Please Note: Statements between % something in italics % are game system messages.

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Swamy took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. For the past few hours he was concentrating on his notes. His notes which covered all the information of the game he had collected so far through his experience and the internet. Now that exams were over, he had time to, as he would call it, play a lot. And he intended to make the most of it.

Unfortunately for him, he had been stuck dealing with two monsters in the game who did not know the meaning of going easy. Fortunately for him, it did not last long. Blessed by the Sea Gods or whatever Gods ruled the game world, both the monsters had other duties to tend to and could only afford to spend one night with Raka. One whole night of pure hell which left him feeling exhausted mentally and physically. And this was after the 18 game hours he had already spent doing various things.

Ordinarily being stuck with two beauties an entire night, which ended only when the sun rose up, should have been a source of celebration. Even a source of envy. Instead it had turned out to be something which could not be described by words alone.

Swamy sighed. It felt like just a moment ago that he was infatuated with a lovely blonde girl who seemed like she could have changed his world. And then in the next moment, all thoughts about her were replaced by the virtual horror he had withstood. It was only by a certain force of will, a recognition that his teachers were his allies, that he could even think of playing the game again.

'I guess I should be grateful I did not end up walking funny or something. But I will have my revenge one way or the other.' He just needed an idea which would make his sweet revenge possible. Just then his eyes fell on his glasses and he had a brainflash.

Swamy had a strange gleam in his eyes as he searched the internet for the right thing.

'Found it!' "Hyahyahyahyahyahyahya..." Swamy almost lost his head.

The same day three other things were announced. One was the item auction system. The other the currency exchange service. And the last, the hall of fame portal.

'Hmm...the auction system and the hall of fame portal are pretty much the same as in other games. But the currency exchange is limited. Let's see...Ok so the starting exchange rate is 1 US dollar equals 1 gold. So about Rs 55. And the exchange limit per person is 10 gold every month. The exchange rate is variable and will change based on various things including the amount of money which enters and exits the game.' Swamy carefully read the details. The reasons for the exchange limit were also mentioned. As the players have yet to travel to other lands and are basically concentrated on the four starter islands, a high infusion of gold can badly influence the economy of the islands. The limit will be removed as and when players migrate to more markets.

'Makes sense.' Around half a million players buying 10 gold will result in 5 million new gold. Assuming even distribution, each island would have 1.25 million new gold. Even considering the equivalent game time of 3 months, this much was enough to really upset all sorts of prices and other things. 'The most affected would be the npcs I guess. Though the variable exchange rate should keep things balanced.'

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Raka logged back in at the Magic Academy training hall. He shuddered. He made his way out in a hurry.

The sun had not risen yet. Shadows covered the city, illuminated only by the faint lights of the moon and the stars. The residents would still be in the arms of the lady of the night. But all was not quiet. Here and there a figure moved about, probably a player. Raka made his way to the beach.

Monkey and parrot were having a serious discussion. He did not understand what they were talking about, but unlike normal days there was a distinct lack of laughter or singing.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Ah Sir Raka. You appeared. We have a problem."

"Really? What kind of problem?" 'Did they finally get indigestion.' Raka smiled.

"Um..." and the parrot hesitated. And suddenly Raka had a really bad feeling. 'This longwinded annoying parrot being at a loss for words!'

"What did you guys do?" He asked hoping for a miracle.

"We killed one of your kin. But you see it was not our fault. They attacked us. We had to defend ourselves. We are thinking if it is good to run away before we are arrested." And the miracle didn't happen.

"How long ago and where?" Raka simply asked. He had an idea of what would have happened. Some player had seen them in the forest and thinking they were just normal animals, had attacked them. They had been killed instead. 'Atleast they didn't kill an npc, I hope. They wouldn't have bothered to attack these animals.'

"In the forest. It was just as the sun reached the horizon yesterday. We were just discussing what to do. This guy here wants to run away. But the honor of the Cackle clan does not allow me to leave your side." The parrot replied puffing his chest.

'So yesterday evening. Though I would prefer it if he ran away.' Raka sighed.

"It's ok. You would not be made a criminal. And they attacked you first anyway. But try to avoid this in the future. Or atleast avoid it if I am not around. Run away if possible. I am sure if you really wanted to run away, no one could catch you." Raka replied.

Both the monkey and parrot were shocked by this.

"Why are you so shocked? Do you usually arrest criminals who have done nothing wrong?"

Monkey and parrot looked at each other. And then both nodded.

"You speak strange words Sir Raka. Kind but strange. In the places I have travelled, such custom has not been seen. Other lands arrest beings such as us even when we have only defended ourselves." The parrot answered with wonder in it's voice.

Raka understood their circumstances. Being different had it's problems. Even in Ilmentia they were treated as pets or rather belongings. So far, Raka had not made his association with the two animals known but anyone who saw them together would probably consider them as Raka's pets. Not as two beings of an intelligent race.

Yes, they belonged to another race and were not simply animals. That was the conclusion Raka had reached. In fact he had a theory. If energy existed everywhere, what enabled some races to use it and others to not? Like there were magical creatures who could use magic and the horned rabbits who could not. And the hint came from Lady Verina.

