Paying to Win in a VRMMO: Volume 2

by Blitz Kiva

  Could that really be called his own original armor, then? Shouldn’t she be paying a little more attention to stats, too, to make him genuinely good armor?

  Iris decided to ask him directly.

  “Nonsense.” It was the predictable answer, given in the predictable way. But what followed was slightly different from usual. “...at least, it would be easy to dismiss it as such. But I do not wish for my designer to be unsatisfied with my answer, so allow me to expand upon it.”

  As they walked their way down from the Volgund Volcanoes, Ichiro continued, holding up his index finger as he spoke.

  “It is true that function is important. Even real-world clothing designers concern themselves with ‘functionality.’ And I know that because this is a game, the function of an armor is considered all the more crucial. But functionality is not everything. There is also ‘design.’”

  Iris idly tilted her head. She felt like she’d heard those words somewhere before.

  “Let us consider the design to be one part of an armor’s abilities,” Ichiro continued. “You could say, then, that the ‘ability’ I am seeking is the design itself. That is the reason why I spoke to you. Even if its other abilities are not unique, as long as the design is, then it is a brand-new armor for my purposes.”

  His words crushed Iris’s rising doubts immediately. At the same time, she remembered where she had heard the words before. Her favorite fashion designer had said something very much like that.

  She had told a story about a time when she was feeling uncertain about the direction of her designs, and a male friend of hers had given her similar advice. It had provided her with the same clarity it was providing Iris right now.

  “Design is a part of functionality.” Having it put to her that plainly, she had said in the interview, it was as if the blinders had suddenly come off.

  “Do you accept that?” Ichiro asked.

  “I accept that,” Iris answered.

  “Ah, good.” Ichiro nodded in satisfaction.

  ◆　◆　◆

  The flashback ended.

  It seemed, in the end, that young heir’s words then hadn’t been improvised to make her feel better; he had really meant them. His own satisfaction was the most important thing, and anything else was secondary. Which meant that Ichiro Tsuwabuki pouring real money into his equipment’s design was no different from the standard whale seeking out greater ability and efficiency.

  To the young heir, they were one and the same, and anyone who said differently was trafficking in “nonsense,” perhaps.

  Even so...

  Iris cast a glance back at Edward.

  Even so, not every player appreciated that sort of freewheeling playstyle. At the very least, Edward clearly didn’t. Even knowing it was only a game, he had put so much effort into one goal, because he truly believed in it. The young heir, appearing out of the blue and shaking that value system, must have been a hard pill for him to swallow.

  That had been the cause of the... well, it wasn’t so serious as to call it a tragedy, but whatever it was, it had stemmed from that.

  “Iris, are you thinking about something?” Felicia peered into her face and asked.

  Iris couldn’t hide her wince. “Oh, did it show?”

  “Yeah, kinda.” Felicia seemed like the honest type. She was also mouthy in the same way Iris was, but Iris could probably learn a thing or two from Felicia’s forthrightness.

  At some point, a peaceful mood had settled over the group in the lobby, likely the result of the tea that Kirschwasser had poured. The ability to turn grass-type items into special drinks came from the “Tea Ceremony” Skill.

  To take a momentary digression, tea created with this Skill give a temporary boost to stats. But the effect didn’t last long, so Tea Ceremony fell largely into the domain of “flavor Skills.” In the sense that they pursued Skills with little practical benefit very earnestly, Kirschwasser and Iris were very similar, but Iris envied the fact that the Tea Ceremony Skill was so well-suited to Kirschwasser’s character.

  Kirschwasser really went all out at times like these; he had even begun preparing sweets to go with the tea. Ichiro whispered the word “workaholic,” but the Knight in question appeared quite happy to serve.

  “Okay, so...” Felicia murmured, munching on one of the sweets that came after their tea, “...if I’m following the story right... Itchy, you formed a guild with Iris after visiting Bossman and Ed here, and giving them the cold shoulder?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “And then you set up the guild right across from Bossman’s?”

