A Costly Endeavor

Ethan exited the Town Hall, hesitating at the steep teleportation costs. He briefly debated walking to Blackridge, but the only route passed through Springhaven.

Clenching his teeth, he reluctantly spent 20 gold coins to return to Springhaven. From there, he resumed his journey on foot.

As Ethan trekked through the sprawling roads, someone else was facing his own storm of emotions.

Zachary had logged out of the game. Inside his room, chaos reigned—every item lay shattered across the floor. Even his high-tech VR capsule had been bashed nearly out of shape by the relentless blows of a baseball bat.

The reason for his tantrum? Simple. While Ethan, bearing Zachary's name in-game, continually transferred land titles to new owners, the system notifications flooded in.

By the end, not only had Zachary lost every land deed he owned, but his reputation in Springhaven had plummeted by 4,200 points.