Chapter 1: Bankrupting Myself for Gear (1)
By now, the bodies of the family of three next door should have been transported to the nearby cemetery, prepared for burial at dusk.
According to the original game’s plot, Peggy wouldn’t claw her way out of her grave until late at night. So Asker wasn’t in a hurry. Now that he had transmigrated into this clueless NPC’s body (conveniently interrupting the vampire’s mental manipulation), his first priority was to sever all existing social ties. He had to move before those bloodsuckers realized something was amiss and came looking for him.
This world’s technological advancement was a chaotic and unbalanced affair. Major cities boasted satellites, mobile phones, cars, and subways, while remote villages still relied on drawing water from wells. Developed regions had embraced digital currency and stock exchanges, while underdeveloped areas clung to gold, silver, copper coins, and even bartering.
Cold steel coexisted with firearms, technology intertwined with the supernatural – a world of peculiar juxtapositions.
Constantinople, where Asker found himself, was one of the most advanced cities in this world, boasting comprehensive public facilities.
He took the subway to the district high school and strolled into the classroom where he was scheduled to teach.
The tuition fees for this high school were quite high, and the students were mostly children of middle-class families. As a result, the classroom maintained a semblance of order. As soon as the teacher entered, the students fell silent.
Asker stepped onto the podium, and the students opened their textbooks, ready to take notes.
“Close your textbooks. No need for notes today,” Asker announced. “Your assignment for today is to choose a topic from this semester’s syllabus and write a paper on it.”
His gaze swept across the classroom. “Once you’ve chosen your topic, head to the library, gather your materials, and submit your history papers by the end of the week. The next few days are yours for self-study.”
The students erupted in cheers. They might not have a clue about writing papers, but self-study meant freedom! Basking in their enthusiastic farewell, Asker sauntered out of the classroom and headed towards the principal’s office.
The office door was ajar, and he could see the principal seated behind his desk, engrossed in a newspaper. Asker pushed the door open and stated bluntly, “Principal, I’m resigning.”
The principal looked up, recognizing the teacher tendering his resignation as the young master of the Achilles family. It was no secret that their history teacher was a wealthy nobleman who didn’t need the meager salary. The principal simply nodded, making no attempt to persuade him otherwise. “Very well. However, would it be possible for you to stay on for another week, Asker? Just until the school finds a replacement history teacher?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Asker replied. “I’ve already assigned the students a week’s worth of work. They’ll be spending their history classes in the library, preparing their papers.”
The principal chuckled wryly. “I see you’ve made up your mind. So, are you planning to return to managing your family’s business?”
Asker shook his head with a smile. “No. I plan to sell my shops and assemble an expedition team.”
“Sell?” The principal was taken aback.
He knew that the Achilles family owned two shops in Constantinople, each worth hundreds of pounds.
The pound referred to the Solomon pound, originally a unit of weight that had evolved into the primary currency of the Eastern Solomon Empire. One pound was equivalent to one ancient Sulderus gold coin. Based on the game’s exchange rate, one gold coin was roughly equivalent to ten thousand in his previous life’s currency.
By that calculation, Asker was currently a multi-millionaire, and debt-free at that.
Selling all his assets to form an expedition team? That was like someone in his previous life selling their properties in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou to become a mercenary abroad. It was pure madness!
However, it was considered taboo to pry into someone’s personal affairs, so the principal refrained from commenting. He merely asked with a smile, “If you’re planning to sell your family’s shops, I happen to know a few wealthy individuals who might be interested. Are you planning to go through an intermediary or an auction house?”
“I plan to sell them to the Church,” Asker stated directly.
The Orthodox Church in Constantinople was notoriously wealthy. They didn’t haggle or lowball. And when it came to prime real estate in the capital, there were few competitors who could match their purchasing power. The principal immediately understood and abandoned any thoughts of connecting Asker with potential buyers. With a sigh, he processed Asker’s resignation.
Resignation complete, the next step was naturally to gather equipment and arm himself.
As a professional esports player and former hardcore gamer, Asker was intimately familiar with various strategies for rapid level progression in the early stages of the game.
What weapons to use, what armor to wear, which quests to accept, which dungeons to tackle – he had a clear and meticulous plan. There would be no hesitation or missteps.
He left the school and made his way to a nearby weapons shop. “I need to buy a sword.”
