I can upgrade my castle

On the first day of Universal Lords, half a day had passed since billions of humans from Earth arrived in Eldoria. Many lords had food in their castle warehouses. After all, every lord had initial troops. Even the weakest troops could easily handle level 1 Normal monsters. And with monster corpses, lords could obtain food through their castle's decomposition and salvage function.

The catch? The food—whether mutton, pork, or chicken—was all raw, bloody, and unappetizing. And there were no kitchens in the castles! The newly arrived lords hadn't yet figured out how to unlock them. No kitchen meant no fire. In modern society, fire was readily available, but in this world, it was a precious resource. Without fire, no cooked food.

And right now, anyone with cooked meat was a big deal. It meant they'd either unlocked the castle kitchen or had another fire source. Either way, Alex, with her 300 units of roasted chicken, was clearly someone to be reckoned with.

Yet, World Chat was filled with complaints.

[World Channel 35623 players]

"Price gouging! Boycott this profiteer!"

"Don't buy! Let it rot in her warehouse!"

"1 wood or stone for 1 cooked meat is the fair price. Twenty times the price? She's taking us for fools!"

"Anyone who buys is an idiot!"

"You buying? I'm not!"

…

There were millions of World Chat channels, each holding up to 10,000 players. After Alex posted her listing, at least a hundred thousand channels were filled with people bashing her, calling her greedy, exploitative, and worse. She was infamous! Mainly because her prices were *insane*. The accepted market price, based on other market listings, was 1 wood or stone for 1 cooked meat. Alex had multiplied that by *twenty*. Who wouldn't be furious? Chopping wood and mining stone took effort!

But… as millions continued to rant, someone noticed something terrifying.

[World Channel 251 (10,000 players)]

"Holy crap, you two-faced bastards!"

"What happened?"

"You're all dogs! I hesitated for half a second, and it's gone!"

"I didn't even hesitate, and I still missed out!"

"What's going on? Tell us!"

"Check the Free Market."

"Don't bother. Alex's 300 units of roasted chicken are *sold out*!"

"???"

"What the hell? Weren't we boycotting this profiteer?"

"Are you all crazy?! Twenty times the market price?!"

"Have you never eaten meat before?!"

"Anyone who bought is an idiot! You're the reason profiteers like Alex exist!"

"Boycott the profiteer! Boycott the idiot consumers!"

"+1"

"+2"

"+999"

…

"Lol, you guys can boycott all you want. I'm not playing that game. Hey, Alex, you got any more cooked meat? I'll buy!"

"Are you insane? Licking the boots of a profiteer? Twenty times the price?!"

"Price? What price? Tell me, what the hell is the 'price'?"

"1 wood or stone for 1 cooked meat! That's the price! Everyone agreed on it!"

"Hah, flawed logic! That's the price *buyers* are offering, a price that benefits *them*. If buyers set the prices, you'd be asking for 100 cooked meat for 1 wood!"

"Look at the Free Market! Almost every listing is *buying* cooked meat. No one else is *selling* it, except Alex! That means cooked meat is scarce! And Alex is the only supplier! It's a seller's market! Billions of buyers, one seller! Alex sets the price, take it or leave it! It's simple. Stop with the moral outrage. 20 wood or stone for 1 cooked meat isn't even expensive. One tree gives you at least 8-10 units of wood. You could've gathered 20 while you were busy complaining!"

"I… I… My castle is on a grassland! No trees! No stones! I'm screwed! Alex, can I trade grass for cooked meat? 100 grass for 1 meat? I'm so hungry…"

…

World Chat had done a complete 180. From furious boycott to desperate pleas for more cooked meat. Alex didn't quite understand the logic, but she understood the *behavior*. Her 300 units of roasted chicken had sold out in under a minute.

"Actions speak louder than words," she chuckled.

The sale netted her 4210 wood and 1790 stone, all deposited in her castle warehouse. "No transaction fees!" she noticed. Another bonus. And the best news yet…

"I can upgrade my castle!" Alex exclaimed, her face beaming. **[Upgrade Requirements: 1000 wood, 500 stone]**. She had more than enough.