The "beaters" of SAO weren't just Kirito. At first, everyone was just playing a game, and resources were important but not essential. But the situation had changed. SAO was now a true death game. In a game where you only get one life, every resource is a lifeline. It was a given that the limited resources in the starting area would now be fiercely contested. It wasn't about sharing anymore; in this dangerous world, everyone wanted to get stronger to survive.
Kirito, as a beta tester, knew where the resources were. He immediately tried to get Seiya and Klein to join him. However, Klein said he was playing with his good friends and that he knew he would only hold them back. He chose to go his own way. Seiya and Kirito respected his decision and quickly headed to the nearest quest resource location.
But as it turned out, Kirito wasn't the only one with foresight. When they arrived, the resources had already been swept clean by other players. Kirito sighed. If they were too late here, there was no point in going anywhere else.
"Who says all the quests are taken? Isn't that smug-looking guy over there a quest NPC?"
Kirito initially looked at where Seiya was pointing, hoping that it was a quest that the other beaters had missed. But when he saw who Seiya was pointing at, his face fell. "That guy is a quest NPC, but it's not that the other beaters don't want to take his quest; they can't."
Seeing Seiya's confusion, Kirito explained, "The NPC is a greedy merchant named Messi. He has a problem: his goods were stolen by a group of Dire Wolves on the plains. If we complete the quest, he'll give us a rare one-handed sword called Windflower Sword."
"The Dire Wolves are stronger than the Frenzy Boars, and they hunt in packs. The leader is a field boss. But with our skills, it's possible to take him down. The only problem is that to accept the quest from Messi, you have to pay a one Gold Cor deposit."
Seiya finally understood why Kirito said it wasn't a quest anyone could take. As mentioned before, players started with only 100 Copper Cor. One Gold Cor was 10,000 Copper Cor. No player would have that much money at the start of the game. In the beta, if you failed the quest, you lost your deposit. Now, with only one life, failing meant death. The high risk was not just losing the money but losing your life, which deterred most players. Even in the beta, this quest was only taken on later when players were above level five and could handle a field boss.
"Let's take this quest. We don't have any other options, do we?"
Seiya walked toward the NPC, and Kirito reluctantly followed. Kirito figured Seiya was going to try to haggle with the NPC, but he already knew the outcome. Many people tried to do the same in the beta test, and they were all rejected.
"Are you adventurers here to help me retrieve my goods from those wretched Dire Wolves? My goods are very valuable, and it would be a hassle if you took them and ran off. So you must first pay a one Gold Cor deposit. There is no room for negotiation."
Kirito's face showed a resigned "I knew it" expression. Just as he was about to tell Seiya to stop wasting time and try their luck somewhere else, Seiya, to his utter shock, pulled out a shiny gold coin.
"Mr. Messi, right? Don't worry, we understand the rules. Unlike those other poor adventurers, we are nobles from a big city. One Gold Cor is nothing to us, and we have no interest in your petty goods."
After flipping one Gold Cor to the surprised merchant, Seiya pulled out a handful of gold coins as if by magic. Seeing the stack of coins in Seiya's hand, even Kirito was stunned. Seiya had at least a few dozen coins in his hand. Dozens of Gold Cor was an enormous sum, not just for a starting area like this but even for the eighth floor in the beta test.
SAO's NPCs were highly advanced and didn't just have canned responses. When the merchant saw Seiya's wealth, his attitude and tone immediately changed.
"Oh, no, no, not 'adventurers'! I am so sorry, my lords! I mistook you for those other poor adventurers. I, Messi, trust you completely. You don't need to pay a deposit. I am just grateful for your help and hope you will continue to patronize my business."
True to his name, the merchant's personality shifted completely when Seiya showed his wealth. In the end, Seiya and Kirito got the quest without paying the deposit. After they left the town, a still-shocked Kirito looked at Seiya and asked, "Did you seriously use a cheat program like Klein said?!"