Bones had the power to store magical energy. But magic could exist in many forms. Being able to talk could be due to magic. Being able to think could be due to magic. Maybe magic made you intelligent. Or maybe being intelligent allowed one to use magic. Maybe both were true.

There were creatures like rabbits and wolves who were unable to store energy and not very intelligent. Then there were creatures like the parrot and the monkey who had the ability to think but did not or could not use magic. And then there were the magical creatures who could use magic. What Raka had learned about magic so far required one to have an intelligent mind. It needed imagination to work. It can be deduced that the magical creatures would be quite intelligent. If plotted on a chart it would probably show an evolution of creatures with the addition of magic. Near the top would be the various races which evolved from the ancient beings, like the humans, who could be classified as magical creatures also but with even higher intelligence.

Which made it a very good possibility that the monkey and parrot were part of an intelligent race and were not simply animals as most people believed them to be. 'It makes sense.' Raka thought. And the best way to prove that would be...

"Identify"

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Annoying Parrot

Class: Intelligent Animal/Parrot

Parrots are native of Araya island and several species of the bird may be found there. They are known for their intelligence and quirky personalities. They are fast learners and often travel to other places in search of their aspirations. This parrot has learned 15 languages. This parrot aspires to be a singer but due to its bad music sense it has been deemed annoying by the others.

Languages learned: Language of Ilmentia Island, Language of the Apes, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

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Imitating Monkey

Class: Intelligent Animal/Monkey

Monkeys have an unknown origin. They can be found inhabiting several islands. Intelligent and quick learners. There are several species of the Monkey. This particular species learns by imitating actions. They are also known for having a strange sense of humor.

Skill: Nimble Fingers - A racial skill which allows for nimbleness of the fingers. Nimble fingers can be used in a variety of activities.

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'It worked!' Raka was surprised. 'And what a strange way of putting it.' Raka read the description again. The classification system was a bit different.

'Also no where does it mention that they cannot use magic. On another thought, are the monkey and parrot really unable to do magic or simply have not learned it yet?'

In other games it was not uncommon for pets to have intelligence and so most players would have assumed that in any pet they got. 'But if they are intelligent races, could they be selected by the players as a race?'

Raka was brought out from his reverie by the rising sun. For a moment every eye watched the vibrant light reaching across the sea.

Time passed and when the sun reached higher, Raka stood up and walked back into the city.

Repairing his armor was expensive this time. Not only did it reduce 5 points in durability permanently, it also cost around 40 silvers to fix. A whole 20 silvers more than last time.

"What did you expect? Your armor was torn into ribbons. What kind of fight did you get into to get it like this?" The blacksmith had pointed out. Not that Raka could argue at this point. He considered it lucky that it could be repaired at all. Armor with options were expensive. 'I will have to get one at some point. But for now I can still use it.'

Giving it to the blacksmith, he turned towards his next destination, the mirror shop.

"Mirrors are speciality items owing to the difficulty in handling glass. Making it is an art and glass made by masters is highly coveted. In fact, it is so expensive that you could only find it in places like the palace and rich noble houses. Mirrors do not need such amazing glass. Applying a thick film of metal in the back of the glass is enough to create a mirror. However, samples exist that combine glass from the masters with the skill of master mirror-makers. Having an exquisite frame, these mirrors could be worth hundreds of gold. Legends exist of such mirrors being used as gifts in marriages between royalties in the olden times." The man who owned the mirror shop explained.

Raka was being shown around to various mirrors hanging on the wall all around the shop. Mirrors of all sizes in all kinds of wooden frames. Most were exquisite with artistic designs carved into the wood. Some even had some shiny colorful stone or metal embedded into their frames.

"So how much do they cost?" Raka asked pragmatically.

"Ah what kind of mirror would you be looking for? Would it be for general use or would you be looking for twins?"

"Twins?" Raka asked confused.

"Ah yes. The twin mirrors are especially made so that they look alike. They are highly desired for use as communication mirrors. But those are really expensive." The man looked at Raka's clothes as he said so.

"Could you give me an idea of the range you have in your shop? Of the general mirrors please."

"Certainly. This here is of a good size often used in households. The frame is not artistic but sturdy. The wood used is cheap and repairing the frame, when damaged, would not be so costly. It costs 40 silvers. Then here is another of the same size but the wood used is better. This is 55 silvers....." And so on so forth.

'This is difficult. If general mirrors cost this much, twin mirrors would be beyond my means.' And he needed many of them. Raka wanted to gift a communication mirror to everyone he knew. With a few exceptions, he also wanted mirrors for using Peek.

'Let's see, there is Lady Altia, Lady Verina, Neona, Cassian, Johanna, Jenny and...um oh ok one for Veronica too. Am I forgetting someone?' Because it was a gift, Raka intended to give them nice looking ones.

"Is there any way I can buy the glass mirror only and not the frames?" Raka asked.

