Although Melancholy Smile was not an adventure player but merely a Life Player, she knew the value of Stamina Potions and Stamina Gems all too well.
The exchange price for Stamina Potions in Zero Wing was climbing higher day by day. Even ordinary Elite members no longer had the right to redeem them — only those who had been in the guild for a long time, contributed substantially, and been promoted to Senior Elites were eligible, and even then they could only exchange for one bottle every three days. Even so, the daily supply of Stamina Potions in the guild was snapped up completely.
This showed just how important Stamina Potions were to current top-tier players.
But she couldn't really blame them. Players had leveled up considerably by now, and most no longer ground in kingdoms or empires — they all flocked to neutral maps where opportunities were more plentiful and leveling was faster. This was also the main reason Zero Wing City was so popular among Star Moon Kingdom's players.
This was the fairness of the Divine Realm — seek comfort and your gains would be modest; dare to venture forth and your rewards would be great. Fortune and misfortune were intertwined, one feeding into the other.
The reason Zero Wing's members could level so quickly after reaching Level 50 and wield such excellent gear was largely thanks to Stamina Potions.
As for Stamina Gems, they were even more remarkable. Though their effect was not as powerful as Stamina Potions, they were permanently effective, and the more you accumulated, the stronger the benefit — usable for a lifetime. They were treasures every major faction would fight tooth and nail to secure.
Melancholy Smile then had her staff open the Stamina Potion counter at the Candlelight Trading Firm. Beside it, she set up an additional counter displaying a single Stamina Gem, with the bidding qualifications for Stamina Gems clearly marked above it.
Although there were few players in the Candlelight Trading Firm at the moment, the new counters still caught the attention of several.
"Look! A new counter just opened over there!"
"New product launch?"
These were all free players — not natives of the Dark Night Empire, but occasional visitors to Dark Night City to buy and sell goods. They didn't much care about Star Ring's prohibition. After all, they had no plans to develop in the Dark Night Empire. If the Dark Night City Auction House was off-limits, they could simply visit auction houses in other empires — it made little difference to them.
Now that the Candlelight Trading Firm was selling goods well below market price, they naturally weren't going to pass up the opportunity.
"Hmph, think launching some new product will make a difference? In Star Ring's territory, daring to oppose us Star Ring — the sheer audacity!" A Star Ring assassin, disguised as a free player, glanced at the newly opened counter with a trace of contempt.
Star Ring's wealth and influence were immense. Even without leveraging the Auction House's power, their own Star Ring Trading Firm could have prevented the Candlelight Trading Firm from gaining a foothold in Dark Night City — let alone now that Star Ring had acquired the Dark Night City Auction House. No one could shake their economic dominance in Dark Night City. Not even a super guild.
In his view, the higher-ups had sent him to monitor the Candlelight Trading Firm for no good reason.
Every major power in the Dark Night Empire wouldn't dare cross Star Ring over some petty profit — not with ten times the courage.
And the idea that free players alone could impact Dark Night City's market or Star Ring's economy was pure fantasy. After all, many of the Dark Night Empire's precious materials required considerable strength to obtain. Free players had an incredibly hard time acquiring them — typically, it was the major adventure teams that supplied raw materials to the major guilds.
Just as the Star Ring assassin was thinking this, a cry of shock suddenly rang out in his ear.
"Holy crap! Stamina Potions! They actually have Stamina Potions here?!"
The exclamation sent a hush through the entire hall of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Almost every player present turned their gaze toward the Stamina Potion counter, eyes blazing with frenzy, and sprinted toward it.
In less than ten seconds, the players in the hall had crowded around the Stamina Potion counter.
"They really are Stamina Potions!"
"No way! Zero Wing is actually selling these things?"
"Damn! They're only accepting Dark Night Empire-specific materials for exchange!"
The free players at the counter stared at the Stamina Potions, their breathing growing heavier by the second.
"Boss, I want ten bottles of those Stamina Potions!"
"I want twenty bottles!"