Chapter 1249 - Nameless Shop
Chapter 1249 – Nameless Shop
As a golden glow rose from the teleportation array, Shi Feng disappeared from Blue Jade City to arrive in Stormwind Town.
Stormwind Town was the only safe location within Stormwind Shelter. While it was called a town, it was not one bit inferior to the NPC cities in Star-Moon Kingdom with a player population of 500,000 or so. Moreover, the NPC guards garrisoned here were all Level 120 and above. The town’s security was only second to Sea’s End’s twelve major cities.
Not many have come here to level up yet. Shi Feng examined his surroundings after leaving the Teleportation Hall. He saw fewer players on the street than NPCs.
However, after giving the matter some thought, he found the situation reasonable. After all, Stormwind Shelter was a Level 40 to Level 65 map. At this stage of the game, only a minority of players were capable of reaching past Level 40. Even if players in Sea’s End leveled up more quickly than those on land, there shouldn’t be too many players capable of reaching Level 40 and beyond.
Not to mention, Stormwind Shelter was far more dangerous compared to maps of similar levels. As a result, fewer players were willing to visit this place.
In fact, Stormwind Town possessed such high-level NPC guards due to the dangerous environment. Not only did players have to watch out for sea monsters when they left the town’s protection, but they also had to be wary of Sahuagin ambushes.
Stormwind Shelter was home to the foreign race known as Sahuagins. Leveling here was at least twice as challenging as in similar maps. Even if elite players from Sea’s End formed a team, they would find it very difficult to survive here. A team would need expert leads at the very least.
This was because Sahagins were not stupid like sea monsters. They were capable of jumping onto players’ ships to engage in melee combat. At the same time, they would command sea monsters to attack ships, attacking players from all sides. As a result, players seeking to level in Stormwind Shelter needed high-quality ships and high combat standards. This was a trial for those living in Sea’s End.
Although very few players currently resided in Stormwind Town, correspondingly, players who had consistently grinded in Stormwind Shelter were stronger on average. Most of the players around town were Level 41, with many having already reached Level 42. In Star-Moon Kingdom, only experts were Level 40 or higher…
As for the weapons and equipment Stormwind Town’s players wore, even the most inferior was Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment.
“Forming a team to grind in Corrosive Cave! I already have an advanced speedboat! Applicants must be Level 41 or above and must have at least four pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment!”
“One-day trip to Sahuagin’s Nest! Only recruiting Level 41 and above experts! Must have six pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment! Those with Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons get priority! We’ll hold an internal auction for any loot!”
…
As soon as Shi Feng stepped onto the main street, he was greeted by the sight of players attempting to recruit team members. Their minimum requirements were astounding.
However, Shi Feng paid little attention to these players as his goal was in the business district by the town’s main entrance.
The business district was Stormwind Town’s most lively location. The players there were preoccupied with setting up stalls and selling wares.
“Selling this Fine-Gold ranked Blast Bow at a low price! Interested buyers come quickly!”
“Selling Sahuagin’s Journals, 12 Silver per page! Want to complete the quest? Don’t miss out on this opportunity!”
“Purchasing Silver Tears for 3 Silver each! Only purchasing 100 drops!”
…
Unlike in Star-Moon Kingdom, players residing in Sea’s End’s towns would not sell their items at the Auction House. Instead, they set up stalls in their respective business districts. There were two main reasons for this. The first was that Auction Houses were only available in the twelve major cities. Due to the large distance between each island, teleportations fees were exorbitant. For example, it cost Shi Feng 52 Silver to teleport from Blue Jade City to Stormwind Town. Normally, players would teleport to District town, rather than Stormwind Town, crossing the remaining distance on their speedboats. Although this path took a lot of time, it was much cheaper to teleport to District Town.
The second reason was that fees in Sea’s End’s Auction House were much higher than on land; the fee was roughly 20% of the item’s total value. It was a fraudulent amount. However, one had to admit that the services one obtained in return for such an exorbitant fee were worthwhile. When using one of Sea’s End’s Auction Houses, a player’s item would display in all twelve major cities. One would not have to worry about their items not selling. However, for mundane, low-value items, players generally had to rely on their own stalls. Either that, or they would accumulate those items for some time before selling them in bulk in an Auction House.
Very quickly, Shi Feng arrived before an NPC grocery store in the business district.
