Players fervently checked their system times in anticipation for the top of the hour.

"Time really slows down when you're waiting for something, huh?"

"Yeah, it almost feels like we've been waiting twice as long."

At 0300 natural hours, the lights dimmed and the audience quieted down.

The hall inside was shaped almost like an amphitheater. The balconies looked out above everyone else, and the rows of ordinary seats sloped downwards. The stage rested in the lowest spot, and its lighting drew in everyone's attention like a gravitational field.

On the rearmost edge of the stage were large tan curtains with intricate floral designs stitched in brown. The curtains fluttered, and an NPC auctioneer appeared from backstage. She had a modest appearance, and her dress almost seemed to blend in with the background.

Cheers erupted from the audience. The auctioneer waved at the crowd causing some players to go even more wild.

This was clearly unexpected for her - with a mystified expression, she signaled everyone to calm down. After another minute of chaos, the NPC finally began the program.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first auction of Covan Village featuring Beyonders! I'm your host Kayla, and I hope everyone enjoys their stay. The finale will be something to look forward to!"

The auctioneer NPC, Kayla, wasn't holding any sort of device to amplify sound, yet every word resounded through the auditorium crystal clear. And when the players heard a term they weren't familiar with, they began murmuring among themselves.

"Beyonders? What is that?"

"Don't look at me. This is different from the beta."

"Is that some sort of rare item?"

"Is there something special about this auction?"

...

Though Jisha had heard this term countless times in her past life, the current players had no idea that they were basically alien beings to the NPCs, the current residents of the world. This fourth wall-breaking quirk wasn't unique to Synergy, but the fact that NPCs realized there was another world outside their own gave them a little more depth.

Even as a top player in her past life, neither she nor anyone she knew of truly understood where the name "Beyonder" came from. The most believable hypothesis was that players came from "beyond" the scope of the virtual world. However, this hypothesis could neither be confirmed nor denied, as no NPC would ever give a direct answer if you tried to ask.

The players and NPCs in the audience looked on in anticipation in lieu of these "Beyonders".

And yes - there were NPCs in the audience. Just like players, NPCs from all over the world of Synergy could take part in events that were usually player-only in other games. It was a factor most people neglected in the game's infancy, but players quickly realized that they weren't the only intelligent beings in this new world.

"I will now be introducing our first item. As a cheer to the Beyonders, our first item is an ode to their arrival!"

Kayla clapped twice, and an Ancient Middle Age-styled wooden cart automatically rolled out from behind the stage.

"Wow, it's moving on its own? Doesn't look like it has a motor."

"Yeah, sometimes it's hard to remember that this is just VR."

*Haha, I forgot how easily newbies are impressed.*

Every minor incongruity with the real world fascinated players who'd never experienced hyper-realism of all five senses. Jisha herself had been infatuated with many aspects of this virtual world for many years after its launch. Even over 11 natural years after the game's launch, she still found things that surprised her once in a while.

The item on the cart, which was now in the center of the stage, was covered with thin black cloth. With exaggerated movements, Kayla tore the veil off.

"Ooh..."

"What the..."

"That's... something."

"As a welcome to our world, here is one of Starshine's unique feathered friends!" Kayla announced.

Inside a flimsy-looking iron cage was a large ball of... fluff.

*Wow, that thing's fat.* 

 

*>Name: Hydrangean Turkey*

*>Level: 1* 

 

A flightless bird whose body was too large and wings were too small. A flurry of blue and purple gradients sparkled on its countless fine feathers. Though not rare, they weren't exactly common, either. They could appear anywhere on the mainland, but since they were so weak and bright-colored, they died quickly in the wild. As such, they were only a novelty.

But it wasn't just any novelty. It was the *first* novelty of its kind.

"100 Copper!"

"160 Copper!"

"180 Copper!"

...

NPCs went into a frenzy. The bids quickly exceeded the bird's regular price.

