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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 16 (Book 1)
🕑 Added 2024-02-13 14:00:48 +0000 UTCAll Zayn could do was go to the toilet to empty his bowel before he made his way into the kitchen as slowly as possible.
He entered the kitchen and found his parents near the fridge whereas his siblings stood a bit further away, either eating some of the remaining cereals with milk or devouring the last bits of bread Zayn had left behind.
Other than the food his siblings had eaten just now there didn’t seem to be much left in the fridge. He’d emptied the fridge pretty neatly.
“Ooopsiee…”
“I thought I was mistaken when I heard someone in the kitchen last night, but it seems like I was right,” His mother said, her voice eerily calm, “So I asked your brothers. It was you, wasn’t it? You bought that weird game and a VR helmet and now all you’re doing is playing all day and plundering the fridge at night? Is that it?”
His mother threw a disappointed look at Zayn, causing his insides to twist. He looked over at Nicolas, who could only press his lips together and stare apologetically at his little brother.
Well, it was understandable. Their mother was quite powerful. A single glance could kill people. At least, that was what it felt like.
“You started playing Forgotten Lands, or whatever it’s called, didn’t you? How long did you play?” She asked, making Zayn even more uncomfortable.
He didn’t dare to answer his mother right away. Even facing the Lesser God had been less uncomfortable and not as dangerous as standing in front of his mother. Zayn would much rather fight the Lesser God a second time than stay in the kitchen with his mother staring intensely at him.
‘What’s the easiest way to escape?’ He wondered for a moment, only to get distracted by his phone. It vibrated several times in a row, taking Zayn by surprise.
He retrieved his phone subconsciously and glanced at the screen. However, before he could see anything, Zayn lost his phone to his mother who looked at the notifications instead.
“Don’t even think about running away now. The notifications cannot be as important as this discuss–...What is that?” His mother was interrupted as Zayn’s phone continued to vibrate. His home screen opened, revealing Forgotten Lands’ website and the Forsaken Auctionhouse.
Zayn had connected his phone to his Forgotten Lands account. Therefore, he was notified about the bids made on the Cards he was auctioning.
“You are not buying these…are you? Please don’t tell me that my only sane son turned into a mindless addict?” Zayn’s mother asked, her hand trembling.
Zayn was not sure if she trembled in anger or worry, but neither was a good sign for him.
“That blow hurt, mom…” Nicolas mumbled to which Percy could only agree, “I agree. That was a low blow.”
“Stephanie, what’s wrong?” Their father moved next to his wife to see what was going on. Their gazes lingered on Zayn’s phone, their expressions frozen solid.
Zayn figured that it was time to do something before the misunderstanding would take root deep in his parents’ hearts.
“Did someone bid on the items I put up for sale?” He asked with an innocent smile on his face. At last, he began to move again.
Zayn moved around the kitchen table and looked at his phone where he saw that several bids had already been issued on the Cards he put on the auction.
“You put these up for sale? That means you’re not the one bidding for them?” His mother asked, unable to control her trembling hands at this point.
“Of course. Why would I buy these Cards? They’re way too expensive,” Zayn responded as if it was obvious.
“That means the bidders did not accidentally forget to set a comma? They’re buying your stuff for…that price?”
“Yup.”
This time it was his father, who intervened. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the phone again, “So you’re saying that Forgotten Lands allows you to earn this much?”
“I heard that this new game allows you to earn money, but I never expected it to be this…lucrative…” His mother added.
She didn’t understand her son, let alone what he had done, but she was aware of the advertisements that spread all over the globe. It was fairly well-known that Forgotten Lands allowed Players to earn money from playing and selling the stuff they obtained in the game. She just never expected that it would be this easy. But was it that easy? Maybe her son had been lucky. But if he earned this much with just a bit of luck…how much could others earn?
“Either way. Since dear Zayn emptied the fridge I will have to go buy groceries,” She said, changing the topic. As long as the situation wouldn’t get out of hand she would support Zayn with all her heart. All she wanted was to make sure that he wouldn’t turn into an addict and that he could live a happy life. That was what Stephanie Dexter wished for all her children.
She looked at her troublesome children and smiled lightly, “If you need something special from the grocery store, tell me now. If I get any calls and requests over the phone, I will curse y’all out.
