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After accepting the chain quest, Eminence and Mayon decided to head to the market to unload their loot. As they navigated the bustling streets, Mayon couldn’t help but voice his thoughts.
“Boss, about the quest—why do we have to wait until morning to start?” Mayon asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.
Eminence chuckled softly. “Mayon, think of this like the real world. The army doesn’t just march out whenever they want. They need time to prepare, gather intel, and organize the troops. It’s all about immersion and realism.”
Mayon scratched his head, still trying to wrap his mind around it. “Boss, it just feels so unreal. I mean, it’s a game, but it’s like we’re actually living it.”
Eminence nodded thoughtfully. “That’s the point. Epoch isn’t like the other VR games. It’s designed to mirror reality in as many ways as possible, from timing to tactics.”
Mayon sighed, then perked up with another thought. “Anyway, what do you think about the forging subclass? Is it worth investing in?”
Eminence considered the question, glancing at the weapons and Armor vendors they passed. “It could be a game-changer. We’ve already got a bunch of materials, a recipe we just need to try.”
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“Well, let’s unload our loot first,” Eminence said, steering their course towards the market.
“Okay,” Mayon agreed, eager to see what they could get for their finds.
As they entered the bustling market, they were greeted by a lively scene—vendors shouting their prices, players haggling over rare items, and the constant chatter of commerce filling the air. The market was now a sea of player stalls, a stark contrast to the quieter, more orderly scene of the morning.
The atmosphere was electric, with players showing off their wares and hawks circling above, keeping an eye on every transaction. It was a chaotic dance of supply and demand, with the roads packed with adventurers eager to buy, sell, and trade. Eminence and Mayon wove through the throng, scanning the stalls for the best offers.
“This place really comes alive at night,” Mayon said, glancing around at the bustling scene.
They soon found a decent spot in the bustling market, strategically located near the flow of players looking to buy supplies. With a quick exchange of a few copper coins, they tipped a guard to secure their place and set up their stall without hassle.
Eminence and Mayon quickly organized their loot, displaying the monster skins and meat in neat stacks. They decided on their prices: 60 copper per stack for the monster skins and 30 copper per stack for the meat. Each stack contained 30 units, giving them 7 stacks of meat and 4 stacks of monster skin. If they sold everything, they would make a tidy sum of 4 silver and 50 copper.
“Let’s get this moving,” Eminence said, arranging the items to attract attention from passersby.
Mayon nodded, a hint of excitement in his eyes. “This is going to sell fast.”
After setting things up, Mayon turned to Eminence. “I’ll head to the smithy to forge the Savage Helmet. I’ve got enough materials for 13 tries.”
Eminence gave him a nod. “Good luck. We could use a solid piece of equipment. I’ll handle the sales here.”
Mayon grinned. “Leave it to me, Boss. I’ll be back with something good.”
While Mayon was at the smithy, Eminence remained at the stall, keeping watch over their goods. Many players approached, attempting to bargain, but their offers were unappealing. Most independent players didn’t have much use for lifestyle materials like monster skins and meat, and Eminence wasn’t interested in settling for less than what they were worth.
As time passed, a group of players caught his attention. They moved with purpose, and it was clear they were more organized than the average adventurer. The leader, a tall man with a confident stance, approached the stall.
“Boss, I’ll give you 4 silvers for all the material here,” the leader offered, his tone casual but firm.
Eminence met his gaze, weighing the offer. The group looked well-equipped, likely part of a guild that could make good use of the materials. He knew they were trying to get a deal, but he wasn’t about to let them undervalue what he had.
“4 silver, 30 copper,” Eminence replied, his voice steady.
The leader hesitated, glancing back at his group. After a brief moment of consideration, he nodded. “Deal.”
Eminence shook his hand, sealing the transaction. As the leader handed over the money.
“Boss, I’m Ironclash, team leader of Blade Alliance,” the leader said, extending his hand. “If you get any more materials, I’ll buy them at a higher than market price—provided there’s enough quantity.”
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Eminence shook his hand firmly, appreciating the offer. “I’m Eminence. I’ll reach out if I have materials on hand,” he replied, thinking it through. Right now, they didn’t have much use for extra materials, at least not until he started his guild.
Ironclash nodded, his expression one of approval. “Good doing business with you, Eminence. Blade Alliance is always looking for reliable sources.”
Eminence gave a slight nod.
With that, Ironclash and his team departed, leaving Eminence with both a pocketful of silver and a promising connection. He knew the value of relationships in Epoch—especially when planning for something bigger, like his future guild.
This scene captures a vivid moment where Eminence, a character in your novel, is preparing to close his store but still needs materials for a savage helmet. Here's a refined version of the scene with some adjustments for flow and clarity:
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Eminence was about to close his store but was still missing several materials sets needed for savage helmets. He wanted to check out the auction and other shops for any valuable items that might be overlooked by others, given his unique foresight. However, time was against him, and he decided to hire players to gather the materials for him instead.