  “Yes, I did.” Ichiro’s expression remained unfazed.

  Felicia stared at him, jaw slack. “Itchy, you’re... such a free spirit...”

  “Hmm, I suppose I am.” It wasn’t a compliment, but the young heir seemed pleased anyway.

  “He certainly is a free spirit,” Iris said. “Right, Edward?”

  “You want me to answer that?” The Machina sitting next to them let out a low wheeze as he looked over at her. He must have been feeling flustered. Of course, he had very few expressions, so it was hard to say for sure.

  “Most people would assume you were picking a fight, wouldn’t they?” Felicia’s question was on point. She had hit the nail on the head, one might say.

  In truth, of the many problems that Ichiro had caused through the founding of Iris Brand, that was the one that could most be considered to be “starting something.” Of course, he had had no intention to mock or make light of anyone. He had merely decided that it was Iris and not Bossman or Edward that could make his ideal armor. And he had put the guild house there merely because it had seemed like the best place for it at the time.

  Ichiro Tsuwabuki was not a hard-headed fool who couldn’t understand other people’s basic feelings. It was the fact that he understood them and still did what he wanted anyway that caused trouble. Even when he was a child, the usual method of dissuasion — “Little X doesn’t like that, so please stop” — had never worked on him.

  To explain the founding of Iris Brand in full, there was no avoiding telling the next series of events. Even so...

  “This is awkward...” Iris murmured. She cast a sidelong glance at Edward, then resumed her story.

  ◆　◆　◆

  Carrying the Magi-Metal Dragon Scales needed to create the belt, Iris and Ichiro returned to Glasgobara.

  It was the time of day when, even in the metropolis of Glasgobara, you didn’t see many players coming and going down the broad main street. Most of the open stalls were being run by Seller Avatars, as well. It simply wasn’t as bustling as it usually was.

  “That felt pretty easy, didn’t it?” Iris asked.

  “I suppose,” Ichiro responded smoothly. “You have a high Craft level, so you’ll likely succeed in creating the accessories the first time. Having only the minimal components required shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “The real problem is the armor,” Iris said. “The jacket and the slacks and stuff... I don’t know how many of those components we’re going to need to amass...”

  The jacket and slacks would both use ingredients from a mob known as Radiant Morpho. It was a giant butterfly monster that lived deep in the Lancastio Spiritwood Sea, one that had an extremely low spawn rate. They had to find it and beat it, and each time, it would drop two or three of the item they needed. They’d need to save up ten to create the Radiant Armor that would serve as the basis for the Radiant Morpho Wing Jacket.

  And that was assuming she would succeed on the first time. Iris’s Create Armor level was low, and the Radiant Armor had a low success rate from the start. She didn’t even want to think about how many butterfly wings she was going to end up converting into worthless garbage.

  “Well, I have a few ideas of my own regarding how to collect the wings, so just make the belt and the necktie for now,” Ichiro said. “In the meantime, you should take whatever time you can to increase your Create Armor level.”

/>   “Of course I will, but... I have a bad feeling about this...” Iris murmured.

  As they walked down main street, talking, their conversation was suddenly interrupted.

  “Hey, buddy.”

  A voice was addressing them from behind.

  They turned to see a Dwarf with a red mustache waving to them. Ichiro held up a hand and returned the greeting.

  “Hey, Bossman.”

  Iris recognized him, too. He was the leader of the game’s largest crafting guild, the Akihabara Forging Guild. As usual, the avatar name “I’m With Stupid →” shone brilliantly above his head.

  They were both crafting class players, but the difference in terms of their ability and their reputations was as wide as the distance between Earth and the moon. Of course, they specialized in different things, so it wasn’t as if she idolized him or anything. Still, he was enough of a celebrity that she was surprised to be addressed by him. Iris’s eyes darted around as she wondered how these two men knew each other.

  “Buddy, it isn’t right, what you did,” the Dwarf said with a frown. Despite the words, though, there was no trace of malice about him.

