Paying to Win in a VRMMO: Volume 2

by Blitz Kiva

  “Sir Kirschwasser, your shield is made-to-order as well, isn’t it?” Ichiro asked.

  “Hmm, I suppose it is... but it’s just a slightly enhanced version of the existing Kite Shield,” Sakurako replied. “For a bit of fun, I had an image of cherry blossoms textured onto the shield’s surface.”

  “An original design, then?” Ichiro asked.

  “Merely texturing on an image rather than trying to replace the whole graphic doesn’t take especially long,” she explained. “All the guilds make up their own unique mark and have their members texture it somewhere on their armor.”

  “Replacing the whole graphic” referred to what Ichiro Tsuwabuki had done during his character editing stage; creating new graphics from scratch, and paying real world money to have it skinned on. Using original 3D graphics increased the data bus and the burden on the server, which cost real world money. Specifically, Sakurako had discovered through a bit of later research, it cost 800 yen.

  “Hmm...” he murmured.

  “Ichiro-sama, you’ve barely touched your food.”

  “Really?” he asked. “I’ve always been a light eater, though...” But it was true that he had been so busy thinking that he’d found it hard to engage with his meal. “Anyway, I’d like to go to that merchant town you mentioned.”

  “To get a made-to-order armor that pleases you?” Sakurako asked. “It seems like it would be an expensive order. Or perhaps it would be surprisingly inexpensive. It’s hard to say.”

  “Well, I don’t intend to make a difficult request,” he said.

  “But it’s the merchant who will decide if it’s difficult or not, after you tell him what you want.”

  “Hmm, true.” The exchange caused Ichiro’s expression to cloud very slightly with worry, and he nodded in agreement.

  Whether she knew what weighed on his mind or not — well, she probably did — Sakurako changed the subject. “Ichiro-sama, it’s a bit early yet, but would you like your after-dinner tea?”

  “Yes, lightly brewed roasted green tea,” he said.

  Their conversation continued on through after-dinner tea. Ichiro logged in to the world of NaroFan about an hour later.

  ◆　◆　◆

  “...And that is how I ended up coming to Glasgobara,” he finished.

  “This is taking too long!!” Felicia shouted. “Way too long! Iris isn’t even in the story yet!”

  “You expressed interest in my first week of the game, so I decided to tell that, as well,” Ichiro said, his expression diffident.

  For some reason, Kirschwasser had prepared a tea set with a teapot, and was offering a cup to Iris, who was looking rather bored.

  “Incidentally, this tea tastes quite similar to the roasted green that I made him that day,” Sir Kirschwasser said.

  “Thanks.” Iris took the cup, with a somewhat puzzled expression. “Mr. Kirsch, I don’t know much about your real life, but do you cook for the young heir, too? You seem a bit more than just his butler...”

  “Hmm? Oh, well... ha ha ha. I also serve as Master Ichiro’s driver when he leaves the house.”

  “You’re his chauffeur, too?” Iris asked, looking surprised.

  Felicia suddenly realized that Iris didn’t yet know that Sir Kirschwasser was Ichiro’s maid, Sakurako Ogi. She wanted to shout “He’s a woman!” but that would just make things more complicated. It was also against game etiquette to reveal someone’s real-life affairs, as she had learned from the King Kirihito incident.

  Ichiro continued, “Anyway, I then headed to Glasgobara... that is, to this very town we’re in now.”

  “To make equipment!” Felicia added.

  “Yes, to make equipment. The first person I met there was Bossman...”

  “We still haven’t gotten to Iris?!” Felicia exclaimed.

  ◆　◆　◆

  Ichiro arrived in Glasgobara Merchant Town sooner than he had expected. As he walked, he opened his menu window, and checked the NaroFan wiki in the game’s proprietary browser. It explained that Glasgobara had been the first new town unlocked since the service had started, via a large-scale Grand Quest two months in. The players had defeated the volcanic dragon Volgund who ruled over the area, securing a settlement for craftsmen, primarily Dwarves. All players who’d participated had received the rare item “Volgunnic Alloy.” In the hands of NPC merchants and Blacksmith players, it could be used to develop powerful weapons and armor.

