His gaze swept through the cave, inspecting every inch with extreme caution, making no sound whatsoever, for fear of attracting the fire element lurking deep inside.
Gradually approaching the corner, with the dim light, Nie Yan finally unearthed a dilapidated wooden box hidden there.
The wooden crate, weathered and worn over time, appeared utterly unremarkable—far from the exquisite craftsmanship of silver or gilded treasure chests. Its sole distinguishing feature was the fire-resistant rune etched upon its surface.
Like an ancient character, this rune was simply engraved on the box’s surface, plain and unadorned. Yet this simple inscription could completely isolate fire elements, preserving the box’s integrity.
“It must be this one!” Nie Yan opened the box, rummaged through it, and pulled out a ring.
Crawler’s Ring: Unidentified.
One of the two rings, together with the Weaver’s Ring, considered essential for high-level players—the Crawler’s Ring!
Nie Yan used his Super Insight ability to identify the ring’s attributes.
Crawler’s Ring (Bronze): Special Item.
Attribute Description: After activating this skill, your hands gain adhesive properties, allowing you to climb vertical surfaces such as walls and trees. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.
Weight: 1 pound.
Restriction: Usable by all factions.
Like the Weaver’s Ring, the Crawler’s Ring is a special item, ideal for scaling walls and cliffs. This was precisely why Nie Yan had come all this way.
Nie Yan had come specifically for this ring!
With it, practically no obstacle could hinder him anymore!
Nie Yan equipped the Crawler’s Ring.
Having obtained what he wanted, Nie Yan hesitated. Using a Return Scroll here might awaken the fire element deep inside the cave, which would be disastrous.
From deep within the cave came rhythmic snores, accompanied by waves of scorching heat.
Nie Yan tiptoed to the cave entrance and activated the Crawler’s Ring. His palms developed a strange suction force, sticking tightly to the rock wall and holding him firmly in place.
Nie Yan moved like a spider, clinging tightly to the rock face. His movements were swift and effortless, as if walking on flat ground.
To Nie Yan, sheer cliffs and rocky walls were no longer obstacles!
Climbing downward along the cliff face in search of a suitable foothold, Nie Yan finally found a protruding rock where he could stand. Once there, he freed both hands to use the Return Scroll.
“Below seems to be a monster spawning area for creatures around level twenty, including quite a few elite monsters!” Nie Yan glanced downward and recalled the Thunderflame Scroll in his backpack, a surge of excitement rising in his chest.
With his current attack power, fighting level twenty monsters would be difficult. But Thunderflame could do it!
This mid-tier rare scroll could damage monsters up to level twenty!
“Thirty points of intelligence—I should find some gear that boosts intelligence soon!” Nie Yan thought as he started activating the Return Scroll. A dazzling white light emanated from the scroll, and a teleportation circle formed around Nie Yan.
In a flash of white light, Nie Yan returned to Tessoy Village, then used the teleportation circle to go back to Carol City.
Walking along the wide streets of Carol City, he saw people everywhere advertising. “Buying Blackfen Reagents for 25 copper coins per bottle!” Clearly, no one responded. Blackfen Reagents were in such high demand that every guild was scrambling to acquire them—who would be willing to sell?
“26 copper coins!”
“30 copper coins!”
“32 copper coins!”
Various guilds raised their offers higher and higher, yet no one responded. They were left stunned.
Some guilds even camped out at the auction house. Occasionally, a potion crafter who could produce Blackfen Reagents would bring out a few bottles and sell them at the auction house, immediately sparking a frenzy among the guilds. The most expensive Blackfen Reagent bottle sold for as high as 50 copper coins.
This time around, the shortage of Blackfen Reagents came faster, harder, and more intensely than in Nie Yan’s previous life, leaving the guilds unprepared.
With Blackfen Reagents priced so high, guilds’ profits from venturing into Sauth Vale had dwindled. Yet they still had to go there—official sources had already released a list of equipment drop rates from Sauth Vale. Werewolves dropped warrior gear, crucial for team development. Plus, the experience gained was high. But it was just too difficult. Without dozens of attempts, they couldn’t clear the valley. How many Blackfen Reagents would that consume?
At this point, the only guild likely able to handle Sauth Vale smoothly was probably the Holy Roman Empire. They had purchased so many Blackfen Reagents from Nie Yan that they should be set for a while.
Seeing the sudden and intense shortage of Blackfen Reagents at the auction house, and how quickly prices had skyrocketed, Nie Yan was somewhat surprised. He had assumed players would have some stockpiled, and guilds would have dispatched people to gather ingredients and recipes to last a while. But apparently, the shortage had escalated far more quickly than he expected.
