Chapter 2111: To Be Where The Opportunity Is

While Karl spent the first hours of his morning checking the inventory and having breakfast with the hatchlings, the rest of his morning was much more busy.

First up: the meeting with the Captains, to ensure that they got everything that they needed from the Darklight Host this stop. Rue had already teleported to the docks late last night to upgrade their holds, and now it was the public show of transferring goods over.

Realistically, they didn’t have to do anything showy, they could just give the stuff to the Captain, and that was that. It could even be one of the assistants from the store who went to the ship and transferred it straight from the store inventory.

But sending the Branch Leader with the Captains across town let everyone know that a deal was done, and that it was important.

Many of the visiting Clan leaders were watching the port to see what was happening, and if the Blue Elves were going to buy a full shipment of goods here or not. Many of them lived in the regions where this shipment was likely to end up, and when they saw it leave, they would inform their friends at home to watch for the Blue Elves to come to auction.

Plus, putting the loot in a large secured wagon for the trip gave off a sense of power, as stacking magical items in one spot always did.

So, it was a nice show of wealth and power for the Elves, and a reminder to come to them if you needed the good stuff. That also came with a risk of robbery, but with Karl present, you would have to be crazy to try.

Not just because of the city guards, which everyone should be afraid of, but because the Branch Leader himself was scary in combat.

As they watched, Karl pretended not to notice the calculation in their eyes, or the greed for the items that the Blue Elves had managed to get, which the average customer would have to custom order with a waiting list.

That was the thing about being such a major customer. There was no waiting list. When the ships arrived, the Darklight Host filled their orders within a day or two. For everyone else, it could take over a week before they would get a Peerless Grade item made, longer if they wanted something Supreme Ranked.

The envy was real.

But the Elves resold everything, so all they had to do was wait to find out what auction houses they had shown up at, and they could possibly get exactly the item they wanted without the waiting.

If they were lucky, it might even be cheaper than getting it directly from the Darklight Host, who had a set pricing scheme, while the auctions were highly variable.

It was a gamble, but it was a good gamble, and it let them increase their power levels while paying with gold. Gold didn’t buy you nearly as much with the Darklight Host, who paid premium prices for resources. So, if you happened to have them, possibly from the dungeon that the Darklight Host operated, you could pay significantly less for your gear than you would if you could only pay with hard currency.

Sure, the system recognized the exchange rates, but what good did that do them?

If they knew that Karl was getting five times as much from the System when he exchanged credits for coins, half the continent would spit blood in rage. That man really did have too many advantages when it came to becoming wealthy.

With the delivery done, the Blue Elves prepared to leave. Karl just had to give them one last warning, mostly for the benefit of those watching.

"Remember, the tournament starts tomorrow. If you want to have some of your juniors sent over to qualify, best to do it tonight, so they’re not tired for the first matches."

The Captain nodded. "We will sit this one out. Our juniors have much to do this month, no time to be sitting around showing off their combat skills. But we thank you for the warning. I just hope that you don’t keep the Clan Leaders too long, or we’ll have to deal with their rivals and assistants at the auctions, and that’s always a headache."

That made Karl chuckle as he waved goodbye, and the Clan Leaders watching their banter frown.

The Elf had a point. If they weren’t home for the auctions, and the Blue Elves showed up, then they might not find out about the best stuff at all. The Elders of their Clan would buy it up, and then they would only find out later when the news spread.

They needed to send a trusted subordinate to make sure that the ones with dreams of taking their spot didn’t get their hands on the best stuff.

The concern was good news to Cara.

She was watching silently from a rooftop, while eating chicken wings, and sipping juice.

The more panicked they got about missing out on the good stuff, the more that her plan to hold daily specials at the store was going to blow up. One item, ten percent off, first come first served.

It would stack the Guild House every morning at opening.

Thor thought that it was a silly idea, the store would sell out anyhow. But the badger wasn’t doing it for sales, she was doing it to get everyone in the same room at the same time.

That was the important part.

The fact that they would likely buy more than they were planning was a bonus, but hardly the point. She needed to build up that sense of rivalry as the early stages of the tournament started, so that it wasn’t just a bunch of strangers sparring.

She needed them mad at each other for stealing the best gear.

Emotion, passion, shiny objects. They had to get everything in order before they could make the tournament a success.