  While there was no harm in visiting, Ichiro was starting to realize it might not be so easy to get the armor he wanted made. He could hear the sounds of steel-upon-steel ringing out from the houses, which all seemed to be homes of crafting class players. Most of the equip items lined up in the booths on their porches were mail and helmets. As Sakurako had said, many of them had simple graphics textured onto them, and they all more or less looked the same.

  He walked down the road with a rather gloomy feeling in his heart. Of course, Ichiro meant no disrespect to the players he saw leaving those shops with such elated smiles. He wasn’t aware of it, but he was the kind of person who couldn’t feel comfortable unless he was special. It was childish, yes, but the truth was that he had managed to become an adult without ever meeting someone who could cure him of his more childish aspects.

  “Hey, buddy. Are you a whale?”

  Ichiro heard a hoarse voice from behind him, and turned to look. It was a short, stout man with a dirty-looking mustache. He was such an archetypical Dwarf that Ichiro at first assumed he was an NPC. But of course, an NPC would never ask a question like that. His most startling trait of all was the arrow icon and avatar name that hung above his head.

  It was the man Ichiro would later be instructed to call “Bossman,” the leader of the Akihabara Forging Guild. In other words, it was “I’m With Stupid →.”

  “What brings you here, Whale?” the man asked. “Glasgobara offers everything from potions to missiles.”

  “I have as many potions as I need, and I don’t expect to run out anytime soon,” Ichiro said. “I was looking for some new armor.”

  “Oh-ho!” Bossman narrowed his bulging eyes and examined Ichiro’s current armor.

  Judging by his ability to recognize that Ichiro was a whale at a glance, Mr. Stupid likely knew that his armor was pay-to-download. It wasn’t exactly everywhere, but it wasn’t a rare piece of equipment to see, either. It was his Dragonet race that made him stand out more than anything.

  “I beg your pardon, but I have ‘Insight: Armor,’ and as far as I can see, that equipment’s durability hasn’t dropped low enough for you to require new armor just yet,” the man observed.

  “Nonsense. I’m looking for an armor to call my very own.”

  “Ah, made to order? I see.” Bossman grinned and introduced himself.

  He ran the biggest manufacturing guild in NaroFan, and his ability to say that like it was a blunt fact rather than a boast was quite a likable trait. Of course, he also didn’t seem especially obsequious, either. He simply held an implicit trust in his own ability, and that of his guild members. Ichiro thought he seemed like a fine tradesman.

  “Is it all right for the leader of such a guild to go walking around on his own?” Ichiro asked.

  “Well, we are the game’s largest crafting guild, but it’s not as if I’m putting hammer to tongs all day,” the man said.

  Any player with a crafting class could restore the durability on any weapon or armor. Player-created items were an exception, though. To repair equipment forged by another player required an Ironmaking skill level higher than that of the player who made it. Since the Akihabara Forging Guild were the top crafting players in the game, for the most part, only members of their own guild could repair the weapons they made. Apparently the vast majority of their customers were repeaters seeking said durability restoration, or improvements to their equipment to match their level.

  “Hmm, excellent business sense...” Ichiro mused.

  “I run a small electronics shop in Akihabar
a,” the man said. “To be honest, it’s smaller than my blacksmith shop. I mostly sell computer parts through the mail.” He made it sound like he was applying his real-life business skills to the game, but it was hard to tell if he was joking or not.

  Because they didn’t want to keep talking out in the street, Bossman led Ichiro to his guild’s personal workshop. Ichiro followed the eccentric Dwarf, feeling a strange sense of hope. Given the man’s name and sense of dress, he seemed to have a unique aesthetic, and originality was something Ichiro prized above all else.

  “Hey, you guys, we’re back!” Bossman shouted out hoarsely as he opened the door to come into his guild house. The shop floor was filled with customers and guild members, who all returned their leader’s greeting.

