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In the real world, numerous players were glued to their screens in anticipation of the live stream's commencement. Many eagerly awaited this groundbreaking event: the very first auction in the game.
At a minimum, they would witness the unprecedented auction of an Epic Equipment piece.
In a room in Dorado, America, Mira had logged out of the game and was now intently watching the big screen. Unlike other players, Mira aimed to extract valuable insights from the stream.
This strategy would minimize her need to rely on speculation to accomplish her goals. While she found exploration intriguing, it was often exhausting. Mira prioritized efficiency over the thrill of discovery.
She believed it foolish to forge a path independently when shortcuts existed. Hoping not to be disappointed, Mira picked up a soda from the table, opened it, and sipped.
Just then, the live stream of the game began. "Our first lot is the [Sea Emperor's Meteor], a quality item, starting at five thousand gold coins," announced the auctioneer.
The auctioneer smiled as a staff member beside her displayed the item.
Displayed was a deep blue gemstone, about the size of a fingernail. With the assistance of a Light Magician's projection spell, everyone scrutinized the gemstone closely. Given its purely decorative nature, the gemstone failed to excite the players, resulting in a quiet scene.
After a ten-second pause, a native nobleman lifted his bidding plate, offering "Six thousand."He likely intended to fashion it into elegant jewelry, perhaps to impress a special lady.
"This hardly seems suitable as the opening item of the auction," Yaeger remarked in the VVIP room.
"A gemstone of this caliber is quite valuable; it's sufficient to kick off the auction," Kastina countered.
"That's true," Yaeger conceded, turning her attention from the auction stage to the VIP seats.
‘It's Taurus and S.K.Y. The two big fish are here. Excellent, excellent.'
Her gaze shifted again, and her pupils narrowed slightly.
‘Old Man Tian!' Her eyes fixed on a youthful figure in the crowd. Even if turned to dust, she'd recognize him—it was Ronald Tian, known as Old Man Tian.
‘I'm itching to go down there and give him a thrashing right now!' Regrettably, she had to maintain her anonymity among the public. ‘I guess I'll have to settle the score with him in person instead.' Yaeger gave a slight shake of her head in resignation.
Defeating Old Man Tian in the game would offer her little satisfaction. Her capabilities far exceeded those of any regular player, making it trivial for her to defeat Old Man Tian. Thus, it would simply be uninteresting.
Turning her attention away, Yaeger refocused on the ongoing auction.
Suddenly, Old Man Tian shivered, feeling an inexplicable chill. "What was that? It felt like I was being watched by a giant python!" He scanned his surroundings, yet found no unusual eyes upon him.
"Fifteen thousand, going once." The call from the auctioneer snapped Old Man Tian out of his reverie, and he redirected his focus to the auction.
He had a specific objective for attending the auction: to acquire some high-quality Equipment.
Bonk!
The gavel fell, and the [Sea Emperor's Meteor] was sold to the opening bidder for 15,000 gold.
The price greatly surpassed the gemstone's intrinsic value, but as value is subjective, it was justified as long as the buyer was pleased.
Next up was a Rare Equipment piece. As soon as the auctioneer announced the starting bid, the crowd burst into enthusiastic cheers.
It was as if the earlier quiet was merely the calm before the storm. For the players, nothing was more important than acquiring Equipment!
"Half a million!" A wealthy player shouted, raising his bidding plate. This piece of Equipment was the missing link in his collection; he was determined to obtain it at any cost.
"Five hundred and ten thousand!" Another player quickly countered. The bids continued to escalate.
"Five hundred and twenty thousand!"
"Five hundred and thirty thousand!"
Bids soared as the competition heated up.
Epic Equipment was highly sought after in the game, as were Rare Equipment pieces, which commanded hefty prices on the black market. Yet, only the truly affluent and somewhat foolish would shell out over half a million for a Rare Equipment piece.
Set Equipment was the exception to the rule. These items bestowed unique skills or special effects and were exceedingly rare, thus justifying their higher value. This particular Rare Equipment had been acquired by Yaeger and her team in the maze. It held no value to them since it was exclusively usable by Warriors.
The fierce competition in the auction had real-life spectators on the edge of their seats, as excited as if they were witnessing a gladiatorial battle in the Coliseum. The bidding for the Rare Equipment skyrocketed to 1 million.
"Who else dares to challenge me?" bellowed a wealthy player as he stood and glared menacingly around the room. A hushed silence fell; no one dared respond. Both players and spectators were astounded by his lavish spending—a million for Rare Equipment was unheard of!
Even the locals were taken aback, murmuring, "Where did this fool come from, spending a fortune on just one item?"
"Did you arrange for this actor?" Kastina asked Yaeger, puzzled.
"With my reputation? Do you really think I could recruit such a character?" Yaeger responded, her eyes rolling in frustration.
"Yet, it seems like he's intentionally inflating the price," Kastina observed.
"That’s not the case. Outsiders are desperate for equipment, which explains the fierce bidding," Yaeger clarified.
"I see," Kastina acknowledged, still somewhat confused about these outsiders.
"Moving forward, they’ll continually surprise you," Yaeger prophesized.
"Really?" Kastina expressed doubt.
"Just watch," Yaeger replied, avoiding further debate.
The auctioneer on the stage was stunned into silence, momentarily unable to respond. Though she had been working as an auctioneer for several years and had encountered many eccentric individuals, this was the first time she had seen such a peculiar specimen.
‘How can he say something so foolish with such arrogance?’ she thought.
Who else? Who else would dare to compete with him?
"One million ten thousand," a voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned to see a young man of average appearance, dressed in an oriental costume, raising his number plate.
Neither the players nor the natives recognized him. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air. A paid actor. He must be a paid actor! Everyone on the scene and watching in real life reached the same conclusion.
In reality, he was not a paid actor at all.
"I, Benjamin, despise people like you who think you're the best thing since sliced bread," he said, glaring at the wealthy player with disdain.
"Paid actor? How dare you look down on me! One million one hundred thousand!"
"One million one hundred and ten thousand," the young nobleman announced calmly.
"One million two hundred thousand!" the rich player countered in a fit of rage.
At this moment, everyone looked at him as if he were an idiot. It was such an obvious trap, yet he still fell into it!
In the VVIP guest room, Kastina gave Yaeger a thumbs up. "You're still the best, lowly slave. This paid actor is excellent."
"You're stupid. He's not our guy at all. Our paid actor isn't on stage yet," Yaeger said, rolling her eyes.
The auction's climax would come near the end; she would never waste a paid actor at the beginning.
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