Chapter 134: Expert, Violet Thunder

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Having settled on the prices, my very first stall finally made its grand debut!

What surprised me, however, was that the moment the three pieces of equipment appeared on my stall, dozens of players immediately gathered around to look.

The enormous Shield of Radiance, glittering with a silvery sheen, drew the most attention. Several players reached out their grubby hands almost simultaneously the instant it appeared, all scrambling to inspect the imposing shield’s attributes.

The Leopard Man’s leather armor also attracted quite a few archers. One after another, high-level players whose levels I could not discern examined it repeatedly, unwilling to put it down. Clearly, they were very interested.

...

“Brother, you’ve priced this shield far too high! Ten thousand gold coins? Put it away. I’ll take it for two thousand.”

I never expected the first person to contact me to offer such a huge sum. Two thousand gold coins! My goodness, there were quite a few wealthy players in this game.

If Falcon had not warned me beforehand that the shield was worth no less than three thousand gold coins, I might already have been impatient to pocket those two thousand.

I immediately suppressed my excitement and tried to remain expressionless. For the moment, I ignored the player named Black Tower. After all, I did not know the names of most of the people gathered around my stall, so I had no idea who Black Tower was. There was no need to pretend anything in front of any particular person.

Once I remained silent, the people around the stall began speaking up one after another, all launching into a round of haggling.

“Buddy, give us the real price for this shield, will you? Ten thousand gold coins? Who are you trying to fool?”

“Boss, drop the leather armor by two hundred gold coins and I’ll take it. Or give me the armor and bracers together for seven hundred.”

“Seven hundred and fifty for the leather armor. If you agree, put it away and trade.”

“Damn! Ten thousand gold coins for a shield? That’s daylight robbery. Tsk... But this skill is unbelievably powerful! With this thing, tanking bosses below level thirty would be a breeze.”

“Hey, boss, say something! Will you lower the price or not? If you won’t, forget it. We’re leaving...”

Watching these people pretend they were about to leave while keeping their eyes fixed on the equipment on my stall, afraid it might vanish, I nearly burst out laughing.

At that moment, even more players were drawn over by the commotion. They began shouting at those occupying the front without buying anything, telling them to move aside.

“Damn it! If you’re not buying, stop blocking the spot. Move your asses!”

“Exactly! You can’t afford it, and you won’t let anyone else buy it either?”

“...”

Seeing how lively the scene had become, I felt as though my eyes had been opened.

What amused me even more was that the stall owners nearby also craned their necks over, curious to see what treasures were being sold here. One warrior even packed up his stall on the spot and came running over. My pride swelled further.

My first attempt at setting up a stall could already be considered a success!

And it was all thanks to the Shield of Radiance. That enormous silver shield, combined with the “overpowered skill” inadvertently revealed by the players examining it, instantly stimulated the curiosity of everyone nearby.

They all became even more eager to find out what had caused such a commotion.

As a result, the dozen or so players gathered around my stall grew increasingly anxious and felt more and more pressure. Finally, someone made the first move, directly buying the Heavenly Silkworm Bracers and the excellent leather armor.

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When I heard the system notification announcing that nine hundred gold coins had arrived, I nearly laughed aloud.

Ha! Less than three minutes after opening my stall, I had already sold two items. Who could boast a record like that?

After praising myself inwardly, I found that the commotion around the stall had reached an entirely new level.

Two of the three pieces of equipment had been snatched up, sending the surrounding players’ curiosity to unprecedented heights.

They had not even managed to see the equipment’s complete attributes before someone else bought it. One after another, they cursed loudly and shoved their way toward the stall.

...

At that moment, several players who had been communicating with me directly began openly competing against one another. The price of the Shield of Radiance rose to four thousand three hundred gold coins.

I had originally decided to let it go once the price reached three thousand five hundred. Now, however, I was beyond excited. Their offer was already eight hundred gold coins higher than my maximum estimate!

Damn...

Was this the value of top-tier equipment?

It was terrifying!

Amid my surprise and delight, I could not help developing a new expectation.

Five thousand gold coins!

Heh heh. Ideally, it would reach that price. It was a little greedy, perhaps, but greed was often the driving force behind human progress.

If it really reached five thousand, my total funds would rise to eight thousand gold coins. I could not only purchase a decent set of third-tier equipment focused on agility, but still have plenty left over.

That would make leveling up and replacing my equipment much easier and smoother in the future.

Unfortunately...

Once the bids reached four thousand five hundred gold coins, no one was willing to go higher. I did not know whether they had seen through my “wicked scheme” to keep making them raise the price, or whether that was truly their limit, but the bidding stopped there.