  “As long as you’re here, buddy, I’m going to take you to our guild’s most trusted member,” Bossman added.

  “I would love to meet him.”

  Bossman strode through the lobby to a door with an “authorized personnel only” message window pasted to it, and showed Ichiro in.

  The workshop echoed with the piercing sounds of hammer hitting hot steel. Just like in the Volgund Volcanoes, Ichiro could feel the heat and humidity crawling over his skin.

  “The atmosphere really does create a mood, doesn’t it?” he commented.

  “That’s right. To be honest, to make weapons and armor, we just put all the materials on the anvil, hit it with the hammer, and it’s done.”

  That made sense to Ichiro, given that it was a game. But it still seemed somehow crucially lacking.

  Most of the craftsmen in the workshop stopped as they noticed the honored guest their boss had brought in. Only one man continued hammering on his anvil silently. Bossman walked up to the man and greeted him, and only then did he finally stop.

  “Hey, Ed.”

  “Welcome back, Bossman,” the man named Ed responded in a rather monotone voice.

  “Let me introduce you, buddy,” the man told Ichiro. “This is my number-one apprentice, Edward.”

  “You have apprentices?” Ichiro asked.

  “Of course. Though there’s no Skill for handing down techniques or anything like that...”

  The only motion for striking steel with a hammer was the one that came with the Blacksmith-exclusive Art, “Iron Forge.” That plus Skill effects like Ironmaking and Refining were what allowed a player to combine component items and make new equipment. Of course, the success rate changed depending on the player’s Skill and Art levels, which could also confer some numerical bonuses.

  In other words, not one of these players knew a thing about blacksmithing; they just randomly swung the hammer around and around. Even so, the sight was enough to awe a typical newcomer.

  “Ed’s a premium pack user just like you, buddy,” the man added.

  “...A pleasure,” Ed said.

  “Yes, a pleasure indeed,” Ichiro agreed. “If you introduced us, does that mean you want him to make my armor?”

  “The sort of thing you’re asking for will probably be expensive,” Bossman said. “But I think he can handle it. And if he can’t, I’ll do it.”

  “Hmm...” Ichiro thought for a few seconds. He didn’t doubt that these were the best crafting players Glasgobara had to offer. But first, he’d like to see some of the work they produced.

  “I’d like to see some of Ed’s pieces. Then I’ll decide.”

  Ed twitched at the use of his nickname, but nodded and pointed to the item on the anvil he was hitting with his hammer. Several component items lay there, packed all together.

  “I’d like made-to-order armor, if possible,” Ichiro added.

  “I’ve taken a number of orders customized to match the owner’s battle style,” Edward answered once again in his flat, nearly monotone voice. “Normally, anyone can make armor with a recipe and the necessary components, but you can also add secret components not listed in the recipe to provide new item abilities or greater stat bonuses. Messing around with that is my specialty.”

  “Hmm...” Ichiro folded his arms with a hint of dissatisfaction.

  Edward didn’t seem to notice it, and took the hammer off his belt once more.

  A recipe was indispensable for making any kinds of weapons or armor with desirable stats. They could be purchased from NPC merchants in Glasgobara, but Alchemists or Blacksmiths got a huge discount when buying them. There was an unspoken rule, however, that when buying made-to-order items, the customer should be the one to buy the recipe. Thus, buying the items a craftsman had elected to make on their own tended to be much cheaper than buying your own items made-to-order.

  Once the craftsman had prepared the item, they would be visited by a pop-up window which would let them choose the item’s design. They could combine multiple parts, patterns, and colors based on the component items and recipe, and come up with the final armor design based on that. With all that done, Ed readied his hammer in his hand, and swung it down hard on the components.

  Bang, bang, bang, bang.

  A satisfying metal-on-metal sound rang through the blacksmith’s shop.

  “It’s done.”

  The completed armor used components taken from the plant-type monsters that lived around the Lancastio Spiritwood Sea. It was colorful enough to belie the metallic components that went into making it. A truly radical design. Ichiro touched it lightly to check its stats.

