Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 94

94. Connections Are Also a Skill (2)

Arriving in a nearby city, Aile quickly sold off the items he had acquired.

First, he entrusted the antiques to an appraiser. Then, he visited a store and sold the cheap, low-grade equipment and miscellaneous items that weren’t worth putting up for auction.

Even though they were cheap individually, the equipment items combined with the sheer quantity of miscellaneous items meant a decent amount of money ended up in his hands.

Next was the auction house.

He set reasonable prices for the valuable equipment and registered them for auction.

Although it varied from auction house to auction house, there was generally a limit to the maximum number of items that could be registered. If he set the prices too high and the items didn’t sell, taking up space, he risked losing potential profits.

‘Now, the problem is what to do with this….’

Aile looked at the thorium ingots piled up on one side of his inventory.

It wasn’t just one or two. With this quantity, he couldn’t simply sell them off cheaply as expensive metal.

The auction house system displayed the fluctuating market price of thorium ingots.

Compared to the surge a few weeks ago, the price had subsided somewhat, but it was still showing a slight upward trend.

Should he sell the ingots at this price, or should he store them in the warehouse and wait for a better time?

Aile began to seriously consider it.

‘If the price has been manipulated, it’s best to dispose of them immediately… but it doesn’t seem like anyone has intervened yet.’

Looking at the fluctuations so far, he couldn’t find any traces of artificial hoarding or price manipulation.

Even if there was hoarding, it was only at the level of individuals investing speculatively.

Since they didn’t know the cause of the initial sudden rise, even the ‘hustlers’ who made a living from auction house price differences hadn’t yet gotten involved in earnest.

However, Aile had a vague idea of the cause of the initial surge.

The altar occupied by the magician Mute of the Gyeolsadan [a secretive organization], and the large amount of ingots found there.

It clearly seemed related to the world quest.

The timing of the thorium ingot price increase almost coincided with the end of the previous world quest and the transition to a new chapter.

And if his hypothesis was correct, this world quest was just entering its initial phase, and demand was likely to increase further.

Of course, he wasn’t certain, but Aile finally made a decision.

‘I’ll hold out for now.’

Aile left the auction house without looking back and put all the thorium ingots he had into the warehouse.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered the risk of the price falling.

However, thorium ingots, used in various fields, generally had steady demand, and the possibility of a significant drop below a certain level was virtually nonexistent.

‘Of course, buying more is a bit much… this should be enough.’

It was an investment worth trying if he didn’t overdo it, just about that much.

Aile left the warehouse manager, who was groaning as he moved the piles of ingots, and headed to the meeting place, having confirmed that it was time.

“Aile! Over here!”

“You were waiting? I came a little earlier than the time, but you finished quickly.”

“Well, I just had to sell off the items I had. By the way, I suddenly have so much money. I was going to pull in some funds soon, but I can postpone it.”

Loden said with a satisfied expression.

Even though the market was relatively small compared to Warlord, Loden, who had been a famous high-ranker in Armenia, one of the three major games, would have naturally made a lot of money back then.

The words ‘pulling in funds’ meant investing cash to prepare capital in the game, which was a perfectly natural thing for rankers who had to devote themselves entirely to the game.

But it was impossible for Aile, who had to save on living expenses.

Of course, Aile also had plenty of usable funds thanks to this harvest.

Considering the gold that would soon be his from the sale of items at the auction house, he could even take some out to use for living expenses.

But that thought was fleeting, and Aile shook his head inwardly.

There was no knowing what would happen in the future, and it was too early to take gold out of the game and use it in reality.

Even a very small amount would incur fees in the exchange process, so there was no need to make a hasty decision.

“Where are you going now?”

“I’m thinking of going to Rockporter. I have something to do in a big city… it’s not far from here, so I’ll be there soon. You’re going back to Queens Blonde, right, Aile?”

“Yes, because of an important quest.”

“I remember that’s where Aile’s traces were first *jjikhyeotdeon* [recorded/noticed]… Are you going to pick up another person again?”

“Who knows.”

Aile chuckled and replied to Loden’s joke.

Indeed, the reason he was first known to people was because of what happened in Queens Blonde, and he was returning there again.

Of course, he wasn’t leaving right away because the appraisal of the antiques wasn’t finished yet.

He had already registered as a friend while riding the carriage, and they said their goodbyes without any regrets.