“Master Achilles wishes to purchase a sword?” The shopkeeper recognized him as the young master of the Achilles family, knowing he was loaded. He immediately envisioned selling him one of the shop’s most expensive pieces – a diamond-encrusted, ornately-decorated ceremonial sword designed for nobles. “You have excellent taste, sir. We have all kinds of swords here. We recently received a shipment of high-quality goods, said to be precious relics from the ancient High Elf Empire. Perhaps you’d be interested…”
“What materials are they made of?” Asker asked calmly. “If you have anything made of meteoric iron, enchanted copper, mithril, adamantine, celestial glass, polar ice, blood-forged steel, chaos stone, or dragonbone, I’ll take them all.”
The shopkeeper nearly choked on his own saliva upon hearing those material names. He forced a smile. “Master Achilles, you jest! My humble shop could never acquire such rare materials. Meteoric iron and enchanted copper, perhaps, with some effort and connections in the black market. But mithril and adamantine are strictly controlled by the Imperial Army. Celestial glass and polar ice are priceless treasures, rarely seen anywhere on the continent. My shop wouldn’t dare dream of possessing such things!”
“As for blood-forged steel, chaos stone, and dragonbone… those are the stuff of legends, materials for mythical artifacts! They don’t exist in reality.”
“If you don’t have any of these materials, how dare you boast about having everything?” Asker said, shaking his head. “Forget it. Just show me the best materials you have. And spare me the fancy decorations.”
“Of course, of course.” The shopkeeper chuckled inwardly. “Currently, we have longswords crafted from iron and steel. Our highest grade is Damascus cloud-patterned steel, forged using the Church’s most advanced chrome plating and austenitizing techniques. The quality is absolutely top-notch…”
“What about the blade types?” Asker interrupted the shopkeeper’s self-promotion.
“We have the military-standard Spathion cavalry swords, as well as the Eastern-style Paramere single-edged curved swords,” the shopkeeper eagerly explained. “Of course, if you find those lacking in stopping power, we also have imported Western bastard swords. They have thick spines and a heavy pommel. One swing can easily cleave through a man’s neck…”
“I’ll take the single-edged curved sword,” Asker decided. “And a shortsword as well. The ancient Solomonic Iberian type, with a sharpened blade. Don’t try to pawn off any fancy but useless antiques on me.”
“I also need a mail hauberk, with at least three layers of linen padding. And a gambeson over that. No flashy colors, just common dyes.”
“Right away, sir!” The shopkeeper hurriedly instructed his assistant to fetch the requested items. “Are you being recognized by the court, Master Achilles? Are you joining the Royal Guard? Just yesterday, a guardsman placed an order here, and his equipment choices were quite similar to yours. Though he did purchase an additional mace, for dealing with heavily armored opponents. Perhaps you’d like…”
“No need,” Asker interjected. “For armor penetration, firearms are more efficient.”
“Indeed, indeed.” The shopkeeper readily agreed, thinking to himself, Firearms are expensive! A simple handgun costs at least two or three pounds, plus ammunition. It’s much cheaper and easier to just bash someone’s head in with a mace.
Soon, the assistant returned with the requested items. The shopkeeper helped Asker into the mail hauberk and then the gambeson. Thus attired, Asker cut a rather imposing figure.
He fastened the shortsword to the buckle on his left hip and hefted the steel-forged single-edged curved sword in his right hand, swinging it experimentally. The blade sliced through the air with a low whistle.
“Not bad.” Asker was quite satisfied with the sword.
The shopkeeper swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling a chill down his spine. The way this young master handled the sword… it reminded him of a few veteran soldiers he had served last year. The kind who killed without hesitation. Just standing near them sent shivers down his spine, triggering a primal urge to flee.
“So, the mail hauberk is 5 pounds, the gambeson is 1 pound, and the two swords come to 0.3 pounds. Consider it a discount, and we’ll round it down,” the shopkeeper said cautiously.
“Very well.” Asker pulled out his coin purse and counted out the payment.
He turned and left the shop. The shopkeeper watched him go, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief, as if he had just narrowly escaped a disaster.
…
Q: After transmigrating into a game world, should I prioritize grinding levels or earning money through quests?
A: You should prioritize buying equipment… You can’t very well fight monsters with your bare hands, can you? In this hardcore combat-oriented world, wielding a weapon makes all the difference.
