Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 20

‘Oh… I messed up.’

Ail looked down at the items with embarrassment, noticing the store owner’s reaction.

Warlord’s general stores usually bought anything that looked like it could be turned into money. However, because they were operated by artificial intelligences that were almost indistinguishable from people (essentially NPCs), their behavior varied slightly depending on their individual programming and disposition.

Since Ail was presenting pieces of corpses and rotting flesh to an NPC who clearly didn’t recognize the value of such items, and even seemed to hate them, it was natural to expect this kind of reaction.

Even for Ail, it was impossible to remember the specific dispositions of every store NPC.

“I’m sorry. I grabbed the wrong items,” Ail said quickly, and he put the hideous items back into his inventory.

Then, he took out all the unnecessary equipment and ordinary junk items and handed them over, receiving a reasonable price.

Although he couldn’t get rid of everything at once, the sheer volume of equipment he had taken from other users meant he made a decent amount of money. He planned to dispose of the remaining items he couldn’t sell here in the back alleys.

First, Ail went outside and headed to the appraisal office in the city to get the antiques he had obtained from Latma’s Stone Chamber appraised.

Most items displayed almost all of their information when a player clicked on them in their inventory, but some items couldn’t be identified so easily.

These were items that were either very old, hidden by magical power, or simply types of items that couldn’t be recognized at a glance by ordinary people.

Such items required a separate appraisal process, so he had to visit the appraisal office, pay a small fee, and have them identified.

“Well… unfortunately, there aren’t any particularly outstanding items here. Of course, we can offer you a certain amount for the ancient books,” the appraiser said to Ail after examining the items.

Unfortunately, except for one ancient book that had been on the bookshelf, everything else was useless junk. Considering the appraisal cost per item, Ail had suffered a slight loss.

However, he didn’t regret the money at all.

Due to the unpredictable nature of antiques, you never knew when you might hit the jackpot. Giving up on appraising an item for fear of a small loss was not an option.

[Money Held – 1 Gold, 43 Silver, 88 Bronze]

‘I’ve saved up some money… I wish I had some useful equipment.’

Ail checked his holdings and considered the kind of equipment he could afford.

Even though he hadn’t learned all three basic skills yet, he already had over 1 gold, enough to aim for equipment that met his standards.

With that in mind, Ail headed to the auction house next to the appraisal office to see what items were for sale.

The ‘Item Exchange,’ a crucial feature in every city center, linked all registered items in Warlord, making it a hubbub of activity.

As expected of Queens Blonde, famous for its large player population, many people were bustling around, browsing items, bidding fiercely, or looking for direct trades.

[You have entered the ‘Queens Blonde’ Item Exchange.]

– The exchange system is activated.

– Currently, Queens Blonde City is under the jurisdiction of the ‘Nightmare’ Guild.

– A general fee of 10% and a guild tax of 5% will be applied.

A system window appeared in front of Ail as he entered the exchange’s area.

Someone unfamiliar with Warlord might imagine users spreading out their wares and doing business, or holding up signs and bidding, just by hearing the names ‘Exchange’ or ‘Auction House.’ But the reality was quite different.

Warlord’s exchange was linked in real time with items registered not only in the city but across all regions of Warlord, so a physical marketplace wouldn’t work.

Therefore, except for direct transactions to avoid fees, all transactions within the item exchange were made through a dedicated system screen that appeared in front of each person.

Ail, having checked the price information and item list, first looked at the territory tax rate before searching for items in earnest.

‘The tax rate is… 15% as expected.’

A fee was charged for all transactions made on the exchange, with a portion deducted from the seller’s earnings.

The ‘general fee,’ which charged 10% of the transaction amount, was consistent across all territories.

This fee policy was designed to prevent inflation of the gold currency within the game. The game company recovered that amount to regulate the amount of gold in circulation.

If gold wasn’t recovered from users in this way, the currency couldn’t maintain its value in an MMORPG, where users constantly leveled up and acquired more gold from monsters.

However, there was also a separate ‘guild tax.’

Cities, castles, towns, fortresses, gates, etc.

Regardless of the type, this was why guilds that occupied strongholds could amass enormous wealth. The guild took a percentage of the amount traded through the item exchange within their territory.

