A Jagex player makes RuneScape history by funding a trip with in-game currency.

One RuneScape player's dream became reality when he traded in his in-game currency for real-world benefits. One dedicated player and his friend became the first Jagex player to use RuneScape Bonds to fund every bit of their upcoming transatlantic trip to the game's annual convention, RuneFest.

"I cannot describe the relief and realization that our dream of coming to the UK and to RuneFest is going to happen. Without being able to buy the flight, hotel, and crystal coins with Bonds, this was never going to be realistic for us because it would be too expensive," said Aaron James. "We're just tremendously excited, and looking forward to meeting the J-Mods and some of our fellow RuneScape players next month."

Since debuting in September 2013, around 2.3 million Bonds have been purchased, with more than 80% of them being redeemed for membership days. The introduction of Bonds also had a swift and dramatic effect on the levels of gold-farming in the game, which Jagex states had plummeted by 81% within weeks. Over the past year, more than 316 billion in-game gold pieces have been sunk into Bond trades by the RuneScape community.

"Our community responded fantastically to the introduction of Bonds a year ago, which resulted in many millions of Bonds being purchased and redeemed. A year later, nearly 20% of RuneScape players pay for their membership subscription through their in-game efforts and half of the premium RuneCoin currency comes from bond redemptions," said Phil Mansell, vice president of RuneScape. "This has also helped bring greater stability to the game economy, and has reduced incidents of gold farming and botting to an all-time low."

RuneFest will take place in London on October 11, 2014.

Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor