As many of the so-called DEM trading influencers—I guess douchebaggery really is a universal constant—pointed out, increasing profit margins by crafting items and trading them was time-consuming and profitable in equal parts. The premise was quite straightforward but required a lot of research.
Crafting recipes were divided into levels ranging from one to nine. The big money was, of course, in crafting high-level recipes on demand, charging a commission for each crafting attempt. I had absolutely no idea where to start when it came to crafting so I had to resort to the free crafting program provided by the DEM. This service offered free crafting of certain publicly available recipes at levels one and two. The only caveat was that the materials had to be bought through the DEM and the crafted item sold in it as well. It was a very clean system that was handled almost completely by the company, since they would take the materials to their crafting facilities and store the finished products until they were sold, with the seller getting a certain amount of storage time for free.
Before I could start researching the available recipes, however, I had to tackle a particularly annoying roadblock. The only way to be admitted into this crafting program was with the consent of the person who had initially signed my entry to the DEM. It was supposedly some kind of protection of the marketplace’s interests and, as much as I didn’t like it, there was no way around it. I would have to tell Leo that, even though I had told him I wasn’t interested in the Apocosmos at all, I planned to try a program focused on crafting items used exclusively by people in it.
Reluctantly, I picked up my phone and called Leo before realizing it was only half past seven on a Sunday morning. But, to my surprise, before the second ring, Leo picked up and I could hear music in the background.
“Hey, Alex,” he said, his voice sounding slightly worried. “Did something happen?”
“Hey. No, everything’s fine. Sorry I’m calling this early on a Sunday.”
“Oh, I didn’t ask because of the time. Just that you don’t really do calls. So what’s up?”
“Yeah… so, look. I’ve been looking into this marketplace and…” was all I managed to say before a stream of words flooded back through my phone’s speaker.
“Oh, that’s great news!” He sounded happy. “There are so many things I’ve found there that I wanted to show you but never could because you weren’t part of the Apocosmos. I guarantee you, you will love some of them. We can create a wish list for you…”
“Yeah, so I wanted to ask for a favor,” I interrupted.
“Sure thing, ragazzo. Anything you need.”
“I would like to try the free crafting program offered by the marketplace and I need your consent to enroll,” I said in one breath, trying to end the awkwardness of asking for a favor as swiftly as possible.
“I see,” he replied a second later. “It’s really good that you’ve taken an interest in trading. The money isn’t really worth it at lower levels if you go XPing regularly, but there’s a lot of money to be made at higher levels. I’ve gotta warn you about one thing though, Alex. You shouldn’t neglect your training, even if you’re only really interested in trading.”
“I went for a run today and I plan to start working out at the gym again once I get accustomed to how this works,” I said, not realizing until after that Leo couldn’t possibly know that I had skipped the gym twice in a row.
“I don’t mean your usual training. I mean training your class. Items put on the marketplace by anonymous sellers or low-level ones have a much worse conversion rate than those from reputable or stronger ones. Levels mean power and trust.”
What he said made absolute sense, though I did wonder whether some part of it might have been exaggerated in an effort to make me more sociable by society’s standards. Training would probably mean going farming, undertaking quests, and forming parties with other people. All the things I wanted to avoid.
“Anyway, I know you’re too headstrong to listen to advice, so I won’t push you too much. You can come by my place with your DEM tablet any time and I’ll give you my consent for the crafting program.”
“Great. Thanks, Leo. I’ll be there in less than an hour.”
“Sure, I’ll be home then. Thanks for the heads-up.”
I said my goodbye and started changing clothes for my visit to the DiFiore building in Little Italy. Louie was a bit confused that we were going to leave the house again so soon after an exhausting run. I actually had to pick him up and put him on his leash since he refused to get out of his bed. Once we left our building, however, he livened up at the sight of two black Dobermans passing on the other side of the street.
Louie was as fluffy and cute as a Pembroke Welsh Corgi could be, and always played nice with other dogs in the park when he was free to run. That was Dr. Jekyll-Louie though. Whenever he was on a leash, his Mr. Hyde personality emerged. Knowing he had me both protecting him and holding him back, he would bark at and try to attack every big dog he laid eyes upon. The bigger the better. And in this case, he must have felt like a great warrior indeed, growling and barking insults at two muscular Dobermans without seeming frightened in the least.
I pulled on his harness as if it would somehow convince him to stop, and put him in the backpack I utilized as a dog carrier as we made our way to the subway. A couple of stops later, we emerged at Broadway-Lafayette Street station and headed toward the multi-story building owned by Leo’s family. The concierge must have recognized me before I even entered the building as he was already talking to Leo on the phone when I reached him.
“Welcome, Mr. MacFie,” the old man said as he stood up from his desk in all of his red-attired glory. “Master Leonardo is waiting for you on the twenty-third floor.”
Name: Hierethon Ta’anduil
Race: ???
Class: ???
Level: ???