“Dear customer, may I know what you are looking for? Our Shop offers a wide range of fine products at affordable prices,” the shopkeeper, a chubby, middle-aged man with a short beard, said as he greeted Shi Feng.
“I’d like to rent your Shop,” Shi Feng announced, wearing the Stormwind Emblem.
He had already inspected the business district and was rather fond of this grocery store’s location. Using it as a secret Shop for the Candlelight Trading Firm would be ideal. Although he preferred to purchase the Shop, he didn’t have much money to spare at the moment. Hence, he settled with renting the Shop for now.
Unlike in Star-Moon Kingdom, players did not have to negotiate with the Town Hall to purchase town Shops in Sea’s End. Players simply needed to negotiate a price with the Shop owner. Of course, players had to possess sufficient authority within the town as a precondition. Even renting a Shop required a certain level of authority. However, while renting a Shop was much cheaper than outright buying one, there were two risks to consider. The first risk was that Shops were rented to the highest bidder. Once a Shop’s rental period ended, players would have to outbid each other if more than one wanted the Shop. The other risk was that, if another player bought the Shop while it was being rented, the tenant would be deprived of their ownership once the rental period ended.
Hence, renting was only a temporary solution. When taking long-term profits into account, it was better to purchase a Shop.
“Dear customer, you have good eyes! Our Shop has existed for more than a hundred years. We also have the best location in town. As you are a valued guest, I can offer you a 10% discount. You can rent this Shop for 900 Gold per month,” the shopkeeper said, joy lighting up his eyes as he rubbed his hands together.
“Alright, I’ll rent a month.” Shi Feng was slightly astonished when he heard this price. However, it was reasonable as this would become a miniature holy land in the future. The price to purchase the Shop was certainly ten times higher than the rental fee.
Following which, Shi Feng paid the 900 Gold and obtained the lease for the grocery store.
Shi Feng had no intentions of refurbishing the Shop, and he didn’t intend to replace its staff. He simply hung a signboard beside the Shop’s entrance.
Although it was only a small, wooden signboard, when the passersby saw it, they were stunned.
“Crap; am I hallucinating? An NPC is actually purchasing Runic Fragments for 5 Silver Coins per stack?!”
“Did the House of Seas open this shop?”
“Hahaha! Wonderful! I was just thinking of returning to a city to sell my Fragments to the House of Seas. Although the price is slightly lower here, if I sell my stock, I can save on teleportation fees!”
…
Many players grew ecstatic as they looked at the two-story-tall grocery shop.
Throughout Sea’s End, only the House of Seas’ Shops purchased Runic Fragments in bulk for a high price. No one else dared to do so. As for NPCs, they only purchased Runic Fragments for 40 Copper per stack. Rather than selling Runic Fragments to NPCs, players made more profit by stocking up and looking for an NPC Master Alchemist to synthesize Runic Crystals. Although the synthesis success rate was only 10%, the synthesized Runic Crystals sold for at least 10 Silver each.
If one were lucky, they could get one Runic Crystal for every five Runic Fragment stacks. It was the equivalent of selling Fragments for 2 Silver per stack. Unfortunately, raising one’s Favorability with an NPC Master Alchemist was somewhat difficult. Synthesizing Runic Crystals also cost time and money. As a result, ordinary players rarely choose this option.
Hence, now that an NPC Shop wanted to purchase Runic Fragments at 5 Silver per stack, why wouldn’t they be excited?
This was a great opportunity for them to make a fortune!
Immediately, players swarmed the grocery store, dashing straight towards the NPC staffs manning the Shop and tapping open their trade windows. Initially, these players placed one stack in the trade window. After confirming that the purchase price was indeed 5 Silver per stack, they placed every Runic Fragment they had into the window and clicked ‘Trade.’
The entire process as smoothly as flowing water. These players’ trades were far faster and more accurate than dodging Boss monsters’ attacks.
In the blink of an eye, the grocery store had purchased over 200 stacks of Runic Fragments. Meanwhile, the 1,000 Gold Shi Feng stored in the Shop dropped by around 10 Gold.
“Damn it! I still have a ton of Runic Fragments in my Warehouse! Please wait for me!” Aside from the crowd that had rushed into the store, a larger crowd dashed to the Bank on the main street. Some players had even gone as far as to leave their own stalls unattended.
Meanwhile, news of the nameless Shop’s request for Runic Fragments spread very quickly throughout Sea’s End.