novelraw Chapter 144: War of Wealth
Chapter 144: War of Wealth
Zyrus walked along the bustling crowd and reached the entrance of the auction house. Before the wide, arched doors stood a group of knights in silver armor. Just one look was enough for everyone to realize that they were stronger than anything they’d seen thus far. Those who dared to cause trouble here would undoubtedly meet a bitter end.
Besides the soldiers, there was also a group of masked women who gave the players a simple hooded robe. After wearing it, everyone would look the same regardless of their original appearance. The women then pointed to different areas and arranged the players in a random order. Even if someone was paying close attention to someone it would be impossible to identify them after this.
Soon it was Zyrus’s turn. He took the rugged brown robe and wore it over himself. After following the direction the woman pointed at, he arrived at an empty seat on the top third row. All around him the players chattered in hushed voices. Regardless of their wealth and status everyone was equally excited for the auction.
*Tak*Tak*Tak*
[Greetings, dear players. I, Anansi, will be the host for today’s auction]
To no one’s surprise, it was the tuxedo wearing administrator who was in charge of the auction. The lights on the stands dimmed while dozens of white beams focused on the stage. Every player’s eyes were set on the box Anansi had taken out.
[The rules for the auction are simple. I will announce the starting bid and minimum increase for each following bid. You cannot bid more than ten times the value of starting bid at once. As for whether you have the finances to buy the items, the system would be the judge of that. After winning, the currency will be deducted from your inventory and you will receive the item in the same manner.]
[Now then, out of the 100 items that would be auctioned today, the first one is…..]
Anansi deliberately dragged out his voice and slowly flipped open the box. There was no need for item’s introduction as everyone present could see the screen appear above the stage.
|Amulet of Fallen Priest|
HP -10
When taking damage, recover 1 HP with each hit, up to 50% of max HP.
Once a day, enhance your next attack to deal 200% additional curse damage.
Inside the box was an amulet with engraving of black sun. The system didn’t show the item’s quality, but it was apparent that it was at the very least a rare grade. To start an auction with an item like this was extravagant.
[The starting bid for this item is 1 silver. Each following bid would be 50 coppers]
Barely had Anansi’s voice faded when numerous players raised their hands. There was no need to shout as the system was responsible for handling that.
Zyrus saw as the numbers went up and up until the price stabilized at 11 silvers. Only a couple of players were still engaged in the bidding war.
“5 Silver.”
A gruff voice made everyone look over at the first row. Even though it was useless to judge someone by their voice or appearance due to the cloaks, the players couldn’t help but be curious about the player’s identity. 5 silvers weren’t big sum, but at the same time, this was just the first item.
[16 silvers and 50 coppers, any higher bids?]
Anansi looked at the players and seeing no response, he tapped the hammer in his hand. The box and the amulet both disappeared and were replaced by a longsword.
‘That sure is efficient.’
Zyrus leaned back and watched others bid for the items. He had no interest in the first few items since they were all weapons and equipment that he didn’t need. Unlike him though, the others were going crazy over the weapons.
Zyrus couldn’t see Kyle and the rest without using his eyes of annihilation, but he was sure that they were doing their job at inflating the prices. Everything sold thus far was grossly overpriced if one considered their value in a few years. Of course, it wasn’t a bad deal for players either since only with power could they survive and keep their position in the future.
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*Tak*
Anansi once again tapped the hammer, and this time, a huge object appeared above the stage.
|Ingardium Crucible|
Can endure extreme temperatures. The Crucible is also engraved with self-repair and temperature adjustment arrays.
It was a simple description, yet it caused a frenzy among the players. No one present here was stupid. No matter how valuable a single weapon could never contend against something that could forge new items.
[The starting bid for this item number seven is 10 silvers. Each following bid would be 2 silvers]
Zyrus calmly watched on as the price went up to one gold in no time. There was a reason he had distributed gold among his subordinates. Perhaps he could use his eyes of annihilation and coordinate with them, but that was unnecessary. There was no need to risk the minute chance where someone might sense his mana fluctuation.
He had already told Kyle and the rest what to do, and they were well aware of how much gold they had. They could just bid in sequence and calculate with that. Zyrus had ordered them to absolutely buy all quality of life and other such blueprints, so there was no way they would miss that. If it went beyond their budget of ten gold coins then there was always Zyrus himself.
