"For now, the 4th floor will be used as an auction house, so I'll pass."
The fourth floor had nothing to fill yet. The best item he had was a Unique-grade Sword registered on the Integrated Auction House, and since no players had reached the tertiary city yet, there was no point letting it sit there. He planned to acquire good items later, place them there, and sell them via auction.
'I'll get an entrance fee, and I'll take a commission.'
If he didn't have enough of his own items, he could handle consignment sales. He'd take a fee, and the auction process would be handled by himself. By accepting only the best items, many people would participate, even with a separate entrance fee. Thus, the Vendors here were set up just to collect the entrance fees; the transactions would be handled by Lokan himself.
"I'm going to put branded products on the 3rd floor, so I'll have to watch the crafting items come out."
Up until now, he had purchased weapons from the Integrated Auction House to strengthen and sell, while his crafted items were auctioned separately based on grade. Starting tomorrow, however, that would change.
Products bearing the T.K. brand name would be sold only here. Initially, he would sell Level 100 weapons, gradually increasing the level cap as users progressed. The Dwarf Blacksmith's skill was high enough for Lokan to produce Level 170 items, meaning he could maintain his lead for quite some time.
"The second floor is going to be made with premium items, so it will be enough for reinforcement items and the items I get from hunting."
The second floor would sell premium items: gear with better performance than general items. While it wouldn't be much different from the regular auction house, he would attract customers by advertising it as the only place to buy enhancement items. Furthermore, he could sell unique loot that was currently difficult to price because he was so far ahead of the curve. Many players often bought high-level equipment in advance to use immediately upon hitting the required level. Users who reached the Crossroads—who had the confidence to tackle Level 100 monsters at Level 99—were especially likely to be tempted, believing they could reach the required level in no time.
"The first floor is also a vending base."
The first floor was the part Lokan looked forward to the most. He planned to install a 'vending machine' system using a Vendor. This meant buying popular items cheaply and selling them at the same price, or a little higher, when someone needed them instantly. While the Integrated Auction House could yield more money, considering the fees and the hassle of waiting, he believed many would use his service even if it meant a slight loss. It was a proven business model in many games.
The only issue was needing enough stock and capital, which Lokan certainly had.
"Hmm, the initial sale items are Mark Scroll, Teleport Scroll, Return Scroll, Potion, Safety Guard, Map, and Whetstone."
These items would cater to visitors who were allowed into the city but restricted from using the main shops until they achieved recognition from at least one race.
But the price would be outrageous. Every item would be double the price found in the primary and secondary cities like Trinsic. At that price, it would be more profitable for a player to use their Rune Book to go back to the previous city, buy items in bulk, and return.
'They won't actually buy it…'
But Lokan was firm. Don't buy it.
He knew from experience that most players hated the inconvenience of constantly having to backtrack to another city for supplies. To save money, he had always stocked up until his inventory was full. Lokan, an experienced gamer, knew whether players would choose inconvenience over expense without even needing to check. He boldly took the risk. If his forecast was wrong, he could always lower the price or simply use the stock himself.
He pondered the detailed settings for items to be purchased and sold for a while, and eventually hung a sign and a small notice in front of the building announcing that it was a store. The access time limit was approaching.
[We also sell items to visitors.]
It was a very simple reminder, but to restricted players, it would feel like a godsend.
While Lokan was busy building his shop, a riot was underway outside the game.
The news of the first tertiary city revealed—a feat no one else had accomplished—caused a global commotion.
Ward: Shout! Lokan is a god!
Dart: This is the 3rd city, it's really real.
└ Guinea: At least it's not a city that's been revealed so far. But isn't it too fast?
└ Grapefruit Soda: What's fast is fast. There are already people who achieved level 100. Oh, then he wouldn't be the first one, hahahaha.
└ Guinea: No, I mean Lokan when I say fast. I heard he was less than Level 40 during the Blood Chaser argument, but he's Level 100 already. Or did he go to the 3rd city first, not Level 100?
