The morning practice that Zen had with Banick and the recruits drew the attention of the villagers, and the happiness went up 1%. He had decided to continue to train with them early in the morning as much as he could, but in the afternoon, he trained the sword with Grimsley and the bow with Vern. The second day was similar, but Cora had joined the bow practice with Vern.

His level bar in sword and bow was raising relatively fast, and he gained level 1 in spear the morning of the second day. He was surprised that near dusk he received a message from Bena that the ideal time for the portal to the capital was opening in two hours. He quickly ate a meal under the care of Cora and Elina and made his way to the sanctuary to talk to his carefree AI.

The moment Zen entered the sanctuary he saw Bena riding the exercise bike why listening to headphones, and he wondered if she did this to get attention. What would riding a stationary bike do for her unless she is weight conscious and had eaten to many bags of popcorn. He walked over to her and waved his hands in front of her and she looked up and smiled.

“What are you doing?” Zen asked.

“I am increasing my endurance because you’re having me do so many chores around he manor?” She stated.

“How will riding a stationary bike help your avatar increase her endurance?”

“Ah now you asked a good question.” Bena said and then laughed. “You are still part of your Avatar even while you’re in your sanctuary. You can exercise here and improve the stats. There are some drawbacks though. You don’t get the aid of the training bonus, but you make up for it with time available to train. Though if you get exhausted here it will carry over to your avatar out there, so be sure to relax as well and you should be fine.”

“How is this not a cheat function?” Zen questioned.

“Duh! Platinum VIP.” Bena said as she stuck out her tongue.

“Sometimes I think the Master AI just gave you to me to get you out of her hair.” Zen said as he could only exhale a breath.

“You’re probably right.” Bena laughed. “Though I suppose I should tell you more about the capital and what to avoid.”

“It is just the imperial capital, right?” Zen asked.

“Ahh, no it is the world capital.” Bena said and then tried to look cute and succeeded. “Didn’t I tell you that earlier?”

“You know you didn’t.” Zen said and shrugged.

“You’re no fun.” Bena retorted. “Though seriously we should talk about the capital, because as a new player there will be a number of guilds that will try to take advantage of you. They will typically try to reason or threaten you, and unfortunately you must take them seriously. The key though is that you can keep your identity secret. You can’t trade with people though unless you do it through an intermediate. If you do it that way, then they won’t be able to trace it unless they pay a lot of currency. Most won’t do that as long as you don’t piss them off too much.”

“How do you set your identity a secret.” Zen asked.

“Well that is easy you have a mask that will do that.” Bena said. “It is part of your welcome package.”

“Wait! I didn’t get a welcome package.”

“You did but most of the objects aren’t meant for gameplay but for places like the capital.” Bena said as she wiped her forehead of sweat.

“There is a lot you’re not telling me isn’t there?” Zen asked.

“Well I didn’t want to load you down especially at the start.” Bena explained. “You are already are stiff enough and I was trying to loosen you up. I had added a list of things we need for you to get and do to your inventory. You can go to the capital again after the portal powers up, and that will take another week or so. So just be sure to get the essentials and pay attention to the timer, because if it runs out you will automatically be brought back here. So, try not to do anything at the last-minute ok?”

“Ok.” Zen assured her.

Bena handed over a platinum mask that when Zen put on it melded on to his face hiding his face completely. He looked at his image and saw the platinum color and asked. “Is there any way I can change the color. This kind of tells everybody I have money please rob me blind.”

“Just imagine what color you want, and it will change.” Bena giggled.

The mask on Zen’s face turned in to a copper color and Zen felt relieved. This was the lowest color of mask, and this should hide his status enough for him to get through the first trip. He didn’t have to worry about changing his clothes because they were basic anyway, and he looked to Bena and asked. “How do I look?”

“Like a newbie smuck.” Bena said thoughtfully. “So, in other words perfect.”

“Ha-ha.” Zen said dryly.

“Remember they are bonded slaves and should come in three sizes of groups.” Bena said. “Be sure to get the size that has from 20 to 50 slaves, and don’t forget the other things on the list as well.”

“Alright.” Zen confirmed.

“Good, and don’t piss of too many large guilds.” Bena laughed. “Remember I will be watching you.”

Bena walked up and gave Zen a hug and a kiss on the side of his face. She squeezed him tightly and then backed away and flipped her hand outward. A portal that was platinum in color opened in front of him, and he hesitated only a moment before stepping through.

