Chapter 14: Cash In

‘Time sure does flies by when you’re having fun,’ Ari thought as he took stock of the items he won.

In the past, he had thought this idiom was inaccurate because time had seemed to just slip away while he was waiting for the event to come. The slow crawl of seconds, minutes, hours, and days had never come.

So it was surprising to him because, although they were on their last rotation, it felt like it had only been a short while since they played that first game. But in reality, three hours have passed.

During that time, he and Ji-Hye played a multitude of games, his favorite being Darts. He had won a good amount of prizes from it, like a rare seed packet, a pouch that would only hold quest items, and tons of potions.  

Although some prizes weren’t good at all. Ari didn’t know what to do with the cursed ring he got. He had mulled over the idea of selling it on the game market, but he wasn’t sure if he should in case it was useful.

In the end, he placed the ring in his inventory and decided he would give it some more thought later. 

“Ari, move faster! The main event will start in thirty minutes,” Ji-Hye exclaimed. “We need to hurry so we can play one more round of the scooping game, then cash out our fishes before the booth disappears.”

“I know, I know,” Ari said, picking up his pace.

As they made their way through the crowded night market, Ari couldn’t help but glance at the wondrous sights one last time. The colorful stalls mesmerized him, the tantalizing smells wafting through the air, and the lively atmosphere. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his previous life, and he was kind of sad it would disappear once the main event started.

“Look, there it is,” Ji-Hye said, pointing towards the fish scooping booth.

After taking a few moments to gather himself, Ari glanced toward where he saw his cousin pointing and smiled when he saw the familiar booth. Since he had played the game four times in the past three hours, we easily recognized the NPC with his bright red hair and shining gold outfit, but even if he wasn’t, he knew exactly where the stall was.  

Following Ji-Hye’s lead, he weaved through the enormous crowd of NPCs and players alike until he reached the booth. Once he was there, he quickly took out the jar full of fish. Altogether there were 70 in total.

As Ari and Ji-Hye approached the booth, the NPC said, “Back again, I see. Would you like to play a round?”  

“Yes, we would,” Ji-Hye replied, placing her jar on the holder before he could even ask. 

 A wide grin spread across the NPC’s face as he handed them paper nets. “Good Luck.”

After playing this game a couple of times, although not a pro, Ji-Hye had gotten good at this game. She had been getting 5-6 fish per net now. So once her third net broke, she had 35 fish in her jar.

Although not great, she could get a decent skill book from it. Maybe two if she took her time to choose, but knowing how she gets when she’s excited, he doubted she would.

“Good Job, Ji-Hye,” Ari said with a proud smile.

“Thanks!” she said, her smile getting wider. “Although I know you will do way better than I did.”

“Well, of course, I will,” he joked, ignoring the ‘jerk’ he heard Ji-Hye mutter under her breath. 

Enjoying the easy banter between the two of them, Ari smirked before turning his attention back to the game at hand. Placing his jar on the holder, he became serious. 

Staring at the fish in the pool, he calculated their movements, waiting patiently until the time was right before going in.

Although he had played this game a couple of times, it was still an addictive experience. He couldn’t help but get drawn into the moment, his fingers moving frantically as he tried to catch as much fish as possible before his net broke.

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He was doing better than ever, and before he knew it Ari had added 9 more fish to his jar before the first net broke. 

“Oh, I’m so taking some of your fish,” Ji-Hye exclaimed, excitement bleeding into her voice.

Ari smiled indulgently at her, giving her a slight nod before continuing to play the game. It was already a fact that he would, but how she would get was in question.

Taking his second turn, he fumbled and only caught 5 fish. He thought his luck had turned sour, but on his last turn, something changed within him. He was in a zone.

One fish after another found their way into his jar. It was amazing. Ari could hear Ji-Hye softly gasping in the background, trying not to make any noise to ruin his concentration. He didn’t know if that helped, but in the end, he had netted 22 fish. 

Now he had a grand total of 112 fish.

“Woo hoo!” Ji-Hye cheered, her voice slightly louder than necessary. “Ari, you did amazing!”

“Thanks,” He said modestly as he took his jar from the holder. “I think it was beginner’s luck.

“Beginner’s luck? Please, you were a beginner four games ago. Now you’re a genuine pro!”

Laughing, Ari picked up his fish jar and turned to the NPC. “We are ready to pick our prizes now.”

The NPC nodded and pressed the golden button on the counter. Like before, a silver scale ascended from below the booth.

“Choose wisely,” The NPC said sagely as Ji-Hye placed her jar on top of it. 

They immediately began checking out the skills they could get after seeing the transparent prize list appear. Incredibly, Ari hadn’t expected such superb skills for 35 fish, but he was pleasantly surprised.

The list had many skills, but the ones that caught his eye were:

Evasive Maneuver, This skill allowed players to attack the enemies while moving and makes evading easier. Then there was Spector, which allowed a player to disappear for a couple of seconds to a minute depending on their skill level, and finally, there was Air Strike. This skill lets a player pierce an enemy with a thousand floating needles.  

Although being stabbed with many needles sounded brutal, Ari bet it would look awesome. But out of these three skills, if he had to pick one, it would be Spector. As someone who played Oasis before, he knew being able to disappear was very useful. 

“Spector looks like it would be the best one,” Ji-Hye said, echoing his thoughts. “But I really like the sound of this one...”

Glancing toward where she was looking, Ari saw the skill she was talking about. It was called Glittering Deceit. The skill allowed a player to throw a cloud of golden dust at enemies, making them pass out for a short time.

“You should get it. It’s an impressive skill, and if we don’t win the pod, it will sell for a lot of money,” Ari said.

After clicking the skill, Ji-Hye smacked her lips in agreement, losing all her fish. After placing the skill book in her inventory, she turned to him and said, “Now it’s your turn.”

 

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