  “To what do you refer?” Ichiro asked.

  “You’re the one who built that guild right across from us, right?”

  “Yes.”

  The guild house of the Akihabara Forging Guild was also known as the Glasgobara UDX Workshop. It had a flea market area for weapons and armor out front and in the lobby, and the equipment they offered was of significantly better quality than what NPCs sold. They also took orders, though those, of course, came with additional cost. It had also been the largest guild house in the city, serving as the face of the city to everyone who came.

  It had been, that is.

  Overnight, a guild house of the same size had been built catercorner from it: the cutting-edge crafting guild “Iris Brand.” It had only three members, and the guild leader was Ichiro Tsuwabuki.

  It would be easy to interpret that as a casting of the gauntlet.

  “I just logged in and saw this. Gave me the shock of a lifetime,” Bossman said.

  In this world, if you had enough galt, you could build a castle overnight. Not a week after a town was unlocked with its Grand Quest, buildings began sprouting up like mushrooms; overnight construction to astound even Sunomata Castle. Iris had never seen it happen firsthand, but she had certainly been rattled by the way the Iris Brand guild house had just appeared there out of thin air.

  “Buddy, you’re not planning to take us down, are you?” Bossman asked.

  Iris cringed reflexively at the glint in the Dwarf’s eye. Bossman’s assumption was a natural one, but Ichiro just shrugged in response.

  “Nonsense. If Iris Brand were enough to take you down, that would indicate very poor business skills on your part. No need to worry; from an objective point of view, the brand name power that the Akihabara Forging Guild has built up over time won’t be undermined that easily.”

  “Oh, really? I’m relieved to hear that!” Bossman let out a bellowing laugh and pounded Ichiro on the back.

  His strength stat had been worked out through constant use of Iron Forge, yet Ichiro did not so much as flinch under the blows. Of course, players in towns were fundamentally incapable of taking attack actions (for which this would qualify) against each other, so Bossman could hit him forever and not deal any real damage.

  Pounding Ichiro’s back for a while seemed to satisfy the Dwarf, who then turned his eyes to Iris. She was about to hide behind the young heir, but then she realized what she was doing and stopped herself. Her pride reminded her that she would rather die than hide behind him.

  “So, m’dear, you’re his new Blacksmith, are you?” Bossman asked.

  “She’s an Alchemist, actually,” Ichiro said. “Though she does have some Blacksmith skill...”

  “In terms of my class, yeah... But, um, I’m not really worthy of being called a blacksmith...” Iris struggled with a lack of self-confidence, unable to look Bossman in the eye.

  Bossman fixed his eyes on her. As a Dwarf, he was shorter than Iris, but his stout frame, scraggly beard, and glinting eyes exuded quite a lot of pressure.

  Having a Dwarf like that glare at her, Iris found herself wanting to run away, and fast. Of course, she couldn’t do that with the young heir behind her. She couldn’t bear to embarrass herself in front of him.

  “M’dear, what’s your Create Armor Skill level?” Bossman asked.

  But when faced with a question like that, she couldn’t help but flush as she answered: “Um, it’s... 12.”

  Yes, 12. And that was the result of fervent grinding. It had originally been 3.

  “Oh, 12, is it?” Bossman grinned.

  Yes, that was right. A player like Bossman probably had a Create Armor level close to the Skill’s max limit. Iris’s level would surely sound like trash to someone like him.

  Certain that he was making fun of her, Iris turned a deeper crimson.

  But the next words he spoke were thus:

  “That’s just fine.”

  “Huh?” Iris looked up in surprise.

  “It takes guts to try to compete with us at such a low level,” Bossman said. “I like it. I admire people with that kind of backbone.”

  “Um, but I wasn’t trying to compete...”

  “Whatever you meant to do, m’dear, you’re fighting for our customers, which makes you a rival. You’ve already taken one big customer from us. Well, have faith in yourself. This man’s an odd duck, but I’m sure he had his reasons for choosing you.”

