Consistency
The collapsing Anomaly oozed uncontrollably, melting into a putrid liquid, and was eventually absorbed by the soil it once slimed upon. The only things remaining were a shiny yellow crystal the size of a marble and a medium size pouch of something clinky.
As party leader, Evan had the right to distribute the loot any way he saw fit since they hadn't made a contract beforehand. Although he didn't consider himself a magnanimous person, they should at least split the loot evenly or based on personal needs, he thought.
While avoiding any acid that may have claimed what little HP he had left, he stored the drops in the party tab so the surviving duo could split the loot among themselves later, and ran toward Mille to guesstimate her condition.
—
—
"Hey, Mille, you alive?"
Evan hunched down and gave her a hand. She seemed fine now that they'd both leveled up again, restoring their status to normal.
"We did it!" She grinned as she stood up and gave Evan a bear hug.
Her Priestess hood had come off for the first time, exposing her pale skin, scarlet hair, and a pair of green eyes.
'She's a real beauty,' thought a dazed Evan.
He wanted to ask if that's what she looked like in reality but kept his curiosity in check. It could backfire for several reasons. For all he knew, she was a 40-year-old otaku posing as this young girl, hoodwinking young men for money and items in the pretense of love.
They both sat down under the warmth of the sun shining through the crevasse and tallied their gains while their respective Guardians or whatever system continued to evaluate their Dungeon ranking.
Their HP might have been refilled but their minds were still in shambles.
"I freakin' gained four levels in less than an hour! I just barely reached level 7!" Mille said enthusiastically.
"I'm at level 7 as well, halfway to level 8," Evan smiled. "How do you wanna split the loot?"
Evan opened the party tab and displayed what they'd gotten so far.
—
<500 Aerth coins>
—
"That- That's a low-grade Soulstone," Evan said in disbelief. He quickly tapped on the description on the interface.
—
An E-rank Soulstone that can be absorbed by its user as a consumable for permanent effects.
+6 SPC
+1 rank to Resilience proficiency
Restrictions: Level 5>
—
"Plus six SPC? That's two whole levels worth of stats." Mille remarked.
"Hmm, yeah. Now I understand why the drop rates for Soulstones are so low." Evan mulled. "I could use more SPC though. What about you?"
"Let's wait and see after the Dungeon evaluation. We might get some other goodies from our evaluations."
After a short while, a status screen carrying the Amber Guardian's emblem appeared in front of Evan. The emblem had a golden exuberance with an icon that resembled a pillar of light or energy of sorts.
—
Level disparity: A
Clear time: B+
Party size: A+
Support: B
Battle Ingenuity: A+
Overall rank: A>
—
Though he couldn't complain after having received an A-rank Dungeon evaluation, Evan wished the system, or rather the Amber Guardian was here to personally explain how these damn ranks had been decided. At least he'd be sure to ask next time he summoned Raphael.
"Hey, Midnight, how'd you do?"
"I got an A-rank. What about you?"
"Hum, same here. I didn't expect to get the same rank as you."
"Yeah, but we have nothing to compare an A-rank with. How do we know we performed well? Like, how many ranks are there beyond A-rank?"
"Oh come on, don't sour the mood. Look, the rewards are coming!" Mille pointed.
...
After an eventful but exhausting first day of gameplay in Soulbound Online, Evan and Mille decided to log out after going back to Cobblestone town and added each other to their friends lists. They'd been playing for nearly 12 hours and daybreak was already upon them in the outside world.
What Evan had experienced had put a rare smile on his face as he decided to sleep normally for a couple of hours before breakfast and work.
Yes, work. He still had work, he reminded himself. Otherwise, he would probably log right back in after a couple of hours of rest.
The C-rank nutritional fluids accompanying his Amber Vizor did a good job at keeping him going for 12 hours, but it still had its limits. If he wanted to play without mental drawbacks for longer periods of time, he needed to invest in higher quality fluids, which had become an entertaining thought.
'Mille might have been even worse off with her Aquamarine D-rank vials,' Evan pondered.
