"Brother Qi, our luck is insane today! We got more than 20 Magic Crystals!" a Level 42 Elementalist, who had just entered the Auction House, exclaimed to the Level 44 s.h.i.+eld Warrior beside him. "If we can keep this up for two more days, buying that Level 45 Mad Rage Set will be a piece of cake!"
"We certainly did get lucky today. I hadn't expected to collect so many Magic Crystals. Even if we're not particularly lucky in the next few days, we'll still have enough saved up for that set in four or five days," the Level 44 s.h.i.+eld Warrior said, nodding. When the s.h.i.+eld Warrior spoke of the Mad Rage Set, desire burned in his gaze.
Currently, he wore mismatched pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, the Mad Rage Set was a Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The only way he could get his hands on the set was to offer the various Guilds Magic Crystals in exchange. However, once he got it, his HP, Strength, and Defense would undergo a qualitative transformation. With adequate support, he should even be able to tank a Level 55 Great Lord.
"Brother Qi, once you get the set, our party will level up so much faster. I can't wait to see if that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Luoyang, dares to show off again," the Level 42 Elementalist said excitedly.
Luoyang was their cla.s.smate, and although they had joined the game at the same time, he had gotten into a Level 50- plus party. With his party's help, Luoyang had leveled rapidly in neutral maps. He was already Level 47, while they hadn't even reached Level 45. As a result, Luoyang had been bragging about how wonderful neutral maps were in cla.s.s over the last few days, and the sight irritated them.
Unfortunately, they had no choice but to grind for EXP and Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains.
An MT was the most important player in a party. With a strong MT, the party could even grind in higher-leveled maps. Hence, they strove to purchase the Mad Rage Set so their party could travel to Level 55 neutral maps.
"Relax. With how good our luck was today, we should use this opportunity. Once we replenish our Magic Scrolls, we'll go back out for another round of grinding," the Level 44 s.h.i.+eld Warrior said eagerly.
Following which, the Elementalist and s.h.i.+eld Warrior found seats before calling up the Auction House's interface to browse through the available items.
"c.r.a.p! Since when has the Zero Wing Auction House had so many Magic Scrolls for sale?!" the Level 44 s.h.i.+eld Warrior exclaimed when he saw his search results.
Normally, they only had a few types of scrolls to choose from when shopping for Tier 1 Magic Scrolls in the Zero Wing Auction House, and only a pitiful number was available. Higher-tiered scrolls were basically non-existent. Mainstream players didn't linger in maps below Level 50, after all. There simply weren't any players that could sell high-tiered Magic Scrolls in the Zero Wing Auction House.
Of course, the Guild had an Auction House in Zero Wing City as well, and travel between Zero Wing City and Star- Moon City was quite convenient. To get the best price, players generally sold their Magic Scrolls in Star-Moon City's Auction House or set up stalls in Zero Wing City. Very few sold their scrolls in the Guild's Auction House. As a result, Stone Forest Town's Auction House barely had any Magic Scrolls.
Now, however, Stone Forest Town's Auction House even had super-rare Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. Practically every type of Tier 1 Magic Scroll was available, as well...
"Am I dreaming? Someone's even selling Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment in the Zero Wing Auction House!" the Level 42 Elementalist exclaimed.
The Zero Wing Auction House was only a Guild Auction House, and not many players chose to sell their items through it. Trying to buy low-level, top-tier equipment though a Guild Auction House was difficult, and it was hard to find a large Guild that was willing to sell such items. Most of the large Guilds held on to the items for their new members. Thus, such weapons and equipment were even rare in NPC Auction Houses, much less Guild Auction Houses.
To make matters worse, their party's grinding spots were so far from NPC cities that travel back and forth was quite inconvenient. Hence, they only returned to NPC cities every once in a while. As a result, they had a harder time encountering such opportunities.
Now, however, the Zero Wing Auction House had low-level, top-tier weapons and equipment for sale. Why wouldn't they be shocked?
