Translator: Hellscythe_ Editor: Hellscythe_
Starstreak Trading Firm, at the premium goods counter on the second floor...
Due to the raging popularity of the Advanced Whetstones and the fact that only a limited amount was available for sale each day, many Guilds and players could normally be seen queuing and waiting at the counter.
Today, however, fewer people were present on the second floor of the trading firm. No one waited in line at the premium goods counter. Those present were only independent players just window shopping, and not a single Guild player wandered the spacious hall. Nobody present even asked about the availability of the Advanced Whetstones, and such a situation had caused Anna, the manager of the trading firm, to grow anxious. Immediately, she started an investigation into the cause of this sudden lack of customers. She then forwarded her findings to Shi Feng, letting him decide what to do with it.
"Although I have long since expected this, they certainly took action quickly. Is Dark Star trying to start a price war with us?" Shi Feng revealed a calm smile after he read the message Anna had sent him.
The reason the Starstreak Trading Firm's business would suddenly grow cold was mainly due to Dark Star. Dark Star had managed to nurture Forgers and Potionmakers capable of producing Advanced Whetstones and Intermediate Potions. Furthermore, they had widely trumpeted the fact that they offered their products for a much lower price. Originally, a stack of Advanced Whetstones sold for 1 Gold, 40 Silvers at the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, Dark Star sold them for only 1 Gold per stack. As for the Intermediate Potions, both types sold at a price 1 Silver Coins cheaper.
Although the prices were greatly reduced, the Advanced Whetstone and Intermediate Potions were originally products that sold at greatly inflated prices. Even if one reduced their selling price, they would still earn several times the base cost of the items. Hence, in order to solicit customers, Dark Star would naturally initiate a price reduction.
As for the players looking to purchase these items, they would purchase these items for the lowest price. This was the natural law of human nature. Nobody would be so foolish as to purchase an item of equal quality for a higher price.
However, a price reduction was only the beginning of Dark Star's strategy. To make matters worse, Dark Star had even made a decisive change to the exchange mechanism. Although the exchange rate they used for normal Whetstones was similar to the Starstreak Trading Firm's, they had reduced the Advanced Whetstones-to-Hard Stones ratio from a 1-to-9 ratio to a 1-to-7 ratio. This ratio was just slightly higher than the production requirements of Intermediate Forging Apprentices. Compared to the Starstreak Trading Firm, Dark Star's exchange rates were far more lucrative. As a result, many players had turned to Dark Star to trade their Hard Stones.
Now that the Starstreak Trading Firm had lost its main source of income for Hard Stones, even if they relied on the Hard Stones Shi Feng had previously accumulated, they would, sooner or later, run out. Without the necessary basic materials, how were they supposed to produce anything?
Moreover, Dark Star also possessed an advantage that Shi Feng did not; they had more people producing the Advanced Whetstones. As more time passed, Dark Star would obtain more Advanced Whetstone Recipes from raiding Dungeons. They could endlessly increase the number of people capable of producing Advanced Whetstones in their Guild. Meanwhile, the Starstreak Trading Firm only had Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng currently had neither the manpower nor the time to waste raiding a low-level Dungeon for the recipes. If this situation persisted, Dark Star would surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm eventually.