*Good, it's exactly as I remember!*

Items from this specific auction were a bit special. It was the first auction in all of Synergy to host Beyonders. Regardless of where or when it occurred, people always had an infatuation with the "first" of anything. As the first item in the first auction with Beyonders, its price went far beyond material value.

*>Censer: What... What are these prices?*

*>Simulator Child: Looks like we'll have to give up on this one.*

*>Hutian Crest: ... Do we really have to?*

"10 Bronzium!"

"10 Bronzium, 50 Copper!"

"20 Bronzium!"

...

"Twenty Bronzium going once! Going-"

"10 Silverium."

...

...

...

Silence.

It was a nonsensical bid.

A bucket of cold water poured over the audience's fiery passion.

*>Aphro Expo: Guh, seriously, what the heck is this?*

"Huh? Huh?"

Hearth Ember couldn't remain calm. Nobody in the audience could, either.

"What's happening?" she asked.

Jisha shrugged.

"What- how can you be so calm? This didn't happen in the beta! We can't even afford it now!"

"Relax. If even we can't afford it, do you think anyone else can?"

"Obviously? You can't place a bid if you don't have the funds. Oh, wait..."

It was impossible for players to have this net worth right now, but players weren't the only residents of the auction. It didn't take long for others to realize this bid was from an NPC!

"What... How is that fair?"

"We've only been playing for a few hours! How are we supposed to beat that?"

"The worst progression of any RPG. I'm refunding tomorrow!"

For a bit, even Kayla forgot to speak.

"A- anyway, ten Silverium going once! Going twice! ... Sold to the anonymous world resident! Please come claim your items after the main event, thank you!"

There was no suspense whatsoever. Several players groaned. Of course it was sold! Was the rest of this thing going to be normal?

Only Jisha lazily leaned back in her seat - this was to be expected.

Another way Synergy differed from mainstream games on the market was that various game development decisions were extremely odd. In fact, a lot of these decisions made the game objectively worse. The issue everyone was complaining about right now was one such oddity.

The average level of players and NPCs in the audience was under 10, but nothing stopped NPCs from other parts of the world from participating in these auctions. In other words, the NPC that'd made the purchase wasn't from nearby.

Ordinarily, NPCs wouldn't stray far from their designated level zones, but today was an extraordinary circumstance. Somehow, somewhere, a high-level NPC caught wind of the arrival of new beings in their world. Gambling on the fact that these new beings, Beyonders, would significantly impact the world in the future, this NPC underwent an arduous journey to the outskirts of the world.

Eventually, this gamble would pay off.

The price of this bird, the first symbol of gratitude from NPCs to players, would skyrocket as the game got more and more popular. Even the day it died became somewhat of a historic meme.

*I used to be jealous of lucky situations like this, but the Goddess must be on my side.*

There was no need for Jisha to gamble on the future - she already knew it!

In the meantime, Kayla had already started auctioning the second item - the level 5 "Oak Knuckles" looked almost like brass knuckles, but made of... well, oak.

"30 Copper!"

"55 Copper!"

"60 Copper!"

...

Waves of relief swept through the crowd. These bids were much more reasonable! Fortunately, the mystery high-level NPC seemed to have no interest in this item.

*>Censer: We want this. Bid 150!*

*>Aphro Expo: No, 160!*

*>Hutian Crest: 170!*

*>Simulator Child: ...*

"350 Copper!"

*>Dolphin Killer: What???? Why?*

Before Jisha could speak, someone else placed another ridiculously high bid. Understandably, many were confused.

"Three hundred and fifty Copper... Going once!"

*>Hutian Crest: Someone bid for it!*

*>Censer: 350 Copper for a level 5 weapon? You're insane. You bid for it!*

An item that was only around 100 Copper on the market was selling for more than three times as much. Why? Because the same "novelty" that applied to the turkey applied to the rest of these items, too, just to a far lesser degree.

The beta players, who'd played the game for several weeks, saw this happen in real time.