He realized that this price was already near its peak. If it went any higher, guilds would start losing money every time they entered Sauth Vale. Who would do that?
It was time to start selling off the Blackfen Reagents!
Nie Yan listed ten bottles of Blackfen Reagents at the auction house, which were immediately snapped up. The prices kept climbing until they stabilized at around 50 copper coins per bottle. All ten bottles sold out quickly. Seeing a decent profit, Nie Yan listed another ten bottles—and once again, they were sold out in no time.
Nie Yan continued releasing small batches steadily.
Once word spread that Blackfen Reagents were available at the auction house, guild leaders flocked there.
Nie Yan sat in the back row of the auction house, scanning the crowd. He recognized several familiar faces—guild leaders obviously frustrated by the Blackfen Reagent shortage.
Two players sitting not far from Nie Yan whispered to each other.
“Right now, Blackfen Reagents have become the hottest topic across the entire server. Wonder who still has so many of them? Every time it’s ten bottles. Looks like he doesn’t plan to sell all his stock at once. This guy’s got some serious tactics. Selling all at once wouldn’t make much profit. But releasing them slowly, keeping the big guilds hungry, that’s how you keep the prices high.”
“Fifty copper coins for a single bottle of Blackfen Reagent? That’s outrageous! This guy must be raking it in. But he hides his name during the auctions, so no one knows who he is.”
Hearing their whispers, Nie Yan smiled slightly. It was time to make a serious profit!
With so many Blackfen Reagents in storage, if he didn’t release them in batches, once the guilds’ members gathered enough themselves, Nie Yan’s stock might end up unsellable.
Nie Yan simply sat at the auction house, taking a break from grinding and leveling up, feeling relaxed and at ease.
Under the massive market demand, Nie Yan’s Blackfen Reagents became extremely popular. Guilds that had purchased them resumed their Sauth Vale expeditions, while those who hadn’t were desperate—even if it meant being extorted, they still had to push forward with the valley’s exploration.
Although small quantities of Blackfen Reagents were now available on the market, many guilds lacked potion crafters who could produce them. Fearing supply shortages, they were forced to stock up in advance. Driven by this immense demand, Blackfen Reagent prices remained stubbornly high.
The booming market brought Nie Yan a flood of wealth. The money in his backpack multiplied rapidly.
After selling over 500 bottles of Blackfen Reagents, Nie Yan tallied his earnings—16 gold coins in total! Over the next six or seven days, the profits that dozens of guilds would earn from Sauth Vale would essentially all end up in Nie Yan’s pocket. In the early game, such a massive sum was staggering.
Nie Yan still had over 300 bottles of Blackfen Reagents, a large stockpile of raw ingredients, and 220 Blackfen Reagent recipes. The recipes were the real treasure. A single Blackfen Reagent recipe had already been speculated to sell for 20 silver coins, with prices still trending upward. Nie Yan wasn’t in a rush to sell them yet. He would wait until all the reagents and ingredients were sold out first.
With an unexpected 16 gold coins in hand, Nie Yan suddenly found himself flush with cash. Even some major guilds had no more than three or four gold coins in liquid funds. In the early stages, players needed money badly. Ordinary players barely had enough for themselves, let alone donating to guilds. Most had only recently joined guilds and hadn’t yet developed strong loyalty, making fundraising difficult for guild leaders. They could only collect funds from their core members, but if they pushed too hard, discontent would rise and hinder their development.
Having money was one thing, but letting it sit idle wasn’t the way to go. The key was to turn it into even more wealth. Nie Yan thought of real estate!
At this point, the server had begun selling land plots in Carol City. Some street-side houses were being demolished to make way for player shops. Land plots in prime locations along major streets were being sold. However, the office of Mayor Truss, who oversaw land sales, was surprisingly deserted. Each plot cost at least one or two gold coins, with some prime shop locations valued at dozens of gold coins. Even large guilds couldn’t easily come up with such large sums of liquid funds.
Plots priced at one or two gold coins were often considered poorly located and thus ignored by players. The better, busier plots were simply unaffordable, forcing players to give up.
However, in the near future, as guilds accumulated more funds and in-game trading flourished, these land plots would inevitably spark a fierce competition among the major guilds. This was the inevitable trend!
Every guild was constantly accumulating wealth, preparing for expansion. Owning land plots—whether for opening shops oneself or building and renting them out for rental income—was an excellent investment strategy.
Nie Yan had so much money now. Keeping one or two gold coins for daily expenses was enough. Investing the rest in land plots would not only preserve its value but also increase it. Why not?
Just like real-world real estate, virtual real estate also held value!
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