Zero Wing City, first-floor lobby of the Candlelight Trading Company.
Although many guild members had transferred to the other two small towns, Zero Wing City remained the top choice for independent players. Whether it was the convenience of traveling to Zero Wing City or the city's own environment, neither of the other two small towns in Witch's Hill could compare.
While players browsed the goods on display in the first-floor lobby, a new counter had suddenly appeared, marked with a sign indicating the sale of weapons and equipment — with Credit Points as the accepted currency.
In NPC towns, shops generally only accepted the copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins of the Divine Realm. In more specialized venues like the Auction House, one could use magic crystals for transactions, but direct payment with Credit Points was impossible. Guild towns, however, were different. The currency used for trade was entirely free-form — one could use any combination of currencies, specific materials, or items for transactions, and that included Credit Points.
The appearance of the new counter immediately drew the attention of every player in the lobby.
"What's going on? Are they doing cash transactions for weapons and equipment directly?"
"They're not selling garbage gear, are they?"
"Probably not — who'd buy junk equipment? My guess is it's some ordinary-grade gear. After all, Candlelight Trading Company is the number-one trading company in the Star Moon Kingdom, and they've got several Life Skill masters on staff. I'd bet they're planning to sell those masters' practice pieces. Even so, that's not bad — I've been wanting to replace this level 45 gear for a while now, but I just don't have enough gold coins to buy even a single decent level 50 piece."
"True. If Candlelight's prices aren't too steep, I'll pick up a few pieces myself."
…
The players murmured among themselves about the newly appeared counter, and quite a few had already walked over out of curiosity, wanting to see what weapons and equipment Zero Wing intended to sell.
On the counter sat dozens upon dozens of pieces of equipment, each one radiating the distinctive glow effect unique to Mythril Rank gear. Lined up behind the glass display, they shimmered brilliantly, leaving the investigating players momentarily stupefied.
"What the hell? Level 50 Mythril weapons and equipment!"
"Am I seeing this right? Did Zero Wing make a mistake? This is level 50 Mythril Rank gear — even the major guilds can barely get their hands on a single piece, and Zero Wing is openly selling them? For Credit Points, no less?"
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"
"Back off, it's mine! Whoever tries to snatch these from me is getting a fight — I'm buying five pieces!"
"Five? That's nothing — I'm buying ten!"
…
In an instant, players who had only come to look went into a frenzy, scrambling to buy the Mythril Rank weapons and equipment off the counter. It didn't matter whether the gear was even usable for their class or build — they were determined to grab first and sort it out later. After all, each piece was only a few thousand Credit Points, with the priciest weapons just breaking ten thousand. Compared to spending gold coins, paying with Credit Points was far easier, especially for players with a bit of spending money. Without a shred of hesitation, some of them bought entire sets, planning to swap into them the moment they hit level 50.
Over one hundred Mythril Rank weapons and equipment pieces were snatched clean in under three minutes, netting the Zero Wing Guild well over six hundred thousand Credit Points in the blink of an eye.
"Hell! How is it gone already?"
"If I'd known, I would've just gone for it. I shouldn't have hesitated — even buying and reselling would've been a tidy little profit."
Meanwhile, at Silver Wing Town, countless independent players who had stood before the counter were consumed with regret, cursing themselves for not acting sooner. Had they moved quickly enough, they'd be the ones raising their glasses in celebration right now.