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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 36 (Book 1)
🕑 Added 2024-02-16 11:45:01 +0000 UTCZayn decided to sell the Booster copyright after some back and forth. He managed to analyze Millenia’s behavior pretty well and knew enough about him from the past to create an opportunity and strike it rich.
The wealth he’d procured over the last few days was also the reason Zayn was so confident when he called for a family meeting.
He sat his parents down in the living room and told his siblings to gather up. His little sister had no idea what was going on, but she was happy to be part of the group. Her bright smile eased the tension in the living room as Zayn sat down.
“I think it’s about time that we have a serious discussion,” Stephanie announced before Zayn could say something. She raised her hand and gestured for Zayn to stop what he was doing and listen carefully. Thus, he listened.
“Nicolas, I’ve heard that you called in sick at work for the last few days. If it were only once, I wouldn’t say anything. I know how stressful your work is and that you hate the job. It’s understandable. You didn’t manage to get a spot at your favorite company. BUT to call in sick for several days just to fool around with your brothers is not okay!”
Her voice was ice-cold and Zayn could feel the rage that had accumulated within her over the last few days. She turned to Percy, who winced subconsciously, his eyes drifting far away from his mother.
“And what the hell are you doing? Not only did you bomb your last exam, but you haven’t been to University for the last four days, AT ALL. I know your curriculum, and I do not condone this kind of behavior. This is unacceptable!!”
Percy looked at the ground, unable to say something. Percy and Nicolas understood that they did wrong, but it was not as if they had been lazy. They worked more than ever and their work had been rewarded. The older brothers glanced at Zayn, who turned into the main focus of the entire family’s attention in an instant.
“And you. I don’t even know what to say about you, Zeke… I know that you have been earning some Credits over the last five days, and I think that it’s amazing, BUT you cannot neglect your studies like that. You cannot sacrifice the most important time of your life for something like this…a game! You might be earning some money right now, but what will you do once the currency exchange stops, or once professional players and large organizations capture the market? They will push you aside and take your share of the market in an instance.”
“I want you to stop playing and focus on studying!”
His mother’s words dropped like a bomb, and their little sister created a wide variety of grotesque sound effects to amplify the comment.
“I won’t do that,” Zayn shook his head, “I called for this meeting to convince everyone to join Forgotten Lands, not to quit the game.”
A paper-thin smile blossomed on Zayn’s lips. He didn’t crumble under his mother’s threatening glare, not even for a quarter of a second.
“What is that nonsense Zayn? Just what happened to–...” Stephanie jumped up from her chair. She could see only red, and the situation didn’t improve when she noticed that her son was completely unaffected by her words.
Malcom had to intervene. He tapped Stephanie’s shoulder lightly, pulling her back to sit down. He cleared his throat and looked at Zayn.
“We have a life, a job, and responsibilities. You have responsibilities as well,” Malcom shook his head, “I don’t have the time and patience to join Forgotten Lands, and neither do you, Nicolas, or Percy. All of you should be busy with your studies, or work…not with playing almost 20 hours a day…”
Zayn gave his father a thumbs up, “I totally agreed with what you said. We don’t have enough time to split our focus on so many different things. That’s also why I will take responsibility as you said.”
“I want you to quit your job and start working for me in Forgotten Lands!” Zayn flashed his teeth as he smiled brightly at his father.
His mother was just about to jump up again, but Zayn reacted before her. He retrieved his phone and opened his bank account before sliding the phone over the table for everyone to see.
[Balance: 3,254,941 Credits]
Selling hundreds of potions to Millenia earned him a fortune, but the biggest share of income came from the Videos, Guides, and special donations he’d received from grateful Players. By following his guides many Players managed to strike it rich. They earned their investment back in no time and began to make a profit right after. Their strength increased drastically, enough to attract the attention of some professional workshops and large corporations.
Amateurish Players were given offers to turn into professional gamers with decent salaries by following Zayn’s Guides and Videos. The least they could do was to donate to him and promote Zayn’s channel.
Over the last few days, his channel exploded, resulting in a pleasant balance in his bank account.
“How…Wait what?!” Malcom could barely contain his voice. He stared blankly at the screen. His wife was no different. She couldn’t say a single word. Even if she wanted to, her throat was swollen all of a sudden, swallowing the words she’d wanted to say.
Even Percy and Nicolas were surprised to see the numbers. They knew that Zayn’s channel exploded and received notifications about the donations – including the amount that had been donated. However, they didn’t know that Zayn was already a millionaire. It had only been five days since Forgotten Lands had been launched yet their brother had taken the opportunity and became a millionaire. No…he was a multi-millionaire.
“Zayn…I-I think there is something wrong with your bank account,” His mother regained her senses after a few minutes, but she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It didn’t make any sense. It was impossible.
“Maybe it’s an error,” Malcom joined his wife’s side, but Zayn only smiled.
“That’s true. I’m still waiting for some money,” Zayn acknowledged.
In the next few seconds – almost like fate decided to fool his parents – Millenia’s transaction went through. Two notifications popped up and the balance on Zayn’s account was updated.
[Booster Copyright has been successfully transferred. All fees have been paid by the recipient.]
