Alexander opened his eyes and found himself back in the real world.
He quickly connected to the game's forum and double-checked that his sale ad had been posted properly. Everything seemed to be in order. The current Galactic Coin/credit ratio was 1:3, so he would hopefully receive 3,000 real-world credits for his 1,000 GC.
The CG/credit ratio would decrease with time, so it was a good idea to take advantage of the rather high starting rate while he could. It was too bad that he couldn't spare more GC at the moment, but he'd really needed the fastest motorcycle available.
After checking this post, Alexander turned on the TV.
All the news channels were talking about Horus. Gaming-related press agencies in particular called it the game of the century and gave it unanimously perfect scores.
They all praised its deep simulations, its realistic graphics, and its innovative gameplay. In every way, it was as though a whole new universe had been breached through VRI technology.
Of course, some media personalities criticized the game by calling it too realistic. They reported the story of a player who had been traumatized by seeing hundreds of dead NPCs in the starting zone and said that a game which could allow this was dangerous to society.
Despite this, Horus's hype remained as high as the days before its launch, and the game achieved the astounding milestone of ten million players online at the same time even as Alexander watched the TV.
He turned off the TV as he received a notification on his holo-watch.
The user "Shi Feng" has just bought your 1,000 Galactic Coins for 3,000 credits.
"Wow," said Alexander. "Faster than I'd have thought!"
He transferred the money to his bank account and went down to his family. He told his father about his first day and the absolutely incredible rush it was.
His father had been nervously wondering about what Alexander's first experiences in the game would be, and he was relieved that his son's dreams hadn't been shattered right away. In fact, hearing about this new launch prompted his father to tell nostalgic stories of his own MMORPG past.
"I remember when World of Warcraft II launched," he said. "It was just the same as now. Students skipped classes to play, people played at the office or faked being sick to stay home, all that kind of stuff!
"There was such a big impact that the government called WoW II one of the worst economic scourges of all time. And it was still such a long way from the technology we have today. Of course, back then, nobody except for the Chinese farmers and a few PvP stars were making money!
Alexander replied, "Speaking of that, I sold some of the game's currency, and I'd like to invite you both to a restaurant tonight!"
In one day of play, he won 3,000 credits, the equivalent of more than two months of his father's salary. Alexander was happy to be able to contribute something so grand to his family's happiness. And, of course, he wanted to give indisputable proof that playing the game was worth it over finishing his degree.
Alexander, of course, considered giving his mother the money and telling her to go to the doctor right away. This was his first thought, in fact.
However, his problems were still the same: 3,000 credits wouldn't even begin to cover cancer treatment, and the knowledge of her illness would only worry his mother needlessly until Alexander had much, much more money.
And, of course, he had no explanation for telling her to go to the doctor anyway.
So, though it felt wrong to spend money on fancy food while his mother secretly had cancer, it was overall for the best to spend the money on giving his parents one of the nicest meals they'd had in their lives.
***
That evening, Alexander and his father put on suits while his mother wore her most beautiful dress. Alexander ordered a taxi, which brought them to Paris's Sector 8, one of the most luxurious neighborhoods imaginable.
After a bit of thought, Alexander chose a seafood restaurant. Given the current ecological situation, that was a rare delicacy indeed! In this place, even the least expensive dish cost over a hundred credits.
Though Alexander's words had shocked them before, somehow his parents didn't realize the full reality of his earnings until the elegant restaurant surrounded them. At that point, Nader, Alexander's father, decided that he also wanted to play Horus.
After all, if even someone like Alexander could earn so much money, surely a man with Nader's veteran MMORPG experience would do at least ten times better!
All in all, the evening was very pleasant.
Once they returned home, Alexander logged into eBay to see the current prices of VRI gear.
Unfortunately, the prices had increased again. A VRI helmet's base price was now 10,000 credits. Due to the current shortage and speculation from scalpers, the cheapest VRI helmet on auction was selling for over 80,000 credits!
But he wasn't discouraged. There would be plenty of opportunities to buy his own helmet in the future… or even a full gaming booth.
Instead, he ordered some vitamins designed for VRI players.
MMORPGs often required players to stay several days without moving, which could cause health problems. In response to this problem, a drug had been invented to thin the blood and strengthen the muscles. And, of course, he'd also have to do regular sports to maintain robust mental health outside the game.
Having finished his purchases, it was time for Alexander to sleep.
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