Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Vending Machine (1)
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The duties of the guard corps were simple. Patrol the inside of Crossroads for one hour a day, or hunt down twenty monsters.
However, if a special situation arose where all of Crossroads was under threat, anyone logged in had to rush over and lend their strength.
‘Suck some sweet benefits and then quit whenever I want.’
As long as this condition was met, a user could quit the guard corps at will. Getting in was tough, but getting out was easy.
Sure, rejoining later would be harder, but by then, he’d be in a much higher position.
Because once they moved to a conflict zone, the ‘rank system’ would kick in.
“Hmm, I see...”
After obtaining a title proving his membership in the guard corps and heading back, Rokan glanced at the homepage and fell into thought for a moment.
A level 100 achiever—meaning a third job changer—had appeared.
Game webzines and users who still didn’t know about Rokan were blowing trumpets proclaiming the first third job changer had emerged. Amid the hype, the smug bastard had even given an interview sharing his thoughts as the first to reach level 100.
But anyone in the know who read that interview would realize it: he might not be the first.
“Idiot.”
He was strutting around and drunk on joy, but he admitted he hadn’t earned any special titles.
Some might call it a lie, but the sharp ones would think someone else had hit level 100 before him.
At least anyone who’d ever snagged a first-achievement title would.
“Still, the info war seems to have worked pretty well.”
It was a bit surprising that the first level 100 wasn’t King of Genesis or anyone from his team. In his previous life, that guy had been the first to hit level 100 and enter the third city.
They were probably falling for the fake info he’d spread and challenging high-difficulty level 100 monsters.
“Heh heh heh, go ahead and shit your pants.”
Feeling a petty satisfaction, Rokan chuckled to himself as he leaked more fake info.
He even logged out to upload hints about the third city he’d prepared in advance, then finally logged into his long-neglected YouTube channel.
The videos from the MP Guild incident had spread overseas, with views ranging from ten million to thirty million each.
But without follow-ups or comments, subscribers were stuck at around three hundred thousand.
Coldly speaking, without new content, the next video’s views could plummet.
‘Wonder if they can hold back without peeking.’
Rokan didn’t care.
He barely had time to play The Lord, let alone manage YouTube, but this video would render past scores meaningless.
[The Lord: Third City and Nearby Hunting Grounds Revealed]
Not a full video like before—that risked exposing too much. Instead, he clipped segments, added screenshots to make them recognizable.
He skipped the journey to the third city, so viewers only saw from after arriving in Crossroads, but that alone would draw crowds.
So he set it to require watching ads to view.
If they called him money-grubbing, fine. It wasn’t wrong.
But wasn’t wanting to watch someone else’s hard work—filmed and edited—for free the real thief mindset?
He considered making it paid-only but held off for future gains.
“Oh right, gotta turn on auto-translation.”
Finally, he enabled auto-translation so searches in other languages would show up translated, then unhesitatingly uploaded the other videos.
A few mad movie edits of battle footage—that was it. But plenty wanted to see such flashy fights, so he expected good scores.
“Done.”
Now he just had to wait for the buzz to spread.
He didn’t know any reporters, and posting on every community was tedious.
No plans for interviews with game webzines or boastful homepage posts, so he shut down the computer and logged back into The Lord. This bait would handle the hype.
A few of his three hundred thousand subscribers yakking would spread the word fast.
Unlike newbie BJs refreshing every minute in desperation, he calmly got to work.
“First, the integrated auction house.”
It was already dark, so hunting was out. He stopped by the auction house to collect payments for his listed items.
Only magic-grade and below had sold after just a day, but it was still a hefty sum.
“Oh, did that guy buy this too?”
The shape looked familiar—the self-proclaimed first level 100 had apparently bought his magic-grade longsword.
He’d skipped extra rewards for the easiest level 100 monster clear and barely succeeded, probably thanks to item luck.
Rokan didn’t recall seeing the guy’s face or name in his previous life.
“Things are flowing in such an entertaining way.”
It was getting fun. Other users might rush to the third city faster, but if they were nobodies from his past life—if the old powerhouses got dethroned—that’d be hilarious.
He’d be so far ahead they couldn’t touch him anyway.
The future could change?
That didn’t scare him. He was leading the main scenario; any changes would be minor.
“Let’s see, they should be crossing over soon, right?”
Instead, he planned to exploit them.
What could he torment them with once they arrived?
That thought spiraled in his mind for a long time.
“Time for Season 2, then.”
Basics: real estate speculation, Season 2. Many guilds already had guild houses as bases, sure. But they were in second cities—that was the problem.
Their main stage would soon be the third city, and a base in the second city would be a hassle.
‘Teleport scroll costs aren’t negligible.’
Especially this time, they’d need Crossroads as a base until level 200—not 50.
Even moving to other cities, it’d be near Crossroads, and advancing to the next bracket still routed through here. Anyone could see settling here was convenient, no future knowledge needed.
Crossroads wasn’t just a hub for diverse races; location-wise, it was the traffic center to everywhere nearby.
‘The metropolis size is the issue...’
One problem: Crossroads was huge. A melting pot of races meant massive scale, tons of buildings.
Even rich, Rokan couldn’t monopolize like in Trinsic.
‘Gotta pick the golden eggs?’
Sure, many buildings housed residents, so empty ones weren’t endless.
Prices were worlds apart from second cities, no yearly leases—max three months.
Worse, if others conspired to endure the hassle and avoid contracts, he’d foot all the rent alone.
‘Prices will definitely rise...’
So he shifted to buying the prime spots. Prices would soar; sell at a premium when leaving.
[Possessed Funds] 803 gold 71 silver 23 copper
Over 800 gold now. Rare and unique weapons still auctioning, plus forging and selling thirty-three daily? He could hit 1,000 gold.
Enough for three or four decent three-story buildings. Prime spots for market gains—big profits.
‘Is that really it?’
But Rokan felt uneasy. Like he was missing something.
“No... this isn’t it.”
Buying buildings for flips made big money, sure. But that was it. Tied-up funds long-term, hard to pivot.
He wasn’t playing just to earn cash; this wouldn’t satisfy.
“Something only I can do—do best. And influence other users.”
He changed plans.
“Yeah, that’ll do.”
Rokan immediately scouted real estate. Bought a four-story building in the busiest user strip.
Purchase—not lease—wiped 500 gold, but he didn’t mind.
“Install vendor.”
Next, 30 gold per floor to hire vendors. Initial 30 gold, then 3 gold monthly wage. Think of them as player-hireable merchant NPCs.
Unlike regular NPCs, no fancy decisions—just flawless buying/selling.
Maids for cleaning were an option, but for non-residences, only niche tastes bought them.
Spending 120 gold on vendors, Rokan then interior-designed each floor.
‘Floors 1 and 2 as simple as possible.’
First and second floors: minimalist, packed with lockboxes for storage. System-protected from thieves—even rogue classes. Because they were the ‘merchant NPCs’ goods.
Obvious no one steals from hired vendors, right? No one would hire otherwise.
Simple reason: maximize capacity.
‘Third floor: display space focus.’
Third floor: maxed displays. Fewer lingerers, but dazzling for browsers.
‘Fourth floor: luxurious and secretive.’
Fourth: intimate booths for anonymity, focused on front podium.
Costs spiked here—20 gold for floors 1-3, 30 for this alone.
But the interior came out perfect.
“Now just stock the goods.”
Building, vendors, interiors: 670 gold gone in a flash.
But he’d built his vision. Now fill per floor’s purpose.
And those purposes? Delightfully lucrative.
Already reeking of thick cash scent.