Woke Up to Find the Game I Made Came True-Chapter 40

After leaving the tailor shop, Ye Bai continued her shopping spree.

In the main city of the Magic Faction, Melo City, the items currently useful to Ye Bai were naturally those related to magic.

【Elemental Crystal】X65

【Sunfire Grass Seeds】X45

【Windgathering Saplings】X23

【Ice Nettle Seeds】X51

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【Magic Fiber Fabric】X21

【Mithril Ore】X123

【Elemental Clam】X43

This round of shopping cost Ye Bai 31 gold coins and 5 silver coins, which was slightly more than what she had spent in Tute City. However, it was worth it. Several of the magic herb seeds were already expensive, and the 【Magic Fiber Fabric】 and 【Mithril Ore】 were rare materials commonly used in crafting magical items, making them excellent for quickly leveling up her skills.

The materials Ye Bai purchased this time could easily turn an ordinary villager into a professional, let alone the fact that her title as the First Lord increased the probability of discovering special talents, allowing her to train them more effectively.

After buying the most valuable high-grade materials, Ye Bai, who adhered to the principle of "save where you can, spend where you must," once again turned down the map offered by a newspaper boy. Ignoring his resentful gaze, she relied on her familiarity with the city's architecture to find the Merchant Guild of Melo City.

The Merchant Guild was a wealthy organization, and its grand hall covered a vast area with open passageways on all sides. In the guild of a main city like Melo, a large number of merchants came and went every day.

Thanks to her status as a "Lord," Ye Bai entered the hall without any hindrance.

Large-scale trade between towns was concentrated in the Merchant Guild, and as players' levels increased in the future, it was foreseeable that this place would become a frequent destination for lord players.

The traveling merchant Kazmai, who had given Ye Bai a ride earlier, had come here to continue trading after parting ways with her, though he had clearly already left by now.

Ye Bai walked through the guild hall, passing a fountain, and arrived at a circular reception desk with service windows on all sides. There were hundreds of service windows, and the staff were so attentive that there was no need to queue.

As soon as she approached a window, the receptionist greeted her politely and enthusiastically:

"Hello, esteemed guest. How may I assist you?"

As the receptionist spoke, a transaction interface for the Merchant Guild appeared in Ye Bai's vision.

The goods available here were practically endless, and the prices were cheaper than retail stores. The only commonality was that all items were sold in crates, with most crates containing 100 units each. The minimum transaction amount was 10 crates.

Ye Bai skimmed through some tempting rare materials but, seeing the long string of zeros in their prices, reluctantly turned her attention to the cheapest basic supplies.

【Mixed Grains】X10 crates

【Planks】X5 crates

【Stone Bricks】X5 crates

She quickly selected a batch of durable grains and construction materials, spending a total of 8 gold coins.

The storage and handling fees at the Merchant Guild were already covered by the sellers, so Ye Bai didn’t need to pay extra. However, as the saying goes, "the wool comes from the sheep," meaning these costs were already factored into the purchase price.

The reason she bought these items, which could be produced in her own territory, was to free up more manpower for more efficient construction and processing.

Ye Bai had a plan: upon returning, she would coincide with the arrival of the third wave of refugees. If the population of her territory was sufficient, she would construct all the necessary buildings to upgrade her Level 1 territory directly to the highest level of "Village," skipping a step.

By the next game month, she could potentially advance from "Village" to "Town" level.

"Your transaction is complete. You may collect your goods from the storage area," the receptionist said, handing Ye Bai a special card inscribed with magical ink indicating the crate numbers and storage location, making it impossible to forge.

As Ye Bai took the card, the receptionist instinctively continued with enthusiasm: "Do you require transportation services? We can deliver the goods to a designated warehouse within Melo City for free. For other towns, additional transportation fees will apply based on distance... Of course, I also recommend hiring a guard team. If you hire both a transport and guard team, you’ll receive a discount."

After listening, Ye Bai nodded directly: "I need both a transport team and a guard team."

"No problem. Where will the goods be delivered?" The receptionist's eyes lit up as she immediately offered: "Here are the detailed options for transport and guard teams for you to choose from."

The reason for the receptionist's excitement was that most merchants trading at the guild already had their own transport and guard teams. The official guard teams of the Merchant Guild were expensive, and most cost-conscious merchants avoided them, making this premium service rarely purchased.