Tax Wagon: He's not a Lokan God for nothing. A friend in the MP Guild said that the first time he fought him, he was Level 35, but a few days later, he jumped to 50 and applied for membership, lol. That's crazy leveling up speed. Is he hacking, or the CEO's son?
Mortal: So, how are we going to get here anyway? We can't even reach Trinsic easily.
└ Benharpa: If he's like you, will he let you know? He'll suck all the honey himself.
Just looking at the video and screenshots, people couldn't be absolutely certain it was the tertiary city, but it was clearly a new, unrevealed city. Moreover, as the news spread globally, its credibility soared. Overseas users were seeing the city and hunting grounds for the first time as well.
Mike Morhaime: Oh my God, the Koreans did it again! It's already the third city.
└ Hati: I knew this. Koreans are really crazy. At least in games.
Richard Galliot: Hey, Lokan, I can't give you more information. Don't just sketch the city tantalizingly; give us some more city information! Or even a hunting ground level or pattern! Donations will be enough!
Aldrich: What the hell are the guilds in my country even doing?
Thanks to this, Lokan's name was known worldwide. While his fight with the Blood Chaser had been introduced overseas, he was mostly just seen as a cool fighter. This time, however, the situation was different. With a title like World First, his name was unforgettable.
In addition, the number of views of the tertiary city introduction video began to explode. Many people watched it repeatedly to glean information, pushing the view count far beyond 10 million. When Lokan checked, the views were just over 100 million. Even if his disinformation delayed their progress by a few days, he had already achieved more views than expected. It was clear that he would earn tens of millions of won from advertising revenue alone. At this point, the bold reinvestment of the gold earned from The Road had paid off.
"I think it will be similar overseas."
Although he couldn't check the overseas situation directly, the progress of Korean users was the fastest in the world. Now, players who had reached Level 99 were starting to appear. Thanks to this, the video's potential exploded, and the views continued to climb.
"Well, some of them were really good."
He had met them after a long time. Whether concerned about faction fighting divided by countries or language barriers, Falcon Corporation had grouped the starting regions by country. It was later revealed that the automatic interpretation function was applied in-game, but users didn't know this yet.
"If this is enough, the next videos will be able to gain momentum."
The subscriber count had also increased significantly. From about 300,000, his channel was now approaching 10 million subscribers. With fewer than ten videos uploaded in total, he could rightfully brag about being a YouTube star.
But Lokan saw even this as a stepping stone. It was a means to leap to a higher place, and he had no intention of being satisfied yet. With this in mind, he planned his next video to be something that would greatly interest the players now on his heels.
After spreading some additional false information, Lokan took a deep breath and woke up to connect to The Road to get his physical condition back.
"The easiest way to turn off aggro is probably the dungeon."
There were three dungeons very close to the Crossroads: two public dungeons and one secret dungeon. If he ventured further or near other cities, there were many more, but for the right level and proximity, these were the closest. Lokan decided to attack one of the public dungeons.
"This would be good."
What Lokan chose was a so-called 'Troll Dungeon'. Among the hostile races—Orcs, Goblins, and Undead—players had already encountered them as monsters, but the default stats for Trolls were very high, so most players hadn't seen them yet. While they couldn't use their racial characteristics as cleverly as players, as Level 110–120 monsters, their physical abilities were outstanding, which would make for great footage. He knew his own racial limits were virtually non-existent at this point.
"Trolls are profitable again."
Besides, hunting Trolls made money. Because they were difficult to hunt, the blood and tendons harvested from any kind of Troll were among the most expensive monster byproducts. Since Lokan had intermittently leveled his Slaughter Skill in preparation for such a day, he would be able to recover some of his spent funds by collecting extra byproducts in addition to the normal drop items to fill his shop.
"Hold on, I think there was an episode quest related to this."
Something came to mind as he recollected fuzzy memories from his past life: an episode called the 'Crazy Baron' Quest. It was a quest received from a Baron who lived and built a villa in a secluded place not far from the Crossroads. Lokan stood still, recalled the flow and the reward, and smiled with satisfaction. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about this.
After checking his new shop, which was currently empty because the Dwarf Blacksmith hadn't delivered the crafted items yet, he immediately set off.