Lucky Bastard

Chapter 1: I’ll Work Hard, But Only In Games

Sol was 18. Young and foolish. Finding himself. Making mistakes, learning.

As of now, there was nothing he wanted more than to try out the new virtual reality game that has recently become available to the public. Lostalia. He had asked his father to buy him it for him. But it was a very expensive game, and he no doubt refused.

“Get a job.” He said to Sol.

Unfortunately, Sol wasn’t the sort. He was lazy and didn’t understand the meaning of hard work.

Instead, he got a loan from some shady business in an alley.

When asked what for, he replied, “School.” Fortunately they didn’t ask for proof of enrollment.

He bought the game and installed it in his house while his parents weren’t home. If they saw it they’d ask about how he bought it.

“Finally.” Sol said as night finally came. He put on the ultra-high tech, Robocop-looking visor, which was connected to the game system and through which, stimulated the brain, allowing him to enter the game.

He turned it on, and his vision went black, then he found himself in a white room. There was a screen before him, floating in the air, displaying Lostalia’s Ouroboros symbol.

“Welcome.” A female voice said. “You currently do not have a Lostalia character. Would you like to make one?”

“Yes.” Sol replied.

“What is your character’s name?”

“Silver.” Sol thought it sounded cool.

“You said Silver. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“What race would you like to play as?”

“Human." Sol replied. He didn’t know much about the other races, but he thought human was a safe bet. Actually, Sol’s knowledge of the game was actually quite limited. The second he heard ‘virtual reality,’ he immediately wanted it, and never bothered to learn anything about it. He was the impulsive sort, even more so than your average child. But human was usually the well-balanced class, in his experience.

“You said human. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to change your appearance?”

“Yes, make my hair silver.” Sol replied, and an image of himself was displayed before him, but with silver hair.

“Do you wish to confirm your changes?”

“Yes.”

“Where would you like to begin your adventure? There are four available human kingdoms to choose from.”

“Anywhere is fine.”

“A human city will be chosen at random. Is that OK?”

“Yes.”

“You’re starting city will be the capital city of the Sohen Kingdom, Allere. Would you like to begin with the book Beginner’s Guide in your inventory?”

“Yes, please.” It was something Sol would definitely need.

“You will now be transported to Allere.”

Sol suddenly found himself in plaza bustling with people. It really was a fantasy world. There were mages, warriors, knights, bards, and archers. At least Sol assumed that’s what they were. Again, he didn’t know much about this place.

It was loud. People were yelling, selling stuff, and trying to form parties for hunting. Sol had seen this in other games, but what used to be spamming text, has turned into actual yelling.

Sol was dressed in a green tunic and beige pants, and in his hands was a book, displaying the words ‘Beginner’s Guide’ in handwritten letters.

Sol opened the book. Inside was a basic guide on how to play the game. There was also something on choosing classes. Classes were given out by NPCs. Sol guessed that should be the first matter he should take care of.

Sol wanted to be a mage. Casting spells impossible in real life was extremely appealing.

As Sol was about to leave in search for a mage he saw a blue bird fly towards him. It circled him a couple times before stopping to hover in front him, flapping its wings extremely fast. It was like a larger, blue hummingbird.

Sol instinctively held out his hand for the bird to rest on.

“Hello” Sol said to the bird resting on his hand.

“Hello, are you new here? Do you have a class? Want me to give you a class?” The bird asked in a quick-paced, high pitched voice.

Sol raised an eyebrow. Sol did want a class, and though he wanted to find a mage NPC, he thought this might be a rare occurrence in the game. How often do birds offer classes in this game? It was surely a rare event. So Sol answered, not wanting this chance to pass by. If it was a bad class he’d just create a new character.

“Yes, I’d like you to give me a class.”

“Good choice, newbie! Good choice!” The bird replied.

Sol suddenly heard an alarm bell sound and a text screen popped up in front of him. It said:

You’re class has changed! You have become a Lucky Bastard!

The Blue Bird of Fate Event is a rare occurrence which has a 1 in 1 million chance occurring when a new account is made. Lucky Bastards are truly the blessed children of heaven. They easily become much richer than their regular classes, and Production Skills are easily utilized to further increase your money making abilities, making crafting produce twice the results with half the effort. The Lucky Bastard’s talent in battle also causes others to turn green with envy. If he picks up a sword, he becomes a sword master, and if he picks up a wand, he becomes a spell master. Such is the blessings of the Lucky Bastard!

