Chapter 69 - Lunatic
In the real world, the sky slowly darkened as the sun went under the mountain. On the other hand, players in God’s Domain were welcoming the rise of the morning sun.
Red Leaf Town was currently brightly lit as if it were daytime. In the Trade Area, players could be found everywhere as they pushed their way through the streets. Compared to yesterday, there were a lot more players currently in Red Leaf Town, and a lot of them were new players who were Level 0.
After being officially active for two days, many people started to notice the difference between God’s Domain and other virtual reality games. The battling alone was extremely attractive, not to mention other sources of entertainment. The monsters in God’s Domain improved with the increase in Levels, making the battles seem increasingly real. It was no longer the usual simple bouts where players and monsters would take turns fighting each other. The battles in God’s Domain were more similar to the fighting competitions in real life.
This was the age where the world’s entire population would exercise. In the real world, people had already reached a level of obsession in regards to fighting competitions, making such competitions extremely popular.
Everyone wished for a battle in which they could fight to their heart’s content, and even more so when exchanging blows with an expert. They wanted to chase after the intense feeling of excitement that made one’s blood boil. It was an addicting feeling that was impossible to give up. Meanwhile, God’s Domain had all of this, and there were no dangers to a person’s life.
Moreover, God’s Domain contained great adventures that were both fascinating and thrilling. There were also countless unknowns waiting to be discovered and explored. Time in the game was also double that of real life. Many players wished they could stay inside God’s Domain for the rest of their lives, living their second life within the game.
It was also because of this reason that many players were attracted to God’s Domain. Many virtual gaming companies, after seeing this irreversible situation, declared bankruptcy, one after another, as they prepared to invest in God’s Domain. Such a situation also caused some unwilling veteran gamers to enter God’s Domain, greatly increasing the number of players.
Just after returning to Red Leaf Town, Shi Feng received a bunch of System Notifications.
Almost all of them were sales notifications from the Auction House. Within an instant, the money Shi Feng possessed increased to over 500 Silver Coins or 5 Gold Coins.
Shi Feng still remembered having recently registering 3 Gold Coins at the Virtual Trade Center. After less than a day’s worth of effort, he now possessed an additional 5 Gold Coins. Those Guilds obtained all this money after much difficulty, yet, they all contributed to him in the end.
Currently, there might not be another player in White River City who was wealthier than he was. The Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds were no exception.
However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The real moneymaking moment was just starting.
Shi Feng first stored all the items that were in his bag into his warehouse. He was not planning on selling them but instead, kept them for future use. After all, items such as Gemstones and skill books were hard currencies[a]; their prices would never depreciate. On the contrary, it was equipment that would depreciate along with the increase in player levels.
Soon afterward, Shi Feng started doing his old business again. Nighttime was the best period for doing business. Seeing that the sun was soon to rise, Shi Feng set aside his Quest for now and set up a street stall, purchasing Stones, Magic Essences, Hard Stones, and Card Sets.
Due to previous similar occurrences, many players would deliberately stay here and await Shi Feng’s arrival. Now, just a casual shout from Shi Feng was enough to cause a crowd of players to come running towards him.
In such a way, Shi Feng bought materials while listening to the conversations of players nearby.
“The Assassin’s Alliance has obtained great glory this time. They completed the Insurrection of the Little Fishmen Quest and earned a lot of Guild Reputation. It won’t be long before the Assassin’s Alliance will become a Level 2 Guild.”
“What’s the big deal? I’ve heard that a major event occurred in the capital city. The Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, Star River Federation, completed a major Quest and has already become a First Class Citizen. Just a little more and he will become part of the nobility. When he obtains the status of a noble, what would a little Guild Reputation matter? After becoming a noble, he could go to the Army Camp and City Hall to ask for Guild Quests. Star River Federation could catch up and surpass the Assassin’s Alliance at any time. Including the various privileges available to nobles, their accumulated advantage is huge. Just the current Star River Federation was enough to suppress Ouroboros. When the fight for the capital city begins, the city would most likely fall into the hands of the Star River Federation.”