During breakfast, Lisa served bowls of porridge to the whole family as usual, together with some dried fruits. Lisa would only whip together some meat during their dinners as the family had lived through better days.
Evan chomped down his porridge like a champion and asked for seconds.
His brother Ken was still baffled by his brother's newfound ability to eat like a wolf.
"Have you ever considered competitive eating?" asked a befuddled Ken.
Lauren laughed, only to start coughing, and gave a wry smile when her cough calmed down.
"How're you doing today, dear?" a concerned Lisa asked while holding her daughter's hands.
"I'm fine, mom, it's just some coughs. It's over now." Lauren replied with a weak voice.
While Lisa was scolding Ken for being too funny for his sister's good, their father Thale turned on the Holovision on the breakfast table.
The Holovision was a small 3D device that streamed several channels. Live news, movies, dramas, sports, and much more, had made the Holovision become popular in your average household in recent years. It was Evan's twentieth wedding anniversary gift to his parents.
After switching channels for a while, a news interview with representatives from Bell Inc came into view on the Holovision.
"Hey, dad, go back to that channel." Evan requested.
"Huh, which one? Ah, this one?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Were here live with Vitali Norwyn and Angela Petesdotter, the spokespersons behind the company that developed Soulbound Online! Good morning, Mr. Norwyn. To start off, what can you tell us about the game since its release yesterday evening? Are the numbers satisfying?"
"Hahaha," the spokesman laughed heartily. "I'm not sure what you're implying, Mr. Woodford. Numbers? Sure! Sales have been a success. These so-called analysts missed the mark though. 25 million items sold for the premium Vizors? Hah! More like times that by four!"
"So you're saying Soulbound Online has sold more than 100 million copies in the last 24 hours?"
"Now now, that's only for the premium labels." Norwyn gestured calmly. "What I can tell you is that sales have steadily increased in all seven labels".
"Over to you Miss Petesdotter." Woodford looked over to the other spokesperson with a more somber countenance. "Critics have hammered down Bell Inc as money-grubbers eager to score a quick buck. How do you respond that these critics?"
The spokeswoman paused and contemplated for a while before giving her answer.
"Well, there are multiple reasons for the complaints being tasteless. First, no other games can compare with the technology Soulbound Online offers. Tell me, Mr. Woodford, why do people play VR games?"
"Hmm, good question. I guess it's different for everyone. Some people seek thrill and excitement. Others seek to experience a second life."
"Those are both excellent answers. This brings me to the second reason. Realism. But that is for the players to experience."
"I'm sure the game scores high on realism, but how does that correlate to such high prices compared to other VR games?"
"You've misunderstood, Mr. Woodford. I wasn't talking about the synchronization rate. I was talking about the game market and the in-game auction house that has already begun influencing shares and stock prices across all four continents."
"What are you saying, Miss Petesdotter?"
"She's saying that Soulbound Online has already become the world's leading enterprise in the gaming industry. You see, Bell Inc might be the company that developed SO, but it's the players that will eventually carry us into a new gaming era." Norwyn added.
"Mr. Norwyn here is right." Petesdotter continued. "You see. The game is purely based on a player's merits. How well they perform is based on their set of skills, such as their ability to solve problems, atchelicism, teamwork, and so forth.
That's why we've introduced the Merit system. In the coming weeks, we'll see how this plays out. For now, we're here to announce that Soulbound Online's first tournament take will take place in the coming weeks."
"How will this tournament play out?"
"It's simple," Petesdottir answered. "Players that have acquired three or more Heroic Merits before the tournament begins are able to enter the continental stages. The top players from each continent during the events in the coming months will have the opportunity to challenge their continental neighbors in the finals taking place at the end of the year."
As the live feed continued to broadcast, Evan slurped down his bowl of porridge and headed for work. He had a lot on his mind.
"One step at a time, Evan," he reminded himself.
In his 17 years of life, if there was one thing he had learned, it was that nothing came without a price and that goals weren't attained by dashing through obstacles. Rather, it was a slow grind of marathon and consistency.
He would rely upon his own set of skills.