Chapter 289 Selling Frenzy
William knew that in the apocalypse, giving a pep talk to strangers was pretty much pointless. People were all about survival, and they weren't gonna risk their necks just because of a peptalk. They needed something real, something that benefited them.
So, William cooked up a plan that would make everyone happy.
The plan was to sell gear.
Over the past few days, William had been busy. He personally dealt with the big players like Wayne's team, while Sasha and Basil handled the rest.
William had been cranking out a ton of equipment, all leading up to this moment.
He laid it out simply: anyone who joined the mission could buy potions and gear from him at killer prices.
One-star Evolution Elixir for just seventy Level-1 Magic Crystals. Immunity potion for sixty Level-1 Magic Crystals. Gray-level gear for one Level-2 Magic Crystal each, and white-level Warblade for thirty Level-2 Magic Crystals! If they were short on Level-2 Magic Crystals, they could trade twenty Level-2 Magic Crystals plus a thousand Level-1 Magic Crystals, or swap for three Level-3 Magic Crystals.
The place went in ecstasy when they heard the prices.
Even Basil, Sasha, and Wayne were itching to buy before William finished talking.
"Since my stock is limited, each group gets a set amount based on their size, rounded to the nearest ten. For every ten people, you can buy one bottle of one-star Evolution Elixir, one bottle of immunity potion, and one piece of gray-level gear. For every twenty people, you can buy one white-level Warblade," William explained to the crowd.
William had a stash of one-star Evolution Elixirs. During the cleanup around Cloud Peak Manor and the zombie counterattacks at Hope Base, he scored a bunch of one-star potions and Level-1 Magic Crystals. Thanks to his killer skill, the primary Exclusion spell, he could find a Level-1 roulette that needed fewer Magic Crystals. On average, fifty to sixty Level-1 Magic Crystals got him a bottle of Evolution Elixir. Selling it for seventy Level-1 Magic Crystals was still a sweet deal.
This was even after he blew through a lot of one-star Evolution Elixirs at the recent trade fair and used nearly ten thousand Level-1 Magic Crystals on the Poppy roulette wheel. Otherwise, he'd have an insane amount of these items to sell without limits.
Gray-level weapons and gear just needed some materials from Level-1 mutated creatures and a bit of mental power. Selling them for one Level-2 Magic Crystal each was a goldmine.
As for the white-level Edge of the Moon, William hesitated but finally decided to go for it.
His main reason for selling was to tie these people to him with benefits, to push his plan of spinning the Poppy roulette wheel. That was why he sold these items dirt cheap, letting the smaller groups get some perks. The second reason was that William would also gain more from this, thanks to his personal skill. The Artisan profession was one of the easiest ways to get rich in the apocalypse, especially since William had the super rare primary Exclusion spell skill.
The last reason was this would quickly boost the strength of these survivors, making them more useful in the upcoming battle, which in turn helped William.
Even though these folks were getting stronger overall, William still felt a bit let down by their individual power levels. The top dogs like Basil, his son Doug, their elite crew, Sasha and her team, and Wayne and his wife Darcy were only two-star Evolving people. They had to team up to take on Level-3 mutated creatures, let alone the big bad Level-4 monsters. Gray-level weapons just weren't gonna cut it.
So, they needed weapons that could actually hurt high-level life forms.
That was where the Edge of the Moon came in.
And to be realistic, the profit from selling these was gonna be huge.
What did it take to make an Edge of the Moon? Some metal, a bit of mental energy, and one Level-2 Magic Crystal.
William set the price at thirty Level-2 Magic Crystals. After covering costs and factoring in a fifty percent failure rate, he could still pocket twenty-eight Level-2 Magic Crystals. Metal was easy to find, and he could recharge his mental energy with a few Level-1 Magic Crystals.
Was thirty Level-2 Magic Crystals a lot?
Not even close. It was practically a steal.
A white-level longsword at the trade fair went for a thousand Level-1 Magic Crystals, which was about a hundred Level-2 Magic Crystals.
William's price was less than a third of that.
And now, every group had a stash of Level-2 Magic Crystals. They could still cough up some if needed. Groups like the Burning Fury warband and Sasha's crew had a high demand for Level-2 Magic Crystals but also had some Level-3 Magic Crystals that weren't enough to spin the Level-3 roulette. Trading three Level-3 Magic Crystals for a white-level weapon was perfect for them.
No one saw William's plan coming, but it worked like a charm. Everyone was itching to trade.
"This is just the beginning," William said, almost sending the crowd into a frenzy. "I can't promise we'll succeed or that everyone will come back alive. Scared? But think about it, even if you don't join this mission, aren't we risking our lives every day?"
The crowd nodded in agreement. In these apocalyptic times, they lived each day fighting for survival, hunting zombies and mutated creatures, always on guard against other humans. They were all fighting for their lives. So, going for bigger rewards made sense.
William continued, "But I can promise that if we succeed, we'll gain way more than we have now. And I swear on my life, anyone who helps me today will be my friend, a friend of Cloud Peak Manor. In the future, you'll be able to buy potions, gear, and supplies from me at the same low prices. If you run into problems you can't solve, come to Cloud Peak Manor for help. As long as it doesn't hurt my interests, I'll do my best to help you. This is my promise as a three-star Evolving person, a leader, and a professional Artisan."
As the crowd buzzed with excitement, William had his team bring out the weapons and gear, and the selling frenzy began.
Sasha, holding her new Edge of the Moon, walked up to William, her eyes filled with admiration, envy, and a bit of confusion. She whispered, "Peeping Tom, I think even if you don't risk spinning that roulette, given some time, you could be the top dog in Accraville City."
William grinned, "Just... the top of Accraville City?"