Even if it was a single-digit percentage, it was a significant figure considering the number of users in Warlord.

Even a small stronghold in a remote area created a huge financial gap between the owning guild and others. Bloody battles frequently erupted over territory.

Sometimes, guilds even went bankrupt defending their strongholds from other guilds. But in Warlord, territory was something everyone coveted, even at great risk.

In any case, the guild tax could be set differently by each guild, but almost all territories generally set it at 5%.

Some guilds lowered the guild tax to encourage more use of the exchange in their strongholds early on, but they all ended up losing their strongholds, mercilessly trampled by larger guilds whose transaction volume had decreased as a result.

Consequently, no territories tried to increase competitiveness by lowering the tax rate below the standard, unless a guild set it higher.

‘It’s a bit expensive, but there’s nothing as convenient as this…….’

Compared to a direct transaction where you kept all the profits, the 15 percent transaction fee was a significant drawback.

However, finding a transaction partner and selling items individually through direct trades was difficult. In Warlord, there were no return stones or teleportation between cities, making smooth transactions with distant users challenging.

You could send mail, but attaching a large amount of gold incurred a fee similar to the exchange, making it pointless.

As a result, almost all users used the exchange for most transactions, bearing the tax rate.

[Item, ‘Granzev,’ 68 have been registered.]

Ail also registered an item on the exchange.

The herb he had acquired while traveling through the cave, Granzev.

It was widely used by production users, and the supply was limited, making it quite expensive. It was much better to auction it off than to sell it to general merchants.

It was a popular item, so it would definitely sell, and at a reasonable price, while he continued this quest.

‘Category: Weapon, Keyword: Longsword, Grade: High or higher, Level Limit: 13 or lower and 10 or higher.’

Ail busily moved his hands and set the search conditions.

Soon, a large number of item listings appeared.

[First Step Longsword (High)]

[Berol Longsword (High)]

[Longsword with Red Decoration (Rare)]

[Pabar Longsword (High)]

Ail scanned the screen with a skill that belied his status as a first-time user of Warlord’s exchange.

Despite checking the detailed stats of many items, his scrolling speed was very fast.

Ail had made a considerable amount of money through item hoarding and low-price bidding in auction houses in other online games.

He had reached a level where he could almost fly across Warlord’s excellent interface screen.

‘This is it!’

Ail’s screen, which had been rapidly scrolling, stopped for a moment, and his hand pointed to an item.

[Ipnir Longsword]

– Grade: High

– Type: Longsword

– Restriction: Level 13 or higher

– Physical Attack Power 15

– Strength +3, Dexterity +1

[You have purchased the item, ‘Ipnir Longsword.’]

[41 Silver has been consumed.]

Ail immediately paid the instant purchase price set by the seller and received the item.

He could have bid for a lower price, but he didn’t have time to wait for the 8-hour deadline.

Besides, the price was reasonable, and the item’s stats were noticeably good for a high-grade piece of equipment.

Of course, it would have been nice to get a better weapon, but even with only a one-grade difference, rare items were too expensive to consider.

‘This is more than satisfactory.’

He still had plenty of money left, and he got a decent weapon without investing much time.

Ail took the newly acquired sword from his inventory, replaced his old weapon, and equipped it.

The thin, long sword perfectly suited his taste, and he sheathed it with a satisfied expression.

Armor, accessories, weapons, and sub-weapons.

Ail’s equipment was now quite well-organized.

But just then, someone running urgently from behind collided with Ail, who was standing still.

The two fell in a heap, and Ail pushed the woman off of him.

“What suddenly…….”

“Ah, I’m… I’m sorry!”

The woman, grabbing her head, quickly apologized.

Then, as if she had something urgent to do, she immediately got up and hurried past him.

Most ordinary users would have generously forgiven her and moved on, or grumbled with annoyance.

But Ail was different.

He already understood the dynamics of Warlord, and Ail, who was naturally quick-witted, felt a strange sensation almost instinctively.

As soon as he checked his holdings, he knew what was wrong.

[Money Held – 71 Silver, 01 Bronze]

“You crazy thief!”

Ail started running.