  Defense bonus +72, Skill slots +12, Durability 102/102. The price was 7,200 galt.

  The reason Ed let him inspect it so casually was apparently because he considered it already sold. Certainly, the stats were much higher than those of the Faerie Armor Ichiro was currently wearing...

  Standing behind him, Bossman nodded in satisfaction. But Ichiro was not pleased.

  “Could you let me think about it a while?” he asked.

  Edward flinched at Ichiro’s question. “...Are you unsatisfied?”

  “From an objective point of view, there’s nothing wrong with the stats. From an objective point of view.” Ichiro didn’t try to keep up appearances with even a half-hearted smile, though he was attempting to spare Ed’s feelings in his own way. “But what is or isn’t ‘good armor’ is something I decide for myself.” Making concessions for no reason is nonsense. So I’d like a little time to think.”

  “You’re pretty insensitive there, buddy,” Bossman murmured, but Ichiro just waved a hand dismissively.

  “Of course, if I walk all around Glasgobara, and can’t find a single acceptable item... Well, I’ll think about it then. As I said before, the stats on the armor Ed makes are excellent.” With that, Ichiro left the workshop behind.

  As he made his way out of the forge, many of the craftsmen stopped and turned to watch, having noticed a change in the atmosphere. For just a moment, Ichiro was struck by the realization that he may have done something hurtful to the young man named Edward. He instantly dismissed it, though. Nonsense. Ichiro wasn’t the kind of man who could compromise himself in order to protect someone else’s pride. The armor Edward had made did not fulfill Ichiro’s request, and that was the truth.

  Back to square one, then. With gloomy footsteps, Ichiro wandered through the merchant town. He strayed from the thoroughfare into a back alley, looking at the mysterious potions and things lined up in front of a small outdoor booth, when suddenly something caught his attention.

  An accessory.

  And of a design he’d never seen before.

  Even in Glasgobara, he’d never seen original accessories. The “Craft” Skill required to make them was largely considered undesirable, because no matter how hard you worked to make an accessory, their abilities were little more than add-ons.

  “Excuse me. About this accessory...” he began.

  “Welcome to Iris’s Shop!” the woman he talked to responded with a smile, but he quickly realized there was no player inhabiting it. It wasn’t an NPC, either. It was what was known as a Seller Avatar, which would sell the items in a player’s shop for them while they were
logged out. Which meant that she could not give him the answer he sought.

  “Do you know when your shop’s owner will return?” Ichiro asked.

  “Iris is scheduled to log in every day at 7:30 PM.”

  “Hmm, then I suppose I’ll wait. Ah, and could I buy all the items you’re selling in the storefront here?” Ichiro asked.

  To think that this would be where he made his first in-game purchase... But the money spent was trivial. Once the items were transferred from the shop to his inventory, he took one out and looked it over in his hands.

  It was a silverwork brooch styled after the butterfly wings Ichiro liked so much. The polygon rendering was a bit sloppy, of course... but that was just all the more evidence that it wasn’t native to the game.

  It was handmade: a true one-of-a-kind design.

  A smile appeared on Ichiro’s face; it was the kind of smile that he rarely showed to anyone. The piddling bonuses the accessories offered didn’t concern him. Ichiro had found it. The player with the crafting skill that he had longed for.

  Ichiro couldn’t wait to meet this Iris person, the owner of the store.

  ◆　◆　◆

  “So this is the brooch you bought, then?” Felicia stared in disbelief at the butterfly brooch pinned to Ichiro’s lapel.

  “Please, stop staring. It’s so embarrassing...” Iris murmured, keeping her eyes averted.

  Ichiro said nothing, but merely brought his teacup to his lips with a thoroughly pleased expression. Still, if what he’d said was true, that brooch must have been the first item he’d bought in the game.

  The polygon rendering really was sloppy.

  “Did you really think it was all that great?” Iris ventured.

  “In all honesty, I found the design crude.”

  “Well, excuse me!” Iris said, glaring at Ichiro. “It’s the first thing I ever made for the game. I know that’s not much of an excuse, but it embarrasses me.”