"Ms. Selvera, I wonder—what kind of trade ratio are you proposing?" Kaito asked calmly, masking his thoughts behind a neutral expression.
If this had been the old Kaito—the one with no foresight, limited funds, and a weak support system—he might've agreed to a full credit exchange without hesitation. But that was no longer the case.
Now, he had insight into the future, backing from the Ren family, and a stable supply of credits already in place. Selling his valuable forging designs purely for credits was no longer acceptable. Especially after visiting the black market, Kaito had realized just how crucial gold coins truly were.
Prices here were cutthroat, and NPC merchants operated under one strict rule: gold only. No amount of reputation or negotiation could bypass that barrier.
"If possible…" Selvera hesitated slightly before continuing. "Could we perhaps settle on… 2% gold coins and 98% credits?" Her long lashes fluttered as she offered the deal, clearly knowing it was far from ideal.
She wasn't trying to lowball him maliciously—the Echo Core Emberplate forging design was simply too valuable. And she didn't plan to buy just one or two. If she had to pay even 10% in gold coins, Duskwatch's reserves might buckle under the strain.
Kaito nearly choked on his tea. Two percent in gold coins? For a transaction worth 100 gold, he'd walk away with just 2 gold and the rest in credits? That ratio was borderline insulting.
He set the cup down, his expression unreadable. "Ms. Selvera," he began, his tone calm but firm, "I'm sure you're aware—now that we've both stepped into the black market—that the items sold here hold tremendous value. And not just value, but cost. Everything here bleeds gold coins, especially the high-grade goods in the auction house."
He met her gaze directly. "Credits won't cut it. The 2% offer is simply too low. If you're looking to buy in bulk, I'll need at least 10% paid in gold coins."
Selvera offered a soft sigh, lips pursed with reluctant frustration. "Mr. Ryan, I admit your request is fair. But Duskwatch's current reserves... we're stretched thin. Gathering even 10% in gold is incredibly difficult for us right now. Our coin-farming teams, despite numbering over 3,000, still can't keep up with the guild's demands."
She paused, then leaned slightly forward, offering a small, sincere smile. "If you'd be willing to lower the gold coin requirement to 5%, I'll increase the credit portion by 20% as a show of good faith. I hope that's a compromise we can work with."
Truthfully, the guild wasn't short on players. But gold coin generation in Glory was a grueling, slow grind. Despite expanding their farming squads continuously, their reserves always seemed to vanish as fast as they were earned. Selvera wouldn't be trying to negotiate so persistently otherwise.
Kaito fell into brief contemplation. The 5% coin ratio was already brushing up against the lowest margin he was willing to accept. Yet, Selvera's offer of an additional 20% in credits made the deal far more palatable. To Kaito, that bonus alone was a significant temptation.
He mentally ran the numbers. Previously, the exchange rate in Glory had been 1 gold coin for 10 credits. But ever since the surge in market activity and inflation caused by early-game scarcity, the price of coins had skyrocketed. Now, even a single silver coin could fetch up to 100 credits on external trading platforms.
That meant their deal—valued at a minimum of 50 gold coins—with a 20% credit bonus, would net Kaito over 90,000 credits even after deductions. A substantial sum by any metric.
"Very well," Kaito finally nodded. "We'll proceed with 5%. Now then—how many pieces of the Echo Core Ember Plate forging design does Ms. Selvera wish to acquire?"
Selvera raised five delicate fingers with a serene smile.
"Five pieces?" Kaito blinked in surprise. After all the back-and-forth they'd gone through, was that all she wanted? Was she just playing games?
But Selvera merely chuckled, shaking her head at his confusion. "Not five. Did you think I was here for just fifty?"
Kaito's brow twitched. Fifty? That would already amount to 150 gold coins if each piece sold at the estimated market value of 3 gold coins. Just imagining that made his heart race. Even with 10,000 gold in hand, that sum could barely buy a few land plots in a proper city, but that was not enough And now...
"I want five hundred pieces."
She said it so casually, like she was ordering sheets of paper and not one of the most desirable forging designs in the early game.
Kaito's expression finally cracked. "Miss Selvera, are you certain about this? That's not a trivial amount. You're talking about a transaction on the scale of empire-level logistics."
"Of course I'm certain," Selvera replied, her smile still gentle but now laced with cunning. "But with such a massive order… naturally, I have a small condition of my own."
Kaito leaned forward, still calm. "Speak."
"Within the Black Market, your Echo Core Ember Plate Forging Designs must be sold exclusively to Duskwatch," Selvera said with a calm but firm tone. "Given the scale of this deal, even at 5% in gold coins, the upfront amount comes to 75 gold. That much is difficult to gather immediately. I propose an installment model. I'll pay 10 gold coins as the initial deposit. The remaining gold portion will be cleared within one month. Would that be acceptable?"
Kaito instantly saw through her intentions. Selvera wasn't buying the forging designs for her guild's internal use—she was planning to resell them to other guilds at a higher price. With 500 pieces, she'd easily establish a dominant foothold in the equipment market. But Kaito didn't find her sincerity repulsive. On the contrary, he appreciated the straightforwardness.
He was never the type to fuss over such things. This amount of gold wasn't even close to his limit. Besides, in the long run, he stood to earn far more from future transactions. There would be countless deals like this ahead.
"Very well," Kaito replied with a relaxed smile. "Since you're purchasing in bulk, there's no need to be so rigid. Pay the 10 gold as promised, and I'll accept the rest entirely in credits."
To him, it didn't matter whether the forging designs were sold as blueprints or as finished gear. What mattered was extracting every possible coin from them. The more gold he could stockpile before entering the city, the smoother his plans for Genesis would proceed.
Selvera's connections might allow her to sell at a better margin, but that was her strength. Kaito had no interest in competing with her reach—his focus was already on forging the improved Vanguard Ember Plate for Genesis' core members. These base designs were just a stepping stone. So whether he earned through volume or slow sales didn't matter—he would take every path to wealth available to him.
After that, Kaito rented a lounge nearby and spent more than two hours inside, producing over 600 pieces of the Echo Core Ember Plate forging design. Despite the sheer quantity, his total material cost hadn't even crossed 2 silver coins. The profit margin was outrageous—faster than robbing an NPC bank.
Once the batch was complete, he handed over 500 pieces to Selvera and received 10 gold coins upfront. At the same time, Selvera transferred 17.88 million credits into his account.
Adding this to his earlier balance of 362 million credits, Kaito's total wealth now exceeded 380 million credits.
Selvera, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement. With Duskwatch's influence and network, she would easily sell the forging designs to other guilds, raking in a fortune in gold coins. Compared to the slow grind of money farming teams, this method was hundreds of times more efficient. With the influx of gold coins, Duskwatch's growth would skyrocket—no rival guild could hope to match them.
As for Kaito, he wasn't bothered by it in the slightest. In fact, seeing the credits in his account, he felt a wave of reassurance. From this point forward, Genesis Studio no longer needed financial backing from the Ren family. It had begun generating income on its own. And while Kaito was currently the only one producing results, it still counted—he was the president, after all.