MotivatedSloth

"Hello, sir. Are you cashing out or leveling up?"

Dungeons Online was the first game that cracked the system. Let nerds earn by nerding, and they will nerd forever. And Dungeons Online did just that. 

Noobs turned into middle-class workers. Pro-players turned into celebrities and multi-millionaires. 

And there was Tom. Likely, the only top ranker that lived off the scraps and cat-food. A courtesy of his father that went and disappeared, leaving Tom with just enough money to survive until his graduation. Until the day where the option of cashing out would appear.

Dungeons Online. A game where developers never shared a single bit of information. A game where the death of one's avatar is permanent. A game that can turn a beggar into a lord just as quickly as turning a celebrity into nobody. 

But where does all this money comes from? How is it connected to the unnatural disaster that all governments across the world buried any information off? And how is this all connected to Tom's missing father?

Dungeons Online

"Was it all really necessary?" Claudia asked as soon as they left the guild building.

'I wonder if she did that intentionally,' Tom thought, curious about the case.

Out in the open street of the city, the bustling streets made for a perfect cover. With all the noises of the city, even if someone were to eavesdrop on them, they wouldn't be able to achieve anything. In regard to the safety of their talk, the open areas of the street were a surprisingly good choice.

"Yes and no," Tom replied, refusing to give a simple answer. "Yes, because we needed to see how people would react. No, because there were other ways to achieve it," he built up on his simple answer only to shake his head a moment later. "And obviously, we still had to sell that stone as soon as possible. Say whatever you want, but it should be even harder to survive in this city without any money than it would be back home," he added, biting on his lip as soon as he finished the sentence.

Pricey meat