Where is the discount?

[Thanos]

nope, you are misreading

the 1 character slot is NOT included in that 4.99 per month, you missed what it said directly under that as follows

* One character save slot as well as a basic service fee is required to play FINAL FANTASY XIV.
* The price for one character save slot is $3.00. An additional $3.00 charge will apply for every additional character save slot.

And like i said i thought it was a ONE TIME $3 save slot if you buy in 180 day intervals. But instead its $3 per month for save slot

[TheVedis]

And like i said i thought it was a ONE TIME $3 save slot if you buy in 180 day intervals. But instead its $3 per month for save slot

which is how its supposed to be, so yes
3 dollars per character per month