Chapter 271 A Fair Deal (Part 2)
Ye Ci turned her steed around, and stared square at the Sorceress who had attacked her. She was a Human female with shoulder-length chestnut hair. The sorceress would be considered cute in normal circumstances. However, cute was something that was far from her expression at that very moment. Ye Ci laughed as she looked at the Sorceress who was losing her head out of fear. She’s somewhat of an idiot…
There was no need for mercy against a player who was rich, and an idiot, and had attacked her. She spurred her horse and galloped at full speed in the direction of Kiss Me Baby, who immediately fled without even summoning her steed.
Ye Ci was confused. Does she really think that she can outrun a horse? Is she thinking that she can outrun me, a Huntress? If she was not in a hurry, Ye Ci might even come up with many interesting ways to toy with the Sorceress. Time was, however, not on her side, and she was not in the mood.
Ye Ci strung her bow the moment Kiss Me Baby was within her attack range, and fired off three arrows at the player, which resulted in critical hits. Kiss Me Baby immediately dropped dead on the ground.
She walked up to Kiss Me Baby, and noticed that the Sorceress had dropped a small hoe upon her death. It was a Purple Quality Herbal Hoe with quite a few stats that could increase the gathering success rate and gathering speed of medicinal herbs. It could even increase its user’s success rate in potion brewing. Despite her secondary class as Potion Brewer, Ye Ci was not interested in leveling her life skills. It’ll be a waste for me to keep this. I might as well give it to someone who needs this.
Ye Ci stared at the Sorceress and smiled. As expected, this girl’s rich. I can sell this for at least 50,000 gold coins in the market. Things like this are in high demand! I wonder if she’ll burst a vein when she realises that her hoe is gone...
Ye Ci placed the hoe in her inventory and headed to the Trade Market.
In Dor Ami plains, where conflict could happen at any time in any place, the only safe zone was the Trade Market. Combat was not prohibited within the market itself, but with its garrison of lvl200 soldiers, players found it wise to keep their emotions in check and maintain the peace in the market. If a player initiated a fight… The wrath of the lvl200 NPCs would descend upon, swiftly taking their life while giving out the penalty of reducing their level by 1.
Ye Ci remained cloaked as she wandered around the Trade Market looking for players that might be selling maps. She had never been to the Northern Continent in her past life, which meant that her knowledge about the geography of the continent was very limited. This was why she needed to buy maps off Northern Continent players.
After squeezing her way through the crowd, Ye Ci finally found herself standing before a stall with a lot of maps, “Maps! I’m selling maps! They shall be the light that guide you to the right path, and your best tool for murder! You’ll need these if you’re planning to travel across the continent!” shouted the owner of the stall, “Maps! I’m selling maps! The most complete collection of maps of the Northern Continent is up for sale at the lowest price in the entire server! Quality is assured! It’s entirely your fault if you don’t stop by the first time, but if you don’t drop by the second time, it’s on me! Come, have a look! Maps, maps!”
Quite a number of players gathered in front of the store, but not many of them were customers. After all, few had the capability of traversing through enemy territory. It was something that came at a high risk with very low return. Players preferred to stay within the Dor Ami Plains itself.
Despite the lack of buyers, the player selling his map did not give up. He continued shouting at the top of his lungs in a bid to attract buyers.
Ye Ci studied the player who was selling the maps. He was encased in a suit of rusty armor and armed with a motley two handed sword. The player was not part of a team, and had a low level. It was obvious that things were not going very well for him.
She pulled the hood of her cloak lower and walked up to the player, “Are you selling the maps of Mor Jiami Plains and the Sacred Snowy Mountain?”
“Hmmm… Let me have a look.” the man sifted through his inventory with apparent enthusiasm at the sight of a rare customer, but he then stopped his movements and stared at the player standing in front of him, “You’re looking for the maps of the Mor Jiami Plains and the Sacred Snowy Mountain?”
“Yes.” Ye Ci’s face was hidden by the cloak, and her expression was hidden from the player, but this did not mean that his face was hidden from her.
The map seller was baffled by the player standing in front of him. Her identity, appearance, and class were hidden by the cloak, but the unmistakable red glow marking her as a hostile player was still visible. So what are the maps for?
Those two places are in the heartlands of the Northern Continent. There’s a lot of big cities and dungeons over there. Are they trying to start some trouble over there?
The player then rolled his eyes at himself. I’ve thought too much into it.
There’s at least 200 million players in the Northern Continent. What can this person do alone? Even if they can reach the Mor Jiami Plains or the Snowy Sacred Mountain, they’ll be hard pressed to even survive. What trouble can they make?
With his worry out of the way, the player continued looking for Ye Ci’s maps. He found only the map of Dor Ami Plains in his inventory as the Snowy Sacred Mountain was a high level map that even Northern Continent players would avoid.
“I’m sorry, but I only have a map of the Mor Jiami plains, and it’ll cost you 3,000 gold coins.”
