Chapter 173 - Magistrate Weissman
White River City was the fifth most populated city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Although it was incredibly small compared to Blackwing City, if one wanted to explore the entire city fully, one would need at least several days.
The teleportation hall of White River City was located on the south-west side of the city. It was relatively close to the city’s entrance. Meanwhile, the city hall was situated right in the heart of the city, by the White River Plaza in the Trade Area.
White River City was considered a city because its administration was far more strict than a town’s. At the same time, it was also much active. Being the focal point of several hundred towns, there were many more merchants here. On either side of the main street, one could easily find various item shops, bars, restaurants, fruit stores, clothing stores, leather clothing stores, armor stores, magic stores, alchemy workshops, smithies, and much more.
In the city, players were not allowed to set up their own stalls. If they wished to sell their items, they needed to purchase a shop. However, it was extremely expensive to purchase a personal shop in the city; ordinary players could not afford a shop by themselves. Not just any player could purchase a shop either. Players needed a set amount of reputation points before they were able to do so, and the locations of the shops they could buy depended on their status.
However, this didn’t mean that players had no chances of selling their items at all.
The first method players could employ, other than purchasing their own shops, was the Auction House. The Auction House of White River City was extremely prosperous as it connected to the closest eight cities with lower populations. As long as players placed put their items up for auction, players from the other eight cities could access them. However, the Auction House charged an extraordinary fee for their services. The registration fees depended on an item’s selling price and the duration the owner wished to auction for. There was also an 8% auction fee after the item sold.
If players sold an item in the Auction House, overall, they would have to pay 15% of the item’s value in fees. It was not worthwhile in the least. Items sold in a city’s Auction House were extremely expensive. Some of the minor items were not even worth auctioning.
As for the second method, there would be a large-scale market once every three days in the plaza of White River City. Players only need pay a small fee, and they could set up their own stalls to sell their items. This method suited independent players extremely well. The only unfortunate aspect was that the market only occurred once every three days. Moreover, the market began at night and only lasted for ten hours.
For players uninterested in grinding and adventure, yet still desiring development within God's Domain, opening their own shops in a city was of the utmost importance. Only with a shop could players conduct business 48 hours in a day. Moreover, along with the development of God’s Domain, the money one could earn from opening a shop in White River City could rival the earnings of opening a shop in real life.
In Shi Feng’s previous life, there were plenty of players who were unimpressed by grinding monsters and leveling. Instead, these players spent all their efforts to purchase a shop. Although the locations of their shops were very secluded, the amount of money they earned was enough to cover their living expenses in real life with a lot to spare as well.
Shi Feng rode a horse carriage towards the city hall.
Compared to the town hall in Red Leaf Town, the city hall in White River City was a much more spectacular sight. The building had a total of ten floors, and the area it covered was about the size of a football field. At the entrance of the building, there were more than twenty garrison knights standing guard. These guards were all Level 150 Elites. The garrison captain was a Level 160 Tier 2 Knight; with his strength, he could easily decimate an entire town.
Moreover, for a large city like White River City, there would be two to three Tier 4 class NPCs on guard. Powerful monsters and dark powers dared not come near it.
Immediately after Shi Feng stepped into the city hall, an elegant beauty walked towards him.
“Esteemed Sir, is there anything I can help you with?” the beautiful employee blinked her doll-like eyes as she asked.
“I wish to see the Magistrate, Lord Weissman. I have with me Blackbeard’s letter of introduction,” Shi Feng said, displaying his Demon Hunter title.
Commoners had no right to meet the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman, as one needed sufficient status to do so. After all, a magistrate was equivalent of a mayor, and Magistrate Weissman controlled all military and political power in White River City. If one wished to speak with him, at the barest minimum, one needed to be a noble of White River City. However, Shi Feng’s reputation in White River City was far from a noble. He could only reveal his identity as a Demon Hunter.
“So it is Lord Demon Hunter. Magistrate Weissman is currently occupied with public affairs. My Lord will have to wait for some time before he becomes available. If you are not in a hurry, you can wait in the lounge, and I will notify Lord Weissman of your arrival,” the beautiful employee showed respect upon seeing Shi Feng’s title. A noble was not an existence commoners like her could afford to provoke, even if she worked for the kingdom.
“Yes, please notify him for me,” Shi Feng nodded. He then wandered towards the city hall’s lounge.
Sitting in the empty lounge with nothing better to do, Shi Feng switched his system communications back on.
Di! Di! Di!
Previously, to avoid interruption, Shi Feng had intentionally switched off the system communication function; nobody could contact him that way. However, the moment he switched it back on, he discovered hundreds of communication requests pending his approval. Shi Feng was familiar with many of these players. A majority of them were the upper echelons of large Guilds situated in White River City. Some were even the Vice-Leaders or elders of Guilds.
Of course, Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow were no exception to this list. After all, the advantage of entering White River City ahead of others was far too impressive to ignore. Before entering White River City, information such as the best leveling grounds and the best locations to farm resources were a big mystery to everyone. Without entering the city, one could not obtain any information about the quests available in the city and the city laws imposed on players.
To a Guild, obtaining such information before others was a great boon. They could occupy the best leveling spots and obtain high-level quests a step ahead of others. They could purchase daily and weekly limited items and gather herbs, ores, and such resources ahead of others. Guilds were most eager for this information as it would enable them to rise ahead of their competitors.
Especially now as these Guilds neared level ten and the ability to enter White River City. If they could obtain this information beforehand, they could adapt to the new environment quickly and confidently go out to grind and gather resources. They would not need to waste time collecting this information. They could also use the time saved to pull ahead of the other Guilds developing in other cities.
With so many benefits, these Guilds would not Shi Feng slip through their grasps. They would find a way to contact him. Unfortunately, the results of their efforts simply dumbfounded all of them. They did not think that Shi Feng would shut down all forms of communications, leaving them with no way to contact him at all.
The only choice they had left was to leave Shi Feng messages. As a result, thousands of messages filled Shi Feng’s mailbox. If he read all of them, he would need to spend at least four to five hours.
However, since Shi Feng had nothing better to do right now, he looked at the messages sent by Guilds worth contacting. After all, he was an independent player. If he did not sell even any information, he would only gain enemies. With his current strength and influence, he would only end up in tragedy by doing so. So, he would choose a few to do business with. Naturally, Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow were on his list of business partners. Shi Feng was already friends with them no matter how he looked at it. He would sell them information at a reduced price. However, it was a different story for the other Guilds.
Shi Feng also had to consider what information he would sell. After all, he knew White River City like his own backyard. However, there was no way he could sell all the information he knew. He needed to consider what information he could sell. This information should greatly interest these Guilds. He could charge a high price while not giving these Guilds too much advantage and hindering to his own future.
Shi Feng was gaining a migraine over this decision.