"2 million units per potion!" Kevin exclaimed, his eyes widening at the price displayed on the gleaming vial of potion.
"Hey, do you think this price is reasonable? Can't you maybe bump it up to around 5000 omni tokens?" Kevin pleaded, his tone filled with desperation as the system once again undervalued the items.
Growing bored while waiting for Sia, Kevin decided to open an account on the CA marketplace—a hub where many cultivators came to acquire resources for their cultivation practices. Being both a store owner and a cultivator himself, it made sense for Kevin to establish a presence there. Among the products he chose to list was the Immortal Tier Qi Potion, but before doing so, he curiously searched for its market price.
The results were far from pleasing; the listed price was significantly higher than the price the system had assigned to them. Kevin's heart ached at the thought of selling them at such a discounted rate. The system's price suggestion hovered around 200,000 units, which he could stretch to 300,000 units, but that still fell 1.7 million short of the average price.
Even if Kevin wanted to sell at this lower price, he knew people wouldn't believe such a deal. Some of these potions had even fetched prices of over 5 million at auctions, a testament to their scarcity and value due to their difficulty to obtain.
Kevin had consulted the system before making this decision, and it had granted him permission. However, more issues loomed beyond the sale price. What if a powerful cultivator grew too greedy and snatched the potions without paying? What if they went as far as killing him to obtain them? To cultivators of their stature, 2 million units might not be a significant sum. Yet, products like these were rare, especially for cultivators like him.
To tackle these concerns, the Cultivations Association ensured discreet transactions, providing reassurance for both buyers and sellers. This safeguard meant he didn't have to fret over such matters. However, the persistently low price still posed a challenge to the sale.
Contemplating ways to boost their marketability, he turned his thoughts to Sia. 'She's interested in a cultivation technique, isn't she?'
With this idea in mind, he began listing the Qi potions, incorporating specific conditions for their purchase. First, he set the price at its highest possible value. Then, he added a stipulation that the buyer must acquire the entire batch. The second condition was that they must offer a cultivation technique capable of enhancing yin energy within the body.
A grin spread from ear to ear as Kevin uncovered a loophole in the system's pricing structure. This way, he'd manage to secure their true value. The fact that the system remained silent during this adjustment either meant it was indifferent or powerless to intervene.
Either way, both scenarios suited Kevin just fine. Yet, the bigger question loomed: what kind of ripple effect would his listing of these rare potions on the CA marketplace cause? After all, they were far from easily attainable, and only those with considerable power could acquire or craft them. His seemingly innocuous listing was bound to stir up some significant commotion in Lucima City.
Having completed that task, he opted to list other items as well, incorporating them into the system's merging lottery. He began with the wings of forest moths gathered in the misty mountains and the chitin and glands of earth centipedes. All these materials were of mortal rank, allowing Kevin to merge them for a mere 0.5 omni tokens each.
Kevin had a total of 24 sets of earth centipede chitin and glands. He commenced the merging process, one by one. A couple of attempts resulted in failure, but considering the market price, the failures hardly bothered him, especially since the successful attempts yielded 10 times the original quantity.
[Item: Earth Centipede Chitin
Tier: Earth
Level: C
Price: 22 omni tokens]
[Item: Earth Centipede Glands
Tier: Earth
Level: +D
Price: 20 omni tokens]
The same procedure was applied to the forest moth's wings, yielding five successfully merged items with only one instance of failure.
[Item: Forest Moth's Wings
Tier: Earth
Level: C
Price: 36 omni tokens]
Through this process, Kevin had expended a total of 15 omni tokens. When combined with his previous merging endeavors, his remaining balance came to 20 omni tokens, leaving him with a current total of 705 omni tokens.
"Now it's starting to resemble a store, though the product selection is a bit limited," Kevin remarked, his mind churning as he contemplated the best way to expand his shop's inventory. He considered the possibility of purchasing items from other shopkeepers and merging them to enhance their value. However, he had a hunch that the system wouldn't make his path to profit so straightforward.
As this notion crossed his thoughts, he voiced his question aloud. "System, is there a limit to how many items I can merge together?"
[Host can only merge about 50 mortal rank items a month, with 100 earth rank, 200 immortal rank, and 400 heaven rank, and so on. The value can be adjusted based on the host's progress and circumstances.]
"Just as I suspected," Kevin sighed, recognizing that he'd be quite fortunate if the system allowed him to outsmart it. Nevertheless, the prospect of merging 50 mortal rank and 100 earth rank items still held promise. It was becoming evident that the merging system aimed to have him spend as many omni tokens as possible. This was highlighted by the escalating merging costs based on the item tier. Earth tier items, for instance, required only 1 omni token to merge, while heaven rank items demanded 1000 omni tokens, with the possibility of merging up to 200 of them to the next rank.
While lost in contemplation of the system's cunning, a visitor entered his store. Kevin's face blossomed with delight at the sight of the person, and he greeted them with a touch of excitement, "Welcome, my big booty girl."