Inside the quiet reception room, Shifeng stared at the last line of the Shop's list in astonishment.
A 2-star Shop!
There were indeed a few 2-star Shops in Thunder Axe City, but players couldn't purchase them just because they wanted to. Even Viscounts weren't guaranteed to purchase a 2-star Shop, much less Barons. They also had to rely on luck and accumulation.
Could it be because of the reward for being the first to purchase an Advanced Shop? After giving the matter some thought, Shifeng didn't think that a Bronze Legatee would be so powerful as to purchase a 2-star Shop. The reward for being the first to purchase a 2-star Shop was very likely.
In other large neutral cities, the difference between a 1-star Shop and a 2-star Shop didn't matter. However, it was a different story in Thunder Axe City. The difference between a 1-star Shop and a 2-star Shop was like the difference between a town and a city.
This difference was due to the different levels of attraction to NPCs. In NPCs' eyes, a 2-star Shop was more valuable and trustworthy. Hence, NPCs would usually choose a Shop with a higher star rating.
In addition, a Shop's size wasn't the only factor. It also represented the maximum transaction volume with an NPC. This was also why NPCs chose a Shop with a higher star rating.
A 1-star Shop could only conduct transactions up to 50 Gold per transaction with an NPC, but a 2-star Shop could conduct transactions up to 300 Gold per transaction. This was a sixfold increase. In addition, more NPCs would be willing to trade with a 2-star Shop.
Hence, Thunder Axe City's 2-star Advanced Shops were extremely valuable. Countless Guilds had dreamed of purchasing one in the past, but very few had succeeded. They had only been able to invest a lot of resources and time to upgrade their 1-star Shops to 2-star status.
However, if they were one step too slow, they would always be behind …
The various large Guilds had only purchased a 2-star Shop because they wanted a 3-star Shop. In NPC cities, there was a limit to how many Advanced Shops there could be.
Once a 2-star Shop reached the 3-star standard, it would have to surpass the current 3-star Shops to become a true 3-star Shop in Thunder Axe City. Meanwhile, the 3-star Shops that were surpassed would become 2-star Shops …
The upgrade from 3-star Shops to 2-star Shops was a qualitative change. Each transaction volume would increase to 1,000 Gold. Although the increase wasn't as significant as the upgrade from 1-star to 2-star Shops, it was a watershed.
Once they reached this amount of money, Thunder Axe City's nobles would start trading with Shops. The items in the hands of nobles were far more valuable than those of ordinary NPCs.
Upgrading a 1-star Shop from a 1-star Shop to a 2-star Shop in Thunder Axe City required a lot of time and resources. By the time a 1-star Shop reached 2-star, a 2-star Shop that had been purchased long ago would've been a 3-star Shop. It would be incredibly difficult to snatch a 3-star Shop from Thunder Axe City.
This was also why Shadow had only owned a 2-star Shop in Thunder Axe City in the past. As far as Shifeng knew, only superpowers and a few first-rate Guilds had managed to secure a 3-star Shop in Thunder Axe City. Ordinary first-rate Guilds weren't strong enough to secure a 3-star Shop.
How could the Shifeng not be surprised when they were able to purchase a 2-star shop right off the bat?
Moreover, the 2-star Shop was a smithy. To a Guild, a 2-star Shop was one of the most valuable Shops of the various types. It was far more valuable than a grocery store or restaurant.
The reason for this was that different NPCs conducted different business with different Shops. NPCs generally visited smithy to customize weapons and equipment. Moreover, they would provide their own materials, which allowed them to obtain rare forging materials. In addition, ordinary NPCs and NPC merchants would often sell their ores to smithy, which made the smithy an excellent place to obtain rare ores.
"Lord Bronze Legatee, are there any Lands or Shops on this list that you've taken a fancy to?" The Elven beauty asked curiously when she noticed Shifeng's long silence. "If there aren't any, you can come back next week. There should be a new batch of people interested in selling."
