00012 [Part 1] [The Worthless Mage] ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
They say things never go the way you want. No matter how long you wait, the bus doesn't come, but the moment you decide to walk, it passes you by. The questions you are sure won't be on the exam are exactly the ones that appear. As Murphy's Law states.
"Sigh…."
He hadn't imagined he would return to Customize Yourself in less than a day. The resolution he had made with tears in his eyes yesterday was beginning to waver. Having set foot in a world he had sworn never to return to, his mind was so troubled that no words would come out.
"Are you a newly arrived adventurer?"
"Sigh…."
Players beginning C.Y. for the first time could start at one of more than ten starting points on the Cheuan Continent. Of course, if you selected your starting village at random, there was a chance you might begin at an undiscovered village or a special one.
However, since he had promised to meet Aran, he couldn't choose at random. He had at least picked a starting village far from any major commercial city, one that players wouldn't readily choose, yet whether by coincidence—or perhaps not—Aran happened to be playing near this village.
"I am the chief of this village. I teach newly arrived adventurers how to survive in this world. First, why don't you take out a weapon from your bag and give it a swing?"
"Sigh…."
The NPC—the chief of Full Moon Village—was giving him basic game information as a new player.
But he had already figured out the tutorial long ago, so the chief's words went in one ear and out the other. Still, whenever the chief asked him something, he would respond with a continuous stream of yawns. Whether because the chief had a generous personality and wasn't offended by his attitude, or because he was a classical game NPC who could only reply according to his algorithm, the chief kept talking without pause.
"Today. Today is the day I will definitely quit for good."
Since he was going to quit anyway, he thought there was no need to finish the tutorial and receive auxiliary items. He walked toward the village entrance where he was supposed to meet Aran, avoiding the chief, who was spitting as he talked.
"…You're quick."
Aran had already entered the village and was chatting with the guards at the entrance. Although she had said she was hunting near Full Moon Village, admiration naturally spilled out at how quickly she had arrived.
"Is that you, Karon oppa?"
"Hey…."
Aran awkwardly waved at him as he walked over, finished her conversation with the guards, and came toward him with a pleased expression. Perhaps because her newly made character was level 1 and looked small and frail compared to Karon, or because she was wearing clothes that were little better than rags, she hadn't seemed certain it was him until he got close.
"Karon oppa, thank you for yesterday."
"How many times are you going to thank me for that? And this character isn't Karon."
"Oh, right! What should I call you, oppa?"
"…Call me Last."
Since he had only planned to play for one day before quitting, he had named the character half-heartedly. Strangely, despite being a name someone should have already taken, it had passed the nickname duplicate check without issue. Most likely, a player who had previously owned the name Last had deleted their character, and by sheer luck, he had managed to create a character with that name.
Not that it mattered, since he was only going to play today anyway.
"So? What did you call me here to do?"
"Let's hunt together! You helped me yesterday, so today I'll help you level up."
"…Sure, fine."
"First, let's go buy some decent weapons and clothes!"
"I don't have any money because I didn't finish the tutorial."
"It's fine. I'll pay."
"No. It's okay. …I want to raise myself up alone."
"Okay…."
There was no need to waste money on a character he was going to abandon after one day. Low-level exclusive items wouldn't be expensive for her, but he also felt like he would incur a needless debt. Besides, if he accepted the items, he felt he would end up playing until he got his money's worth.
"Well, still…."
"The monsters around the village are just rabbits, foxes, and wolves, so you covering me should be enough."
"But oppa, since you're level 1 right now, wouldn't it be better to buy herbs or potions?"
At Aran's words, Last nodded. If he had finished the tutorial, he would have been at least level 3 and could have taken down rabbits without difficulty, but things were different at level 1. If he got hit badly and his HP dropped to 0%, he could receive a death penalty that locked him out of the game for a day.
Well, if he died, he wouldn't have to play anymore, which would be nice, but would that look too obvious?
"Inventory."
Last checked his inventory to see the basic settlement funds he had received from talking to the chief a moment ago. It was 1 silver coin. The currency units used in this world were gold, silver, and copper coins; 1,000 copper coins were needed to make 1 silver coin. Likewise, 1,000 silver coins were needed to make 1 gold coin.