-All skills are now available for learning

-All stats increased by 100 and Luck stat has increased by 500

-Health increased by 1000

-Mana increased by 1000

-Stamina increased by 1000

-Skill proficiency gain is increased by 100%

-Crafting has a 50% chance of producing three times more skill proficiency

-Class restrictions for items do not apply

“Wow.” Sol said. “That’s a little much.” Isn’t this cheating? Sol thought.

Some skills were limited to what kind of class you were, according to the Beginner’s Guide.

For him to be able learn all skills was a little much. His stats, health, mana, and even stamina have all increased. Sol didn’t quite know if the increases were large though, but he assumed so. He would also gain skill proficiency faster than the other users. It didn’t seem fair. Sol thought about making a new account, but dismissed the idea. Maybe later. I kind of like the idea no class restrictions.

“Bye, bye.” The bird said, beginning to flap its wings. “I’ll see you later!” With that, it flew off into the distance.

Sol stood there for a moment, thinking. I can learn all skills, eh? So I guess I can learn mage skills too! According to Beginner’s Guide skills could be learned in a number of ways, but the easiest way for a mage was to use a Skill Tome. For that he’d need money. For now Sol thought the best thing to do was find a source of income. He didn’t want to hunt monsters yet, seeing as he was lacking sufficient weapons and skills. So he went off to find a Blacksmith. He might be able to learn some blacksmithing skills.

To make the world’s greatest weapon! One of Sol’s many aspirations.

Sol walked till he saw a large building with a large plaque. It said ‘Blacksmith Guild.’

Sol walked inside where the scene opened up to a large open area with several work stations set up with forges and anvils, and in the back there was a door with a sign that said “smelting room.”

Sol approached a dwarf who seemed to be working on a sword.

“Excuse me?”

The person looked up to see who it was, then continued to work.

“What do you want?” He asked as he hammered a piece of metal against an anvil. It was glowing yellow.

Wow that must be hot, Sol thought. Blacksmithing seems dangerous.

“I want to learn the Smithing skill.” Sol continued, pushing through his reluctance.

It might be interesting, Sol thought.

“I’m not sure about teaching you, but there is something you could do for me.” The dwarf said.

“What is it?” Sol asked.

“I’m running low on iron. Could you buy some iron ore and smelt them for me?”

Quest: Buy and Smelt Iron

The dwarf smith, Jerber, has asked you to buy and smelt some iron. Iron ore can be bought at any general store for 1 silver. Jerber needs steel smelted from 30 iron ore.

Quest Difficulty: F

Quest Reward: Blacksmithing Skill

Do you accept this quest?

“Sure.” Sol replied as the dwarf smith handed him 30 silver.

Sol walked outside to look for a general store and quickly came back with 30 iron ore.

“Thanks.” Jerber said, then continued on to teach Sol the Smelting skill. “Now that you’ve learned how to smelt go into the back room to make the iron, then come back.

Sol went into the back room and found people smelting metal at several small smelting furnaces. Closer to the back of the room, there was a huge smelting furnace, which seemed to be for producing large quantities of smelted metal.

Huh, Sol thought, I wonder if this is similar to how blacksmiths do this in real life?

Sol walked up to an unused smelting furnace and a system prompt was heard.

“Do you wish to automate smelting process?” A voice asked.

“Yes.” Sol replied. He barely understood the smelting process when it was explained to him.

Sol then felt his body moving on its own. He took out some iron ore and put it into a large container with a small height. He then went on to pick up a hammer and started to pound the ore into smaller parts. He continued to do this until all the iron ore was reduced into smaller rocks.

Then he picked up a shovel and started pouring the iron ore into the smelting furnace, after which he would occasionally go to another container and shovel some coal into the smelting furnace. He continued until the container was filled with all the iron ore.

After that his automated body pressed a red button on the smelting furnace with a magical rune on it. Than his body stopped moving, and continued to wait for about five minutes.

Then suddenly, his body grabbed an ingot cast and put it below one of the furnace taps and switched the tap on. A molten metal began to pour out of it and into the cast. There was enough to fill up 5 ingot casts.

Sol’s body put the cast aside then opened up another tap, causing more molten material to pour into square shaped bucket. After the molten material stopped coming out, his body just continued to wait again. Is it done? Sol asked himself.

Sol tried to move his body and a system prompt was once again heard.

“Do you wish to stop automation?” A voice said.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

There’s more? Sol asked himself before answering, “No.”

