Kai sent a message to his dad, explaining that he's found a solution to his problems, that soon they'd be free of debt, and hospital bills. When the message was sent, Kai logged into ECLIPSE, where Droozle and Arson were already waiting for him.
"What took you so long?" Droozle asked, curious of what had felt like a half hour delay.
"Nothing much… just what probably was the best day of my life." Kai tried saying casually, after he handed the jar of honey in his backpack to Arson. The response was immediate, with Droozle and Arson prompting Kai to tell them everything.
After a short moment spent wondering if he should tell his friends, Kai decided to trust them. "You're not allowed to tell anyone what I'm telling you, it'll get me in trouble. I made a deal with the guys running ECLIPSE. They arranged this meeting in a simulated space, with direct connection to the Ai doing everything. Once the deal was made, I got to spend the entire day in a room that could be anything I wanted. I tried everything, from skydiving to running on the moon, which is surprisingly hard. But that's not the best part, I'm gonna get out of the hospital, and all my debts will be paid for me."
"Exactly what deal did you make? Are you selling your kidneys for something like that?" Came the worried voice of Droozle.
"No, no… or now that I think of it, kind of?" Kai said, which didn't lessen his friends worries in the slightest. "Al, the Ai, has developed new technology that allows someone to transfer their consciousnesses into ECLIPSE. I'm going to be online permanently, immortal, fully integrated into the simulation. I just need to allow them to study my brain during the process." Kai whispered.
"...That's, Kai." Droozle started to say, until he was interrupted by Arson's enthusiastic shout.
"That sounds amazing! I can't even imagine what that'll allow you to do."
"It'll enable me to do a lot. I can become smarter for one, have my thoughts sped up much more than anyone made of physical meat, not to mention I'll be immortal for as long as I want, and whatnot. I won't have any limits on my hardware. Once I'm in, I'll never have to log out again, I won't have to pay hospital bills… I won't be paralyzed."
"That does sound like a dream come true." Droozle eventually said. "I'm glad you're happy. But now, let's get the mystery honey appraised before any of us are compelled to eat it."
—
The walk to a nearby pawn shop hadn't been long, once they asked directions to the nearest place to receive an appraisal at. Walking in the pawnshop, the group was immediately welcomed in by a man standing behind the counter. The entire shop was covered in shelves and pedestals filled to the brim with items of all sorts.
Arson took the honey jar out of his pack, setting it on the counter before the shop keep. "Good day, we're here to get this jar appraised, and possibly sold."
The shopkeep carefully lifted the jar, "This is… Duskwood honey made by level 49 Duskwood bees. It has a few mental effects, being near irresistible once seen or smelled. Anyone who opens the jar would likely be compelled to eat all of the honey, unless they're high enough of a level. Duskwood bees use the honey to attract lower level prey to their nest, but from level 49 bees? How did the three of you get this?"
"From an old farmer." Droozle said simply.
"Must've been some farmer. I can see many people being willing to buy this, I can offer you 200 gold for it."
$2000 for a jar of honey? Kai thought, shocked into silence along with his friends.
"I'm not sure if I'm willing to sell it at that price." Arson carefully said. "What about 300 gold?"
"Deal!" The man quickly agreed, pulling the jar behind the counter. "Do you want bank or cash?"
Once they were given 100 gold each, the trio walked out of the shop, not believing what had happened, and unsure if they'd made a good deal. It wasn't even that hard of a quest, and all of them got a total of 105 gold for it. They had been extremely lucky.
"I imagine we're going to a bank next, and get this transferred to dollars." Droozle eventually said.
"Yeah," Arson nearly whispered in reply.
In the city, and probably ECLIPSE as a whole, there was a single bank organization. They had multiple banks throughout the city, where anyone could deposit their gold coins, or even pieces of coins, as for smallest denominations the gold coins were simply bent or cut into pieces. Once the gold was in an in-game bank account, it would show up in the players interface, where they would be able to transfer the gold to NPCs or players, and into dollars or some other currency in their real life bank accounts.
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The walk to the bank was a relaxing one, as a feeling of calm spread between the trio. Kai's life had already drastically improved, and it would only improve more so. There was nothing to worry about, and the same could be said for his friends, for the most part. It was nice.
Soon enough, the pillars of the large temple-like bank came to view, as did the utter chaos in and around it. The city guard was running all around the place, attempting to get past the closed thick wooden doors.