[10,000,000 Credits have been added to your bank account.]
“What timing,” Zayn chuckled lightly, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the full extent of his tireless work for the last five days for the first time.
[Balance: 13,254,941 Credits]
He cleared his throat and fetched his phone once again. Everyone’s eyes naturally followed the phone until they looked at Zayn, whose vibrant smile captivated them.
“If you don’t want to join Forgotten Lands right now, that’s fine. However, I know that you hate your job,” He looked sternly at his father, “You can quit. All I’m asking for in return is that you and Mom start taking care more of your bodies. I know that you wanted to start working out properly for an eternity but you couldn’t….because of us…”
Percy and Nicolas grit their teeth. They knew that Zayn’s words were true and hated themselves for that. Their father sacrificed the last two decades for his family, and it was about time that he received something in return.
It bothered them a little bit that Zayn was the sole reason their father could quit his job, but the two older brothers consoled themselves by thinking that they worked hard to turn Zayn’s ideas and material into proper guides and videos. They helped their brother to become rich so that their father could retire!
“It was not because of you guys–...” Malcom said, but even his wife and the mother of their four children had become silent. She pressed her lips together and sat down once again. There was no sight of her earlier temper.
“It was because of work. We know that. It’s the same, either way. We know how much you hate your job, but it pays well.”
Zayn stared intently at his father, determination flickering in his eyes. He was ready to transfer several million Credits to his father, but his parents needed to understand what happened, and that they accepted their work. Forgotten Lands was not only a game for them. It was an opportunity to change their lives.
“Please allow me to tell you how we managed to earn this much in such a short period, okay? Maybe, you will change your opinion of Forgotten Lands soon. Not everyone has to fight, after all. You can learn how to forge weapons, concoct mythical potions, enchant weapons, or become a scholar. It’s also possible to tame monsters, become a teacher, a musician, an artist, and so much more,” Zayn said, more to his mother than his father, who nibbled on her lower lip.
“I hope you can put aside your prejudice against Forgotten Lands and learn more about its nature. Maybe…Forgotten Lands will become more important in the future than you can imagine…”
Zayn was not sure why, but he couldn’t get himself to tell his family about the World Bridges and the dangers that awaited them shortly. It was almost like an invisible force held him back from telling anyone about the future events.
‘Is that the downside of traveling back in time? Being unable to share what will happen?’ Zayn had wondered at some point, but he pushed aside that thought. It was troublesome that he was unable to tell others about future events, but he learned that it didn’t affect his knowledge.
Everything that could potentially be known at this point was knowledge Zayn could share with the whole world. That was something Zayn had been testing with the Guides and Videos. It was one of the reasons he chose to upload the guides, in the first place.
Once the time was ripe, Zayn could share more information about future events. All he could do for the time being was to strengthen Players with his videos and prepare everyone for the worst case.
‘It’s about time that I start researching World Bridges and the Gods’ Domains.’ Zayn figured, ‘Where is the closest library?’
He recalled something, but he was not sure if it was going to be useful anytime soon. He shrugged inwardly and his focus returned to his parents.
All he was hoping for with his family was that his parents and Natalie would join Forgotten Lands to have an easier time once Forgotten Lands descended upon Earth. It would be best if their Heart Deck awakens shortly after the first World Bridges appeared. Zayn would feel even more reassured if he could assimilate a fraction of their Foundation Orbit into their bodies with the VR Gaming Pods before the World Bridges appeared.
He took a deep breath and began to share what he had done since he started playing Forgotten Lands. There was no need to go into detail, but Zayn felt that it was necessary to tell his parents and brothers what he had done to earn this much money and that none of it was a coincidence. Creating a customized potion could be considered a stroke of luck, but Zayn earned an enormous fortune even if he hadn’t been so fortunate.
He shared his tactics and actions in a detailed manner, slowly convincing his parents to join Forgotten Lands as well. Malcom was still having a hard time digesting that his son told him that he could retire, but he was happy. Stepanie was not that happy, but the facts spread out in front of her – in Zayn’s bank account – were more than enough to convince her that her children might not have to focus on their studies and work for the time being.
“I’m going to transfer three million Credits into your account. You can put it into an Exchange Trade Fund, or whatever you prefer to get paid dividends. If you don’t want to do that, you can do something else with it to ensure that you and your Father don’t have to work ever again. Will that be enough?”
Zayn’s offer took his mother by surprise. She felt like saying so much, but all she did was nod.
Zayn knew that Credits were going to be useless shortly, however, he wanted to reassure his parents. If three million credits were enough to reassure his parents about their future finances and retirement plan, Zayn would not hesitate to give it to them.
“You’re still staying too long in the game…” Zayn’s mother finally regained her voice. However, this time she was concerned rather than fuming in anger.
“I will buy a Gaming Pod and enough nutrition solutions to make sure that I will return from Forgotten Lands more energetic and livelier than before entering,” Zayn revealed, “I will also go to the gym more often and focus on my health.”
A good physique was essential for Forgotten Lands. However, that was not something he had to tell his mother.
“I can offer the same to everyone here. A Gaming Pod with enough Nutrition Solutions to drown in!”
Maybe that was enough to convince his family. Zayn sincerely hoped so.