Sol waited for five more minutes before his body went to the ingot cast and flipped it upside down, allowing the already hardened ingots to land on the table. He then put the ingots into his inventory.

“5 Steel Ingots have been added to your inventory.” A voice said.

Nice, Sol thought. The dwarf also reminded him that smelting iron has a chance to produce pig iron instead of steel, which would result in Sol having to redo the quest. But luckily he got it on the first try.

Sol’s body then moved to the square bucket and flipped it upside down onto the table, allowing a rock like substance to land onto the table, which Sol’s body put into his inventory.

“1 Slag has been added to your inventory.”

Slag? What’s that? Zol wondered. Zol checked his inventory and looked at the slag’s item information. Huh? It’s just the waste material from the iron ore. Does it have any uses? Zol wondered before forgetting about it. He kept the slag in his inventory just in case there was a use for it later.

Sol brought the ingots over to Jerber, completing the quest. He got 150 exp. and was able to learn the blacksmithing skill.

“Hey, kid. Do you want a job for the day? It’ll be a good way to raise you’re blacksmithing skill, and I’ll even pay you 1 silver an hour.” Jerber asked with a gruff, indifferent attitude.

Completely deluded by the fact that this was a game, Sol accepted the job. It was his very first job.

Sol worked diligently for the rest of the day, getting his Blacksmithing level to Novice Level 3 and his Smelting level to Novice Level 5. For most of the day he was smelting iron. He also learned some tricks of the trade. He learned to check the balance of the weapons he made, and learned to use a chisel to do more detailed work. Sol was satisfied with the day’s work.

Jerber went home soon after it got dark outside, but Sol wasn’t ready to retire. Fortunately the NPC shops in the game were open 24 hours a day.

Sol went outside to find the book store.

“Hello.” The shopkeeper greeted once Sol walked into the store.

“Hello.” Sol replied as he approached the counter. “I’m looking for some Spell Tomes.”

“Well, you came to the right place. We have a multitude of Spell Tomes here.” The lady said, and continued to bring out several tomes.

Sol checked the tome’s information screens, and was quite interested in many of them. But unfortunately Sol couldn’t afford any of them. He was only able to earn 7 silver today, and the 100 copper you got for starting a new account didn’t help. The cheapest tome was 20 silver.

“Do you have any Skill Tomes that I can buy for under 8 silver?”

“Sure, but they’re all production Skill Tomes.”

“Oh.” Sol said, dejected.

Sol left the store, and instead went to the General Store.

“How much would you pay for an iron dagger?” Sol asked the shopkeeper.

“Hmm… For a low-quality dagger, about 1 silver, 20 copper.”

It’s worth a try, Sol thought.

“I’ll buy 8 iron ore, please.”

Sol went back to the Blacksmith Guild, and started making iron daggers. He didn’t have any leather for the hilt, so instead he intricately carved the hilt, pommel and crossguard. He even chiselled grooves into the blade, all while making sure to not ruin the balance. It was more of a piece of art than a dagger, but it cut all the same. It was even lighter than the ones he had made previously.

Drringgg! A text box popped up.

You have made Elaborate Iron Dagger!

An iron dagger made by a novice blacksmith. Though made by a novice, it is very detailed, light, and perfectly balanced. The detailed work was made at the cost of lowering the durability, but it is sure to be worth it. A product of hard work and an imaginative mind.

Base Damage: 22

Durability: 14/14

Requirements: N/A

Equipped Abilities:

+5 Dexterity

Nice. Sol was satisfied, and making the dagger gave him much more skill proficiency than the daggers he made before. And except for the durability, this dagger had a better attack. It even gave +5 Dexterity!

But why does it say base damage instead of just damage? Sol was curious, so he checked the Beginner’s Guide. According to the guide it was because there a multitude of factors that affect the actual damage, such as where you’re striking or whether you’re stabbing or slashing or you’re stats, so it’s less misleading to just call it base damage.

He continued to make 5 more daggers with similar characteristics. With the ore he bought he could only make 6 daggers. He hoped the work he put into each dagger would make up the money he lost to buy the iron ores.

He went back to General Store, and the shopkeeper paid him 2 silver for each dagger! He repeated the process 2 more times, buying the maximum amount of ore he could, before he realized it was already 1:30 AM according to the clock tower.

I guess that’s good enough for today, Sol thought. He quickly got his Blacksmith skill to Novice Level 5. Thanks to his cheater class, he was able to accomplish that in half the time it would usually take.

