The conditions have already been met? s.h.i.+ Feng stared at the system notification, shocked.
NPC Auction Houses were unlike player-built Auction Houses. Like Shops, they could be upgraded as long as they met the requirements; however, an Auction House's requirements were stricter than a Shop's.
Not only did the Auction House in question need a certain amount of daily traffic, but it also required a certain trade volume. Moreover, the Auction House would have to maintain these conditions for some time to qualify for a promotion.
NPC Auction Houses had only qualified for their promotions after players had reached past Level 100 during s.h.i.+ Feng's previous life.
Players could only enter Auction Houses' n.o.ble section after reaching that level and becoming a n.o.ble
NPC Auction Houses' n.o.ble sections were particularly attractive to players, and they only started to show their value after players reached Level 100. After that, player-built Auction Houses didn't stand a chance against NPC Auction Houses.
The n.o.ble section was the trading platform for NPC n.o.bles. To put it simply, it was where NPC n.o.bles sold their items, not players.
NPC n.o.bles owned extraordinary items, which were far more valuable than NPC wandering merchants' goods. Sometimes, these NPC n.o.bles even sold Epic items. The quant.i.ty and quality of the items in the n.o.ble section depended on how prosperous the NPC city was. The more prosperous a city was, the higher the quant.i.ty and quality would be.
This was also why the various major powers had done everything they could to develop the NPC cities they had been based in during s.h.i.+ Feng's previous life, especially the various superpowers. If the NPC cities under their rule were prosperous, they could earn more profit from the cities' Auction Houses.
These n.o.ble sections had also become a source for top-tier equipment and super-rare items for ordinary players.
Once the n.o.ble sections activated, G.o.d's Domain's players would truly become active. They would no longer limit themselves to a specific location. Every NPC Auction House would have different items to offer. Although one Auction House might not have the items players wanted, another might.
Hence, players in the past had tried to visit as many NPC Auction Houses as possible, but to enter the n.o.ble sections, they had to earn a n.o.ble t.i.tle in the city. This forced players to become more active in other cities, grinding for Reputation Points.
The increased player activity in the past had also brought turmoil to G.o.d's Domain.
To secure more profit, the compet.i.tion between the various major powers had intensified, and they had desperately developed the NPC cities under their rule.
There were two methods to develop an NPC city.
The first method increased the city's player population and commercial prosperity.
The second required the power's players to complete City Development quests, which players would only gain access to after reaching Level 100.
Level 100 was a ma.s.sive turning point. During the lower levels, the Main G.o.d system provided special treatment for players, but after Level 100, players were on their own.
This was especially true for the various major powers.
After players reached Level 100 and activated the City Development Quests, the various major powers had gone into a frenzy to complete these quests to develop their NPC cities and increase their player population as much as possible.
However, every one of these City Development Quests required players to secure various resources from Level 100- plus maps. Furthermore, players would clash with the dark forces, various kingdoms, and empires as they acquired some of these resources.
This was when players started to influence the various kingdoms and empires in the truest sense.
Because of this, it hadn't been unusual to see kingdoms and empires fall into ruin. The various major powers had loved to see this happen.
When a kingdom or empire fell, the various major powers would gain the land and the ability to establish their own kingdoms and empires.
This was also why s.h.i.+ Feng was trying to prepare for the day players reached Level 100.
Once the many restrictions on players and monsters were gone, the various major powers would realize that the peace they had once known no longer existed. The various major powers and superpowers were dreaming if they thought they could continue as they had been once players reached Level 100. NPC cities would fall, and all of a Guild's investments would go to waste. There were only two methods to prevent such a situation.
The first method was to upgrade their NPC cities.
The second involved improving their own strength.
Sure enough, there are many benefits to linking the Auction House to a Guild Auction House so early. After giving the matter some thought, s.h.i.+ Feng chuckled and chose to enable the White River City Auction House's advanced features.
He had worried that he wouldn't have enough time to prepare. Starlink had already established a foothold on Dragonheart Island and had mingled in the Gravity Mountain Range for some time now.
From a certain perspective, Dragonheart Island and the Gravity Mountain Range had even better resources to offer than the Bottomless Abyss, especially Dragonheart Island. The island was tailored for players over Level 100.
However, that was no longer an issue since he had promoted White River City's Auction House sooner than expected.
Another system notification immediately rang in s.h.i.+ Feng's ears. At the same time, the system interface for White River City's Auction House appeared before him.
System: The White River City Auction House's advanced features have been enabled. Activating the Auction House's first Level 1 advanced features.