The Elementalist and s.h.i.+eld Warrior duo weren't the only players to discover this anomaly. Every player conducting business in the Zero Wing Auction House soon noticed the change and was shocked. The wide array of items available in this Auction House even surpa.s.sed the Auction Houses in ordinary NPC cities.
"With how well-stocked this place is, we won't have to return to Star-Moon City anymore! We can stay in Stone Forest Town until we level past 50!" the Level 44 s.h.i.+eld Warrior ecstatically realized. "We can definitely level faster than that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Luoyang!"
Although neutral maps' monsters granted a lot of EXP, players needed time to travel to these maps. The occasional trip their party made to Star-Moon City to resupply took up a lot of time, as well. However, now that they buy any of the items they needed in Stone Forest Town, their leveling speed in the Stoneclaw Mountains could potentially become even faster than grinding in a neutral map.
"Brother Qi, quick, look! There's a Level 45 Dark-Gold s.h.i.+eld here! If we can get that and the Mad Rage Set, we'll be able to hunt Level 50 Grand Lords once you hit Level 45!" the Level 42 Elementalist shouted hurriedly.
"What an awesome s.h.i.+eld! It can increase my Defense by at least 20%, and I can probably use it even after I reach Level 50," the s.h.i.+eld Warrior said, panting a little in excitement as he inspected the s.h.i.+eld's Attribute Panel.
The uproar that occurred in the Zero Wing Auction House soon spread throughout Stone Forest Town. Players who were under Level 50 and planned to leave the town quickly changed their minds. They all decided to move to another leveling spot only after they reached Level 50.
When the kingdom's players between Level 30 and 49 heard the news, they made a beeline for Stone Forest Town. Suddenly, the desolate town brimmed with life. Naturally, business in the Zero Wing Auction House also boomed.
In the 30 minutes after s.h.i.+ Feng had connected the Auction Houses in White River City and Stone Forest Town, he had earned more than 100 Gold from the profits.
Due to the Zero Wing Auction House's sudden boom, players that had consigned items to White River City's Auction House watched them sell like hotcakes. As a result, they began to transfer more of their stock to White River City's Auction House, taking advantage of this sudden development.
White River City's Auction House was suddenly so popular that Star-Moon Kingdom's various major powers were confused. They all wondered what Zero Wing had done to make White River City's Auction House so popular. It was now even more popular than Star-Moon City's Auction House, which was backed by Starlink.
When Zero Wing's members heard the news, it rekindled their hopes. After all, their Guild's prosperity was linked with White River City's.
Youlan, who was responsible for managing Zero Wing's financial affairs, was flabbergasted. White River City's Auction House had been on a decline a moment ago, but now, players rushed toward it from all over the kingdom, determined to sell their items. The income White River City's Auction House generated had already more than doubled.
At this rate, Zero Wing could likely function normally by relying on the income from Zero Wing City and White River City's Auction House. There no longer needed to worry about lacking funds.
However, as far as s.h.i.+ Feng was concerned, this was only the beginning.
"Guild Leader, I've negotiated with the Dark Night Empire's various major powers. All that's left is finalizing the deal with a contract," Aqua Rose said. Worriedly, she continued, "In total, we've negotiated for 45 Shops that are either in cities' central area or have high potential. They're all within the empire's top-ten cities. Purchasing them all will cost a total of 1.6 million Gold. I'm afraid that we can't afford that. Moreover, these powers want the full payment within a month..."
"One-point-six million? Finalize the deals!" s.h.i.+ Feng said after giving the matter some thought.
On average, each Shop cost about 20,000 Gold. If not for the threat of Starlink, securing these strategic Shops for such a low price would've been impossible.
"Finalize the deal?" Seeing s.h.i.+ Feng's unwavering determination, Aqua Rose had no choice but to grit her teeth and take the risk. "I'll get it done, then."
In less than half an hour, the owners.h.i.+p of 45 Shops in the Dark Night Empire's top-ten NPC cities had transferred to Zero Wing. Shortly after, news of the matter spread throughout the empire.
