Sky Dragon Family

Ryan had quite the haul after picking through all the bodies. Not only did he manage to fill every backpack slot with those handy six-slot pouches, but he also ended up with over a dozen pieces of gear. After a quick thought, he slipped on some of the stuff that fit him and decided to hand the rest over to the siblings.

Five hundred bucks for information that would soon be common knowledge? Ryan felt a little awkward taking it without giving something back, even though he really, really needed the cash. The discarded equipment wasn't worth a ton, but it would definitely help them out in the starting zone.

Sky Dragon Ascendant watched his sister just send the money straight to Ryan, not saying a word. He wasn't sure if he should be impressed by her quick decision or annoyed by her impulsiveness. Luckily, the Paladin turned out to be a decent guy and actually told them where the quest weapon was.

"It's right here," Ryan said, pulling up his virtual map and pointing. "Just dig up this grave, and Harnel's longsword will be inside."

He showed them the exact spot on the map, then paused, looking at the Priestess. "You know, in the future, it's probably a good idea to use those system-certified contracts. Otherwise, you might get ripped off by some shady players."

"Are you one of those shady players?" the Priestess asked, a little giggle escaping her. Her voice, clear and without any of that robotic distortion, made it obvious she was pretty young.

"And these are a little extra something from me, along with the info," Ryan continued, ignoring her question. "Even with the quest details, it's definitely not worth five hundred dollars, but I really need the money right now, so I'm just gonna shamelessly take it."

He practically dumped everything from his inventory into her trade window, and that's when he learned her game name: Sky Dragon Iris. Sky Dragon Family, he thought, seeing her name and remembering the Paladin's. Suddenly, a few things about them from the future clicked into place.

The Sky Dragon Family, in the years to come, would be a guild that saw its fair share of ups and downs, but ultimately, they'd bounce back. They'd jumped into Kingdom Forge right from the start, hitting it big. But then, a massive blow from a betrayal within their own ranks almost brought them to their knees. If it hadn't been for a lucky break and a crazy all-or-nothing gamble, the Sky Dragon Family might not have even existed.

Sky Dragon Iris was thrilled to see so many cloth armor pieces that fit her. She quickly put them on as soon as the trade went through. These were way better than the basic gear you got from the starting zone quests.

"Here are a few more small pouches," Ryan said, trading three more to Sky Dragon Iris. The loot from those hundreds of corpses hadn't just filled all of Ryan's backpack slots; he actually had three extra pouches left over.

Sky Dragon Iris had paid a 5% transaction fee through the in-game trade system, which made Ryan feel a little awkward. That's why he ended up giving away these pouches, which he'd originally planned to keep as good luck charms.

Kingdom Forge's online trading let players exchange real cash directly in the game, so you didn't need any outside websites. But the game system would always take a 5% cut from every cash trade. That's how the game company made its money.

With the money in hand, Ryan just wanted to log off right away and withdraw it. His two sisters were probably awake and reading by now, and he could give them a nice little surprise.

"Featherlight, hello again. Let me properly introduce myself. My game name is Sky Dragon Ascendant, and I'm the guild leader of the Sky Dragon Family. I'd like to invite you to join our guild. We offer a guaranteed monthly salary."

Ryan saw Sky Dragon Ascendant blocking his way and figured Sky Dragon Iris must have told him his game name. Even though the invitation sounded genuine, Ryan had no interest in joining the Sky Dragon Family.

While Ryan didn't know the exact guaranteed salary the Sky Dragon Family offered, he had a pretty good idea of the general range, since a lot of guilds in the future had similar rates. The guaranteed salary would probably be around 1,500 dollars at most, with extra commissions from activities bringing the monthly income to about 2,000 to 3,000 dollars. For many regular players, that was a pretty sweet deal, but Ryan wasn't really impressed by such a small amount of money.

In the future, even the salary he earned in Crimson Wake, which he considered low, still had a guaranteed 3,000 dollars plus high commissions, pushing his monthly income to around 6,000 dollars. And back then, Ryan was just a frontline reserve in Crimson Wake, nowhere near becoming the First Holy Paladin.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to join any guild right now," Ryan said, shaking his head and turning to leave them.

"Brother, I knew you wouldn't succeed," Sky Dragon Iris teased her brother, her words hitting him hard. "Even if he needs money, I could tell during our chat that he's got a lot of confidence. If he'd actually taken your offer, I would have seriously questioned my judgment of people."

"You little rascal!" Sky Dragon Ascendant sighed, shaking his head, even though he'd gotten a bunch of good gear from Sky Dragon Iris's treasure-like trade.

"I'm not giving you these few small pouches. I don't even have enough for myself!" Sky Dragon Iris shamelessly kept the three small pouches, grinning widely like a mischievous fox who'd just snatched a chicken.

"Alright, hurry up and do the quest! If you don't finish that, you won't have a weapon or even skills!" Sky Dragon Iris pushed Sky Dragon Ascendant away. But before she left, Sky Dragon Iris kept glancing back in the direction Ryan had gone. She had a feeling they'd meet again soon. And when that happened, maybe that player would really show what he was capable of.

"Don't disappoint me, Featherlight. You're the first person I've ever decided to invest in. If you really just disappear, my brother will never let me hear the end of it," Sky Dragon Iris mumbled to herself, following her brother and quickly heading towards the spot Ryan had pointed out.

Back in the starting zone, Ryan didn't rush to turn in his quest. Instead, he went straight to a safe spot and logged off.

As he gave the command, Ryan's Paladin character slowly faded away.

Taking off his helmet, Ryan pulled off the hardened finger splints one by one. Just as he expected, his two sisters were staring at him with wide eyes.

"I got my first income!" Ryan carefully set his virtual setup aside, went over to his sisters, and hugged them tight, their faces still full of disbelief.

"Don't worry, our lives are only going to get better and better," Ryan secretly promised himself.