Sure enough, few kept bidding after the price reached three gold coins. With another swing of the hammer the crucible was delivered to Druv’s inventory.
The next two items were once again weapons while the tenth was an enchanted rosewood table for leatherworkings; bought by Strongfist for 3 gold and eighty silver. It was by far the costliest item since due to monster slaying most kings had an abundance of leather.
‘Almost 4 gold already. I’m glad I saved up for this…’
Zyrus knew that things were only getting started. The first ten items were the most basic set. The quality of items would go up by a notch starting from 11th, 21st, 31st items and so on.
And sure enough, the case that appeared on the stage proved that theory.
|Dark Vision Potion|
Allows the user to see in the dark and underwater without causing any visual changes.
Duration: 1 hour
It was a case of 10 potions, priced at 1 gold. Zyrus unhesitantly participated in the bidding and bought the potions for 5 gold. Rather than dark vision, what he wanted was the latter half of the effect: ‘Without causing any visual changes.’
His glowing eyes would be detrimental in the deep ocean since the creatures living there were used to perpetual darkness. These potions would allow him to enter stealth for 10 hours in that dangerous area.
Nothing much came up after this that caught Zyrus’s eyes. From 12th to 40th
items, his subordinates had bought five items that cost close to 30 gold. This meant that apart from him and Franken, the rest were in no position to guarantee the next items. It was still within Zyrus’s calculations since there would be a short break after 50 items were auctioned off.That would be the moment when true war of wealth would begin. Anansi would allow the players to trade and pawn off items. If they didn’t get a satisfactory deal then the players could also trade among themselves. All Zyrus had to do was ask around and ‘Buy’ Items from Kyle and the rest to redistribute the funds.
‘It’s a bit of a hassle, but with this the plan is foolproof. Not even the administrators would say a thing about this.’
The auction continued just as Zyrus had predicted. Franken had bought the 46th item; A giant pot that could detoxify up to hundred kilograms of monster meat per hour. It was fortunate that not many were interested in cooking and thus the price didn’t go above eight gold.
There was indeed a short break after 50 items were auctioned off. Zyrus went around as per the plan and gave Kyle, Shi kun, and Strongfist 20 gold each. The three of them plus Franken could guarantee the next four items.
‘Noone’s selling anything useful.’
Zyrus looked around to see what the players were trading for, but there was no such thing as an unexpected fortune for him. It was difficult to find good items to begin with. Even if it was with unknown uses, the players weren’t stupid enough to sell it.
The auction resumed and there were many things that they bought. A consumable scroll that temporarily increased swimming speed, a blueprint for making construction materials from monster remains, tools that were needed for smithy and alchemy labs and so on. Those were undoubtedly good finds and they would accelerate the research by many folds.
There were also a couple of blueprints that were about sword, shield, and dagger production. Zyrus let them be bought by others and didn’t interfere. At this moment he recalled the conversation he had with Ria about the direction in which their army would progress.
Back then he had focused solely on the military aspect and rejected most proposals which were related to trade and quality of life. His idea was to build an army that would conquer the well developed Kyros. Even now, the core of that plan hadn’t changed.
Why was Zyrus buying things that were contradictory then? It was because the players’ research had surpassed his expectations. Even with his experience before regression he failed to predict just how big of a change the players selectively recruited from the first ring would bring.
There were countless humans who didn’t even meet the requirements to become a ‘player’ and were killed by the monsters. They didn’t have any remarkable fighting capabilities; however, their knowledge and experience were nothing to scoff at.
‘Now, we no longer have to focus on only one direction. We can do both, and more.’
He was glad to be wrong for once. He didn’t want his memories to make himself rigid in thinking, and thus, he changed his plans accordingly. For that was what a qualified ruler should do.
Zyrus was lost in thoughts but when he saw Anansi take out the next item, it took all his patience to not leak any mana fluctuations.
On the stage was a foot long wooden box containing a grayish black rock.
|A fragment excavated from a collapsed dimension|
Contains dimensional energy. Can be used for skill enhancement and various crafting formulas.
While the players looked at the screen and thought of its uses, Zyrus had a clearer understanding of the object. It was a dimensional fragment, the core material required to use ‘Stefna.’