Alex's eyes sharpened.
He had been waiting for these words.
Once this notification comes...
No consequences will follow.
He raised his greatsword calmly, stepped forward, and stared directly at Follower 2.
"You're the one who poked me, right?"
The sword flashed in an arc.
"Critical –45"
Follower 2's body burst into white light and vanished in one hit.
Dead instantly.
Alex turned to the rest, gripping the greatsword with a cold smile. "Since you want to go at me, together…"
He raised the sword.
"I'll send you all to go together."
*Ha*
Alex swung his greatsword.
The four followers didn't even have time to blink before their bodies burst into white light and vanished on the spot; everyone only got hit once.
Alex lowered his sword and turned toward the last man, the rich young master, who was frozen mid-air from fear with a dagger trembling in his hand.
"You're the last one," Alex smiled lightly.
The young master stumbled backward, "Y-you… w-what do you want? I… I'm warning you... Y-you're provoking the World Domination Guild."
Alex shrugged. "So what?"
The system timer ticked in his mind.
"Time's up. You're still on the road."
And without giving the brat a chance to squeal another empty threat
Slash
The young master exploded into white light.
At the same time, every player in the novice village received a system-wide alert:
*
System:
"Because user 'This Young Master Has Money' and his five followers broke novice village rules and attacked an innocent player, all six will be confined in the dark house for 7 days. All six will drop 1 level."
The village fell silent.
Alex sheathed his sword and turned slowly toward the crowd.
"So…" he called out casually, "who else wanted to buy the equipment from me?"
Two dozen players instinctively took two steps back.
A moment ago, he was a walking treasure chest.
Now he was a walking boss monster.
But Alex flashed a different smile, friendly, calm.
"Relax. My gear can be sold… as long as the price is right."
He sat down, opened his storage, and dumped ten pieces of black-iron equipment onto the ground in front of him.
"Come, come. First-come, first-served. High price takes priority."
The hesitation in the crowd finally began to break.
And then someone stepped forward.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
[Snow Princess]
A girl with a gentle face, light steps, and soft eyes. In Alex's previous life, she grew into the number-one mage in China. Her skills seemed to be so elegant and powerful that she carried an entire superguild on her shoulders.
But right now, she looked like a shy newbie trembling at a market stall.
She raised her hand timidly. "Um… excuse me… how much is the staff?"
Ah, the Flame Wand.
Alex smiled. "You've got good eyes. This Flame Staff is top-quality black iron. My best piece today. Normally, 888 silver. But you're my first customer. I'll give you a discount. 88.8 silver coins."
The crowd gasped.
88 silver coins were actually dirt for such a staff with such stats, but in this early stage?
Yes. Very Expensive...
Snow Princess (Qing shui's) cheeks flushed pink. "I… I don't have that much money," she said softly.
Alex blinked.
Oh. Right.
It was only the second day.
Even small guilds struggled to scrape together a few silver coins.
Retail players? Impossible.
He scratched his head. "Alright then. 0.1% off. 8.88 silver coins."
"No…" she whispered, even redder. "I still don't have that much."
Alex stared. He couldn't believe it.
He sighed and asked directly, "Okay, how much do you have?"
She held out her hand obediently.
"Just 53 copper coins."
Alex's expression froze.
Then he laughed. "Fine. Give me 1 copper coin. The Flame Staff is yours."
Her eyes widened. "R-really?"
"Of course, it's my first business in Arcana World Online. I'm not about to let it go bad."
She hurriedly dug into her pouch and placed a single, yellowing copper coin into his palm.
"Here… this is a copper coin."
Alex accepted it with exaggerated pride and handed over the staff.
"Deal."
Snow Princess hugged the staff gently.
Then, her voice shy, she asked: "Um… Night Wind… can I add you as a friend?"
Alex didn't hesitate.
"Sure."
They added each other instantly.
As she turned to leave, Alex called out: "If you need anything in the future, come find me."
She nodded softly. "Okay."
And walked away.
Behind her, the entire crowd erupted in whispers.
"Damn... Big Brother is amazing. He sold a top-tier black-iron weapon and got a beauty's favor."
"Not just any beauty. That's a Master-class seedling. But then again, that staff should be worth 3000 dollars easily. I guess he deserves a favor from a beauty indeed..."
"Seriously? 3000?? That's half my monthly salary."
"If someone gave me that equipment now, I'd kneel to thank him."
"Man… bronze equipment, here I come."
Laughter spread through the village.
And Alex?
He continued his business...
"Come, come, I still have plenty of black-iron gearwho wants it?"
With a casual wave, Alex removed every piece of equipment from his body and laid it neatly on the ground, turning the bare patch of dirt into a black-iron stall.