“Those are just small matters. Now, the most popular matter would have to be the showdown between that Black Flame Forger and Hammer Trading.”
“Who doesn’t know about that? Right now, there is most likely not a single person in the White River City Area that doesn’t know of it. However, I never truly imagined that the victor would be so quickly determined. Even further, I never thought that the final winner would be Hammer Trading. Hehe, thankfully I was quick-witted and borrowed some money to buy a Glimmer Chestplate. Many people are currently buying them at high prices. I could easily earn 3 Silver Coins as long as I resell the one I have.”
“Exactly! Regardless of Attributes or design, the Glimmer Chestplate is way better, so its cost must be extremely high. It only sold for such a low price because of the competition with Hammer Trading. Black Flame must have lost that battle after constantly losing money. Unfortunately, he is not selling even a single piece of the equipment right now. Otherwise, I would definitely borrow money to buy one. Right now, Hammer Trading’s fame has exploded. On the forums, he had even started proudly scolding the mysterious forger as incompetent, calling the mysterious forger a son of a bitch for not daring to compete with him. To increase their fame and influence, those first-rate Guilds will certainly invite him. Hammer Trading must already be discussing contract terms with them right now.”
“The Chief Forger of a first-rate Guild, people would drool just thinking about such a position. However, we can only look on in envy because we don’t have a Forging Design for Bronze Equipment. If I had such an item, even if I were to go bankrupt, I would definitely compete with Hammer Trading to the end. When I get the Chief position of a first-rate Guild, my future will be filled with fame and fortune.”
When Shi Feng heard their conversation, his brows slightly wrinkled. He then called up the official forum.
Sure enough, Hammer Trading was ridiculing him with all sorts of insults.
Son of a bitch, weren’t you so awesome? Why have you turned into a coward? Let’s continue competing if you have the ability! See how I’ll flatten a blackhearted forger like you!
Looking at Hammer Trading’s inferior shenanigans, Shi Feng smiled calmly. He could not help but admire Hammer Trading. To become famous, he turned into a lunatic that was willing to use any means. Just like in Shi Feng’s previous life, to join World Dominators and become their Chief Forger, Hammer Trading was willing to sell out their entire Guild.
After he finished purchasing the materials, Shi Feng headed towards the Auction House.
After all the clamor Hammer Trading made, the Glimmer Chestplate had thoroughly become famous. Shi Feng could now start his next moneymaking operation.
In the current stage of the game, a majority of the average players were already Level 3, while many veterans were Level 4 and experts were Level 5. The average player could not afford a Glimmer Chestplate. Whereas veterans would have to borrow some money to purchase a piece for themselves. As for experts, the usage of the Glimmer Chestplate was not that great. There was a lot of equipment inside Level 5 Dungeons that was far better than the Glimmer Chestplate.
That meant that the Glimmer Chestplate could no longer earn Shi Feng a lot of money. After all, the major buyers of the equipment were mostly those Guilds. Maybe there were some nouveau riche who could afford to buy one to toy around with, but they were in the extreme minorities amongst the average players.
Shi Feng walked into the Auction House, into the large hall that was packed with people. Without a better option, Shi Feng looked for a corner and silently brought up the display screen of the Auction House. He then placed twenty copies of the Forging Design for the Glimmer Chestplate on auction. The base price for each Forging Design was set at 30 Silver Coins, and they would be sold one by one at intervals of half an hour.
It was not because Shi Feng did not wish to sell them in bulk, but because doing so would result in their price staying low. Only through hunger marketing would he be able to reap the greatest profit. Let those Guilds slowly fight amongst themselves.
Afterwards, Shi Feng cleaned out the accumulated Hard Stones and Card Sets from the Auction House. He then left the Auction House and headed towards the Library.