Ye Ci took the map and paid the full amount to the player’s delight. He was running a small business that was not earning much, and players who would haggle and try to talk the price down was something that he hated.
This unknown player from an opposing continent, however, did not even ask for a reduction in prices. Their generosity was something that he liked, and he decided to strike up another deal, “If you’re willing to wait, I can get you a map of the Sacred Snowy Mountain.”
Ye Ci surveyed her surroundings, and found no other map sellers, “Alright then. I’ll give you an hour.” she nodded at the player.
“I gotchu! I have fast travel points all over the continent. I’ll make it in time.” the player immediately packed up his goods. The market price for a piece of Sacred Snowy Mountain map was 5,000 gold, but it could be sold at up to 10,000 gold coins at times. It was something that not many would usually ask for, but when there is a demand…
“I want a copy of the maps leading to that place as well.”
Ye Ci had earned a substantial amount of coins from farming the monsters near the Doluo Tribe. Money was something that she was not short on.
“Got it. Just give me a moment, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Ye Ci’s words were music to the player’s ears. He cared not if she was a player from an opponent continent, nor did she care about her business in the Northern Continent. She was a huge buyer, and such buyers are hard to come by, “By the way, the name’s Rogue Rabbit One. I’ll wait for you here when I get back.” Ye Ci nodded at the player, and moved on to another stall.
What is the benefit brought by markets such as this upon the game? It drives the economy of the game, funneling resources that would otherwise remain inaccessible to players of different continents. At this very moment, Ye Ci was standing in front of a stall with a vendor selling backpacks.
The largest backpack in Ye Ci’s possession was a 22-slot pack, but the player was selling a 24-slot pack. Ye Ci was in a dilemma. It’s just 2 extra slots. Should I buy them? But paying 5,000 gold for 2 more slots is not worth it. The market price of a 22-slot pack is only 1,000 gold.
The players in the market shared the same sentiment with Ye Ci as well. Many were attracted by the 24-slot backpack, but most immediately lost their interest when the price was made known to them. The one selling the backpacks was a Life Player, who remained unfazed by the protests of his potential customers.
“Heh, are you here to buy some backpacks?” asked the player when he noticed Ye Ci standing in front of his stall.
“They’re all too small.” Ye Ci shook her head.
The player was slightly confused, “You’re telling me that 24-slot bags are small?”
“You’re charging me an additional 4,000 gold coins for the 2 extra slots they have over the 22-slot ones. They’re not worth it.” replied Ye Ci.
This prompted a laughter from the player, “It’s all about supply and demand. Hell, I’ll be able to sell these at a higher price in the capital.”
Ye Ci wasted no energy in arguing with the player. She knew that he would not be selling his goods in a place like this if he could sell them at a higher price in the capital of the Northern Continent, “Well, sell them in the capital then.”
“Which you will be selling at an even more absurd price.”
The player inched closer to Ye Ci and spoke in a low voice, “The price can be negotiated.”
With backpacks of larger size not yet available in the Eastern Continent, Ye Ci was indeed in need of the packs, “What else do you have?” the player pulled a sturdy looking brown pack out of nowhere and initiated a trade with Ye Ci, “This is a 28-slot pack! Do you want it?”
A 28-slot backpack? Even Ye Ci herself was shocked. This is WAY larger than the ones I have. If I can swap all of my packs with this… I’ll have 30 additional slots…
But… The price though…
Despite her newfound wealth, she was still wary of spending a large sum of money.
“How much for one of these?”
“20,0000.” came the reply.
Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. It’s a fair price. Especially for something like this that’s in high demand. She was still not very willing to part with her coins. After all, a new patch would soon be introduced into the game, and blueprints for backpacks would be made available to players visiting the Central Continent.
“I want five of them, but I don’t have the coins. Are you willing to trade for an item istead?” Ye Ci shook her head.
“So what will you be trading me for the backpacks?” asked the player, “I don’t mind, but I don’t want trash either.”
Ye Ci shrugged at the player. Well, it's not like I really need them.
She placed Kiss Me Babe’s hoe in the trading tab and said to the player, “This is it. Take it or leave it. It’s up to you.”
The player was surprised to see the Purple-quality hoe. He was a tailor, but this hoe would benefit the Potion Brewer in his team greatly.
“I’ll take it.”
Ye Ci narrowed her eyes when she noticed the player’s expression. She knew that the hoe was a high quality item, but she also knew about an Orange-quality hoe that was way superior that could be from a hidden quest, “This is a rare stuff, but I have a feeling that 28-slot backpacks will be obsolete once the new patch is released…”
The player, understanding the meaning behind Ye Ci’s words, placed five 30-slot backpacks into the trading tab, “This is the best I have! I’ll trade them for the hoe!”
Ye Ci did not even hesitate in accepting the trade.
Just then, a loud voice rang out in the market, “There! There’s the bastard who killed me twice!”