6 6 - Trade Fair

Cain arrived at the guild. Amy and the shareholder were already there.

"Sorry, am I late?"

"No, not really. She's just early. We've already gone over the conditions." The shareholder was an organized man. His job might have just been an investor with money, but he was luckily more than that.

"So Cain, there's going to be a new fair for players to trade items next week. Would you like to man a shop?" It had been 2 weeks since players had found how to get the instance dungeon. This could be a perfect opportunity to see their progress.

"Sure thing, I've got a new product I can sell." Cain showed the new swords he had made. They weren't great quality, but he realized something. They had yet to be sharpened. The shareholder sent his clerk to go fetch some grain, as Cain could not yet buy it.

It was also revealed that if anyone who was not a player tried to make items, they would not have the same effects. Armor wouldn't have a shield, and it could be assumed that swords would not be as effective. Cain was going to have to learn everything himself. Margo arrived a few minutes later and was admitted into the guild.

The one man guild was now three. The current schedule the guild had was arriving at the building in the afternoon, then entering the dungeon to grind until 9 o'clock. The two new members began to do the same. They prepared for the trade fair set up in the coming week.

Cain arrived at the fair an hour early. His inventory was filled to the brim with swords, as well as many daggers, and a few clubs. Out of the 400 ingots, he was able to make 140 swords. Making them all from hand, he eventually made one of A class quality.

Half of the swords were D class, a fourth were C, and most of the remaining fourth were E; only 12 were B. By wrapping strips of goblin hide around the handle, he was able to make grips for all of them. The three days before the event were nothing but forging.

The fair was a temporary and local event set up in the farmers market. Players were given free stalls if they had the items. Some parents insisted on helping their kids, but the majority of shops were run by students alone. This was going to mainly be run by high schoolers.

Cain met up with the shareholder at a larger stall. The stall was right in front of the main entrance, and was larger than every other stall. Thankfully no one was jealous of its position. As Cain took out the many swords and daggers, it caught people's attention.

There were different forums that existed to spread information. It was known that daggers were extremely rare, while swords seemed like a myth. Yet here Cain was, pouring out sword after sword onto the table. He took out 10, then 20, then 30. After that he spread out forty daggers, all things that he'd never use.

It was obvious now why they had the front stall. Players from the other markets came over to look, planning to use their day's earnings to buy swords. They offered prices before Cain could set them up.

Setting a base price of 600 to 1500 gp, he was going to make massive profits. All of this came from goblin bone. It probably wasn't worth nearly as much, but the demand was high.

"Mr. Smith, I'm going to check on people's progress."

"Gosh, it feels weird being called mister. Just call me Rick." Waving to the shareholder Rick, Cain explored the fair. Many people had different items. Instead of selling them for gp, they sold them for dollars.

This was going to be to his advantage, as people would be more likely to spend gp. There was not an easy way to make real money as a player yet.

It took Cain almost 5000 pieces of armor to gain the experience to get production 10. Combined with needing the shop and knowing the secret of goblin bone, no one else was going to be able to make swords.

Walking around, there was one item he needed; smoothly crafted goblin hide armor. The next thing he was going to make was Goblin Steel armor. Underneath it would need to be a comfortable base, which would need to be goblin hide. Cain used his wealth to buy several pieces of armor.

The day was slow but calming. Amy and Margo arrived within the next hour. After manning the shop for 4 hours they took a break and left Cain at the shop. Business was crazy. They had sold almost every sword. Cain made over 100k gold points.

It was at that moment when he was approached by someone he'd later know to hate. "Are you selling these swords for these prices?"

"Yes. Would you like to see what we have?"

"This is unfair. You are stunting the player's growth with these prices."

"Are you sure you're not saying that for your own personal gain?" The guy gave a sly expression.

"If that's how you see it, then I'll buy them all." There were 30 swords that totaled around 28k. He'd be spending his entire fortune on it if he could afford it. Cain went through with the transaction.

As soon as he had paid, the customer shouted. "These prices were unfair. I just bought out the shop to give out the swords for free." 'What a complete scumbag,' Cain thought. He said nothing as the customer passed out the swords.

Cain didn't like the guy, but there was no reason to get mad. However, the people around them seemed to be angry themselves. Even though there was a surplus of swords, only the elite of players could afford them.

Around that moment, a crack sounded past the warehouse. People looked around in a panic. They all knew what that was. "Rick. I'm going to check it out." Cain pulled out his A class sword. It was cleanly cut with several gems imbedded in its side. The gems were stones found in the dungeon.

There were two power gems and one fire gem. The fire gem was probably rarer than swords themselves. Slicing enemies resulted in a hot touch with flames to follow.

Running off into the distance, Cain leapt with incredible speed. He might have hit 50 or 60 mph. Within 30 seconds, he arrived at what seemed to be a portal.