Word quickly spread, and soon, a crowd of eager players swarmed around him, each shouting offers and trying to outbid one another. Amidst the chaos, a particular player caught Eminence's eye—a young woman offering to work for just 3 copper per hour. Surprised by the unusually low rate, he inspected her profile: 'Rain Dance, Level 0.' She didn't even have a single piece of novice equipment left, her avatar looking bare and vulnerable. Eminence wasn’t surprised, though. Many new players often overestimated their abilities, only to lose all their starting gear in the process.
Eminence didn’t hesitate and immediately hired her. The girl, Rain Dance, seemed shy but had a pleasant appearance, her class identifying her as a Sage.
"Hello... Boss, I’m Rain Dance," she introduced herself in a soft voice.
"I’m Eminence," he replied, maintaining a professional demeanour. "I need you to buy Bronze ore, Copper ore, and Monster bones. In addition to your hourly pay, I’ll give you an extra copper for each stack of materials you bring back. If that works for you, just sign this system contract—it’s fair for both of us."
He quickly pulled up the contract interface, displaying the terms clearly. Rain Dance nodded eagerly.
“Okay take this 1 gold and buy as many as you can contact me in the morning.”
Rain Dance nodded in agreement and moved to the designated spot, while Eminence set off to explore the various stalls, hoping to find something that might catch his eye. Unfortunately, it was the first day, and aside from the larger guilds, most players had only ventured into level 1–2 maps, so there was little of interest.
He soon found himself at the auction house, where many players were gathered in groups, chatting animatedly. Eminence navigated to the auction interface and began to empty his inventory of the low-priced materials needed for the savage helmet. As he scrolled through the listings, he hoped to uncover something intriguing amidst the sea of items.
Eminence sighed, noticing that the guilds were indeed hoarding materials. "The guilds are sure hoarding materials," he muttered with a helpless smile. Finding nothing useful or likely to increase in value, he decided on a new strategy. "Yes, we can do that. I just need to create an offer that will entice them to sell their rare materials."
He then called Mayon. Before he could speak, Mayon’s voice crackled through the line, “Hey, Boss, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Oh? How many helmets did you manage to make?” Eminence asked.
“Guess,” Mayon replied with a hint of excitement.
“Hmm... nine or ten?”
“Actually, Boss, I made twelve helmets. Eight of them reached rare rank, and the rest are common.”
Eminence was taken aback. Despite the system making items below level 10 easier to forge, a success rate of over 50% for rare items at an apprentice forger level was impressive. This achievement only fuelled his determination to help Mayon complete the forging hidden quest.
“Okay, bring all the helmets to the auction house. We’re going to make these guilds bleed,” Eminence instructed with a determined look.
On his way to the auction house, Eminence noticed three guilds established in Maple Leaf Town. Blade Alliance was a rated guild, while the other two, Silver Strikers and Musketeers, were unrated. Blade Alliance had only a branch here and would consolidate its forces when the city unlocked.
“Yes, Boss,” Mayon replied.
Soon, Mayon arrived at the auction house and handed the helmets over to Eminence. “Mayon, you should go to the market and find a girl named Rain Dance. Get the materials from her.”
Mayon raised an eyebrow, teasing, “Boss, you’re too OP—you got a girl to help you out so soon.”
“Shut your stinky mouth and get to work. If everything goes well, we might have a full set of equipment by morning,” Eminence retorted.
“Yes, Boss,” Mayon snickered, then dashed off.
Eminence chuckled, enjoying the light-hearted moment before things got serious. He set the Rare rank Savage Helmets with a base price of 1 silver, while the Common rank ones were listed at 30 copper each, with a crafting cost of only 10 copper. He scheduled the rare helmets to be auctioned in 10-minute intervals, while all the common ones went up at the same time.
As word spread, players in the auction house gasped in surprise. “Whoa, someone’s selling top-rank equipment!” they exclaimed. Securing high-quality gear in Epoch was notoriously difficult, as only chest and elite-ranked monsters had a significant drop rate for such items.
Guild logistics members quickly contacted their guilds to mobilize funds for the bidding war. Eminence smiled, “This will definitely take a while.”
With the auction underway, he decided to log off, noting that it was morning in the real world. Epoch’s large continent was split by a massive mountain range, creating an inverse day-night cycle between the eastern and western continents to mirror the real-world day and night pattern.
…
In Windcrest City, early in the day, Arthur removed his helmet and headed for a bath. After a refreshing wash and a quick breakfast, he made his way to the nearest gym. He was aware that his physical fitness was lagging behind his mental acuity, which was affecting his performance in the game.
In today’s world, while not every professional athlete was necessarily a professional gamer, every professional gamer had to be a professional athlete. The minimum requirement to be considered a professional gamer was 10% brain development, a threshold that was continuously expanded as Epoch made brain enhancement increasingly accessible.
Arthur knew that maintaining his physical condition was just as important as honing his mental skills, ensuring he could keep up with the demands of both his real and virtual worlds.
At the gym, Arthur had access only to basic facilities due to his current low-level membership. The higher-tier membership, which offered more advanced amenities, was beyond his budget, costing more than a VR helmet per month.
As he rested after a grueling workout, Arthur's thoughts turned to the future. I need to acquire a workshop for the guild and secure a substantial amount of credits to support early development. It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible.
He knew that achieving these goals would require careful planning and significant effort, but he was determined to make it happen.
….