Zen stepped out of the portal on to a stone platform and was overwhelmed by the incredible number of people around him. Every direction he looked there were an assortment of the different races of GCO. He paused a moment before stepping off the platform on to the wide stone pathway. The capital was truly massive as he pulled out the map, and was surprised to see it fully detailed, and stretching out for miles in every direction. He was lost for a second before he took out Bena’s note and all the waypoints appeared on to his map.

He decided to get the shopping out of the way first, as he tried to avoid many of the people here. The directions to the waypoint led him down a side street until he found the right store. The store wasn’t spectacular, and only had a large sign that said General Store over it. He walked through the open archway and was surprised by how large it was inside. There were a few other people waiting in a line and he followed suit and joined in at the end of it.

He wasted time standing in line, but it was better if Zen did it now rather than later. The resources were needed and had to be purchased. When it was his turn he handed the list to a balding merchant and he looked at it and started to calculate the amount.

Stolen story; please report.

“It comes to 41 Gold, 34 silver and 74 copper in all.” The man said as he gave him a broad smile.

“You know that it isn’t even close to 41 gold.” Zen said already practiced at what he was going to say. “The tents aren’t 3 gold each, but 1 and that is on the high end. The food stuff isn’t anywhere worth 6 gold, and don’t even get me started on the leathers and cloth. At most this is worth 25 gold, but since you are trying to rip me off I think I will just go somewhere else and never go through your trading firm again.”

Zen handed out his hand for the list and saw that the chubby hands of the trader were still gripped tightly on it. He looked nervous about his claim and then just sighed and smiled grimly.

“Alright I admit I tried to fleece you, but that is the way of things around here.” The merchant said in a gruff tone. “Though prices are already higher here because of the cost of delivery so I really can’t go lower than 33 Gold.”

“It doesn’t cost that much, but I will go 27.” Zen offered.

“We can split the difference and I can do it for 30 and I will throw in a 10% token on the next trade for being to greedy.” The fat man countered.

“Deal.” Zen nodded looking satisfied as he transferred the 30 gold to the merchant.

“It will arrive with any other goods you purchase you make in the capital with in 2 days.” The merchant said as he handed the list off to an assistant.

“See you again.” Zen said as he turned and left the general store.

Zen was satisfied at the price, because Bena had said anything under 34 Gold was a success for a newbie person like him. He looked at his timer and still had about 10 hours left in the capital, so he decided to get the bonded slave auction done right away. He then could wander around the capital and try to map as much as he could for later use. The map had all the shops and auction houses on it already, but it had none of the private homes or guilds listed. It would be good to get as much detail as he could before going back.

The next waypoint on his map was the bonded slave auction, and that was at the far south side of the city. As he started to walk he heard a voice in his head that sounded a lot like Bena and he almost jumped out of his skin.

“You didn’t do to bad, but you probably could have weaseled out another few golds from him. Though that 10% discount will come in handy later when we buy more in bulk.” Bena’s voice echoed in his head.

Zen was concentrating on what Bena was saying and almost ran in to a street stand full of some type of roasted birds on a stick. He felt his face flush as he barely stopped and moved around the stand and back on the pathway toward the auction house.

“You really should watch where your going.” Bena’s laughing voice came again. “Don’t try to respond to me otherwise you will probably fall in to a sewer, or something as stupid as that.”

Zen blew out a breath and then continued his pace toward the auction house. He walked for almost an hour before he reached a pair of golden gates. This was where the auction house was located and there were at least a dozen fully armored guards split between both sides of the open gate. He hesitated a moment before walking between them and in to the courtyard beyond. There he was met with a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He smiled and bowed slightly.

“Welcome, may I ask which auction you are looking to attend today?” The boy asked.

“When do the auctions start for the 20-50 bonded slaves’ lots?” Zen asked.

“They are always going.” The boy said with a smile. “The lots sizes are listed in the information of goods. Is that being you want to go?”

“Lead the way.” Zen said as he took out a silver coin and flipped it to the boy.

The boy caught the coin and smiled brightly and did exactly that. He led Zen in to the giant auction house and through a series of halls. There were people coming in and out, and many of them had guild patches on there clothes. The guild system was complex in GCO and because there were so many continents there were restrictions put in place to stop collusion in the battle fields.

He really didn’t have any idea how they prevented the collusion, but he had read a few posts that the admins were good at uncovering them. This was something he didn’t really care about because he had no intention of joining any guilds, but the fact that guilds are much more powerful is not something he should underestimate. He knew was vile things guilds could do personally and had seen how horrible they could be to their own guild members.

