Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Vending Machine (2)
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"First off, we'll skip the 4th floor since it'll be used for the auction house."
There was nothing to put on the 4th floor yet. If anything, there was that unique-grade sword registered in the integrated auction house, but with no one even reaching the third city yet, letting it rot here would be pointless.
If he found some good items later, he planned to store them here and run auctions to sell them.
'Collect entrance fees and take commissions too.'
If the inventory was short, he could handle consignment sales. He'd keep the commission and run the auction on their behalf.
But only accepting top-tier items would draw crowds even with an entrance fee.
That's why he set up the vendor here for collecting entrance fees. He'd handle the proceedings himself.
"The 3rd floor will be stocked with brand-name products, so I need to watch for crafting items."
So far, he'd bought weapons from the integrated auction house, reinforced them, and put crafting items up for auction with staggered periods based on grade.
But he had no intention of doing that with the items coming starting tomorrow.
Products stamped with the T.K brand name would be sold exclusively here.
He planned to start with 100-level weapons and expand to higher level-restricted items as players' levels rose.
The dwarf blacksmith he could use right away was capable of crafting up to 170-level items, so it should hold out for a while.
"The 2nd floor will be for premium items, so reinforced gear and items I get from hunting should suffice."
He intended to sell premium items on the 2nd floor.
Gear with better performance than standard items. It might not differ much from the auction house, but the hook of exclusive reinforced items would draw people in.
Plus, trophies that were hard to get fair value for ahead of the curve could be offloaded here.
There were plenty of players who bought high level-restricted gear in advance for immediate use upon hitting the level.
Especially those who'd reached Crossroads—guys who'd hunted 100-level monsters at 99 and gained some confidence—would be especially tempted.
They'd believe they could reach that level in no time.
"The 1st floor is definitely vending machines."
The 1st floor was what Rokan was most excited about. He planned to use vendors to set up so-called 'vending machines.'
Buy popular items cheaply for instant stock, then sell them at market price or slightly higher to anyone who wanted them.
Sure, the integrated auction house might fetch more gold, but factoring in commissions and the endless wait for a day or instant buyout made it clear plenty would prefer this even at a slight loss.
It was a method proven across countless games anyway.
The only issue was needing ample stock and spare cash, but that wasn't a problem for Rokan.
"Hmm, for initial stock, Mark Scrolls, Teleport Scrolls, Return Scrolls, potions, Safety Guards, maps, and whetstones should work."
These were items targeted at players who could enter the city after gaining recognition from at least one race but were restricted from shop use.
The catch? The prices were outrageous. All were available in first- and second-tier cities like Trinsic, but priced at double.
At that rate, it was better to use a Rune Book to warp back to a previous city, bulk-buy, and return.
'But will they really not buy?'
Rokan was resolute.
Fine if they didn't.
He always stuffed his inventory full of consumables before every hunt to save the cost of detours to other cities.
Between inconvenience and expense, which would they pick? As an old-school gamer himself, Rokan knew without checking.
He could tell what choice players would make.
If his prediction missed badly, he could lower prices or use the stock himself.
With true money to burn, Rokan boldly rolled the dice. He spent a long time pondering and fine-tuning purchase and sale settings.
Finally, he hung a shop signboard out front with a small notice before login restriction time hit.
[Selling items to visitors too.]
A simple notice, but to players, it'd feel like rain in a drought—no, like the water of life.
* * *
While Rokan focused on building his shop, the world outside was in an uproar.
The first third-tier city revealed!
Talk of the one who'd achieved the impossible swirled in a frenzy.
Ward: Shout it! Rokangod!
Dart: This is really the third city? For real?
└Ginny: At least it's not any revealed city so far. But isn't it way too fast?
└JamonSoda: Fast? 100-level players are already out. Oh, so that guy isn't first either lololol
└Ginny: Nah, I mean Rokan is fast. How's his leveling this insane? He was under 40 when he clashed with Blood Chaser, now already 100? ㄷㄷㄷ Or maybe not 100, just hit the third city first?