But now, Ye Bai was opening a new trade route and had no choice but to be the "big spender."

However, calling her a "big spender" wasn’t entirely accurate. For Ye Bai, this service wasn’t a loss. Training her own guard team in her territory would require significant time and manpower. By spending money to save time, she could use that time to earn even more.

"The destination hasn’t established a trade route yet. It’s my territory," Ye Bai explained.

"I see," the receptionist replied. "In that case, the hiring fee can’t be fixed initially and will need to be calculated based on the actual number of days."

Ye Bai: "That’s fine. Also, I’d like to register my territory as a member of the Merchant Guild. If I recall correctly, a transaction exceeding 5 gold coins qualifies for registration, right?"

"Oh, oh... of course!" The receptionist was momentarily surprised but quickly recovered, impressed by Ye Bai’s familiarity with the guild’s rules. "You are a Lord, so you wish to register your territory as a guild member?"

"Exactly," Ye Bai confirmed.

If she could register as an individual, she would join the 【Merchant Guild】 as a neutral faction. As her transaction volume grew, her faction reputation would increase, granting her discounts in guild transactions.

Unfortunately, Ye Bai had previously joined the universally hostile Assassin Faction to deal with the Markus Group. If she now registered as an individual with the Merchant Guild, her hostile faction status would be exposed, and she would be hunted down by the major factions in Melo City.

Registering her territory eliminated this concern. The faction reputation would be attributed to the entire territory, and while she couldn’t purchase some faction-specific items, all other benefits remained the same.

As the receptionist registered "White Night Village" on the form, Ye Bai received a system notification:

【Your territory ‘White Night Village’ has unlocked the ‘Merchant Guild’ faction reputation. Current reputation: 8】

Reputation equaled transaction volume—a very pragmatic system for the Merchant Guild.

"Here are the available guard and transport team members, along with their corresponding prices," the receptionist continued, presenting another spending option: a hiring interface listing all available guards and transport teams.

Ye Bai glanced through it. For the transport team, she directly chose the fastest and most expensive option: the Horned Horse Transport Team, costing 20 silver coins per day.

As for the guards, they were essentially mercenaries, allowing the buyer to freely select individuals and numbers. However, similar to opening trade routes as a wilderness lord, the minimum number of hired guards had to meet the squad requirement, which was no fewer than 10 people.

The prices for each individual here vary, with only the basic professions displayed. The highest rate goes up to 10 silver coins a day, while the lowest is 50 copper coins a day.

Clearly, the higher the price, the stronger the individual's capabilities.

However, just as Ye Bai was about to make her choice, she suddenly had a change of heart and turned to the receptionist: "I choose the antelope transport team, but can I personally select the guards?"

"This... goes against our regulations, ma'am," the receptionist replied hesitantly.

Seeing this, Ye Bai knew she had a chance and feigned dissatisfaction: "If I can't personally select the guards, how can I entrust my safety to them for the entire journey? If this is the rule, I doubt many people would buy this service. Why shouldn't I just hire my own guards?"

"Wait!" The receptionist hesitated upon hearing this. After a moment of thought, she glanced around and whispered, "I'll have the willing mercenaries wait for you in the storage area."

Success!

[You have gained 1 point in 'Bargaining' proficiency.]

Receiving the system notification, Ye Bai raised an eyebrow. She felt she had discovered a 'trick' to unlocking proficiency in life skills...

...

The storage area was located behind the Merchant Guild's district, covering a vast expanse with a constant flow of cargo-laden carriages coming and going.

Ye Bai walked in, found the location of her goods, and then spotted the waiting antelope transport team along with over twenty mercenary-style guards.

Although the receptionist had said it was based on personal willingness, it was likely due to the lack of business that all the mercenaries listed on the page had gathered here to wait.

Upon seeing Ye Bai, they enthusiastically greeted her:

"Boss, take a look at me!"

"Ma'am, pick me, pick me! I'm the strongest!"

Many even struck exaggerated poses to showcase their strength.

Ye Bai ignored their performances and immediately began scanning each one with her identification skill.

The levels, attributes, and professions of these level 20-something mercenaries all came into her view.

Now this is more like it!