It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 47

Chapter 47: The Optimal Brightness for Concentration: 400-500 Lux (1)

“Look at that. Their cooking skills are no joke. There’s nothing like food to grab people’s attention.”

‘Is he explaining why there are only restaurants at the entrance of Player Street?’

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant paused for a moment, focusing on the voice behind him.

The reason why there were only restaurants at the entrance of Player Street was because TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant knew best.

Because he was the one who made it that way.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant concentrated on the man’s words.

“The residents of this world call us players ‘Otherworlders’, right? To be precise … (omitted)…… there’s nothing like food to break down barriers.”

‘……I feel like he’s reading my mind.’

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant felt strange at this experience he felt for the first time in his life.

It was as if he was reading his mind and saying it out loud.

What the man just said was a perfect match for what he had thought a year ago.

‘But that’s the important point. Why food? If you don’t understand that, it’s no different from knowing only half the story.’

The moment World’s Best Merchant thought so.

He heard the man’s next words.

“Why ‘food’ out of food, clothing, and shelter? Think about it. Korea, China, Japan, the West, Europe, the Middle East, or even just the people here in Plovdiv or Beginner’s Village. Everyone wears clothes, eats, and sleeps at home, right? But the most important thing among them is food. You’re embarrassed without clothes, and you’re miserable without a house, but if you don’t eat, you die. It has to be more important.”

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’s eyes widened as he heard those words.

“Even if they don’t understand the world wars on Earth or the history of the Korean Peninsula at all. They know that eating meat gives them strength and eating sweets makes them feel good. In other words, you can use food to create empathy even with people you don’t know.”

The man continued to explain.

“Of course, they may not relate to the food of reality…… that is, the other world. But look here now. Doesn’t it feel like you’re on a trip abroad? It’s completely different from other Plovdiv streets, right? They must have been aiming for this. The people here, they want to travel, but there are bandits outside, monsters, they can’t even dream of it.”

Player Street was a street that perfectly captured the needs of such residents.

“But recently, a street called Player Street has emerged where they sell food they’ve never seen before, right? I came here because I thought I’d try it for lunch, and they’ve all localized the taste. It’s new and all, but it tastes just like they like it. It can’t help but work.”

The problem they have.

It was necessary to satisfy the desires that stemmed from it and to elicit empathy.

To this end, TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant suggested that the entrance to Player Street be filled with restaurants.

And by doing so, Player Street was able to gain a great response from both players and residents of Plovdiv.

All of this process.

“I’m sure he had this kind of thought in mind when he plastered the beginning of the street with restaurants, right? The person who made this street.”

The man behind him guessed everything just by looking at the ‘result’ of Player Street.

‘……It’s so accurate. It’s a perfect match for the solution I came up with.’

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant had a headache for days and days trying to figure this out.

That’s how he finally came up with it.

But the man behind him guessed it right away as soon as he saw this street.

He was amazing.

His ability to intuit was far better than his Seoul National University classmate, who was not very good at anything other than studying.

‘Who the hell is this guy? Judging by the way he talks, he’s definitely new here……’

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant turned his head to check the owner of the voice.

As he looked up at the man’s head, he saw a nickname.

▼Kyung-joon (Player)

The owner of the voice was a player named Kyung-joon.

He seemed to be wearing beginner clothes, so he wondered how he got here.

But what was even more surprising was……

‘……Who on earth have he been talking to until now?’

To TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’s eyes, Kyung-joon looked like he was talking to himself in the air.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

It was when Kyung-joon was heading towards the World’s Best Merchant Guild headquarters to get shards.

“Kyung-joon-nim.”

“Huh?”

He heard a voice calling him from behind.

Kyung-joon turned around to see who it was.

It was a man wearing a short robe and an expensive-looking coat.

Above his head was written ‘TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant (Player)’.

‘Huh? That name is similar to the place I’m trying to go to?’