Sol bought 28 iron ore from the general store and logged out.

“What the hell?” It was still bright outside his room. Sol checked his phone. It was only a little past 4 PM, and he started playing at about 1 PM! Did he really only spend 3 hours in there? That would mean time goes 4 times faster in the game compared to real life.

“Wow.” Sol said to himself. So that’s why I’m not even tired.

Sol grabbed himself something to eat, then went back into the game.

Thanks to his Novice Level 5 Blacksmithing skill, ingots could magically be made into much larger weapons. Sol could now make a full longsword with one ingot.

“Hey, shopkeep. How much would you pay for a sword?” Sol asked the shopkeeper of the General Store.

“Hmm… If they’re anything like your daggers, I’d pay about 3 silver. I might even pay 4 silver, depending on the quality.”

Nice, Sol thought. He went back to the forge and started making swords.

Sol made 22 Elaborate Iron Longswords with 35 base damage. They gave +10 to dexterity and +5 to strength. His Blacksmithing skill was able to reach Novice Level 6.

By the time he was done the sun was already peaking out of the horizon. It was a weird feeling for Sol. He felt like he’s been awake for too long, yet he wasn’t even tired.

Sol went back to the general store and the shopkeeper paid 6 silver for each sword. Sol made 1 gold and 32 silver! With this I can buy a decent Skill Tome.

At the bookstore Sol bought 3 spell tomes, which left him with 12 silver.

The first spell Sol learned was the Summon Earth Elemental spell. He thought that since he would be casting spells, he would need a tank to aggro the monster. Sol assumed an earth elemental would have a decent defense. His second spell was the fire spell Burn. It set the enemy on fire and did 10 fire damage per second for 20 seconds. His third spell was called Spark. It was a lightning spell that made you aim with your finger. It instantly did 50 lightning damage and has a chance to stun the target for 3 seconds.

All his spells required a chant, which became shorter as you increased skill mastery. At Expert levels you only have to say the spell name, and at Master you would just have to think it.

Sol went to the edge of town, near a field full of seemingly harmless creatures, and started chanting the Summon Earth Elemental spell.

“Oh, from the Earth you came, whom I will tame, to be a fervent servant whose dullness is as great as his sturdiness! Follow me and together we’ll grow, to an immense strength we’ll soon come to know. Summon Earth Elemental!”

Out of the ground, a hulking creature made of rough earthy stones came out of the ground. He was a little shorter than Sol. It was partially covered in green moss and what looked like tree roots were growing out of his back and wrapping around his arms and legs. The empty spaces where his eyes and mouth should be glowed green.

Nice.

“Ugh, hello. What’s my name master?” Said the Earth Elemental in a dull sounding deep voice.

“Let’s see… Let’s call you Brock.” Sol liked it. It had the word rock in it. It seemed fitting.

“Hmm… Brock thinks it’s a good name.”

“I’m glad.” Sol replied. “Brock information window!”

Lesser Earth Elemental: Brock

Brock has a slow mind, but is very loyal and obedient. He is very sturdy, and has a high armor rating. His attacks are powerful, but slow.

Level: 5 Alignment: Good Neutral

Health: 1, 100 Mana: 750 Stamina: 900

Armor: 80 Base Damage: 41

Strength: 55 Dexterity: 6 Constitution: 100

Intelligence: 7 Wisdom: 20 Charisma: 20

Earth Resistance: 75% Water Resistance: 10% Fire Resistance: 25%

Health Regeneration Rate: 10 HP per second Mana Regeneration Rate: 5 MP per second

Skills:

Quake: Stomps hard against the ground causing enemies to fall and stumble. The earth trembles for 5 seconds.

- Consumes 100 mana

- Proficiency: Novice Level 1 (0%)

Roar: A loud roar which invites the aggression of enemies, and causes weaker enemies to flee.

- Consumes 100 mana

- Proficiency: Novice Level 1 (0%)

Grab: Takes hold of the enemy and attempts to keep the enemy from moving. Squeezes the enemy and does 25 damage per second.

- Consumes 60 mana per second.

- Proficiency: Novice Level 1 (0%)

Intimacy with Brock: 40%

Requires 200 mana to maintain summon.

Nice.

“Okay, Brock. If an enemy comes after me I want you to attack it. And make sure the enemy doesn’t come near me.”

“Yes, Master.”

Sol looked around and spotted a fox in the distance. Okay, let’s see what we can do, Sol thought, then continuing to chant the Burn Spell.

