It was already night time in the real world when Kaito had logged in. There were still 4-5 hours before nighttime in glory.
Glory – Trade District,
In the heart of the Trade Area,
White canvas stalls lined the street edges, hastily propped open by players seeking to offload materials or showcase early-tier gear. Gloved hands pointed toward armor racks. System-generated signs flickered above the tents, flashing prices that were often contested within seconds.
"Three silvers? Come on, it barely qualifies as reinforced!"
"Two silvers and forty copper. Final offer."
"Heh. Try finding this much durability anywhere else."
Beneath flickering prices and the glow of inventory panels, players bartered with vigor. Most were independent adventurers, solo grinders, and early-stage forgers looking to make a name—or at least some quick coin. A few guild-affiliated players weaved through the crowd, silently appraising the market's pulse.
Amid this chaos, Kaito's notifications chimed one after the other.
System Message: The Echocore Emberplate you placed on auction has been sold.
After deducting processing fees, 5 Silver 31 Copper has been added to your inventory.
System Message: The Echocore Emberplate you placed on auction has been sold.
After deducting processing fees, 5 Silver 67 Copper has been added to your inventory.
System Message: The Echocore Emberplate you placed on auction has been sold.
After deducting processing fees, 5 Silver 98 Copper has been added to your inventory.
The notifications continued to pour in one after another. A smirk touched Kaito's lips.
"Looks like the fire resistance perk did its job," he muttered under his breath.
Even the highest-priced Echocore Emberplate had managed to sell for over 6 Silver, and by the time the final system message stopped chiming in, Kaito had raked in a total of nearly 160 Silver Coins from the auctioned batch.
Of course, to him—someone who had already amassed tens of thousands of gold coins in assets through calculated exploits and early investments—this wasn't a fortune. But Kaito knew better than anyone: no amount of wealth ever felt "enough" when you were about to run a guild.
And tomorrow... tomorrow was the turning point.
The 100 individuals he had personally invited—some friends, some freelancers, some uncut gems he had scouted from obscure leaderboards of Silvercrest city—would finally be arriving in the studio. he intended to recruit them into Genesis, either as elite raiders or core studio members for future dungeon operations, crafting divisions, and logistics units.
In his past life, he had struggled to keep his rising guild alive for more than a single day. Without proper funding, without strategic foresight, it had all crumbled. Recruitment costs, player wages, equipment repairs, dungeon entrance fees, fortress rentals, and guild development tools—the sheer expense had buried them alive.
But this life was different.
This time, he had both the funds and the foresight. The blueprint was already carved in his mind.
[Team Chat – Genesis Core Squad]
Kaito: "Where are you all now?"
Aika: "Still in Blackstone Ravine. We're camping by the third fissure."
Daichi: "We cleared the southern ledge earlier."
Meirin: "Some of us just hit Level 12!"
Hiroto: "And I'm close. Just give me ten more minutes! Also, I swear the Scorchgnaw elites have a grudge against me!"
Kaito smiled faintly at the screen.
Kaito: "Good."
His next step was clear.
He walked back into the private Intermediate Forging Room,
He still had more Echocore Emberplates to forge
And For the Vanguard type he had changed his plans he was planning to keep them for his future guild and only sell the ordinary ones.
Kaito's gaze turned steely as he lifted another chunk of refined bronze ore into the channeling slot of the forge.
....
After another four hours of continuous forging he made 50 more attempts, in which he was successful in 40 with 8 vanguards, as the more he forges the more his efficiency increases.
And
Forging Apprentice :
[Proficiency: 156/1000]
[Level Up – You are now Level 12]
"Not bad," he muttered, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders. "Let's keep the momentum going."
He exited the forging chamber and headed toward the Trade District. By now, near the NPC-run stall he had set up, the crowd around it had dwindled significantly. Unlike earlier when his Iron Root Shard and GrainRock chip requests had stirred a frenzy, the current item he was collecting Flintsteel Cores was less abundant.
Still, the NPC had done its job.
[NPC Stall Summary: 18 stacks of Flintsteel Cores acquired.]
Kaito transferred all newly acquired materials into his inventory, then made his way to the central Vault.
Inside, floating panels circled the vault interface like layers of glass. Kaito activated his terminal.