The only thing available at my level was his name and I guessed that, if he had wanted to, even this might have been hidden from me. I could understand why someone would hide their class and level, especially if his duties included being the building’s security—though his age suggested that wasn’t likely—but why would he have to hide his race? He looked like any other human. There were so many things I still didn’t know about this new ancient world.
“Thank you,” I replied and walked over to the elevator.
It was funny how much this building looked like it belonged to the New York in old movies. I bet it must have been worth a fortune today, but if Leo’s whole extremely extended family was part of the Apocosmos, it would likely be peanuts for them. I pressed the button for Leo’s floor and when the elevator arrived, the door opened directly into his apartment. The only other time I’d visited him in this building was on one of the upper floors where I’d met about fifty members of his family, including his parents, his two sisters, and a flock of cousins. This was the first time I had seen his own apartment.
It was the wet dream of every nerd on planet Earth. The walls were populated by a ridiculous amount of screens, while a multitude of nerdy paraphernalia was on display on the high bookcases around the room. Most notably, there was a gauntlet that resembled Sauron’s hand—complete with the one ring, an exact replica of Sephiroth’s absurdly long Masamune, and a beautifully ornate Hylian Shield.
“I love what you did with your hair,” Leo joked. Instead of his usual jeans and T-shirt, he was wearing bright neon-blue robes. His hair was not the unruly mess I was used to seeing but instead was slicked back and he was notably missing his glasses. It was as if he had transformed into a different person.
“Don’t act like yours is much better,” I retorted.
“Oh, but it is. It took me a while to nail this whole look,” he said as he fell on his knees to pet Louie. “Category is: high-fantasy half-elf mage realness.”
I didn’t say anything about his choices. It was a side of Leo I had never seen, so naturally—as with anything new—I hated it. However, I had a reason for being there, and it
included him doing me a favor.
“You can let Louie free here,” he said. “He can go wherever he wants.”
“So about the consent for the crafting program?” I said as I let Louie’s leash drop onto the carpeted floor.
“Relax, man,” he replied, confirming my growing suspicion that this wasn’t going to be just a quick trip. “It’s still early. I’ll sign the consent form. But first, let me get you something.”
He picked up a tablet, very similar to the one he had gifted me, and after a few seconds put it back down on the living room table.
“Your delayed birthday gift will be here in a short while,” he said with a wide smile. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
“Leo, you know I don’t celebrate,” I said, but I sat on the sofa all the same. “I don’t want any gifts.”
“My best Cosmos friend just entered the Apocosmos,” he replied as he pushed a resistant Louie further up the sofa. “Of course I had to get you a gift! And I have a strong feeling you’re going to love this one. In the meantime, what do you know about planes? Not the flying ones.”
“Well I know the Great Wheel cosmology,” I said, not exactly sure what he wanted to hear.
“I mean the Apocosmos planes.” He took his place on the large leather sofa as well.
“I’ve seen them as filters on the marketplace. I thought they were something like planets.”
“Well, yes. And no. As the name suggests, they’re different planes of existence. Meaning they can have planets of their own, but might also be as big as this room, or even smaller.”
“Something like the realms and extra-dimensional spaces in D&D…” I said with more confidence now. “Wait, do you mean that D&D realms are modeled after…?”
“I mean that Gygax and Arneson were not ignorant of the Apocosmos,” he interrupted. “And the longer you live in this world, the more things like that will click into place.”
I tried to think of a clever comeback but ultimately couldn’t find any. The creators of D&D had used this world as their inspiration. I started thinking about how much of the lore and monsters in games were also part of folktales or mythology. Did this mean that these monsters and places were also real in the Apocosmos and seeped into our world?
“Anyway,” he said, waving his hands in front of me to snap me out of my thoughts, “some of the planes are temporary, created by items, while others exist on their own.”
“Okay. Why are you telling me this?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said, and as though on cue, there was a knock on the door I’d entered through. “Come in!”
The door opened and strangely there was no elevator on the other side this time, but rather a hallway with a staircase going up and down. The concierge entered the room and stood to the side ready to announce the visitor.
“Master Leonardo, you have a delivery,” he said and took another step back.
Crossing the doorstep next was a winged humanoid beast that could hardly fit through the gap. Its skin was gray and looked hard as stone, It entered headfirst so that its long ram-like horns would not destroy the doorframe. Its hands and feet ended in long sharp claws that clicked on the floor as it walked. I wasn’t sure if it was fear or Leonardo’s relaxed demeanor, but I didn’t move an inch from where I was sitting. I just stared.
Name: Freddie
Type: Magic Creature
Level: 40
Disposition : Friendly
HP : 966/966
Physical Attack: 226
Magic Attack: 157
Speed: 158
Attack Range: Melee
XP : 3323
Description : A gargoyle that was magically animated. Even though most of them were created by powerful spellcasters, they have free will and more often than not will only work for their creator until they can repay the cost of their creation.
“What’s up, Freddie?” Leo shouted and stood to walk toward the giant gargoyle.