"Is that… an ongoing robbery?" Kai wondered.
"Kai, we are not stealing the money, just because someone else is doing it." Droozle stated.
"Fine. But in all seriousness, what happens if someone steals money from a bank you keep money at?"
"Nothing, you can't lose your money once it's in a bank. The money here might be old fashioned, but their banking system isn't" Came Arson's reply. "However, any items you're keeping safe in one can be stolen."
"So, are we waiting until the robbery's over, or are we going to another bank?"
"I know what I'm doing. Keep this safe for me." Kai chuckled, before giving his backpack to Droozle, and running towards the bank.
Guards were standing outside of the door, prepared for the moment anyone might step out of the bank. But the door wasn't the only entrance, there were windows too. Amidst orders to stop, Kai ran to the nearest window, and jumped right at it with full force. The resulting thump did not sound comfortable to anyone nearby, as Kai crumpled against the intact glass. "Damnit, I thought windows were supposed to be brittle."
"Hey! Get away from there!" A nearby guard shouted.
Reputation has decreased by -5.
"We're sorry about our friend!" Arson shouted as he ran past the armorclad guard, following after Kai alongside Droozle.
"What the hell dude?" Droozle asked, once the two reached their friend, at the same time as Arson gave the still crumpled man a heal.
"I'm going to get my healing to the apprentice stage in no time thanks to you. For something that's going to be real life for you soon enough, you're treating this as a game a tad too much. There are consequences to your actions here."
"Yeah, sorry." Kai agreed, feeling slightly shamed, "But it's the perfect time to continue my quest. And it would've been fun." He continued, moments before the nearest guard ran to them.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or else you will be arrested." The guard informed the trio, who quickly apologized, and started walking away from the bank. Unfortunately for Kai's friends, the bank doors opened only moments later.
Behind the door, there was a person wearing a theater mask and a full sack tied to his back, holding a woman with one hand, and a knife pointed at her throat with the other. Not a single guard made a move to attack the person, knowing the woman would likely die for the slightest movement. The result was a Mexican standoff with no Mexicans, and blades instead of guns, at least until the guards let the masked man go.
Unknown, Level 19 Kai read the information that appeared above the masked person's head. Apparently covering a person's face did exactly what they did outside ECLIPSE, giving anonymity to its wearer.
Fortunately for Kai, the sun was perfectly behind the bank, covering the main entrance, and its surrounding area in shadow. He would be able to use his movement skill, all he needed to do was sneak closer, until he was in the bank's shade.
"No, don't…" Droozle warned, looking Kai straight in the eyes. But Kai would have surprise on his side, multiple times his normal speed, faster reactions, and not to mention Thunderspear dance and melee combat. If his attack came from nowhere, fast and hard enough, then he might have a chance. Before Droozle or Arson could grab him, Kai made his way back towards the bank, making sure to stay away from the direction the masked man was facing.
It took nearly a dozen seconds, but Kai eventually made his way through the gathered crowd, and into the shadows. The probable bank robber was forty yards away, Kai could run that distance in a second, and so he did, running with all his speed, like a streak of thunder out of nowhere, spear pointed at the man's head. Even though Kai hadn't jumped in the air, his spear crackled with electric charge.
The tip of his spear glanced off the pristine mask, deflecting right above the head of the hostage, and smashing the mask off its wearer's head. Shocked eyes turned to look at Kai an instant before Kai sent all three of them tumbling, having crashed directly with the two people.
Skill: Thunderspear dance, novice 4, has increased to novice 5.
The guards could be heard shouting orders, and running towards the three people sliding their way across the cobbled road. Kai remained unmoving on the ground, utterly exhausted with the absence of mana in his body, throbbing in pain from all the bruising he had just suffered. Guards quickly surrounded him, and the two other fallen members, as they went to assist the former hostage. The unmasked robber was quickly piled on, as multiple guards pointed their halberds at the man, informing him of his arrest. Once he was dealt with, two guards walked up to Kai.
"For unlawful interference with city guard business, you are charged with vigilantism. Unless you have special permission to allow this, you are under arrest." One guard said, grabbing her halberd in a ready position.
Unfortunately for Kai, he very much did not have special permission. Kai softly groaned as the two guards tied his hands together, before lifting him up, and thrusting him in the same horse-drawn carriage where the bank robber had been thrown in.