TaxCarriage: No wonder he's Rokangod. Friend in MP guild said he was 35 at first clash, showed up at 50 a few days later and wrecked everyone lol. Real crazy leveling speed. Not hacks, president's son or what?
Philmel: So how do we get there? We're not even in Trinsic, spill the info!
└Benharpa: Would you share if it was you? He'd hog the honey solo.
Screenshots and video couldn't confirm it was a third city for sure, but it was definitely no known one.
And as word spread worldwide, credibility grew. Overseas players confirmed it was a new city and hunting ground too.
MikeMohaim: My god, Koreans did it again! Already third city.
└Hati: Knew it'd happen. Koreans are total maniacs. At least in games.
RichardGalleot: Hey Rokan, can't you share more info? Don't tease with city sketches, give real city details! Or hunting ground levels/patterns! I'll sponsor plenty!
Aldrich: What the hell are our guilds doing? Lagging behind solos!
Rokan's name finally spread properly worldwide.
The Blood Chaser fight vid had gone overseas too, but as just a slick battle clip, few remembered his name.
This time was different.
World's first! That title was worth remembering.
"Holy crap, how much is this?"
The third-city intro video's views exploded too.
Millions replayed it endlessly, squeezing for every scrap of info, pushing views into the tens of millions—no, hundreds of millions.
When Rokan checked, it had just topped 100 million views.
As long as they didn't get too hung up on his planted fake info, they'd find the third-city path and head there in days.
But with views already exceeding expectations, he felt at ease.
Ad revenue alone would net tens of millions of won for sure. No regrets dumping gold from The Lord into reinvestment.
"Come to think of it, overseas is probably similar."
He couldn't check everywhere daily, and Korean progress was the world's fastest, so he hadn't worried much.
But now it seemed they were hitting 99-level achievers too. Exploding his potential with skyrocketing views.
"Well, some of them were pretty skilled."
Still, meeting them was far off.
Worried about nation-based faction wars or language barriers, Falcon Corp had grouped starting zones by country.
Auto-translate would come later—that much was revealed—but players didn't know yet.
"This should give the next vids a boost."
Subscribers had surged too. From around 300k to nearly 10 million.
Fewer than ten vids up, but enough to brag as a YouTube star anywhere.
Rokan saw it as a mere stepping stone. A launchpad to greater heights—no intent to settle here.
In that vein, he'd prep the next vid for max interest.
He spread a few more fake info bits, slept to recover condition, then logged back into The Lord.
"The easiest way to pull aggro is definitely a dungeon."
Crossroads had three dungeons right next door.
Two public, one secret. More if you went farther or near other cities, but for level-appropriate and close, that was it.
Rokan planned to tackle one public dungeon.
"This one's perfect."
He picked the so-called 'Troll Dungeon.'
He'd faced orcs, goblins, and undead from hostile races as monsters, but trolls—with their high base stats—most players hadn't seen yet.
They wouldn't exploit racial traits as slyly as players, but as 110~120-level monsters, their physical prowess was top-tier, promising some flashy scenes.
Wouldn't faze Rokan, who'd long surpassed racial limits, though.
"Trolls are profitable too."
Troll hunts paid well.
Tough prey, but any troll dropped blood and tendons among the priciest monster byproducts.
Plus, Rokan had leveled Butchery in prep for days like this, so beyond drops, he could stock extra blood and tendons to refill his shop and restore his drained funds.
"Wait, wasn't there an episode quest tied to this place?"
Digging through fuzzy memories from long ago, something surfaced.
The so-called 'Mad Baron' episode. A quest from a baron living in a villa not far from Crossroads.
Standing still, recalling the flow and rewards, Rokan grinned in satisfaction. How had he forgotten this?
He double-checked the shop—still empty without the dwarf blacksmith or players—then set off immediately.