Zyrus and the crew sat around a raging bonfire. The night wind carried the aroma of sizzling meat and vegetables, but no one had their eyes focused on the skewers. Everyone was looking for someone to start the conversation.
“Cough, I’ll explain why we sold off our items,” Lauren cleared her throat and spoke everyone’s thoughts.
“We all saw the contribution system, and in order to buy what we needed, we decided to trade with the other players.”
“Why sell? I doubt it’d take you long to accumulate the points,” Zyrus asked as he observed their serious faces.
“I- no, we think that it would be more beneficial if we do this before going through our class upgrades.”
Lauren’s words earned a nod from everyone present, including Zyrus. He was able to guess what they wanted to buy using the contribution points.
“Should I praise your wits or be sad about the morons who bought your items?”
“Actually, it’s better this way,” Kyle returned Zyrus’s Knowing smile and continued,
“There are quite a few players who think that we’ve earned our position and strength by relying on the items you’ve given us. They know that the earlier one joined, the more benefits they’d get from you.”
“But knowing doesn’t mean accepting,” Zyrus completed the following sentence.
“Indeed.”
“But are they wrong?”
“Right now, they’re not.”
Zyrus was more than satisfied with Kyle’s answer. More than that, he appreciated the fact that the leading figures under him were united.
It was true to assume that the current strength of the group was dependent on the items he gave them. But only they themselves knew the key factor behind their rise in power– Zyrus’s knowledge.
“The players don’t seem to care about the information. Out of the 2568 transactions, not a single one has bought any information,” Zyrus told them the details he had just checked out. It wasn’t unexpected as the first thing players wanted was something that could ensure their survival. Only those confident in their strength would think far ahead in the future.
Everyone would know about this meeting soon enough. The ambitious players could try their luck on the ‘weakened’ players, but would they succeed? Of course not.
This event would show them how valuable Zyrus’s knowledge was.
“Alright then, what do you want to know?” Zyrus took out a cooked skewer and started eating. Even if the others were too eager to ask him, they had no choice but to calm down and follow his action.
“We’ve collected a total of 10,000 points to buy information on ‘Laws’.”
“Let’s see…Kyle, Lauren, Shi kun, Jacob, Ria, Druv, and Strongfist. After I told you the info that’s priced at 1000, you’ll have about 400 points left. I’d advise you to use them together.”
Zyrus’s hint was pretty obvious. The leaders would definitely use them to ask about class and race upgrades, both of which were priced at 200 points.
What they didn’t know was that two things were correlated
“How about this, we’ll spend the leftover points as well- so give us more specific answers,” Ria spoke after a bit of hesitation. Not that she didn’t value Zyrus’s advice, but it was rather embarrassing for them to be without a single contribution point.
“Sure. Starting today, I’ll give you a special training plan for the second ring,” Zyrus took out another skewer and began his explanation.
This was bound to be an exciting night.
…
When the sun rose on the second day, the construction began in full swing. Instead of telling Ria and the others about laws, Zyrus explained classes and skills in detail and ordered them to get specific achievements within a month.
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At the same time, he recorded his ‘lecture’ so he wouldn’t have to repeat the same process once again.
The situation on the island was bound to be chaotic if all of the commanding figures disappeared for a month, so Zyrus decided to step up himself.
The first order he gave was simple– kill every monster and fish around the island. The ones who performed remarkably would receive special rewards from him. The motivated players began a one-sided massacre when the clock hit 9 in the morning.
‘Looks like it won’t even take 3 days,’
Zyrus observed the players from the temporary watchtower and noted down a few words. Franken and his knights departed on the dragon of war along with 200 ships to bring the production class players. At the same time, Tiamat and Sedna would patrol the surrounding ocean starting tonight.
While everyone was busy doing their respective tasks– Zyrus completed the checkup on the faction storage.
Quite a bit of metal was left after he separated what he and the players needed. Healing seaweed paste, some quality-of-life products, and lastly, the catapults and rams that were developed recently.
These were the main products that would satiate the economic needs of the project he was making.
“Make sure all the raw materials are collected by the time the fleet returns.”