“Oh, nature’s fierce desire! Take hold of my enemy’s body and show him his folly! To where I gaze, light a blaze. Burn!”

The fox was set on fire, and started running towards Sol, un-panicked, just angry. Brock took notice of it and started walking towards it. Sol didn’t wait, he continued to chant the Spark spell as Brock started to attack the fox, and struck the fox’s head with a flash of lightning. Before Sol could finish chanting a second time, Brock had already killed the fox.

You have gained 75 exp.

Experience: 245/2000

Brock has gained 60 exp.

Brock’s Experience: 75/15,000

You have picked up fox pelt.

You have picked up 50 copper

Huh, that was a little too easy. It’s going to take a while to level up. Maybe it’s usually done with quests in the earlier stages… Well, let’s see how far we can go.

Sol walked further into the field where he could see wolves in groups of 3 or 4. From a distance, Sol started chanting the Burn spell to lure a wolf away from the others. The wolf caught fire and started running towards Sol, joining battle with Brock.

“To the place I appoint, I’ll call upon nature. ASolt, foul creature! The enemy I mock, feel this shock. Spark!”

Lighting jumped out of Sol’s finger and struck the wolf, catching its attention. Before it could run towards Sol, Sol yelled.

“Brock, grab it!”

“Uwaah!”

Brock grabbed hold of the wolf and started squeezing it as the wolf started biting Brock’s rock-like arms, trying to escape. Sol continued to chant several more times, alternating with the Burn spell twice each time the 20 second interval passed, as Brock continued to hold the wolf and get bitten. Eventually the wolf died.

Da-dingg!

You have gained 150 exp.

Experience: 395/2000

Brock has gained 100 exp.

Brock’s Experience: 175/15,000

You have obtained wolf pelt.

You have obtained wolf meat.

You have obtained 1 silver 5 copper.

Nice. As long as we don’t have to face 3 at once, I think we can handle it.

Sol continued to hunt, making sure to draw only 1 wolf at a time. Occasionally he would accidentally draw 2 wolves, but is able manage thanks to Brock’s tank skills.

Sol was a little terrified the whole time, as the wolves felt so rabid. Their angry barking and growling was a little too real of Sol at the moment.

After a couple hours Sol was able to get all his Spark skill to Novice Level 3 and Burn to Novice Level 2, increasing the spells’ strengths by a minor amount. He was also able to level up, increasing his strength and intelligence a fair amount. Fortunately for the thoughtless Sol, this game levels you up automatically, based on your experiences during the previous level. For Sol it was just blacksmithing and hunting with magic.

Usually, Sol would lure a wolf with his Burn spell as it drifted far enough from the main group, but after repeating the routine countless times eventually Sol got careless, drawing 3 wolves at once!

Shit, Sol thought. Sol instantly started sprinting, but he knew the wolves would catch up in no time at all. As Sol passed by Brock, he yelled.

“Brock! Use Roar!”

Brock responded immediately.

“Roooaaahhhrr!!!”

Sol looked back as the wolves surrounded Brock. Brock wasn’t very agile, so he took most of the wolves’ attacks. Sol thought about abandoning Brock, but immediately dismissed it. He didn’t want Brock to lose a level, which was the penalty for death in Lostalia. Plus, Sol was having fun.

Hey, it’s just a game, right? Let’s how far we can go!

Sol was quite far away, but still within range of his spells. Okay, step one. Sol chanted three burn spells for each wolf. After hunting for so long, Sol easily memorised each spell and was able to chant at a higher speed than when he started. 7 seconds later, each wolf had caught on fire. Fortunately, Sol’s common-grade spells didn’t have cooldown times at Novice level.

Time for step two. Sol intended to spam Spark until Burn’s effects have ended. Luckily, Sol’s first Spark spell, targeted at the wolf Brock was facing, managed to stun the wolf for a short time. Brock did bonus damage on his next sad, but unfortunately he only managed 1 hit as the wolf was stunned, while Sol struck the wolf with Spark twice more.

After getting severely damaged, the targeted wolf decided Sol was the bigger threat and started bolting towards Sol. Sol chanted Spark once more, killing the wolf.

The other wolves immediately changed to Sol, after he killed their companion, and started running after him.

“Brock, Roar!” Sol yelled.

“Rhooaaar!!”

Sol felt a tinge of regret as the wolves ran back to Brock. Brock looked pretty damaged himself and Sol was afraid he was too low on health.

