“We’ve completed the first step,” he said as he approached the car. “We have enough funds to get started.”
“So you’re going to use this to secure the Legacy?”
“This is no ordinary mission. We need money if we’re to grab their attention.”
“I hoped you’d say something like that,” Tselika commented as she watched the numbers and graphs float across the windshield, leaning back into the passenger seat. “But are you sure this is what you want to do? The exchange rate for snow to yen is one-to-one. You, a high school boy, could have 1.7 billion yen right now if you so wished.”
Kaname’s response to that was quite short.
“This is more important than that.”
04/01/20XX 10:20 AM
Money (Game) Master
Currently the largest online game in the world, Money (Game) Master is an open world of financial dealings where nothing is against the law. Compete with other players by dealing in property, futures, and stocks to grow your starting capital. There are no levels or experience points. A Dealer’s strength can be boosted only by cash, which players use to secure items and equipment.
Tokonatsu City
The fictional city that serves as the stage for Money (Game) Master. A financial district in a tropical environment that comprises a peninsula shaped like a shark’s tooth and several islands scattered off the coast, as well as a number of artificial industrial mega-floats, all connected by a huge circular bridge. Guns are legal, steering wheels are on the right, and cars drive on the left side of the street like in Japan. While there are many servers, they all constantly share information, so your experience will be the same regardless of which one you connect to.
Snow
Originally just an in-game currency, snow has been growing in value as the in-game population skyrocketed, before stabilizing at a value rivaling the dollar or the yen. It has become a famous example of what is now called “virtual currency.” In countries and regions where the exchange rate is unstable, snow is often preferred over the local currency, and it has already started to make an impact on continent-wide economies. As a result, the very best players can not only attain personal success but also influence the economy on a global scale. It is said to have been named after the rarity and transience of snowfall in the tropics, but nobody knows for sure.
Dealer
The name given to a player character. Their origins are varied: Some players are casual; others have a professional business background. Some are backed by multiple patrons, while others invest taxpayer money gathered from public services.
Magistellus
A name originally given to a human who made a contract with a succubus. In the game, however, Magistelli are navigators and partners to the player. Although they are capable of conversing like humans, they are in fact tapped into artificial intelligence. There are many theories, but few facts, as to why they are the only fantastical element of the game. Besides succubi, other types such as mermaids and elves have been confirmed to exist. A Magistellus shares attributes with its Dealer such as money, property, and skills, but they cannot even ride a bicycle if it does not belong to them. The exception to this is that if they have a shopping list, they can purchase goods with their Dealer’s money.
AI Business (Virtual)
Large in-game companies named after ones in the real world. Every employee, from the CEO to the lowliest intern, is an AI-controlled NPC. The majority of listed companies in the game are virtual, therefore Dealers needn’t feel guilty about engaging in unfair business practices such as intimidation, fearmongering, or violence.
PMC
Soldiers that protect the AI companies. They are also controlled by AI but are not part of the companies, since they work on a contract basis. This contract restricts their movements to terms that have already been agreed upon, but they wield unmatched firepower. Ordinary Dealers cannot defeat them in a fair fight, no matter how much equipment they have.
Once upon a time, Money (Game) Master was home to a legendary Dealer named Criminal AO.
When he Fell, his equipment was scattered across the land.
In that world, there were no levels or experience points. A Dealer’s strength could be boosted only by cash, which players used to secure items and equipment. Even someone who had been playing for only ten minutes could be equal to Criminal AO in power if they possessed his equipment.
This was equipment so heavily customized and strong that it was thought to be a hack. It was the only exception to the gritty realism of the metropolitan crime setting that permeated Money (Game) Master. These items were so heavily modded that they had exceeded even the preset physical limits of the world, and the incredibly powerful artifacts were known as the Overtrick—End Magic.
The value of snow was currently stable and on par with the yen or the dollar. If you made one thousand snow in-game, it was as if you’d been wired one thousand yen. In some places, it was not uncommon for people to store their savings in-game, as property or gemstones, rather than in a bank. And this was not the practice only of a few eccentrics but financial institutions on which entire countries relied.
Controlling the economy of the game meant you could control the economy of the real world.
That was why everyone wanted to get their hands on the Legacies of Criminal AO.
Some, simply to be the most powerful in all of Money (Game) Master. Others, to restore order to the game world. Still others wished to throw that same order into chaos and bring turmoil to the businesses and nations of the real world. Each had their own motivations.
The Legacies of Criminal AO had been modified beyond the limits of the game world as if by cheating, each boasting monstrous stats.
As ridiculous as it sounded, if snow were a real virtual currency, then so long as humanity remained dependent on the financial institutions of the world, the Legacies were a terrifying weapon on the level of an atomic bomb.
Why?
That depended on how you used them. You could lay waste to the economy of an entire continent, turn a country’s banknotes to worthless paper with a flick of your wrist, or put an end to the lives of billions of people.
This is a story about those Legacies.
04/01/20XX 10:20 AM
Legacies
The name given to the equipment wielded by the legendary Dealer Criminal AO. The owner poured mountains of money into them, modifying them beyond recognition, in order to grant them stats higher than those of anything on the market. Their many customizations allow them to exceed the preset physical limits of the world. Their monstrous stats have earned them the somewhat ironic moniker Overtrick (or End Magic) among Dealers.
Fall
The closest thing in the game to a Game Over. When a character dies for any reason, the player is forcibly logged out and prevented from conducting business for twenty-four hours. Usually when logging out, the Magistellus serving as a player’s partner is programmed to continue operating automatically, but when you Fall, you don’t even have that saving grace, and you’re left defenseless and at the mercy of the other Dealers. Even if you’re a snow billionaire, one Fall is all it takes to plunge players into the deepest depths of debt. In the real world, this can be a fate worse than death.
Down
This happens when a Magistellus such as Tselika suffers a fatal wound. A Downed Magistellus is not erased completely but frozen for a fixed time. They become frozen immediately upon taking lethal damage, and recovery time depends on the severity of the injury. A slit artery will mean a short downtime, while being blown to pieces a longer one. It is not as bad as a Fall, as the downtime ranges from a few minutes to an hour. And since they’re controlled by AI, there are some Dealers who use Magistelli as decoys to open an escape route while under heavy fire.
While a Magistellus is Down, you will have no access to features such as navigation, financial news, or programmed buy and sell orders. Keeping in mind that since transactions take place ten thousand times a second, it’s best to avoid your Magistellus going Down as much as possible, unless you are skilled enough to perfectly and manually make market predictions while also engaging in gunfights and high-speed pursuits.
Housing
It is possible to purchase land and buildings in Money (Game) Master. However, you will mostly deal in stores and warehouses, as there isn’t much use in building elaborate mansions. Rather than living in them, it is far more common to remodel such buildings in order to flip them for a profit.
Gemstones
Like housing, it is possible to purchase gemstones to be used as equipment. These are more restrictive in their use, but they can grant rare skills, and certain communities even require the wearing of specific jewels to gain access.