102 The Sudden Announcement

After taking a bath and eating eggs and toasts for breakfast, Ren called his parents to check on them since he didn't get the chance to call them last night.

After which, Ren went into the Pod and logged in. The moment he did, a notification popped on his screen, saying that an update was evident after seven days that would last until the end of the month.

Ren recalled that it was kind of early, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure. In this update, Ren was surprised as he scrolled down the list of updates. He expected about the guild, the time changed, and PvP, but he sure didn't expect that the real money conversion would be introduced this early as well.

Ren didn't know what happened for that to be introduced early. He looked into the news related to the hasty update, and the only thing he deducted was the shares.

The Rutherford, Gambino, Axis, and the other old rich families were showing so much interest in the game that it was rumored that they already bought shares of COVENANT even before its IPO hit the Stock market.

Ren didn't know if Golden Phoenix getting firstblood was the reason or Isolde's successful first-time raid.

Anyway, that wasn't a problem, Ren mused. In fact, it was perfect! It would hasten his plans.

The only disadvantage was, within these seven days, he had to accumulate so many gil in that short amount of time because he knew that after the update, there would be a huge decrease in gil to make up with the real money conversion.

And before the update, the developer would introduce a Festival of Gil in the form of a giant walking merchant market where the players could enjoy the festivities, auctions, and, best of all, rare items to buy.

However, hidden behind that festive walls, jolly merchants, and allure of rare items were the developer's twisted heart of depleting the players' gil before the in-game conversion would take place.

As soon as Ren was teleported to Igor's Village in the land of the Dwarves, Ren message Leonel.

[Ren: Leo, don't ever spend your gil. Okay?]

Within just seconds, Leonel's message dinged on Ren's notification.

[Leonel: Why?]

[Ren: Did you see the announcement when you logged in? They're going to introduce real money conversion after that update. So save as much gil as you can]

[Leonel: Whoa! Really?! That's great! Alright then]

Ren didn't know if Leonel trusting his words so much and not asking questions was good or bad. But it worked in his favor.

. . .

. . .

Ren closed the message box and was about to plan his next move when he heard the chime of a private message.

[Leonel: Ren, the three of us are going to Snowflake Village. We're going to attempt Icy Cave!]

Just from Leonel's message, Ren felt his excitement from miles away.

[Ren: Is that so? Good luck then]

[Leonel: That's it? Aren't you jealous that the three of us are together and you're left behind?]

Ren shook his head and huffed a laugh.

[Ren: I don't. I have other things to take care of, and even if I tell you not to enter that cave, you'll do it anyway]

[Leonel: Ehehehe. I just want to try it. I have nothing to lose]

[Ren: Except for a huge amount of EXP]

[Leonel: You're so negative. I heard that we're going with fifty members with some core members and even two vice commanders!]

[Ren: That's still few. But who am I to stop you. Good luck and have fun]

Ren paused for a moment before he replied again.

[Ren: Be careful with your step]

[Leonel: Huh? What does that mean?]

Ren didn't say more and closed the chat box.

He didn't know if Black Lion was overflowing with confidence or they were just desperate to redeem their names after Scar's blunder that they would attempt a medium hard difficulty Cave.

Leonel would surely suffer a huge EXP loss, but Ren didn't plan to change his mind since Leonel seemed adamant about going. And who knew, they might even be successful against all odds.

Though he highly doubt it.

Leonel won't grow if Ren influences all his decisions. So he would let Leonel make mistakes and learn from them.

. . . Hopefully.

Ren skimmed his jawline and recalled the best place to collect a huge amount of gil while leveling his [Foraging] Life Skill at the same time. As an [Alchemist] to be, he would be mostly dealing with materials. So he needed to MAX that specific life skills fast.

However, since he couldn't use those materials yet, he would sell them. He needed expensive materials, and the only thing he could think of were precious stones. They would sell a hefty price in the land of the Elves since they needed those stones to craft things.

However, for that to happen, Ren also needed a pickaxe so he could mine and forage those stones. And the only place he could think of getting all his requirements was in one place.

Kartacol, the Mining City.

Ren made the decision to go there. Since he was the only one going, he put on his cloak and had Pii coiled around his neck.

Ren was planning to stay in Kartacol until the update since nothing was more important to him than money at this point in time. Everybody could race and get firstblood for all he cared. Hoarding gil was all he could think at this point.

Ren went inside Igor Village in the land of the Dwarves. It was the nearest place to Kartacol. However, it didn't mean that it was just an hour's walk. To reach the place, Ren had to spend 1000 gil at a wondering Caravan to take him there. It was far south in the sand dunes, and it would take a day in the Caravan.

There were numerous Caravans available in COVENANT, and it was only one form of transportation in the game. And, of course, each one of them has its own quest.

Ren went into the little square to know what Caravan was coming and going and asked Omar, the little Hobgoblin. "When's the next Caravan going to come?"

Omar looked over at Ren and said with a nasal tone, "There's Smiling Caravan that's about to come here around noon. Or if you prefer a luxurious Caravan like Precious Jewels, come back here for a week. Or if you're okay with a rackety Caravan like Smelly Butthorse, come back here tomorrow."

Ren looked to the side and thought for a moment, but the only thing he recalled was the Starry Night Caravan. That Caravan made a huge impression on him since the quest that accompanied it was so hard, but the rewards were so great.

However, Starry Night Caravan was hard to come by and appeared at random throughout COVENANT. There was no specific requirement to trigger it, so it was a close to zero percent chance of riding that Caravan.

Smiling Caravan? Ren didn't know why but he had a bad feeling about that Caravan. The fancier the name, the harder the quest accompanying it.

But Ren didn't have a choice since he was pressed with time at the sudden announcement that the game was going to update in a matter of days.

Ren gave thanks to Omar before he decided to wait for the Smiling Caravan.

Looking at his surroundings, Ren saw many players go to and fro, doing quests nonstop, while some marched in a group, apparently going into some raid.

Not long after, Smiling Caravan appeared, and Ren didn't waste time and approached three travelers riding . . . a Hog.