was generally agreed by the major guilds that the rewards for being the first to clear a map far exceeded those from regular grinding. It was simple to see why; the equipment drop rate was greatly increased, as was the chance of encountering gold chests. Even the rarer dark gold chests were a lot more common. Though the allure of Gold and Dark Gold equipment was great, the difficulty of being first was extremely high, which made many guilds think twice before taking such a risk.

The challenges of clearing a map for the first time lay in the increased number of Elites, and at times even Lords. Entire forces getting wiped out was not an unusual sight, and if such failures repeated themselves several times over, even top elites would degrade into no more than average players. The risk of getting set so far behind was a tall hurdle for most guilds, so only the best of the best would dare to organize a pioneering expedition. But even then, they only chose maps suited to their level. A single word described those who attempted higher-levelled maps—suicidal!

This meant the vast majority of dark gold chests landed in the hands of the powerful guilds, while everyday players and smaller guilds would find it tough to acquire even one. There were also tragedies that often occurred, like finding a dark gold chest and then discovering that your Lockpicking skill was insufficient to open it. You could do nothing but allow that wondrous opportunity to slip past your fingers.

Nie Yan rested his hand on the chest. He fortunately had a Lockpicking Specialist skill that could open chests beyond his level, though it was just barely enough.

“Looks like I’ll have to find a few more lower-leveled chests to train my Lockpicking skill,” Nie Yan thought. He bent down and began to unlock the chest. The progress bar inched ever so slowly forward; it appeared that this would take a bit of time.

Nie Yan pulled up the game’s website and browsed the ongoing property auctions. By now, there was an extremely high volume of bidders, and the bids for some properties was as high as 1,500 gold. What’s more, they were trending ever higher! He decided to hold off from bidding until near the end of the auction. By then, he could swoop in and snatch away whatever property caught his fancy.

Written in large and bright text, there was a piece of news listed on the website regarding credit conversation. The system of credit conversation would be set up similar to a financial exchange. For instance, if you wanted to sell a gold coin or a piece of equipment for credits, you could do so based on current rates on the exchange, or talk privately with the equipment holder and negotiate prices then. The buyer would be using real-life credits to purchase the seller’s in-game equipment or gold.

These exchanges were all monitored by federal regulatory commissions. Due to regulations, in-game currency was prohibited from directly purchasing goods in reality. To do so, a person would have to first convert in-game currency or equivalent to credits through official channels then purchase the goods. This was done to prevent in-game currency from replacing credits and disrupting the natural flow of the market.

The credit conversation system would be released as soon as the property auctions came to an end, and it would immediately introduce a surge of capital into Conviction. This surge would continue to push the prices of equipment and in-game currency upward as large investors built up their structure and strength.

It would also greatly stimulate the development of player businesses in the game, and this was clear from the recent performance of the Union of Assassins. Through the attention brought by Sleepy Fox, Kill Love, and Fa Lan, their numbers spiked. The number of professional players broke through 12,000 and the number of clients broke past 8,000. Every day, the union received over 500 requests and acted as the intermediary for several thousands of trades. More importantly, Nie Yan’s net income was over 300 gold coins a day.

Under Nie Yan’s control were two of the most profitable auction houses, numerous properties, the Starry Night Potion Shop and numerous branches located in most major cities, and of course, Asskickers United’s full strength. He’d be able to hold up his own even if Cao Xu came on over.

Nie Yanhad enough money on hand to purchase at least one property. He needed to make sure to get himself a stronghold before the credit conversation started up, so at least he’d have something to fight against Cao Xu’s vast wealth.

It had only been a month or so since the game first released, but Nie Yan had already set up a stable business by laying down each path with care and reached his current position. He was very satisfied with these results.

The dark gold chest clicked open, interrupting Nie Yan’s thoughts and prompting him to reach around the chest. He fished out two items.

Staff of Dark Rite (Dark Gold)Requirements: Level 40

Properties: Damage 332–338, Intelligence +20; Dark Bloom (Rank 5): 50% Increased damage against Undead or Machine types