"No, I'm very satisfied. I want these five Lands and these two Shops," Shifeng said as he pointed to the inner area's Lands and outer area's Shops on the list.
As he was only a Baron right now, he could only purchase Lands in the outer and inner areas. Moreover, the inner area offered very few Lands. He'd be lucky if he could even purchase one. As for the inner area's Advanced Shops, only Viscounts were qualified to purchase them.
However, this was also why Shifeng could breathe a sigh of relief. If he wanted to purchase an Advanced Shop in the inner area, he'd only have enough Coins to purchase a 2-star smithy.
Even so, a 2-star smithy in the outer area cost 90,000 Gold. As for the 1-star Magic Potion Shop, he'd already spent 47,000 Gold.
"Okay! Five Lands and two Shops for a total of 206000 Gold!" the Elven beauty said happily after quickly calculating the total price.
If the upper echelons of first-rate Guilds saw Shifeng spending 200,000 Gold to purchase two Shops in the outer area and five Lands in the inner area, they'd most likely think that Shifeng had lost his mind. With that much money, he could purchase ten or more Lands in the inner area of any kingdom's capital city.
However, Shifeng had paid the full price without hesitation. Or rather, it was only natural for him to do so. While it wasn't obvious during the early stages of the game, the more obvious the effects would become.
Previously, Shifeng had only brought around 170,000 Gold with him. Moreover, he had spent over 20,000 Gold in Glory Town. Fortunately, while he had been questing, despite the Guild's continuous expansion, he had accumulated over 70,000 Gold. Although he could barely afford to pay the full price, he didn't have much Coins left.
A short moment later, the Elf beauty handed over seven Land Deeds to Shi Feng. After confirming that there were no problems with the Land Deeds, Shi Feng made his way to the two Advanced Shops in Thunder Axe City's outer region. He deposited 5,000 Gold in each Shop and used it to trade with NPCs for various resources. Afterward, he didn't linger in Thunder Axe City for long as he used a Return Scroll to return to White River City.
After the Shifeng returned to White River City, he discovered that the city hadn't cooled down as he'd expected. After all, Ling Yi had temporarily withdrawn from the competition for the Witch's Hill. Her prestige in the Starmoon Kingdom had decreased significantly. However, when he walked on the streets, he discovered that the number of players visiting White River City had actually increased.
Along the way, he noticed many players from the various large Guilds. Every one of them was actively running around the city. Moreover, their numbers were quite frightening. They accounted for roughly 10% of the players on the streets.
Meanwhile, White River City was a major city with a player population of ten million. How could there be more than a million players occupying 10% of the city's population?
"Melancholy, did something happen in White River City during this time? Why are so many players from other Guilds visiting the city? "Shifeng asked A Melancholy Smile as he returned to the Candlelight Shop and stored the Titan Ore he had obtained.
"Nothing has happened in White River City recently," A Melancholy Smile said, smiling bitterly. "The reason so many players from the various large Guilds are here is because our Guild has suffered significant losses in the war against the Starlight Alliance in the Witch's Hill. Afterward, we withdrew from the competition for the Witch's Hill. Moreover, the Starlight Alliance has announced that it will start an all-out war with the Ling YI Society in the Witch's Hill. If our members don't accept the challenge, the Starlight Alliance will hunt down any player that leaves Ling Yi City. Currently, our Guild members are fighting the Starlight Alliance's members all over the Starmoon Kingdom. However, our results are not ideal. Hence, the various large Guilds in the Starmoon Kingdom have decided that this is a good opportunity to compete for White River City. They've sent their members here to make preparations."
"These Guilds … They really aren't going to let go of an opportunity." Shifeng could not help but shake his head. "Since the Starlight Alliance wants to fight to the death in the Witch's Hill, I'll fulfill their wish! Notify Shiuse Qiangwei immediately and have her gather 1,000 Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers in White River City's Residence! "
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