No matter what world you're in, if you want to live well, you can't do without money and assets.
The most common currencies for trade, besides food and water, had been Basic Iron Axes and torches.
These resources had basically become a form of currency, with wood as the universal standard.
Who would have thought that one day, you could trade wood for anything in the world?
She had only traded for a few things and decorated her place a bit, but somehow, over an hour had already passed.
"Huh, it's almost two in the afternoon. Has the hailstorm outside ended? It's gotten a lot quieter."
This time, she chose to sit on the swing chair and check the regional channel.
[The hail is just tiny pellets now. All you hardworking, brave souls, get out there and fish for treasure chests!]
[Already on it. Feels like the treasure chest spawn rate is even higher than before. Braving the gales and hail, I've already fished up two more chests than usual.]
[I'd call the guy above a true warrior. No way I'm going out now. I'll just wait. It won't be too late to go after the wind stops.]
[Is anyone willing to do a private trade and sell me a bottle of water? I'm seriously dying of thirst.]
[Dude, it's raining outside. Just tilt your head back, open your mouth, and catch some. You won't be thirsty anymore.]
[DO NOT do that, you'll get diarrhea. And believe me, stripping naked, clinging to the wooden fence for dear life so the wind doesn't blow you away, and trying to take a dump with your ass hanging out is hard enough. What's even harder is when the f*cking wind blows it right back at you!]
[Hahaha... Dude, stop. I'm afraid if I open my mouth to laugh, your crap is going to blow into my face.]
[Thanks, man. You've convinced me that not drinking the rainwater was the right call. If that's the alternative, I'd rather die of thirst!]
Faye Yardley couldn't stop laughing. 'These people are something else.'
'And he'd have to endure the merciless assault of the hail on top of all that.'
She didn't lack water herself, but selling it required containers, which she was too lazy to provide.
If she had people provide their own, she'd have to wait around to receive the empty container, fill it, then trade it back. Just thinking about it was a hassle.
She wanted to be a rich woman in this game world, sure, but if it meant working herself to death, she'd rather pass.
'I have 27 bottles of mineral water. I'll list seven of them, one trade per person, at 20 wood per bottle. That's not too greedy, right?'
"Sigh, I'm just too kind. I can't bring myself to be ruthless."
Just as she posted the trade, Zachary Pierce sent her a friend's Red Envelope.
Accepting it gave her 300 wood.
Faye Yardley thought that was quite generous. After all, even if you could sell a small wooden boat right now, nobody would be buying.
And right now, wood was much more important.
"Got it. Thanks, Mr. Pierce!"
'Let's see my total wood... nice, it's over a thousand. But I need 2,000 wood to get to Level Five. Still a ways to go.'
The seven bottles of mineral water she had just listed were also snatched up in an instant.
The buyers paid the transaction fee, of course, so it was all pure profit for her.
'If I want to upgrade my raft sooner,' she thought, 'I need to find a way to get more wood.'
"System, switch to the regional channel."
[Faye Yardley: 4 iron blocks + 10 wood for one Basic Iron Axe. 3 Oil + 10 wood for one torch. I've listed them on the trade market. If you need one, just search for it. Orders will be filled chronologically. Selling 100 Basic Iron Axes and 100 torches in total.]
[Isn't the person above being a bit of a rip-off artist? You've practically doubled the material cost for a Basic Iron Axe.]
[To the guy above me: if you think Miss Yardley is ripping people off, then don't trade with her. She's just posting an ad, and you're calling her out? Why don't you go check the other prices on the market before you open your mouth.]
[Goes without saying, her prices must be low, and now the other sellers are getting nervous.]
[That's not a lot, though. Please add some more, Gorgeous Yardley!]
[I mean, I get the torches for keeping warm at night, but what are the Iron Axes for?]
[If you know, you know. If you have to ask, it just means you haven't gotten that far yet.]
[Damn it, I hate people who talk in riddles. Screw it, I'm grabbing one now just in case!]
Faye Yardley hadn't expected the trades to go so smoothly. She had barely posted her one-line ad when, not thirty seconds later, everything was sold out. The transactions were all pending, of course, since she had received the materials but hadn't yet delivered the finished goods.
For each torch, after accounting for the 2 wood in materials and the 1-wood transaction fee, she profited 7 wood. One hundred torches would net her 700 wood.
As for the Basic Iron Axe, after deducting the 1-wood fee and 1 wood for materials, she made a whopping 8 wood in profit. Delivering 100 Basic Iron Axes would earn her 800 wood.
Combined with the 1,000-plus wood she already had, she instantly had enough to upgrade her raft to Level Five.
So she fed the materials for 100 torches into the workbench, started the crafting queue, and then called on the system to upgrade her raft.
[Raft Upgrade - Level Five: Wood 2657/2000. Upgrade conditions met. Proceed with upgrade?]
"Yes."
[Congratulations, Player Faye Yardley, you are the first in the world to upgrade your raft to Level Five! A server-wide announcement is imminent. Do you wish to remain anonymous?]
"Yes, anonymous."
[World Announcement: Congratulations to player XXX from Veridia for being the first to upgrade their raft to Level Five! As a special reward: Reputation +500, Free Attribute Points +2.]
[World Announcement: Congratulations to player XXX from Veridia for being the first to upgrade their raft to Level Five! As a special reward: Reputation +500, Free Attribute Points +2.]
[World Announcement: Congratulations to player XXX from Veridia for being the first to upgrade their raft to Level Five! As a special reward: Reputation +500, Free Attribute Points +2.]
The Gold-lettered announcement was pinned at the top of the chat and repeated three times, sending every player in the game into a frenzy.
Even more infuriated were those who had hit the upgrade button just a second or two after Faye Yardley.
Among them was Logan Langdon, who was in the same region. He had been certain he would be the first in their region to reach Level Five, but someone had beaten him to it.
What was really galling was that this time, there was a world announcement and rewards.
So why weren't there any world announcements for reaching levels two, three, or four? There hadn't been any rewards at all.
That was the only reason he hadn't been in a rush to upgrade his raft sooner.
Now, all he wanted to know was who the hell had beaten him to it?!
Naturally, the regional channel exploded again.
Faye Yardley chuckled to herself. 'Perfect.' Even the people spamming her to deliver their items had quieted down.
Crafting 100 torches would take about fifteen minutes. She had time, so she decided to check her raft's new stats first.
The Level 5 raft was 250 square meters, a full 150 square meters larger than the Level 4 version.
Now she had to figure out how to arrange the new space. The raft could be molded into any shape she could imagine; even a polygon or a perfect circle was possible.
She didn't want to change the side with her original 10x10 structure and its awning.
On the opposite side of that square, she attached a 10x15 rectangle, forming a rough T-shape.
She rearranged the wooden fence to encompass the new layout. Once the wind and rain died down, she could place planters on the large rectangular section, giving her a dedicated farming area.