"How do I get them?" Chris asked urgently.
As long as it made him stronger, he was willing to do anything!
"It's simple," Bai's smile grew increasingly devious. "There is a resource in this world called 'Spirit Stones.' You can use them in the Myriad Realms Shop to exchange for various Artifacts. There are many ways to obtain Spirit Stones: you get 5 just for logging in every day, and varying amounts for completing tasks. Additionally, you can purchase them using the currency of your world..."
"Buy them with money? That's it?" Chris asked, incredulous.
He had expected the process of obtaining Spirit Stones to be incredibly difficult; he never imagined it would just be a matter of spending money!
If it can be solved with money, it's not a problem!
Chris Wyne might lack many things, but money was the one thing he had in abundance.
Although he didn't know how much these "Spirit Stones" were worth, he would buy them even if the price was sky-high. Not only to make himself stronger but also to show Miss Yvette the true extent of his family's wealth. He had come to Sunset Boulevard today specifically to impress her; he couldn't let this young lady think his family was penniless!
Chris reluctantly set down the tablet, scurried over to the counter, and gave two loud, forced coughs.
Lorne, who was filing his nails with a small tool, looked up at the sound.
"Is there something you need, noble guest?"
"I want to buy Spirit Stones!" Chris pulled out his wallet, then, worried he wouldn't have enough cash, pulled out his checkbook as well.
Lorne gave him a meaningful look. "Guest, Spirit Stones aren't something you can just buy in whatever quantity you like."
As he spoke, he pulled four cards from beneath the counter and lined them up on the surface.
The four cards were Copper, Silver, Gold, and a shimmering Laser-Rainbow color. They were exquisitely printed, each with a card number and a password at the bottom—though the "passwords" were covered by a gray scratch-off coating.
Chris picked up the copper card and turned it over. "What are these?"
"Top-up cards," Lorne said with a cryptic smile.
He had long anticipated that these young people wouldn't be able to resist "whaling", so he had prepared the payment methods well in advance.
Players on Earth could pay with a tap of a finger, but payment methods in this world weren't that advanced yet. After all, home computers and the internet hadn't even been invented.
However, human wisdom is infinite; there are always more solutions than problems.
Back when Lorne was a child, online payments weren't widespread, yet people still found ways to pour money into MMOs. How? Top-up cards.
Which player from that era hadn't experienced buying point cards at a newsstand? Who didn't remember asking a convenience store owner to top up their in game coins?
Lorne couldn't build an online payment system overnight, but setting up a top-up card system was child's play. While cards faced risks of loss, damage, or theft, they were better than nothing.
You eat a meal one bite at a time; you walk a path one step at a time. Business empire wasn't built in a day. It was better to cultivate the players' paying habits first and create more convenient payment methods later.
"Guest, these four types of cards correspond to different amounts of money and Spirit Stones," Lorne explained. "This is the 'Bronze Star Card'; it costs 10 coppers and gives 30 Spirit Stones. The second is the 'Silver Moon Card', which is slightly more expensive at 96 coppers for 330 Spirit Stones. This expensive 'Golden Sun Card' costs 348 coppers for 1,280 Spirit Stones. And the most prestigious 'Diamond Stardust Card' is 648 coppers for 2,560 Spirit Stones. Which would you like?"
"Wait, let me calculate first!" Chris's mind raced through the price-to-performance ratio. As a merchant's son, bad math was unacceptable. He had been studying accounts with a tutor since he could talk—getting a sum wrong meant the cane. Consequently, while Chris was a disaster in other subjects, his math was second to none.
"So, the Bronze Star Card gets you 3 stones per copper, but the Diamond Stardust Card gets you 3.95—rounding up, that's 4 stones per copper!"
Clearly, buying the Diamond Stardust Card was the best value!
The Coastal Kingdom's currency used the gold standard: 1 gold coin equaled 20 silver, and 1 silver equaled 12 copper. Because the kingdom was powerful, its currency was a "hard currency" accepted in other nations.
One Diamond Stardust Card was equivalent to 2 gold, 8 silver, and 8 copper. To Chris, this was pocket change. Between the allowance from his father and the trust funds left by his grandparents, he didn't care about such small amounts.
"Give me two! How annoying, why isn't it a round number?" Despite his complaining, Chris handed Lorne a 5-gold note.
"Exchange rate issues," Lorne replied, sliding two cards and one gold coin back to Chris.
In reality, he had intentionally set the exchange rate to be non-integers. People are sensitive to their own currency; they can tell instantly if something is expensive. But with "foreign" or virtual currency, that sensitivity drops. They have to calculate it, which slows down their judgment of value.
