Kirito's shock wasn't without reason. From the very start of the game, he had always been with Seiya. There was simply no way Seiya could have had the time to complete any quests.
No… even if Seiya had secretly grinded behind his back, there was absolutely no mechanism within the first floor that could allow him to earn so many gold coins in such a short time.
In other words, Seiya must have cheated!
"Hey, hey, hey, we're on the same team here. Saying I used cheat software is way too much, don't you think?
Don't you know that when it comes to earning currency quickly in games, there's another method?"
Kirito wasn't stupid—far from it, in fact. His sharp mind instantly caught on to what Seiya meant. The method he referred to was pay-to-win. So Kirito quickly opened the so-called top-up interface.
Unfortunately, since Kayaba Akihiko had modified the program and severed all external connections, SAO's payment feature had long since been disabled.
The so-called top-up screen wasn't just inaccessible—Kirito hadn't even seen what it looked like.
After all, during SAO's beta test, there had been no recharge option either.
Naturally, a "beta test" was only a trial version, not yet officially released, so it couldn't possibly have included microtransactions.
Seiya's coins had come from real-money transactions—but since the feature was now disabled, that meant all of his funds had been purchased back at the start of the official launch.
If Kirito remembered correctly, the official announcement had mentioned the currency exchange rate: one yen equaled one copper coin.
In other words, the pile of gold Seiya had just pulled out was worth several hundred thousand yen!
This lunatic, without even having played the game before, had spent hundreds of thousands—maybe even over a million yen—on in-game currency right at launch!
"Games are all about having fun. If money can buy happiness, then no money means no fun. Honestly, that phrase couldn't be more true."
Kirito really wanted to roast him, but instead, the words that left his mouth were, "Boss, can you lend me some money?"
He wanted to stand tall and be a proud player, but the reality was that with enough funds now, they could level up much faster.
Using resources that no one else could currently access, they could take big risks for big rewards, and snowball their progress from the very beginning.
"Lending you money is fine, but I won't lend it for free. At the very least, you'll owe interest. And when you repay me, I'll only accept real-world currency."
Hearing that, Kirito's face instantly turned dark. Right now, Seiya seemed even stingier than Messi had been earlier.
But when he thought about how much faster he could grow with some startup funds—and how much he could rake in—Kirito hesitated, then reluctantly accepted Seiya's exploitative terms.
"Three percent interest. One gold coin equals ten thousand yen. When we get back to the real world, you just have to pay me thirteen thousand yen per coin."
Kirito had already braced himself for being ripped off, but when he heard that outrageous rate, he immediately cursed out loud.
"That's not interest, that's loan-sharking! We grew up together as best friends, and this is your so-called 'discount'?!"
But Seiya only scoffed. "If you think that's high, do you want me to shout in public? I bet I could find plenty of people willing to pay double, even triple. If it weren't for our friendship, I wouldn't even consider giving you this deal."
Kirito ground his teeth, but he couldn't deny Seiya was right.
Now that they were trapped inside the game, real-world money was basically just worthless paper.
But in this world, currency—especially during the early scramble for resources—was a literal lifeline. Even a few hundred copper coins could mean the difference between life and death.
Forget two-to-one—if Seiya wanted, he could easily find people willing to pay five-to-one, or even ten-to-one. There'd be no shortage of desperate buyers.
Of course, Seiya knew very well that Kirito was broke. After all, he was still just a student in the real world.
The only reason Seiya set those conditions was to rope Kirito in as a partner, so they could use their early-game funds to make a fortune.
After all, while Seiya had money, he didn't have much gaming knowledge. Kirito, on the other hand, was the exact opposite.
Seiya was planning to establish a trading guild in SAO, and he needed Kirito—the veteran grinder—for support and strategy.
As the two chatted, they finally reached the grassland area that Messi had mentioned, where they encountered the so-called "Hungry Wolf Leader."
The Hungry Wolf Leader was one of the first-floor field bosses. Not only did it have far superior stats and combat ability compared to regular wolves, it also possessed a terrifying special skill: the ability to summon reinforcements with its unique ability, Calling.
Before engaging the boss, Seiya and Kirito had already divided their roles.
At first, they would attack the Hungry Wolf Leader together.
But once it used its Calling skill to summon wolf packs, one of them would handle the adds, while the other kept hammering down the boss's HP bar.
They didn't set a strict rule—just that whoever was closer to the boss at the time would take over the fight.
As Seiya slashed at the boss's side, the wolf leader's HP dropped to half. At that moment, it let out a deafening howl.
"Awoooooo—!"
From all around, smaller hungry wolves materialized in flashes of light, charging toward them with furious growls.
"According to plan, I'll handle the pups. You keep on the leader!"
Kirito dashed in with incredible speed, striking each wolf once before sprinting off. The wolves, locked onto him by aggro mechanics, all gave chase.
Now left alone again, the Hungry Wolf Leader stood vulnerable. Seiya grinned and charged forward with his blade.
Despite being a field boss, its attack patterns were, in Seiya's eyes, fairly simple.
As long as one avoided being surrounded by summoned wolves, the boss itself wasn't much different from a regular wolf—just tankier, with a longer health bar.
Clang!
Seiya used his Weapon Block skill to parry a massive claw swipe.
As the wolf leader staggered backward from the clash, Seiya gripped his one-handed sword and lunged forward.
"Bunrin Sword Style – Third Form: Breaker of Armies!"
(End of Chapter)