“Hey, hey, hey, Leo,” the gargoyle replied in a baritone voice. “Haven’t seen you in a while. New robes? I dig them!” The gargoyle proceeded to clench its… his right clawed fist and bump it against Leo’s. They were… pals?
“Got them during our last raid,” Leo replied. “They’re top E-grade but were originally a dull gray color. No offense, obviously.”
“Har,” the gargoyle bellowed, turning into what was probably laughter. “None taken.”
“We also got this terrific dye, so… here it is,” he said and gave a twirl. “I know I’ll need new ones once I change my class at level 20 and unlock D-grade equipment but I just couldn’t resist.”
“Fabulous,” the gargoyle remarked, before looking at the small wooden box he was holding and then me. “Is the package for those two fellas?”
“Exactly,” Leo said with a smile. “My birthday gift for my friend Alex, who just crossed over to the Apocosmos, and his cute pupper, Louie.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” the gargoyle said.
“Come on, it’s not that dangerous, Freddie,” Leo protested. “No need to scare him like that. I’ll be there to protect him twenty-four seven.”
“That’s why I said it. Har har har!” The gargoyle laughed at his own joke this time.
“Now you’re just teasing,” Leo said and grabbed the box from the gargoyle’s hand.
“Please sign here,” Freddie—that is, Freddie the fucking gargoyle—said between laughs.
“Thank you,” Leo said as the giant winged humanoid turned to leave.
“It was great seeing you, Leo. And nice to meet you, Alex. And Louie!” the gargoyle said, waving as he walked away.
Louie was strangely quiet throughout the encounter and only perked up his ears when he heard his name.
“Nice meeting you too, Freddie,” I replied almost automatically.
The concierge slightly tilted his hat in salute before following the gargoyle out and closing the apartment door behind him.
“Okay. So many questions,” I said emphatically.
“Shoot,” Leo said and touched the box down on the table before us, something that prompted Louie to start sniffing it.
“That was a gargoyle?
“Yes.”
“Working as a delivery person?”
“Indeed.”
“And his name is Freddie? Freddie the gargoyle?”
“Well, it’s not ‘Freddie the gargoyle’ any more than you’re ‘Alex the human’,” Leonardo replied, apparently amused by my demeanor. “I don’t know his last name and, in fact, Freddie isn’t even his real name. His real name is something like Nyarlathoehemintuipshkakashk, but since most races have trouble pronouncing it, he goes by Freddie for ease. Either way, few people trouble themselves with worrying about his name.”
“You do realize how absurd this sounds, right?” I said and pulled Louie back into the center of the couch as he almost fell over the edge trying to reach the wooden box.
“If you think this is absurd, wait till I make an after-midnight order and Razil, our vampire delivery person, comes.”
“Vampires exist too?”
“Vampires, werewolves, the whole twilight family. Though they’re much bloodier than they’re portrayed in Cosmos culture. There are also dragons, hydras, giants, basilisks, and a lot more. Most of them, however, are either too dumb of a monster or too proud of a class to do this job.”
“What about this then? When I scanned him, I could see almost as much as I can see about myself. What’s up with that?”
“All DEM delivery people are forced to keep their stats visible for everyone,” Leo replied. “That is both so that people feel safer around them, but also so that ambitious thieves don’t attack them.”
“What about the XP stat then? And how come his disposition is shown, but I can’t see that for any of the people I’ve come across so far?”
“Well having a disposition stat for people would be stupid, wouldn’t it? Interpersonal relationships are never
quantifiable. The fact you can see Freddie’s disposition, and the XP value, is one of the ugly truths of the Apocosmos. The same reason that no personal name is displayed on his status screen, only the name of his species. Freddie, like many others, is what we would consider in games to be a monster. Their XP stats are public so that everyone feels safer in the knowledge that these are monsters that can be killed. Just like any other monster that’s killed for XP.”
“That’s… shitty of them,” I said, surprised at how casually he laid out that last bit of information.
“Well, it is one of the biggest corporations in the Apocosmos. They didn’t get there by being nice.”
“I guess not.”
Well, what do you know? Corporations in the Apocosmos treat their employees just as shitty as corporations in our world. I would have said it was part of human nature to be shitty, but I wasn’t sure if there were any humans there and didn’t want to make any more assumptions.
“In any case…” he said and picked the box off the table. “Happy birthday, man. I’m sure you’re going to love this.”
“Thanks.” I barely managed to take the box from his hands because Louie had his nose firmly stuck on its side.
The wooden box was warm to the touch and looked like a small rectangular chest. I pulled the lid open and picked up its contents: a white hard-paper scroll tied with a red ribbon that held an intricate key on its end. Two small windows of text appeared in front of the items.
Name: Best friends scroll
Type: Quest Scroll
Durability : 1/1
Rarity: B Grade
Weight: 2st.
Description : A scroll containing an invite to a realm of friendship and greater understanding.
Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) Page 6