Kyung-joon made several guesses and opened his mouth.

“Did you call me?”

“Yes, I was so intrigued by your story just now that I ended up talking to you.”

‘Let’s not ask why he was muttering to himself.’

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant wanted to talk to the man in front of him in more depth.

He didn’t want to ruin the opportunity by making him feel uncomfortable.

‘I need to be careful with my words.’

And then he would say this.

Would you be interested in working with our ‘World’s Best’?

He wasn’t just going to give him money and tell him what to do.

He wanted to recruit him as a ‘partner’ to lead World’s Best together.

As an executive who owns a ‘stake’ in the guild and manages it together, not just an employee who receives a salary.

“I’m the kind of person who……”

As TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant said so, he took out a small piece of paper from his inventory.

At that moment, a whisper came.

▶Wang Wei: Guild Master, I think you need to come to the unloading dock right now. It seems that our merchants were attacked by bandits on their way here. I suspect it’s the work of the Black Secret Village.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: I’ll be right there.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant immediately closed the whisper and quickly handed Kyung-joon a business card.

“I apologize. Something urgent has come up. I’d love to have a long talk with you when you have time. Please take this.”

“Yes?”

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

Hurriedly!

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant clicked his tongue and dashed out of Player Street.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Continue with your report.

▶Wang Wei: This is what I heard from Wagon, who is in charge of the route between Plovdiv and Beginner’s Village. The incident occurred exactly three days ago……

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant was no longer in sight.

Instead, Kyung-joon was holding a business card he had never seen before.

[TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’s Business Card]

▶When used, a chat window will open where you can chat with ‘TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’ for a certain period of time.

▶Item Grade: Advanced

“I’ve been getting these papers all day today.”

He received it from Wagon, from the Plovdiv Central Government Office, and just now from the person called TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant.

<It seems to be an item that allows you to whisper without adding them as a friend.>

“Aha. So you have to be friends to whisper?”

<That’s right.>

Kyung-joon stared intently at the business card, recalling what the man had said earlier.

“But he wants to have a long talk…… Is he hitting on me?”

<To another man?>

“This is hopeless.”

Kyung-joon shuddered and put the business card in his inventory.

He respected all preferences, but he was afraid to experience it himself.

“I think I know why he’s interested in me, so let’s just do what I was going to do.”

Kyung-joon thought it was some kind of scout offer.

And ‘something’ probably had a lot to do with the place he was going to now.

With a 99% probability.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

After walking along Player Street for about 15 minutes, Kyung-joon came to a large plaza.

In the middle of it stood a huge building about five stories high.

“Wow, is this the guild headquarters?”

<I heard that the entire first floor is one big store.>

“It’s like I’m in a hypermarket.”

One of the most famous places in Player Street after the food alley.

It was the World’s Best Merchant Guild headquarters.

Here, they sell all kinds of consumables, armor, weapons, special items, materials, etc. under the name of ‘World’s Best’.

It was a place where they sold everything but the kitchen sink.

“Let’s go in.”

Bustling. Crowded.

What greeted Kyung-joon as he entered the first floor of the headquarters was, of course, a huge crowd.

At that moment, a conversation between two players could be heard from right in front of him.

“Hey, hey, isn’t there a discount event at the potion section from 4 o’clock today?”

“That’s why I came here. I’m going to buy all the potions I need for this month.”

“For real. But didn’t you say you needed to get your equipment custom-made?”

“I’m going to look around the store and decide. Look, there are too many people at the counter.”

As they talked, the two of them looked towards the counter.

Kyung-joon also looked in that direction.

“Customer number 275!”

“I’m here to buy a status ailment recovery potion.”

“What kind of status ailment are you talking about?”

“Oh, right. This one.”

“Aha. If that’s the case, you can find it in aisle F8. If you go straight from the entrance of the store, you’ll see section F.”

“Customer number 279, right? What are you looking for?”