Their mother wanted to go grocery shopping, alone. That was what she always did. It was some sort of ritual that allowed her to attain peace of mind or something like that. In the past, Zayn had been grocery shopping with his mother, but he quickly grew too annoyed and restless, unable to spend several hours shopping for groceries without turning into an impatient hippo. His mother forbade him to go grocery shopping with her after he nagged her too many times.
Maybe, that was for the better.
“I have various things I need. Could you get everything please?” Zayn asked, retrieving his phone before messaging his mother a long list of stuff he needed. His mother eyed him weirdly but before she could say something Zayn added, “I will pay for everything once I get the money from selling the Cards.”
His mother frowned. It looked like she had to say something, however, everyone could tell that she held back for the time being. Stephanie Dexter would observe the situation and changes in her household for a little bit longer before making a final decision.
Now that his wife left, Malcolm Dexter was alone with his children. However, Malcolm was still confused about the small fortune his son was about to make. It was so sudden and it didn’t seem to make any sense. Zayn never talked about Forgotten Lands, yet he ended up purchasing an expensive VR helmet to play almost 24 hours just after the game had been launched. Zayn liked to play games, but he was not that crazy. Usually, at least.
Malcolm shook his head and dispersed the thought that nagged on the back of his head. It was Saturday, but he had to go to work nonetheless. That was the bitter truth of reality. He earned a lot, but the money he earned to feed his family came with a price and responsibilities. It would be much better to play around like he did in the past, but he had never been a great gamer. All he did was play some games to relieve his stress in college.
The numbers on Zayn’s phone surprised him, nonetheless. He had to ask the question that rested on his tongue.
“Was it easy to get those Cards, or did you have some sort of fortunate encounter? I’m trying to understand how someone can bid 2450 Credits on some sort of Card. It’s literally just a game, a fairly recently launched one, at that. The prefix ‘Common’ doesn’t make it sound very special either,” Malcolm asked his son, who smiled even brighter seeing that his father showed interest in Forgotten Lands.
Convincing his father to join Forgotten Lands might not be as difficult as he suspected. He hated his job and stayed only in the corporation because of their amazing insurance, pension plan, and salary. It was more than enough to feed the family of six and allow his wife to stay at home.
For a moment, Zayn felt like lying to his father to deepen his curiosity about the game, but he didn’t want to betray his father by lying to him. That wasn’t fair.
“It was not easy, but there was little to no luck. That’s all I can say without going into detail, which would need way too much time to explain properly,” Zayn said before returning to the Forsaken Auctionhouse website where he showed his father all Cards that were auctioned right now.
“There are only six Common Cards on sale right now. Four of them were auctioned by me. Meanwhile, the two other Cards are useless. Someone must have been very unlucky to obtain such disastrous Cards. Nobody will purchase them. Compared to the other Cards mine are especially useful. Purchasing them allows the bidder to gain a headstart into the game, which is also the reason they purchase the Cards for such a high price, in the first place. A headstart creates an opportunity to fight stronger enemies and procure more Cards on their own,” Zayn explained before he summarized everything in a simple sentence.
“They pay hefty prices to gain a headstart to progress faster and procure Cards and equipment of higher quality to sell for an even higher price.”
His father gave him a short nod and forced a smile on his lips before he looked at his children, “Alright, enough talking. I’m off to work!”
Malcolm turned around and left the house. However, he never stopped thinking about Zayn and Forgotten Lands. Even as he drove to work Malcom wondered what his son must have done to procure several items that were fought after like water during a drought.
He heard that many corporations and professional gamers decided to join Forgotten Lands. Malcolm, just like everyone else, had seen some advertisements from Forgotten Lands and Guilds inviting experts to join their workshop as well. Many people were ready to hire players to join their journey to explore Forgotten Lands and earn a fortune
“Is that game really so amazing? What will happen to society once more people join the game and start earning more than they earn from their jobs? Wouldn’t everyone try to become a full-time Player to become rich overnight? Will society be fine?” Malcolm mumbled, not quite sure what to think about Forgotten Lands.
Unbeknownst to the father of four children, a seed of curiosity had already been planted in his heart. If his son could earn this much from playing one day, what would happen if he and the rest of the family were to join the game? Could they have fun playing together while earning enough to make a living?
Maybe, they could even earn more than ever? How wonderful would that be?
Slowly but steadily the seeds of curiosity and greed found their places in the hearts of humans all over the globe.
It was only a matter of time before they would join Forgotten Lands.