"Um...oh yes. We have good quality glass separately. You can choose the size and we will make it into a mirror. Would you be getting the frame separately?" the man asked.

"Ah no. I intend to make the frames myself. Let's see this household size seems ok. I would like about 20 of these. Also can I request a smaller size. Let's see, same size as the lens used in eyeglasses. I would like about 32 of those." Raka said as the man noted down.

"As this is such a big order could I also get a discount, if possible?" He added.

"Let's see sir. The total would come to around 12 gold. I can give it to you for 10 gold, no less." the man replied.

"Alright, when can I expect them?"

"Two days from now. I would like half the payment in advance please." The man simply smiled.

Making a wry smile, Raka handed over 5 gold and the man handed over a receipt.

'Alright that's done. Now on to my most difficult task.' He heads to the library.

Raka had almost decided to steal the books. To make it easier to run away he wanted to wait till the last day to actually steal them. In the meantime he was trying to look for more books he could steal. If he was going to steal, there was no point in trying to steal just one.

His guilty feeling on the other hand was still creating doubt. He constantly kept making a mental note of the books he wanted and their locations. Haste would be required. But that severely distracted him from studying now.

He kept reading the same page over and over again, while his thoughts kept horrifying him with images of prison and what else. In his desperation he decided to finally ask that old lady sitting at the reception.

"Hello. Is there a way I can borrow the books?" Raka asked.

"No." A crisp reply. 'Guess only one way left then.' Raka sighed.

"But you can buy the books as per your merit."

"Um...what?" Raka was confused when suddenly small windows popped up over everything. 'I can use contribution points?' This was in a word, odd.

Books had all sorts of contribution points. His herbal medicine book was 25 points. Some books were in the range of thousands. Only a rare few had like 5 or 10 points. Raka got the herbal medicine book and approached the lady.

"That will 2 gold please. If you decide to return the book, we would appreciate it being in the same or better condition. The money will not be refunded regardless."

Raka simply handed over the money dumbfounded. His contribution points reduced to just 5.

Suffice to say that Raka spent the rest of his time as far away from the magic academy as possible.

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Swamy had a drink and then relieved himself. He read the forums for a while. Most of it was still full of useless things about Raka and other players but a few posts caught his attention.

People had started talking about how to stay healthy in the game. No one had been afflicted by any disease yet, except him. But people had started taking notice. Some posts were offering how to stay healthy advice.

"Eat healthy balanced food, exercise regularly. Avoid bad uncooked food. Take a bath and stay clean.." 'Looks like someone simply copy pasted a health article over here.'

Someone had also suggested learning from the physickers. 'Good luck with finding them.' No one had yet mentioned the herbal medicine skill.

After a while he was bored. And then an image popped up in his head. Of a beautiful blonde girl in a dark business suit. Oops! Swamy had forgotten to ask her name. He smacked his head on the wall.

Ring, ring!

"Hello Christopher, this is Swamy. Are you free to talk right now?"

"Oh hey. What's up? Yeah I can talk for a few minutes. But if it will take long, I can't. My movie is about to start."

"Ah...you know I was thinking about the exhibition and you remember the girl we met."

"Oh yeah! I couldn't forget her if I wanted. She was a fine woman, wasn't she? Wait, sorry, on the phone....Oh sorry I guess I shouldn't talk about her right now."

'Is he with another girl right now? Die Christopher!'

"Um yeah...did you by any chance catch her name? It's just that Amit was asking me about that and I forgot." Swamy made as much of a nonchalant voice as possible.

"I think her name was Sophie. Didn't catch her last name though. Sorry bud...gotta go, I am getting some really angry looks here.."

"Yeah ok. Thanks. Laters."

"Sophie... and the Aldcott company..." Swamy began a new search. Immediately a result with a photo of the owner along with his family popped up. It was titled Michael Aldcott, owner of the Aldcott Lifting Systems Company, with his wife Tanya and their children John and Sophie. It was quite an old picture featured in a magazine article and the children were quite small. Swamy stared at it for a few minutes before confirming. 'Yep. So she is Sophie Aldcott.'

And then he spent the next half an hour searching through the internet for information about her. People do not realize how much of an online presence they have. Soon he had found her birthday party pictures, swimming championship photos, her profile on a networking site and even a video or two of rock shows she had attended.

'I look like a stalker don't I!' Swamy sighed.

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Raka logged in and made his way to the mirror shop.

"Welcome sir. Your order is ready. Please wait a minute." The man in the shop said.

Soon he returned with a small stack and following him came two burly looking people carrying two more larger stacks. All stacks were covered by cloth and Raka assumed paper would have been placed between the mirrors as well. 'Hope it fits in my bag.'

Raka paid the rest.

"Thank you sir. Please come again."

Raka walked off to another shop. This time he wanted some good wood for the frames. Thankfully Salmon's training, even though unpleasant, was pretty extensive. Raka bought some good soft wood. They were less durable but they were easy to work with and didn't crack as easily.

"Thank you sir. That will be 5 gold."

"......Please add the tools for sharpening, shaping and cutting as well. Oh and some super glue. Can I borrow your work bench please."