Chương 187: To the Ball

Dom awoke on his bed, back in his room at the Campus. His head felt heavy as he adjusted to reality once more and the light crept through the window, making his eyes hurt as he squinted them open. He crawled out of his bed and headed for a shower, washing the thick sweat from his body that had seemed to have collected on him during his sleep. After he left the shower and dried his body, he grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth, grateful for the comforts that he had in the modern world.

"I need to speak with the lead Villagers and have toothbrushes built and shared around Riverside." Dom mumbled to himself as he left his bathroom and headed towards his wardrobe to grab some comfortable clothes for the day. After he dressed, he headed in to the main room where Andrew was already sat reading the Golden Sun blog.

"Have you seen this?" Andrew asked as he looked up and saw Dom.

"I have just woken up, so no I haven't." Dom replied with some light sarcasm as he grabbed the phone from Andrew as he passed it to him.

Dom started to read the Blog by Golden Sun, normally it covered different stories from individuals that were playing World Conquest Online and Dom had been quite a fan of following the stories of DragonKnight123 who had multiple bad spawns so far, but after seeing the Top Rankings and being involved in some of the Auctions that had taken place over the last couple of days, Dom was quite interested in following some of the more successful players stories, such as Prince Li Shang and RisingMoonQueen who had both appeared in the Blog on occasion.

[Golden Sun VI here with my Daily Blog on World Conquest Online!

Firstly, I have heard, from unconfirmed sources, that World Conquest Online has attracted the interest of some key figures in certain Kingdoms, due to the fact that the realism of the game has allowed it's residents to learn and develop real life skills. Some large families and conglomerates have also invested a lot of time in to having some of their key members set up accounts on the game. It will be interesting to see how they will impact the world of World Conquest Online, when we gamers are outnumbered so severely by NPC's.

After playing, and enjoying myself as a Blacksmith, I have realised that the only real players that can have an impact on the larger world are the Lord Players like Prince Li Shang, or those who have the luck and skill to become a General or a Minister such as RisingMoonQueen. After seeing the results of the recent Rankings, it is clear that those are the players that are outscoring the rest of us.

Now, the reason I am discussing this, is to explain the recent Top Player Auctions. I was involved in a citizen class one, and was highly outbid on most items, which sold for small sums of money in contrast to others. Having won an Anvil and the best item in our auction was a token that granted the winner an opportunity to train with an A Class Blacksmith. However in the large Top Players auction, there were items selling for ten's of thousands of Gold Coins. I need to emphasis this, Gold Coins are hard to get! I have only earned a few myself.

The craziest thing was, some of the items that sold for tens of thousand of Gold Coins, just wouldn't have been worth it in my eyes. One Player, big twenty five thousand gold coins, for three Dire Wolves. Ok, they were trained and could be good for hunting. But you could purchase an army of Mercenaries or even a small Town for that sort of money. I think that just shows how rich some of the Players have become so far, and this player must be one of those I mentioned earlier, a Lord, General or a Minister, or even a Merchant in this case.]

"What am I looking for?" Dom asked, wondering why Andrew was so shocked at the Blog.

"Someone spent twenty five thousand gold coins on three dogs!" Andrew replied, "Imagine what we could do with that much money!"

"Maybe you should rent out your growing Mercenary Band for that much?" Dom teased, not wanting to explain to Andrew that they were his Dire Wolves, or at least Meritamen's.

The rest of the article discussed other extravagant purchases, some of which Dom had purchased as well, but not all of them. The other things that had shocked Andrew were the items such as the Teleportation Scroll, which had caused Dom himself some shock when it had become available in the Auction, and the Mission Completion Token, both items that Dom hadn't won.

Whilst Dom and Andrew discussed, with Dom feigning any sort of knowledge on the goings on in the Auction, Kai had joined them from his own room. The three of them headed for breakfast, walking through the busy campus, where Students were moving busily, unlike usual.

"There are a lot of people around today." Kai questioned as they neared the Cafeteria.

"I expect most are receiving their World Conquest Online headsets." Andrew replied jokingly.

"Or because they are about to start heading home for the summer before the next term?" Dom stated with a shake to his head. Home wasn't a place he could head anymore, this was his home, or at least it was until the end of the week, where he would move to his new home at the Central University.

"I will pack tomorrow." Andrew said, putting his arm around Dom's shoulder. "I'm going to head to my grandmothers for a couple of weeks, and then I will meet up with you at Central. Make sure you get us a good room, I heard there is a beautiful lake in the centre of the Campus, so get me a lake view."

"It is very different there." Kai interrupted, "Money does a lot for you, without it you have no chance of getting a lake view. I have arranged things with my family, and I have already rented us a small house in a premium location for the first year. I'm heading home to see my family for the summer, but I will send the details through to you both for when you arrive. Everything should be arranged."

"Another year with you two?" Andrew replied with a fake moan. "How am I ever going to cope?"