“Got it.”
“Want to ask anything?” Zyrus took out an empty scroll and looked at Stephen who was standing behind. The young man had grown a lot since the first time he saw him. He wore a neat black suit along with a monocle– a rare item that aided in calculation and communication.
But compared to these eternal changes, the biggest improvement was in his mental state.
“About the things you’re planning to sell…will the catapult and ram be useful like the ones above?”
Stephen’s question was within reason as compared to the oceanic metals and seaweed which were regional specialties, the weapons of war were common on the Kyros continent. Why would anyone buy them when they could just make one? They weren’t something like electric torpedoes and frost cannons that were recognized by the system.
“Haha…you’ll know when the time comes. Always remember, the war between two intelligent species is completely different from what you’ve seen thus far,”
“I see…I’ll get going then,” Stephen nodded and left with scrolls.
“Come back before lunch,” Zyrus waved him off and resumed his work. Players on the ocean were unaware of the cutthroat competition on the Kyros continent.
A hundred golden crown holders, more than a thousand silver crown holders, and countless bronze crown holders. Not to mention the natives which were even more in numbers.
Hundreds of kings sprouted like bamboo shoots and fought for supremacy. Alliances, backstabbing, surprise raids, and many such tactics determined the victor.
‘And the one I’m targeting is logistics,’
Zyrus had told the players to make some land-based weapons of war by using the fish remains and tropical trees. They didn’t have any advantages compared to the ones on Kyros.
But the key was, no one was selling them. Kings who focused on warfare didn’t have enough for their own use, and the ones who focused on trade weren’t stupid enough to sell them on the shop.
A hundred catapults could change the result of a war. It wasn’t difficult to sell them for a hefty price at a critical moment. The merchant kings were similar to hyaenas who always roamed around the battlefields.
It was precisely a situation like this which allowed Zyrus to take advantage of the shop function. As long as your flag’s tier was above 5, it was possible to retrieve purchased items directly from the faction storage.
“Phew…all done,” Zyrus stretched his limbs after he finished the calculations. Not that he needed paper for that, it just felt nice.
‘Those with brains would realize the use of this trade,’
He placed the sell order without much advertisement. As for those who didn’t see the advantage in this? They wouldn’t have enough money to buy from him anyway. Wars burned more money than anything else. The kings who didn’t realize this would lose their crown sooner or later.
At last, he opened another tab of the shop to buy what he wanted. Even after selling everything his faction had in excess, they could at most amass a wealth of 10k gold.
It was a significant sum, but still, it wasn’t enough to meet his criteria.
‘Let’s hope there’s something good…’
There were 28 'pieces' of farm on the outer ring of this island. They'd be made into docs with the wood and metal they already had.
After that was the reception area and the first plantation site. Since there were no plants suitable on any of the islands, Zyrus had to buy them from elsewhere.
[Fibre luminous grass x 100]
[A grass-like plant that grows in mild sunlight. It has a conical tip that glows in the night.]
[Height: 0.75 meters]
[Available: 500]
[Price: 5 S]
[Mutated water bamboo x 10]
[A unique bamboo grown in the center of Kyros. It has 9 segments with each being a foot long. With its high durability and rebound strength, it is used to fend off low-level monsters]
[Height: 3 meters]
[Available: 1000]
[Price: 50 S]
Zyrus made a buy order for the two as they were easy to grow and beautiful to look at. If he negotiated a cheaper price, he could also evolve them by using the formals he knew. With his vast knowledge as a regressor and an arcanist, there were bound to be a few good deals that could solve his financial problems.
And sure enough, he found one such thing.
[Vuur bonsai]
[An underground species of bonsai grown in the dwarven lands. Its orange leaves produce heat waves, and it could be used as a light source with sufficient numbers]
[Height: 1 meter]
[Available: 1000]
[Price: 0.5 G]
‘Heh, they didn’t mention its biggest flaw…’
Zyrus was sure that whoever was selling them was a scammer. It was a pity for them because he knew the true usage of Vuur bonsai.
‘Half a gold coin? I wouldn’t sell it even for a 100,’