"I can buy potions with the money I have."
"Then let's go to the general store first."
The main wound treatments used by starting players were potions and herbs. The former rapidly increased HP recovery speed for a short time when drunk, but if you tried to drink it mid-combat, you could easily get hit by a monster and die unless you were quite skilled. The latter could be chewed in your mouth while fighting, so there was no risk of getting hit mid-use, but the recovery speed was slower.
"Welcome."
"Hello."
As soon as they entered the general store, the owner welcomed them warmly. Inside the old and shabby shop, empty bottles containing liquids of various colors hung in rows, dangling from strings. On the shelves were stationery items like books and maps on display, while panaceas that cured status ailments were stored in display cases, separate from the potions.
"What can I help you with?"
"…Potions would be better."
Potions were more expensive than herbs because their recovery speed was faster and more effort went into their production. However, since his current level was 1, fighting while holding herbs in his mouth wasn't a viable option. When he had been Karon, he could swing his sword while drinking potions, so he was already accustomed to using them.
"A wound recovery potion, please."
"Just one?"
"Let's see, the price is…."
If the prices hadn't changed from two years ago, the cheapest potion should have cost around 200 copper coins. If he spent everything he had to buy five, it would be enough for hunting. Thinking this, he looked at the potion's price and revealed an expression of clear bewilderment.
"One… silver coin…?"
"It was 500 copper last time, so the price doubled."
Aran chimed in, but he couldn't hide his shock. The price had jumped fivefold. A consumable that had helped new players in so many ways had truly become a luxury.
"The price went up due to inflation."
The shop owner replied nonchalantly to the bewildered pair.
Inflation, my ass.
Inflation—a rise in prices—certainly existed even in the game world. Various factors could cause inflation, but it usually appeared when demand outstripped supply. However, as far as he knew, the ingredients for the cheapest potions were simple and stable to cultivate, so demand had decreased rather than increased. On the contrary, as players who had relied on potions leveled up and sought more expensive goods, the supply of the cheapest potions often exceeded demand.
"Is distribution difficult? Or have potion ingredients become harder to obtain?"
Last couldn't help but question the situation.
"Well, you see… the material costs have risen…."
"I don't know about other potions, but the ingredients for this potion shouldn't have risen in price so easily."
"Labor costs have gone up…."
"Fine, I'll grant you that. But even so, one silver coin is far too expensive."
Even if labor or material costs had risen, there was no way they would have jumped fivefold.
"…Then go buy it at another store."
"We'll have to do that."
"Though every store on this continent will be selling at this price anyway."
"Sigh…."
At the shop owner's words, Last roughly figured out why the potion prices had risen.
"It was a cartel."
"A cartel?"
"It's collusion. Since potions are supplied by various merchant guilds, it's not a monopoly. Which means the merchant guilds colluded to fix this price together."
"Ah, I see."
"I know nothing."
If the potion prices had indeed been formed through collusion as he said, they would have to trade at that price no matter where they went. If there was no law prohibiting collusion on this continent, or if it was being tacitly tolerated, there would be nowhere to report it either.
Setting that aside, Last was inwardly surprised to learn that during the two years he hadn't played, the NPCs' autonomous behavior processing had developed enough for merchant guilds to collude with one another.
No, perhaps the amazing ones were the players.
He changed his mind. The NPCs had likely colluded, but he got the feeling that there might be players manipulating things from behind the scenes. Thinking so, it suddenly felt strangely chilling. In this world, there was a way to wield a sword, but there was also a way to wield money.
"You're not buying?"
"Oppa, won't you have no choice but to buy here?"
"…No, I'm not buying. Let's go."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Last turned around without regret and walked out of the store.
Trading was possible not only at stores run by NPCs, but also at stores run by players. Moreover, players could use crafting skills to sell items with various stats rather than standardized items like those sold in stores. Most of all, if collusion was taking place, players would try to buy potions cheaply and resell them to turn a profit.
But as if to deny such thoughts of his,
"You'll regret it if you buy potions from adventurers!"
the shop owner's voice called out after them, but the two ignored it.
---------------------------= Afterword =---------------------------=
It's exam period,
so irregular releases… well, it was always irregular, but
wow, so many comments!
I want to reply to each one, but later… ㅠㅠ