[Accessing Bank Vault…]
[Storage Slots: 500/500 – Full]
[Would you like to purchase +1000 additional slots for 1 Silver Coin?]
[Confirming…]
[Success. Vault Capacity: 1500 slots]
With that done, he deposited everything, organizing it into his Material Classification Grid.
His next destination: the Auction House.
The massive, circular structure was brimming with movement—players from all major guilds clustered around glowing kiosks, exchanging items, placing bids, and scrolling rapidly through listings.
Kaito kept his hood low as he blended into the crowd, listening to the chatter.
"Did you get any drops from the dungeon run?"
"Nope, tank died again halfway in."
"Heard Dominion's frontliners got through the elite boss using just those new armors."
"Yeah, the Echocore Emberplates, right? Saw a few on auction yesterday—gone before I could blink."
"Word is they're gonna restock soon. I've been checking every hour. My guild's already set up alerts."
Kaito's lips curved into a faint smile.
While the bustling crowd of players kept their eyes fixed on flashy weapons and rare loot, Kaito quietly accessed the auction interface once again. Without drawing attention, he listed 32 Echocore Emberplates, each priced at a base price of 5 Silver Coins. These were the standard variants—no Defensive Power, but sturdy and reliable.
The moment he confirmed the listings, he shifted his focus and began a search for Flintsteel Cores, the next vital ingredient for his plans.
[Search Filter: Item – Flintsteel Core]
[Processing Query… Displaying Results.]
Rows of listings instantly populated the semi-transparent display. Kaito's sharp eyes swept across the screen.
"Over a hundred stacks available… Not bad," he murmured.
Some listings were clearly from casual players, but others were obviously mass-sellers trying to flip their haul for quick profit. However, what caught Kaito's eye—and his disdain—was a listing that priced a single stack of Flintsteel Cores at 10 Gold Coin.
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"This guy must've been driven insane by poverty," he thought.
Suppressing a sigh, he immediately applied filters to sort by price: lowest to highest.
[Filter Applied: Price Ascending]
[Displaying Updated Listings…]
Now the real market emerged.
The cheapest stacks hovered at 26 Copper Coins each. After deducting the 1 Copper processing fee from the Auction House, sellers still walked away with a clean 25 Copper profit per stack.
"Just as expected… inflated, but still within my threshold."
Kaito didn't hesitate. He began purchasing every stack that was priced under 30 Copper Coins, sweeping the low-end market dry.
[You have purchased: Flintsteel Core ×20]
[You have purchased: Flintsteel Core ×15]
[You have purchased: Flintsteel Core ×33]
Mere moments later, the listings thinned rapidly.
The bottom half of the market vanished, scooped up by his purchases. What remained were stacks sitting at 30 Copper and above, with a few greedy players hoping for windfall buyers.
Well this is it, after completing his shopping spree, He again went to his vault to store the flinsteel cores.
[Team Chat – Genesis Core Squad]
Aika: "Brother, do you still have any Minor Regen Potions left?"
Kaito: "I'm out. But if you need them, I'll brew a fresh batch now."
Aika: "Thanks, Brother! You're the best!"
Kaito sighed softly as he closed the chat window.
"Looks like I'm still stuck playing the role of the team's life skill specialist," he muttered with a half-smile. Not that he minded — supporting his team was also part of his role as the Team leader.
Without wasting any time, he headed back into the bustling auction house. The floating holographic panels shimmered around him again as he pulled up the marketplace interface and filtered the listings for herbs.
He had forgotten to check in the herb category before, whether it has been replenished or not, then he bought not only ingredients for the minor regeneration potion but also the herbs that would inflate in price, stacks after stacks vanished as kaito kept on purchasing.
[Purchased: Flamevine ×300]
[Purchased: Whisperleaf ×200]
[Purchased: Bittergrass ×800]
[Purchased: Hollow Thorn ×200 ]
[Purchased: Moonpetal Dust ×200]
[Purchased: Ironbloom Residue ×100]
[Purchased: Frostscale Flake ×500]
[Purchased: Spiritroot Bark ×600]
After purchasing most of the rare herbs that were still at the lowest prices. He headed towards the Potion Life- Guild.
As he can remember the nearest recipe for minor regen potion would be available after clearing the hard level of echoing deep so he was making a lot of profit if he bought these herbs now.