Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 158 Coin Deficiency

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Enjoy!

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/A few hours later…/

As the moon rose to cover the sky, taking its place amidst the stars Dale made his way to the Church to complete his final responsibility before departing.

Behind him, the faint red lights of the houses slowly lit up, illuminating Resko like never before, signifying a moment of change…

As the players flocked North into the mysterious new field, Dale smiled, knowing full well his plans had worked, even if partially.

He turned his gaze to a notification, the Quest he received from the Merchants.

[A Pile of Gold eases the Heart

The merchants have raised the desire to set up a Trade Outpost to facilitate trade between them, the Village, and the Wandering warriors.

However, without the proper facilities and an inflow of resources, the Outpost would most likely fail to sustain itself and the merchants would be left with a negative profit margin, greatly pushing their mood down.

If the merchants' impression of Resko goes downhill, the possibility of future exchanges with the Northern parts of the Continent would certainly diminish.

For the future of Resko, secure the hearts of the merchants!

>Requirements:

Listen to the Merchants' Expectations and Goals 1/1

Propose a satisfying solution and convince them into following it through 1/1

Or lift some of their restrictions to facilitate trade 0/1 (X)

Help the Merchants Stabilish a Trade Outpost 1/1

After at least 24 hours have passed, stop by the Trade Outpost for an update on the profits and collect your share of it 0/1

/Optional/ -> Find a way to supply the merchants with a daily influx of goods to keep the gold flowing 1/1

*The final reward will be based on the total profits and the long-term sustainability of the Outpost

]

"..."

'So the update is finally here.' He thought to himself as he climbed the hill

'This mission was an easy one to solve, but only time will tell if it'll work.'

Smiling slightly, he closed the window.

'What the merchants wanted was simple, they wanted profits.'

'Specifically, they wanted to let go of their bulky products and exchange them for lighter things, this includes things like letting go of Coins and Gold in favor of Gems and other valuable materials that are worth way more than their weight in Gold and Coins.'

'However, given how little players met the requirements to trade with them, the merchants were starting to realize how disadvantageous things were for them.'

'And this led to them becoming a little frustrated.'

'So when I went to meet with them, one of the first subjects we went through were their concerns.'

'However, it's not like I can just let the players trade with them without restrictions, that, in exchange, would end up diminishing the value of Resko inhabitants as everyone would just orbit to the Merchants.'

'And it would also break the authority I was slowly building up for the Village, as if players were to realize some of their actions would end up unpunished in the long run, then why even bother?'

'That isn't ideal, but they can't stay still either, so I proposed another idea…'

"Arg… I really had to rack my brains around for that, given how little time I had." Dale mumbled to himself as he smiled drily 

'I was the one that proposed the construction of the Trade Outpost, and this caused the Quest itself to change.'

'In fact, this had been the first time an action of mine completely changed the look of a Quest, giving me the impression I went in a completely different path from the expected.'

'Though who this expectation belonged to is something I haven't quite thought off...'

'In simple terms, the Outpost is to serve as an area where trade is made, not really anything over the top.'

'But it solves many problems.'

'With the opening of the new field, many players have started to gather materials relevant to Resko's development such as ores, minerals, and even plain rocks that can later be carved and used for construction.'

'Many areas around Resko require raw materials to be fixed, by being an Elder I can perfectly see what each building needs... With some limitations of course.'

'Perhaps, by becoming the Village Head many other potions would open...'

'Regardless, the players need to let go of their resources, otherwise it's useless to even collect them.'

'Yet I can't have all players go to Barme to sell those since he's their only choice that fits...'

'He's already overworked and the shop feature of his… Uh… 'NPC' side can't really handle 2000 players every hour.'

'These are conservative numbers, I believe that by now Resko already has over 10 thousand players moving around, this number is likely bound to increase explosively after today and as others start to raise their Reputation and during its daily peak.'

'Many players log off during the night to let their chars rest.'

'Also, once some players have a high enough Rep Score, others will start to use them to get carried through the ranks, it's a simple thing to do.'

'... "Higher Level player gets an efficient Quest, newbies follow him to make more resources than normal"... It's a recurrent situation.'