Someone finally stepped up.
"How much for this helmet?" asked a player named No Dust.
Alex didn't hesitate. "Fixed price. Eighty silver."
"Can you go lower?"
"No."
No Dust scratched his head. "Then wait a moment. I gotta check with my guild leader."
"Sure," Alex replied calmly.
Another player pointed at a sword. "What about this?"
"Ninety silver."
Although the crowd murmured and eyed the equipment greedily, no one dared buy yet. It was simply too early in the game for retail players to produce so much money.
Suddenly...
"Make way..."
A harsh voice shouted, and a group of men pushed through the crowd. Their footsteps were heavy, and their faces appeared hostile, reaching Alex with bad intentions practically leaking from their pores.
The man in front, a tank named Domineering, squinted at him.
"You're the guy who hurt my boss's cousin, right?" he growled. His stare drifted over the equipment on the stall with clear greed flickering in his eyes. "Here's the deal. Give me all your gear for free. Maybe I'll say a few good words for you with the boss. Otherwise… you won't survive in Arcana World Online."
"Oh?" Alex chuckled. He had already guessed these clowns were connected to the young master he'd killed earlier. He simply didn't expect them to come so quickly.
Before he could answer, another voice cut in:
"Hey, since when does the No. 10001 Novice Village belong to you?"
The crowd parted againand this time a group led by No Dust stepped forward. Behind them stood none other than Flame Fireworks, guild leader of Hegemon, a well-known player.
Domineering stiffened. "F-Fireworks? You actually came? Your guild really has quite the nose."
The corner of Fireworks' lips curled. "Funny. You came here first."
Domineering's face twitched.
In the game Natural Disaster, Fireworks had beaten him dozens of times. Every match left Domineering crushed.
He didn't want to fight him, especially not in front of a crowd.
His false bravado evaporated instantly.
"Hmph. We'll settle this later, Night Wind. You can't hide in the novice village forever. Once you're out in the wild, we'll kill you on sight."
Leaving behind that threat, Domineering and his men retreated with forced boldness.
Alex wrinkled his nose. Targeted already? On day two?
But instead of annoyance, excitement warmed in his chest.
It had been a long time since he'd been hunted by a guild. The thrill was almost nostalgic.
Meanwhile, Fireworks turned to him with a grin. "Brother, how much for all these items together?"
Alex quickly counted the pieces. "At least 20 gold. Since you came on time, I'll give you a 10% discount. 18 gold."
Fireworks' smile froze.
He wiped imaginary sweat. "Can we… talk about another form of payment? Eighteen gold is too much. Even with our guild numbers, it's impossible to gather right now. We're just starting out in Arcana World Online."
Alex nodded. "True enough. Gold was scarce in the early days.
He offered a compromise.
"Alright. Let's trade in mixed form. 1 silver coin equals 10 dollars in real money. You transferred me 8 gold worth, that's 8,000 dollars. The remaining 10 gold, you can repay in the game. Deal?"
Fireworks' eyes lit up instantly.
He knew the real exchange price in the underground market was soaring. 1 silver was already selling for 13 dollars, and was still rising. Alex's offer was actually cheaper.
"Okay. Give me your account number. I'll transfer it right away."
Alex told him the number.
Ten seconds later
*Ding!
His phone buzzed with confirmation: 8,000 dollars received.
At least three months of expenses secured, just like that.
Fireworks rubbed his hands. "There's still 10 gold…"
"You can pay within three days," Alex said calmly. "I'll need it later."
"No problem"
Fireworks immediately sent him 3 gold as a deposit and added him as a friend.
A message followed instantly: "Do you still have more black-iron equipment?"
Alex didn't bluff and replied. "Yeah. A bit. Better quality than these, but more expensive."
Fireworks nearly trembled. "Price doesn't matter. Just sell it to me. But, as you know, I can't purchase them with gold. As long as it is real money, it won't be a problem."
"Alright. First, take these," Alex said. "We'll talk elsewhere."
Fireworks agreed instantly, collected all the equipment from the stall, and the crowd quickly dispersed.
Then Alex led him and a few guild members behind a quiet building.
After checking there were no players around, Alex opened his ring and dumped out another pile of gear.
More than sixty pieces.
Even Fireworks' jaw dropped when he saw the pile of weapons.
Alex said calmly, "These sixty-plus pieces. Total: 90 gold."
Fireworks' throat tightened at once.
He didn't know where this guy got all this gear in only two days, but he didn't dare ask.
All he knew was:
If Hegemony could buy all of this…
They could surpass every guild in the early game.
An early advantage meant dominance later, and his heartbeat began to pound.