456 Alchemy

Ren looked over at the mirror after he washed his face. The ghost of silence in his unit was haunting him, but he wouldn't let it destroy his newfound resolve.

He was still not used to being at home and found it so . . . empty. Maybe logging into the game was the distraction he needed.

For the meantime, he wouldn't think about what Angelica and Joker told him.

First things first. He was out of the game for a month, and this month-long absence from COVENANT had major implications to him.

First, most of the players were already in their second evolve class. Most [Squire] had now turned to [Knights]. [Fencers] to [Duelists]. [Thieves] to [Rogues], [Hunters] to [Ravagers], [Snipers] to [Fusiliers], [Animists] to [Tamers], [Monks] to [White Monks], [Brutes] to [Barbarian], [Dark Mage] to [Warlock], [White Mage] to [Ascetic], [Red Mage] to [Flame Master], [Green Mage] to [Druid] and soon.

That meant a new set of skills, spells, and weapons were now accessible to all.

Scar even became the first ever necromancer.

Ren thought that it was all because of Joker.

Anyway, this was a good time to craft items and equipment.

Second, tourism was already boosting in the game. Because of the sudden surge in temperature outside, even in winter, the old and those who were skeptical about the game at first all found comfort inside COVENANT's pleasant environment.

Now was the time to auction the Pelka Meat he acquired.

Third, Black Lion and Sleeping Dragon were contesting for the number one spot, thanks to Joker and Angelica.

Even though Ren didn't like the outcome of the leaderboards, he could use this situation to his advantage.

If Black Lion and Sleeping Dragon were contesting being number one, then the other big guilds were more than frustrated to take over their spot. With the right equipment, they would pay whatever amount just to claim that spot.

If before, Ren was enjoying the game. Now he meant business. His future with Evie was in the line here. Every minute was precious to accumulate money.

And if he wanted to acquire millions of dollars every hour, every day, then there was only one way for him to do so and that was becoming . . . an Alchemist.

Ren didn't want to rush his class evolution since he was still enjoying his time doing missions with World Conqueror.

But everything was different now.

Ren would be an Alchemist and merchant most of his time in the game starting now. He would leave World Conqueror to Leonel and the others. Though, he would still help with his mercenary group from time to time.

Ren still had that [Class Advancement Scroll] and [Rare Class Ticket]. He would use the Advancement Scroll to be an Alchemist, bypassing all the time consuming procedures and quests to become one.

Meanwhile, he would auction the [Rare Class Ticket]. That alone would be worth ten million, the minimum at this current time.

After Ren collected his thoughts, he went to his room and dried his hair with a towel.

"TV on."

Ren changed into a simple shirt and pajamas. He then grabbed a simple sandwich from his snack bar as he watched the news.

COVENANT was ever popular, and its popularity couldn't be stopped now that even the elders entered the game to sightsee, experience a fantasy world, and eat gourmet food.

The usual things were on the news, like the current guild wars. The leaderboards. The top players. The past Winter Events, Christmas and New Year event. Ren didn't have the chance to participate because of his parent's sudden death.

This was probably the most depressing year of his life, but at least he shared a memory with Evie in the New Year. That at least made him happy and kept him out of depression.

Ren pressed the remote to change the channel as he ate his sandwich. He paused on a station when he heard something good.

"What I find really disturbing is the obsession with wealth in this game. Users are ridiculed for being poor. They are bullied for not having many GS scores, weapons, items, equipment, and soon.

"They worshipped those players who were rich. It created such a toxic culture that poor users go around begging for items that are scrapped by the rich. They would do anything for these rich players just to have those scraps. It was all about keeping up with the rich.

"I think it's high time that COVENANT shouldn't be such a paid-to-play game and give an equal chance to everyone."

Equal chance to everyone? Ren ate the last of his sandwich and gulped a glass of water before he shut off the TV.

He was counting that COVENANT wouldn't be fair. How, then, would he be able to sell his crafted items to everyone if it wasn't such a paid-to-play kind of game?

As long as money was involved, the rich didn't have problems spending millions on an item just to get ahead from the others.

Ren didn't waste any more time and logged into the game after he had his dinner. He didn't immediately choose an area to appear. Instead, he went through his inventory and auctioned all the items he could auction.

As for the [Pelka Meat], he saved it in the meantime.

Ren had to popularize the meat first to the nouveau riche and those old billionaires who only find joy from delicious food, enough to bankrupt their wealth just to taste them.

Ren then used the [Class Advancement Scroll] next.

[CONGRATULATIONS! Your SCHOLAR class evolved to ALCHEMIST!]

[ACQUIRED! New Spells and Life Skills!

● Alchemy (Beginner)

You can craft simple items and equipment with the right ingredients and tools.

● Fusion (Beginner)

You can now fuse simple items and equipment to create new ones.

● Dismantling

You can now dismantle items and equipment and convert them to recipes.

● Appraising (Beginner)

You can now appraise simple items and equipment.

● Tuning (Beginner)