Chapter 38: Trading items

Arthur stood quietly in the middle of a cleared street, surrounded by the remains of high level monsters he had casually dispatched upon his arrival. The stench of blood hung heavily in the air, but he remained completely unbothered, his eyes calmly scanning the deserted buildings of Herian City. He wore heavy, dark full-body armor that completely concealed his physical structure, topped with a plain, featureless mask that revealed nothing except a pair of calm, deep eyes. No one looking at him could determine his age, appearance, or expression.

Footsteps echoed from down the alleyway, heavy and hurried. A group of heavily armed players appeared, wearing the uniform gear of the national military force. At the front was Alex, breathing heavily as he looked around anxiously at the absolute carnage scattered across the pavement.

When Alex spotted the armor-clad figure standing near the pile of monster corpses, he immediately straightened his posture and halted his men. "Big shot. We are here," Alex said in a humble tone, taking a step forward while keeping his hands clearly visible.

Arthur slowly turned his head toward them. His voice came through the mask, muffled yet carrying a strange, unnatural resonance that made the surrounding air feel slightly heavier.

"I have many things to sell. Now the government should understand the value of these resources, so the rules are changed. Twenty royal grade items for one legendary grade item. How many can you bring? I will give this offer to other forces as well, but they will have to pay twenty-five royal grade items."

Arthur had already calculated everything silently in his head. Receiving twenty royal grade items in trade would be equivalent to obtaining roughly 1.5 Divine Gold in base market value. Because these were legitimately traded, uninflated items taken directly from player inventories, they would trigger his passive 10,000x multiplication system upon entering his possession, yielding an astounding 15,000 Divine Gold per item.

Conversely, if he simply sold his legendary items directly to the system shop, they could only be liquidated for around 200 to 300 Divine Gold each, since direct system sales of inflated items did not trigger his multiplier. The difference was enormous, and the profit margin was simply too lucrative to ignore.

Alex’s face turned pale instantly. The sudden price increase was a massive blow, but his mind raced as he processed the rest of Arthur’s statement. The big shot was about to offer these items to rival factions if they could not secure them immediately, yet he was still granting the government a massive discount compared to the twenty-five royal grade items everyone else would have to pay.

"Big shot, how many items are we talking about? I mean, I will have to ask my superiors for the funds," Alex said, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his forehead.

"Thousands," Arthur replied without a moment of hesitation.

Arthur was now so overwhelmingly powerful that even a direct nuclear strike might not be enough to end his life. With such a massive gap in strength separating him from the rest of the world, he no longer had any reason to hide or worry about displaying his immense wealth.

"Thousands?" Alex choked, almost tripping over his own boots as he stared at the masked figure in absolute disbelief. "Big brother, are we talking about thousands of legendary items?" he asked, swallowing hard as his throat became completely dry.

"Yes," Arthur replied flatly, as if he were talking about a handful of common pebbles rather than game-changing equipment that entire nations would desperately fight to obtain.

"I am going out right now. Big shot, can you protect this area for a while so that when I reenter, I won’t die?" Alex asked with a wry smile. Herian City was incredibly ruthless, and respawning or entering without proper protection was practically a death sentence.

"Don’t worry. I am about to have a meeting with several other groups here, so this place is going to be safe for at least one hour. That is all the time I can give you," Arthur replied calmly.

"Okay," Alex said hurriedly.

Alex’s body immediately began fading into translucent light before vanishing entirely as he logged out to contact the highest levels of military command. Left alone once again, Arthur looked up toward the empty sky above the ruined city streets.

"System, I want to have a city-wide announcement," Arthur communicated directly with the game system interface in his mind.

A cold, mechanical voice echoed inside his head in response.

[Ding! It will cost 10 Royal Gold Coins.]

The system stated its price without any emotion.

"Fair enough," Arthur muttered softly, authorizing the payment without a second thought.

The very next second, a massive thunderous prompt roared across the sky, echoing through the minds of every player currently present in the region.

[Herian City Announcement: Player Darklord is inviting all wealthy players to the following coordinates to trade legendary items with him. Each legendary item costs twenty-five royal grade items. No bargaining. If you have the money, come and trade. The event will remain open for one hour.]

Boom!

Like a sudden bolt of thunder striking a quiet field, the announcement caused players across the city to stop in their tracks and stare toward the sky in utter shock.

"He is trading legendary items like he is selling rice and potatoes? How many does he even have? I need to go and see right now. Maybe if I get lucky, I can sneak attack him from behind and gain some legendary gear for myself," some ambitious players thought, their eyes glowing with sudden greed.

Even though many of them did not possess the massive wealth required to purchase a single royal grade item, let alone twenty-five, nothing was stopping them from going there to witness the spectacle.

Eliana also heard the loud notification echo through her interface. She had just arrived at the border of Herian City alongside her elite Grandvale team and was currently having a brutally difficult time dealing with the overwhelming level of the local monsters.

Her bright eyes lit up instantly upon reading the coordinates. If she could obtain even a single legendary grade weapon for herself or her team, their attack output would become vastly more efficient, while their overall survival rate would increase dramatically.

"I am logging out right now to secure funds from the family. You guys go ahead and try to see what he is selling," she ordered her surrounding team members in a swift, authoritative tone.

"Okay, young miss," the guards replied respectfully before immediately breaking into a run toward the specified coordinates.

Similar scenes were rapidly occurring across the city. The rich heirs and representatives who had received strict instructions from their powerful families to establish a relationship with Darklord and purchase high-tier items had been unable to find even a trace of him for days. Now, after finally receiving a direct invitation, they were completely worked up.

They all logged out without hesitation to mobilize their real-world assets and clear the necessary channels. Meanwhile, Arthur stood atop a slightly elevated mound of rubble, calmly watching countless human figures pour into the wide district from every connecting avenue.

At this point, more than 10,000 players had entered Herian City, and almost all of them were rushing toward his location like a massive flood. If nothing else, they reasoned that the designated location should be completely safe. After all, the world’s strongest player, Darklord, was hosting a trade there, so surely he would clear out any monsters that dared approach.

"This is bad. Aurora City is the den of real-world billionaires and massive corporate syndicates. If the captain fails to negotiate quickly with the higher-ups, then we are going to lose out completely," the remaining army soldiers stationed near Arthur muttered nervously as they watched the massive crowd gathering around the area.