There were two Level 1 advanced features he could activate right now.
The first was a level reduction feature. This feature would reduce the level requirement to enter the n.o.ble section from 100 to 90. Activating this feature would cost 600,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals.
The second was the auction proxy feature. This feature gave a large-scale, player-owned, 3-star Shop the NPC consignment function. Activating this feature would cost 1,000,000 Gold and 150,000 Magic Crystals.
Why are the prices so much higher than in the past? s.h.i.+ Feng was speechless when he saw the costs.
During his previous life, the level reduction feature had only cost 300,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals to activate. As for the auction proxy feature, it had only cost 500,000 Gold and 150,000 Magic Crystals.
Now, the Gold cost had doubled. Even superpowers would be startled to see these prices.
Although Zero Wing had considerably improved its profit margins, acc.u.mulating 1,000,000 Gold would still take some time. There were many aspects of its Guild Cities that required funding, and Zero Wing's member count was rapidly increasing. At this point, Zero Wing only had around 200,000 Gold in savings.
Fortunately, the Magic Crystal cost would not be a problem since the Guild had close to 300,000 Magic Crystals saved up.
But after a moment to consider the situation, s.h.i.+ Feng didn't find these increased prices unacceptable.
Mainstream players had yet to reach Level 75, and the fact that White River City's Auction House had gained access to its advanced features so soon was a huge advantage.
The level reduction feature, for example, would attract far more players. Once players reached Level 90, White River City's Auction House would also become more popular than those in other cities. Furthermore, the auction proxy feature was no different than transforming a Shop into a miniature Auction House, one that could also sell NPCs' items.
Even NPC commoners' items would interest players, and if the Shop was popular enough, it could tempt NPC n.o.bles to sell their items.
Not only would this feature give the Shop access to plenty of rare resources, but the Shop would also have an absolute advantage over its compet.i.tion.
It seems I'll have to stop spending money for a while.
s.h.i.+ Feng decided to have Aqua Rose reduce the Guild's expenditures slightly. With this, Zero Wing would be able to activate both features after ten or so days.
With the Auction House's matters settled, s.h.i.+ Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm and began his research into the Casting Goldstone Design.
As one of the G.o.d of War's Secret Forging Designs, the Casting Goldstone's production process was quite different from that of ordinary weapons and equipment. It was a combination of magic arrays and forging.
Although Master Forgers generally researched magic arrays as well, they didn't typically specialize in the field since they only needed arrays as support for their creations.
However, the complexity of the threefold magic array that served as the Casting Goldstone's core was simply absurd. The first layer was already three times as complex as an Intermediate Magic Array.
Even though s.h.i.+ Feng was an Advanced Magician, mastering this threefold magic array would be a challenge.
Once he reached the quiet Meditation Room, s.h.i.+ Feng carefully studied the threefold magic array.
Time quickly pa.s.sed.
The more s.h.i.+ Feng studied the magic array, the more shocked he became. He had never dreamed that magic arrays could be used in such a way.
The Casting Goldstone's three magic arrays were unlike the average magic array. The G.o.d of War had faintly touched on the Realms of Truth's princ.i.p.als to link and use these arrays, practically using them to their fullest potential.
In the end, s.h.i.+ Feng had spent over an hour to master the first layer.
However, when he turned his attention to the second magic array, he realized that it would be significantly more challenging to master. The second layer was at least three times more complex than the average Advanced Magic Array. In fact, it was nearly as complex as a Master Magic Array.
If he allowed another Advanced Magician to tackle this task, they'd likely fail to make any progress. Fortunately for s.h.i.+ Feng, his brain function had increased after he had drunk the Life Potion, so he could process information far faster than before. In addition, s.h.i.+ Feng had already reached the Ascension Realm. With these factors, he was just barely able to learn the second layer of the magic array.
Success! s.h.i.+ Feng was ecstatic when he finally formed the threefold magic array's second layer.
Following which, s.h.i.+ Feng began to forge the first Casting Goldstone. He wasn't currently concerned with studying the magic array's third layer until he became a Master Magician; until then, completing the task would be impossible. So, he gave up on the third layer, content with relying on a twofold magic array to produce the Casting Goldstones.
Although the production process was troublesome, s.h.i.+ Feng had dealt with the most challenging aspect and could complete the rest with relative ease. In less than five minutes, he looked down at the s.h.i.+ning goldstone in his hand. As the Casting Goldstone took form, it absorbed Mana from its surroundings and decreased the room's Mana density.
I wonder what the effects look like?
Once it was complete, s.h.i.+ Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and merged it with the Casting Goldstone.