After several minutes, wave after wave of astonished players left, yet the price remained unchanged. Aside from differences in class, limited funds were also a major factor. Not everyone possessed the confidence—or the cunning to obtain something for nothing—that was required.

After a while, I began considering whether to accept the highest bid. Four thousand five hundred gold coins was already twice what I had budgeted for, and to me it was an enormous fortune.

Just as I was about to finalize the deal, a tall, well-built figure deftly squeezed through the crowd and appeared before my stall. He revealed a familiar smiling face that filled me with both surprise and delight.

Purple Thunder!

The vice-captain of the Whisper Mercenary Corps, Purple Thunder.

“Hey, young fellow! You’ve been doing pretty well lately. You reached level twenty-nine in just a few days. Are you back to take your advancement quest?”

A faint trace of surprise showed in Purple Thunder’s smiling eyes. Although he had personally provided me with the exceptional second-tier equipment, which had accelerated the leveling speed of a solo player, even he had not expected this.

Too fast!

“Heh heh. I did come back to do the quest, but I’ll probably have to keep my head down for a while. You know about my grudge with those people...”

Looking at Purple Thunder, I unconsciously revealed my true thoughts without holding anything back. I left out the final matter, however, merely shrugging. I believed Purple Thunder understood what I meant.

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Purple Thunder smiled faintly and casually surveyed the players around him. After his gaze paused briefly on several people, he said:

“Come on. It’s just your little mess with the Supreme Mercenary Corps. Is there any need to keep it secret? Who in Frostveil City doesn’t know about it now? Why don’t you ask a few of these fellows around us? See if any of them don’t know about your little feud with the Supreme Mercenary Corps.”

Purple Thunder’s words left me momentarily speechless.

But I quickly understood. I was only level twenty-nine. Any player who had reached level thirty-four could easily obtain my information. The high-level players around me who were spending so freely were probably all at least level thirty-four.

Sure enough, several players near the stall had already been listening to our conversation. At his words, they revealed faint smiles, tacitly confirming it.

One Raging Bear warrior squatting in front of the Shield of Radiance, however, impatiently raised his head and said:

“Damn it! Are you selling the thing or not? Say something already! I still have to hurry off and level!”

His words reminded Purple Thunder of why he had come. He turned toward the stall, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the astonishingly designed Shield of Radiance. Yet he did not appear particularly surprised.

“The Shield of Radiance?”

Purple Thunder furrowed his brows. Then his eyes suddenly lit up, as though he had remembered something. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward Scavenging Qilin.

“It has a skill attached, doesn’t it? No wonder so many people are gathered here... I heard that even the Supreme Mercenary Corps has only two pieces of equipment with attached skills. This thing is worth a fortune!”

The moment he said this, the faces of several nearby players collapsed.

The price, which had just stalled at four thousand five hundred gold coins, was broken once again. A player who looked like a third-tier beastkin warrior frowned and immediately raised the bid by another fifteen hundred gold coins.

“Damn it, an expert just showed up... Fine! Six thousand gold coins. Scavenging Qilin, if you agree, let’s trade right now.”

At that, the high-level players who had been inspecting the item grew even more dejected. They shook their heads and stood up one after another. Clearly, six thousand gold coins had exceeded what they could afford.

“...Six thousand gold coins? Good heavens! I’m going to bleed this time... Purple Thunder, you damned fool, what did you come here to join in for?”

The Raging Bear warrior, who had been squatting in front of the stall all this time, gloomily shook his bear-like head and stood up. Under Purple Thunder’s smiling silence, he called out an even higher bid.

“Seven thousand gold coins...”

The beastkin warrior who had offered six thousand gold coins rolled his eyes and glared at the Raging Bear warrior.

“You damn bear, you’re competing with me again! How many gold coins have you blown through in just a few days? Even a spendthrift wouldn’t waste money like you do!”

“I spend it because I want to! What’s it to you?”

The Raging Bear warrior’s reply left the beastkin warrior utterly defeated.

At that moment, I heard Purple Thunder’s voice through a private transmission:

“Seven thousand gold coins is a good price. Remember to buy me a drink after the deal is done.”

“Heh heh, no problem! How about we go right now?”

An unexpected extra two thousand gold coins had appeared. I was practically ready to throw my arms around Purple Thunder and kiss him. I hurriedly agreed, withdrew the Shield of Radiance, and traded it to the Raging Bear warrior.

Looking at the five-digit sum of gold coins in my inventory, I nearly laughed myself off my feet.

Ha ha... From now on, I’m a rich man too!