“Do you have any food that lasts a long time? I’m going on a subjugation quest that’s going to take over two weeks.”

“You’re looking for food with a preservation spell on it. It depends a lot on which dungeon it is, but I’ll show you the catalog here.”

The counter seemed to be for people who were looking for items that were not in stock or wanted to have something custom-made.

It seemed like a number ticket was needed to use it.

“Let’s get a number ticket first.”

<That would be a good idea.>

Kyung-joon went to the staff member who was handing out number tickets.

The staff member was an NPC.

She handed him a number ticket and said.

“Your number is 347. You’ll have to wait about three hours.”

“Wow…… That many?”

“Yes, there are a lot of customers waiting. Thank you for your understanding.”

He thought he would be next after looking around the store for about an hour, but he had to wait three hours.

It was a big disappointment.

“Ah.”

Just then, a good thought occurred to him.

Kyung-joon rummaged through his inventory and handed the staff member a piece of paper.

“I have this.”

“Yes, let me see.”

It was the 『World’s Best Merchant Guild Discount Coupon』 he received when he parted ways with Wagon.

The staff member glanced at the coupon.

Her expression changed to a more friendly one than before, and she said.

“Ah~ You’re a premium customer? I should have shown you right away. Leah, please escort this customer to a private consultation room.”

“Okay.”

The colleague next to her nodded and smiled brightly at Kyung-joon.

A perfect business smile.

“Now, sir. Please follow me this way. I’ll show you to the second floor.”

“Okay.”

Kyung-joon followed the staff member to the second floor.

The other players who saw this looked at Kyung-joon with envious eyes.

“Wow, that guy. He must be a premium customer. I’m so jealous.”

“A premium customer?”

“Yeah, a premium customer. Look at that. He’s being escorted to the second floor separately. He doesn’t have to wait.”

“No waiting? That’s awesome. Can’t we do that?”

“Of course you can. Just pay 1 million liyan.”

“A, A million…… But wouldn’t it be awesome if you could just keep doing that by paying 1 million liyan?”

“For your information, it’s 1 million per use.”

“It’s totally for the rich kids, tsk.”

“Or you can be a World’s Best guild member.”

“That’s even harder, damn it!”

In the end, they had to wait for more than three hours while envying Kyung-joon.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Room F just became available. Please go in and do what you need to do. You can hand in the coupon when you purchase the item.”

“If the deal falls through because they don’t have the item I want, can I use the coupon again?”

“Yes, of course. But please don’t abuse it.”

Of course, Kyung-joon had no intention of doing so.

“Then, happy shopping.”

The staff member bowed politely and went back down to the first floor.

Then, Kyung-joon opened the door and entered the private consultation room.

<World’s Best Merchant Guild Staff>

▼Froi (NPC)

Again, the staff member was an NPC.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello. My name is Froi, and I’m in charge of Private Consultation Room F at the World’s Best Merchant Guild. What kind of item are you looking for?”

Froi asked politely.

“I’m looking for a shard of light or a shard of fire. Do you have any?”

“Ah, shards? We probably have them in stock. Could you tell me what kind of shard you’re looking for?”

“Uh, well……”

Kyung-joon hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“It’s a bit complicated, is that okay?”

“Of course. At the World’s Best Merchant Guild, we do our best to listen to our customers in order to find the items they are looking for.”

“Then can I tell you?”

“Yes, please tell me anything.”

Kyung-joon, as Froi said, immediately spoke what he wanted.

Wooong.

But very strangely, he also showed mana in his hand as he spoke.

This was not an attack, but rather to give an ‘example’.

“I’m looking for a shard that emits about 400 to 500 lux of light when you put in about this much mana, and the color temperature varies from at least 2,200 Kelvin to over 8,000 Kelvin. Do you have anything like that?”

“……Excuse me?”

Froi couldn’t understand a single word after 『a shard that emits about 400 to 500 lux of light when you put in about this much mana~』.

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