  Iris could sense the young heir shrug behind her. She felt relieved.

  No, this was no time to feel relieved. She had been designated a rival by one of the game’s three great guilds. Her legs were trembling a little.

  The game wasn’t supposed to have anything to do with her real-life aspirations to become an apparel designer. It wasn’t as if, say, Megumi Fuyo, the fashion designer that Airi Kakitsubata idolized, was viewing her as a rival.

  Even so, she felt acknowledged. The satisfaction of it shook her soul. She had to see this through, no matter what.

  Of course, all that she could do was create armor and accessories in accordance with what the game system allowed. There were absolute numerical limits on what she could do that could not be transcended through effort and passion.

  Still, she had to see it through.

  As Iris steeled her nerve, the young heir said to her, “You seem more pleased by that than you were with my compliments.”

  “Your tastes are so bizarre, the compliments mean nothing.”

  “I see. So that’s how you see things.” Ichiro rubbed his chin and nodded, as if processing this new knowledge.

  She hadn’t technically lost an argument, yet Iris felt a twinge in her chest as though she had.

  “Well, that’s all I had to say,” Bossman said. “Goodbye, and good luck to you.”

  With that, Bossman began walking away, casting a longer shadow than one would expect from his diminutive frame.

  “Isn’t it ridiculous that he would think we were trying to take him down?” Ichiro said with a carefree smile as he watched the Dwarf walk away. “He’s the type that wouldn’t die if you killed him.”

  “You’re looking pretty happy, young heir,” Iris said.

  “I suppose I am.” It was nice to see him looking so pleased. The happiness of a client (what a nice ring that had!) was a designer’s greatest wish.

  At the same time, Iris knew how twisted his emotions tended to be. So while it was nice to see, it also unsettled her slightly.

  “This game has been so full of fun things,” Ichiro said. “I’m so satisfied.”

  “Hmm, I see...” While she would quarrel with the “full of” part, she couldn’t deny that the experience had been fulfilling.

  “And despite what he said, Bossman seems like a good man,” she went on.

  “No, he’s not a good man.” The young heir said this outrageous st
atement with the same bright smile. “He just has the confidence to be generous. He’s certain that he can’t possibly lose, so he can accept any opponent he finds, no matter how powerful. That’s the attitude you see in a person with towering self-confidence and the ability to match it.”

  “Young heir, was that a roundabout way of complimenting yourself?” Iris asked.

  “You could tell?”

  “I could tell.”

  Rather than denying it, the young heir happily confirmed it, then continued. “Well, Bossman and I have nothing to prove to each other, so I’d be happy to co-exist peacefully like this, but...”

  “But?”

  “But I don’t think everyone will think the way that he does.”

  Iris tilted her head. The young heir had a tendency to say things that were either so straightforward or so cryptic that she had no idea what he meant.

  “Do you have someone in mind?” she asked.

  “I believe I do,” Ichiro said. “I expect a few players will think I was picking a fight with Bossman, and will find my behavior intolerable.”

  “So you knew that, and you still did it...” Iris muttered.

  It was only natural for Iris to think the young heir was too free-spirited. She had benefited from that, but there were probably players whose pride would be hurt by it.

  Iris wasn’t the kind of person to laugh off the idea of someone investing their pride in the game. After all, it was her own pride being acknowledged in the game that had invigorated her to this degree.

  But... wait a minute.

  Iris raised her eyes abruptly. “Excuse me, young heir.”

  “Yes?”

  “I wasn’t able to ask, because of how the conversation ended up going, but...”

  “Oh, you want to know how you stole Bossman’s big customer?” Ichiro finished smoothly. Before she could snap back at him, he continued, “The first place I went, when I was looking for a guild to make my armor, was the Forging Guild. They couldn’t give me what I wanted, so I said I’d go elsewhere, and then I found you. So from their point of view, it appears that I picked you over them.”