*>Simulator Child: It's not worth it. It'll just break, anyway.*

However, weapons had limited durability - if used improperly or too much, it would cease to function. Did the value of this "novelty" weigh more than the weapon's impotence?

"Three hundred and fifty Copper going twice!"

...

More silence.

Clearly, no one in the audience believed it did. Which lunatic was spending an obscene amount of money right out of the gate?

"Sold to the Beyonder Luden!"

When Kayla announced the name of the customer, everyone understood.

Some grumbled in their seats.

Some vehemently booed him.

One even attempted to resort to physical violence which prompted a Sentinel to silently drag him away.

*Looks like he's the leader.*

The only one willing to spend so much right away was the one with the most money. And right now, there was only one guild that had garnered infamy in this Village!

 

---

 

Luden Grace believed he only had one purpose in this world: money! Watching his net worth rise was euphoric; it was almost like trying to get a high score on some arcade game. How did it become like this? Ever since he was young, he had some sort of sixth sense that told him how to use his money. This sense singlehandedly catapulted him out of poverty. It was like some divine being was speaking to him - this was his purpose!

When he was 4, he begged for change on the streets and scrounged for cash wherever possible. When he was 5, he had saved up enough for an e-reader and publicly rented it out. Over the next several years, he expanded this "library" to include other gadgets, and by age 7 he could easily sustain himself with passive income.

With this money, he traded various stocks and tokens and by age 16, he had a net worth higher than most adults. When he was 22, he bought out several companies and prime real estate properties in their infancy and watched their values grow manyfold.

However, a couple weeks ago, just after his 30th birthday, his worldview flipped upside down.

It started like any ordinary day - he checked the markets and the status of his portfolios. Every day, he would almost automatically know how to move this money around. But for some reason, he couldn't. His "sense" had vanished.

Imagine suddenly losing a crucial sense like sight or hearing... wouldn't you panic? This is how frantic Luden was while staring at the charts for hours.

It couldn't be!

How? How how how how how...

He hadn't even achieved his goal yet. He was nowhere near the richest man in the world. In around 30 more years, he was certain he could get there. But now, that dream was shattered.

He frantically surfed through Etherless attempting to find any sort of information on investing. He slowly descended into madness while browsing through get-rich-quick schemes. But just like a deaf person couldn't be cured with a book titled "How to Hear", all of Luden's efforts to reclaim this skill were for naught. A part of *him* was gone.

But that's when he found it. An innocent-looking game available on full-dive platforms called Synergy. It boasted technology quite literally out of this world - nothing like it had ever been done before. And it called to him. It was a strange feeling, almost like the day he first discovered his special sense.

Could Synergy bring him and money together again?

As much as he wanted to jump in, he decided to do some basic research. However, he was shocked to find no information about the developers. Even if the project was a scam, there would at least be some bits of false information. However, there was nothing. On top of that, the developers never communicated with the public. There was no way to contact them, either, as they didn't use social media.

For a brief moment, he was at a loss. What was the right choice?

But Luden was itching for *anything* to cure his "illness". This newfound opportunity called to him. Perhaps it was another divine revelation.

And when he entered the world for the first time...

*...*

He was a fish back in water. This was *home*.

His sixth sense returned, and it told him there were profits to be made.

So, he decided to start a gaming organization solely for the purpose of earning money within the world of Synergy. Though there was no clear revenue stream from the game yet, Luden had a strong feeling that real currency wouldn't be too different from this virtual one in the not-too-distant future.

Thus, Shock Collar was born. His public reasoning for the name was that it would make their enemies seize up in fear. But his true reasoning was that he never wanted his sixth sense to leave him again!

He didn't play for the full duration of the beta, but it was enough to let him know what to do once the game released for real.

He was sure that some items in a tiny Village called Covan would skyrocket in the future. He would do whatever he could to secure these items!

And now...

"Sold to the Beyonder Luden!"

Satisfied, Luden reclined in his seat. There was nothing to worry about. He knew his instincts would lead him to success.