The same applies to game top-ups. Setting a non-round exchange rate lowers player sensitivity and often leads to them spending large sums without realizing it.
Clutching his two cards, Chris strolled back to Yvette.
"Miss Yvette, please." He offered one card to the black-haired girl like a prize.
The girl hit "Pause," raised an eyebrow, and pouted her red lips, glaring at Chris.
She had unlocked the shop system long ago, but she hadn't rushed to spend money like Chris. It wasn't because she was poor—her family was military nobility; they didn't lack money. Yvette simply felt that if she could win without spending, why waste the gold? As long as she logged in daily and completed tasks, wouldn't she eventually get Spirit Stones? If she played long enough and hard enough, she'd get the Artifacts anyway.
"What do you mean by this? Do you think I'm so unskilled that I can't pass the levels without paying?"
"I—I didn't... I don't..." Chris stammered.
He had invited her out today; he was the host. If he bought cards for himself and ignored her, it would look like he had failed in his hospitality. If his father found out he was enjoying himself while neglecting a guest, he'd have his head!
He desperately wanted to please Yvette, but his attempt at flattery had backfired completely. He had never met a girl who got angry when you bought her things!
He sat down dejectedly and entered the code from his card into the tablet. Bai excitedly informed him that he had received 2,560 Spirit Stones, enough to buy every Artifact in the shop.
As for the other card, he simply tossed it to a classmate nearby. The classmate took it with profound gratitude, looking at Chris as if he were a legendary hero. Fearing Chris might change his mind, he redeemed the stones immediately, earning envious glares from the others.
With new Artifacts, Chris's clearing speed increased significantly, and his rank soon jumped from the bottom to third place.
Chris's post-whaling leap was the best advertisement possible. The other students couldn't help but pull out their wallets. Most of Chris's friends were wealthy playboys who didn't mind the cost. The game was so fresh and fun—why not spend a little? They were the first people in all of Norelia to play, which gave them something to brag about at school tomorrow.
Only Miss Yvette remained steadfast in not spending a single cent. Even Lorne couldn't help but admire her resolve. Given time, this girl might become a true "Grinder King"!
"Lord Lorne, why not make the game harder so that the girl has to pay?" Silas whispered, stepping up beside Lorne.
"Do you think it's better if everyone must pay to win?" Lorne asked.
"We would make more money that way!"
"If every single thing requires a purchase and you can't move an inch without paying, you'll drive away the vast majority of regular players. But if paying doesn't make the experience significantly better, the 'Whales' will feel their money was wasted and lose interest. Whether to charge, how much to charge, and how to maintain balance... that is a profound science, Silas."
The commotion in the shop soon attracted passersby. Many curious people walked in and, under Silas and Serina's expert sales pitch, opened a station. As the crowd grew, every seat was soon filled. New arrivals stood behind those playing just to catch a glimpse of this "Magic Game." Whenever someone cleared a level, the shop erupted in cheers.
Immersed in his game, Chris suddenly heard a "cheep-cheep" sound near his hand. He impatiently hit "Pause" and looked around, eventually realizing the noise was coming from his hourglass.
The sand had run out, and in the now-empty top bulb, a tiny, featherless hatchling was huddling, flapping its bald wings and chirping loudly.
Chris had never seen such an ugly bird and let out a startled cry.
"Please do not be alarmed, sir."
Lorne appeared silently behind him like a ghost, giving him another fright.
"This is a Sand-Crossing Bird, a harmless little magical creature," Lorne said, picking up the hourglass. "The hatchlings of this bird love to hide in the sand. As soon as there is no sand around them, they cry out. Because of this, they have been used to make alarm-clocks since ancient times."
Lorne flipped the hourglass over. A stream of sand fell onto the ugly chick. It pecked at the sand with its short beak, then curled up contentedly, hiding its head under its bald wing and falling asleep.
"I see... you mages even have different alarm clocks than normal people," Chris laughed nervously to cover his embarrassment. "Wait, has it already been three hours?"
He felt as if he had only been playing for a moment, but checking his watch, it was already past 9:00 PM.
Norelia University had a curfew; the gates locked at 11:00 PM. If you weren't back by then, you were stuck outside. Chris often stayed out, as the dorm supervisors didn't dare cross him, but since he was with Yvette today, he had to escort her back. He had an hour left, at most, before they had to leave.
But how could one hour be enough? He didn't want to spend even a single minute away from the tablet! If only he could take it back to the dorm!
"Do you wish to continue?" Lorne asked. "If so, we must begin charging. The price per hour is—"
"No," Chris interrupted. "I want to ask... is this Magic Tablet for sale?"