The boy seemed to give a wide birth to many of the people there and finally stopped in a large auditorium. There were quite a few people sitting, and most of them had space between them. He looked up and saw that there were balconies where other sat as well. There were at least a few hundred people here and they were mostly paying attention to a giant screen that had a very beautiful female auctioneer.

“You can take any seat here and use the bidding tool to bid on the different lots.” The boy said casually. “There are also private rooms, but they cost 1 gold an hour, and to be honest are less private than sitting here. There are always people watching who comes out of them, and never with a good intention.”

Zen couldn’t help but smile at the tip that the boy just gave him and tossed him another silver coin in thanks. He looked around and many of the out of the ways seats were already taken. He finally saw some seats toward the front that had a good distance between the nearest person.

“Thanks for showing me the way and the tip.” Zen said cheerfully. “Do you just work here at the auction or do you also show people around the capital?”

“I have served as a guide outside of the auction house a number of times Sir.” The boy stated, “I am afraid that I need a nominal fee though.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less.” Zen said and then asked. “How do I contact you when I am done with my business here?”

The boy took out a little silver chip and handed it to Zen. He looked at it and the name came up and was listed as it being a summoning chip. The chip had five charges left on it, and all he had to do is focus on it and it would let the owner know that he is being requested.

“When you are done sir just use the chip.” The boy explained. “If I am unable to come because I am serving another it will flash red, but if I am on my way it will flash blue.”

“If I don’t have need of your service this trip?” Zen asked.

“When you leave the capital it will disappear, because it can’t leave the capital.” The boy said. “Though when you make it back to the Capital it will appear back on your self and you can call me then.”

“Very good.” Zen said. “Have a fruitful day.”

The boy nodded and walked away quickly, and Zen moved down the row of the auditorium and found a spot about six seats from the nearest person. He looked up at the screen and saw that the current lot was listed as coming from the Nebinulan Continent. It was classified as a large lot and currently had a bid of 32 gold.

“Let anything from that continent go.” Bena stated inside his head. “The Nebiulan Continent has many deep ocean sea folks, and that wouldn’t be a good match for what we are going use them for.”

Zen just shivered at the sound of the voice and sighed. Having her talk in his head felt unnatural, but it was good in its own way. She had much more knowledge of the world than he did. The next two bids came from that continent, so he mostly sat there as the prices rose.

“This is only one of the many auction auditoriums, but that guide picked a good one. The larger ones would probably draw to much attention for you, but you still need to be on your guard, and not show emotion when you bid. It is best not to draw any complications from hawkers that are looking to take advantage of you.” Bena continued to explain.

After the current lot was sold for 52 gold, the lady auctioneer brought the next lot up and explained where it came from. This lot was a small lot, and it came from the land between the Delnick and Jorgeen continents. This meant it was a continental war lot, and that would make its contents much riskier to bid on.

“This is a good one to bid on.” Bena’s voice stated as he swore he could hear her eating as well.

The opening bid was only 1 gold and it slowly increased from there, at five gold Zen placed his first bid increasing it by 3 gold to 8, and there was a pause before somebody else raised it to 9. Zen again raised it by 3 to 12, and there was a pause before again somebody raised it by 1 gold. Zen waited a moment and saw that nobody else was raising so he knew it was probably only 1-person bidding against him. He raised it by 3 more to 16 gold just when the auctioneer asked if there was any other bid the second time. There was a pause again and the beautiful auctioneer asked three times and then announced it as being sold.

“Not too bad.” Bena said in his head. “Though I think we should get another lot in case all the slaves are duds.”

Zen nodded to himself and waited and waited before another box came up that fit the requirements. This box appeared to also be from a continental war. This time between Salseen and Epsilon, the continent that he currently was on. The bidding on this one wasn’t as high because of the rankings of the continents, but Zen again won it by spending only 13 gold. He was satisfied with it and immediately got up and started heading out of the auction.

He knew what he did was a mistake when a very large man in silver adorned armor stepped up in front of him. Zen should have waited a while before leaving, but he was in a hurry to see the Capital more. The man was bulky and unlike many he wasn’t wearing a mask. He showed his guild emblem prominently on his right shoulder of his armor. The emblem on it was of a Gold Dragon crushing a man beneath his front claw, and it was truly overbearing. He had seen it before on the forums and it was from Gilgamesh, which was currently on the top ten board for guilds.