'Anyhow, with the Market, I found a way to ditch out all of these materials through the merchants, which in turn, get a small percentage of the profit.'I think you should take a look at

'After all, the merchants wouldn't spend their resources and time to construct an Outpost in one of the Gates of Resko for nothing.'

'They have the personnel and the experience, they just need an incentive.'

'... "Time is money"- Someone said at some point in the past...'

'As such, with several dozen merchants gathered in one area, all players are incentivized… No, they are obliged to pass through there as right now, there are only a few entrances in operation.'

'By forcing the players to go through one area, I can push them out of the other Villager's area of operation while also opening the possibility to collect traveling fees in the future.'

'Of course, that in itself isn't enough for me to complete the Quest, hence, I implemented some things to allow money to flow.'

'One of them being... "Requests".'

'Albeit most players are still locked from getting Quests from them, they can get "Requests" in exchange for Zulls and other resources.'

'In short, as an example, they can have a player gather 10 rough gems and pay them gold, and like that, everyone wins.'

'The merchants get rid of their bulky and heavy coins while also receiving valuable small and lightweight gems that can be cut and sold for extreme profit in the Central parts of the continent while the players get Experience, Reputation, and more.'

'And an incentive to mine and search for rare resources.'

'As for the Village, we obviously need to gain something from this as we can't allow the merchants to explore our land just like that.'

'Since the merchants are building this Outpost for almost free, they get a little bit of every exchange, that is one point.'

'But for every Request they put through, they need to pay us a portion of the total raw value of the materials.'

'So let's say they have a player gather 10 rough gems, they'll pay a few coins to the player as a reward, barely the price of one of those, while they'll pay us the raw value for 9 or so gems.'

'It may seem extreme, but they were extremely happy for this value since in the end, they'll pay someone to cut those gems and sell them all for extreme profit.'

'And they barely did anything, they just stood still and the resources came to them.'

'Not only that, the Village gains by the fact infrastructure is being developed.'

'It's a no-brainer we have little personnel, so by making use of theirs, we can develop something, even if that serves little purpose right now.'

"We're still losing, but it's a necessary price to pay." 

'Because it's either that or complete nothing.'

'In the end, the merchants will leave, but the Trade Outpost will remain, from then on, we can assign people to do their jobs, and our profits will skyrocket as everything will be ours.'

'Yet, the main purpose of this is to keep the players at bay and to gather a few materials such as ores, which not only covers what we lack but it also covers my Quest.'

'Several of them at that.'

'Having a place players can flock towards to get Quests and sell items also decreases the load on other places such as the Mercenary Guild.'

'From the players' perspective, the Mercenary Guild isn't that full since they can get Quests through the system and leave, but for the Villagers, it's a nightmare.'

'There have already been some words on moving the library somewhere else, but that will likely take a while.'

'Overall, I think the Trade Outpost will be a good addition to the Village and another means for us to control the players.'

'Because in essence, a player's powers are based on their Items, Experience, and Skills.'

'We can control the items, we can control the experience, and if everything goes well, we'll also be able to control their Skills.'

'By managing their access to Class altering facilities such as the Church and the Mercenary Guild, albeit now, they don't really give much to the players anyway...'

'But I'm on the expectation they'll develop to be like the facilities in other cities one day and provide the players' with the same benefits.'

"Even then… This plan of mine will only work for a while."

'Resko is an isolated Village, as such, we don't have the means to print money.'

'There are only three ways to increase the number of coins within the Village:'

'One is through the Church, but there is a massive loss in doing that.'

'The other is through hunting, some rewards and drops involve coins.'

'The last one would be through the Villagers and what is left buried in the rubble.'

'At this rate, we may reach a time where there aren't enough coins in circulation as Resko's wealth expands.'

"Speaking of money…"

'Resko used to have all sorts of facilities such as Banks and Auction houses…'

'It would be great to reactivate them, more ways to control the money of the players.'

'But it doesn't take a genie to see that'll also take even longer.'

"Phew…"

Finishing his climb, Dale finally arrived at the top of the Hill.

In front of him, two double doors stood.

It was time to meet with his last Guest.

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Notes