“Then I’ll be going now. Don’t forget that you have to spar with me again next time.”

“Haha, I’ll keep that in mind.”

* * *

“How trite… What am I supposed to make with this garbage?”

A man with vacant eyes rested his chin on his hand and looked at the screen in front of him.

On the large screen displaying a Warlord gameplay video, a thrilling battle was unfolding, but he just looked bored to death.

Creak.

The man soon lost interest in the video and leaned back in his chair.

The man, with a face full of scruffy stubble, disheveled hair, and shabby clothes.

To someone who didn’t know him, he looked like an unemployed man in his mid to late 30s.

But on the other hand, he was sitting in a studio lined with all sorts of expensive equipment.

Bloodyjig Studio.

It was a name that anyone with even a passing interest in virtual reality games, let alone Warlord, couldn’t help but know.

As the game market grew exponentially compared to the past, not only the named players at the forefront but also the people in supporting roles came to the public’s attention.

Among them, Dexter, the undisputed world’s best expert in the field of video editing, was representative, and Bloodyjig was the name of the one-man studio he owned.

To exaggerate, it was said that even kindergarteners’ make-believe play could be turned into a thrilling blockbuster short film with just his touch, and he occupied a unique position in this market.

Unlike general video production, a high understanding of the game was essential to produce good videos in Warlord, and especially since top users had to avoid exposing their power, they needed a sense of knowing how to hide skills and movements appropriately.

Depending on the case, important quest or guild information contained in the original video also had to be hidden, and therefore, they had to have the credibility of being tight-lipped.

Of course, even if they had all the above elements, it would all be in vain if they didn’t have innate editing skills, and no one in the same market could ever catch up with Dexter.

Naturally, he, with the best skills, was always flooded with numerous requests.

After the upstart Warlord absorbed all the other games, the virtual reality game market grew to an unimaginable size compared to the past, and accordingly, star quality, which attracted people’s attention as much as skill, became important.

A large fandom and influence became an important factor that had a direct impact not only on income from the outside but also within the game.

And the user’s star quality was not determined solely by skill.

Even the six guild leaders who enjoyed the greatest popularity in Warlord were all handsome men and beautiful women.

Of course, it was possible because they had overwhelming skills and power, but no one was unaware that various external factors also played a role in their popularity, which was unmatched in all virtual reality games of all time.

As such, the importance of marketing through video naturally increased, and the demand for editing skills also surged.

It wasn’t for nothing that rankers took the trouble to upload videos despite the risk of exposing their power.

But looking at the thousands and hundreds of videos that flew in, he could only count a handful that caught his eye.

He couldn’t create a satisfactory result using only these *pyegeup* [worthless] materials.

Therefore, Dexter mercilessly rejected even the proposals of high rankers who offered huge sums of money if he didn’t like them, and even rejected them because they were too familiar faces and *siksanghada* [overdone/boring].

He was now sick and tired of plausibly packaging the clumsy ranker imitations of *geumsujeo* [silver spoon/rich] players who only had money to commission him, or the mass-produced PVP videos of rankers and named users who had already become *ppeonhan* [predictable] faces.

Now that he had fallen into a rut, he needed some new and fresh stimulation.

Ding-a-ling!

His cell phone on the table rang violently.

Dexter, who was sitting blankly in the studio, turned his chair around and slowly picked up his cell phone.

“I told you not to call me and only contact me by text….”

He looked down at his cell phone with a face full of annoyance.

But as soon as Dexter checked the number on the screen, he was startled and *beoltteok* [suddenly] raised his buried upper body.

“Wh… What?”

Dexter, whose annoyance from the phone call had completely disappeared, blinked his eyes several times.

He doubted his eyes, wondering if he had seen it wrong, but it was really ‘her’ call.

In a situation he had never imagined, he hurriedly answered the phone.

– It’s been a while, Dexter.

“Oh my god. It’s really you. What’s going on?”

Dexter asked as he heard her familiar voice.

His usual appearance was nowhere to be seen, and he was at a loss, mixed with joy and embarrassment.

People would never have imagined that he, who was always *sikneungdung* [apathetic] even in front of Warlord’s high rankers, would show such a *moseup* [demeanor] to someone.

“No, more than that, what should I call you now? Your old nickname is….”

– It’s Alisa.

Alisa smiled and continued.

– And I have a favor to ask, would that be okay?