"The same as you always have." Dom replied with a smile, as the three of them, best friends from very different backgrounds, entered the Cafeteria.

....

They soon had eaten their breakfast and separated for the afternoon, where Kai had gone to one of his many extra curricular groups. Dom and Andrew had headed to sit under their favourite tree. Dom had nervously held his breath when people walked near them, wanting to avoid Alice as much as possible after his antics in the Auction. He knew he needed to speak with her, in case she really had sussed out who he was, but he didn't want to broach the subject.

"Looking forward to tonight?" Andrew asked Dom as he gazed up at the clouds above them.

"Not really, but I suppose it's a must." Dom replied, reluctant to join the Leavers Ball tonight, but knowing that he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"If you don't go, Alice will kill you." Andrew laughed seriously, "Plus, I have got my best suit ready for it and don't worry, yours is ready as well."

"What would I ever do without you?" Dom joked back, "I'm not sure if you are my friend or my mother."

"A bit of both." Andrew teased as he sat up and turned to Dom, "How's your town developing?"

"A lot better than expected, but I really need the Leavers Ball to end early tonight." Dom replied, "We are in the middle of planning for a battle, and I expect that in the next gaming day or two it will start."

"A Battle?" Andrew replied, "That would be exciting to see, how are your preparations going? I wish I was further south and could help, but I am still a few real days away."

"Honestly, I am confident in the small force that I have built with my daily spawns, but we are having to rely on trickery and traps to win. It could be a close one!" Dom explained honestly.

"Make sure that you win, if you get destroyed, I'll make sure to avenge you." Andrew stated with a pat on Dom's back, before standing up. "I'm going to head back and start getting ready, It feels strange that we are almost at the end of this part of our lives."

"It does, but the next one will be just as good." Dom agreed as he got up and followed Andrew back towards their room.

"If not better." Andrew laughed.

....

Dom was soon back in his room and dressed in a three piece black suit with a dark grey checkered pattern. He had a matching tie and dark grey handkerchief in the top pocket. The material was comfortable and expensive, having purchased it with his inheritance, to match the style worn by his Mother's family. He looked at himself in the Mirror before leaving, impressed with his appearance as he swept his mouse brown fringe to the side.

"Looking good." Andrew commented from behind him, peering in to his open room, wearing a similar styled suit that was dark blue with a purple checkered pattern. His black hair had been slicked back over his head and Dom thought that his best friend would have many of the female students chasing him tonight.

"I always do." Dom replied, there was silence, before they both broke out in to laughter and headed in to the main room, where Dom was surprised to see both Kai and their elusive roommate Horatio waiting for them.

Kai was dressed in a solid black three piece suit, that was made of materials that Dom couldn't fathom the expense off. Kai was slightly larger in width than the others in the room, but his suit fitted him perfectly. Horatio was wearing a light grey suit, and the normally elusive figure that disappeared actually stood out for once.

"I wasn't expecting you to come tonight?" Andrew asked Horatio as the four of them prepared to leave.

"It's a one off. After I leave, I doubt we'll get the chance to see each other again for a long time." Horatio replied seriously, "I would like to have one night of enjoyment with my friends."

The four of them soon left their accommodation and walked out in to the warm air of the Campus of Military Academy 26. The Flags of the Academies Phoenix and the Western Kingdoms Lions were well lit and swaying gently in the gentle breeze that blew through the courtyard that encompassed the three accommodation blocks that Dom's room was based in.

Most students would be in tonight, but others in their final year were also leaving their accommodation and heading past the four towards the Great Hall, where the Leavers Ball was to take place.

They headed through the Academy grounds, seeing other students dressed in a variety of suits that were common in the Western Kingdom, as well as female students in a variety of expensive and lavish dresses and gowns. Soon they reached the steps of the great hall, where Dom was surprised to see Warriors of the Western Kingdom stood. They wore black military suit's, with swords at their waist and a long spear in their hand. Their suits had the Lion of the Western Kingdom sown in to the fabric on the upper right of their chest and they all wore a small black red rimmed hat. The Warriors stood with their back straight as they gazed ahead, ignoring the excited looks of the students who could potentially join their ranks, be it as a commander and not a normal Warrior.

The students at Military Academy 26, even though a fair amount of them had become orphans over the last few years, where all from prestigious families, or families of heroes. The Warriors of the Western Kingdom were proud to stand guard at the Leavers Ball, as a thank you to the parents of those that had gone, or the leaders of the Kingdom that they were part of.

At the top of the stairs stood Miss Granggle, wearing a black ball gown that stuck to her slim figure. She had red lipstick and her greying hair had been combed up and pinned tightly. For a woman in her later years, she was imposing and still held the attraction from her youth. Dom thought that she looked pleasant.

"Good Evening Gentleman." She greeted them kindly, "It's nice to see you are on time for once Mr Lazarus."

Dom changed his mind, she was still Mrs Gargoyle.

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