“Brock, use Quake and keep doing it after every 5 seconds!”

Brock stomped on the ground, causing the Earth to rumble and the wolves that were now within range to stumble on the ground. Sol continued to spam Spark. Brock was able to hit the second wolf once within each Quake duration, which Sol thought was way too slow. After using Quake 3 times, the second wolf died.

“Keep going, Brock!” Sol yelled as he renewed the Burn spell on the last wolf.

Brock and Sol continued to attack in the same fashion for two more Quakes, which finally killed the last wolf, which was greatly attributed to the accumulated Burn spell’s damage.

Dah-dinggg!!

You have gained 540 exp.

Experience: 2135/2000

You have leveled up!

-Strength has increased by 30

-Dexterity has increased by 2

-Intelligence has increased by 20

-Willpower has increased by 8

-Charisma has increased by 1

-Health and Mana have increased by a bonus of +200

Burn has increased to Novice Level 3:

- Spell duration increased to 25 seconds

Brock has gained 360 exp.

Brock’s Experience: 975/15,000

You have obtained 2 wolf pelts.

You have obtained 2 wolf meats.

You have obtained 15 silver, 36 copper.

Nice, we did it, Sol thought.

Sol checked Brock’s status, and he was very low on mana and a little less than half of his health. Sol had just about 275 mana left. That’s probably our max, eh? I wouldn’t have been able to fight them off any longer without Brock’s mana. Also, his own mana was pretty low.

Sol still wanted to hunt, but he was getting kind of bored of the endless chanting.

Right! I’ll get my Blacksmith skill to Journeyman level and I’ll be able to make myself a decent sword to fight with! Sol thought.

With that burning desire to slay monsters with a mighty sword, Sol worked on his Blacksmith skill for the next 16 in-game hours, only taking breaks to eat meals at the nearby restaurants. He ended up making 56 swords in that time, sadly only getting his Blacksmith skill level to Novice Level 8. Though, he was also able to earn 4 gold in the meantime.

After a very long couple in-game days of gaming, he had gotten tired, logged out and went to sleep. In reality, only 8-9 hours had passed.

Chapter 2: True Hard Work Never Ends

When Sol got up at about 7 AM, as the sun rose high enough to let some light in to Sol’s windows. He got out of his bed eagerly, ate breakfast, went back to his room, locked the door, and logged back into Lostalia to get back to work.

24 more swords, and 7 hours later his Blacksmith skill went up to Novice Level 9. And 23 hours and 79 swords after that, Sol finally got what he wanted.

Da-dinngg!!

Your Blacksmith skill has increased to Journeyman Level 1!

You will now be able to produce higher quality products and you are now capable of using Grade 2 blacksmithing materials.

Nice.

Sol went to the General Store.

“Hey shop-keep, do you have any Grade 2 blacksmithing materials?”

“Hmm, let’s see. I don’t think so… Ah, actually… Just wait a moment, I’ll be back.”

The shopkeeper left through the door in the back of the room and came back moments later, setting a bag of ore on the table.

“What’s this?” Sol checked the information window.

Maraging Steel Ore

An inseparable mixture of different metals. Its toughness and hardness is on a different level from ordinary steel. Its great ability to absorb energy allows for the production of superior armor and shields.

- Grade 2 Blacksmithing Material

Price: 3 Gold

“Nice. How much to buy the whole bag?” Sol wanted to make armor too.

“That’ll be 30 gold.”

Sol sighed.

“Just a little longer,” Sol said, holding onto his resolve, before turning to the shopkeeper. “Hey, do you think I’d make more profit if I sold you steel swords?”

“Yeah, you’d probably make 2-3 silver more if you sold it here. But you know, they’d probably pay more at the Weapon Store. And I’d check out the Armor Store too. You’d probably get more Blacksmithing experience doing it that way.”

“Really? Thanks, shop-keep. And how much steel ore can I buy for 12 gold?”

Sol bought 120 steel ore and left the store.

Sol checked the selling price at the other stores and found out that he’d make more profit selling armor, though he was wary of the time it would take. He eventually dismissed his worries. Why not? It’s just a game.

Sol went to work right away. 20 hours later he ended up using all the steel ore to make 24 full armor sets.

The next day Sol logged right back in to Lostalia and sold his armor. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. He only made 18 gold.

So he repeated the process.

It was midnight in the game but there was crowds of people out. To Sol it was a weird sight. Only in a game, eh?

In 27 hours Sol managed to make 36 armor sets.