It was 7:30 in the morning in Seraphia time, which was when the Magus Academy Online was beginning to become busy. Especially near the Headmaster’s Building, which was crowded with players logging in and getting ready to embark on missions and earn their daily dose of merit points. Although only three and a half days had passed since the conclusion of the event, the total number of players had regained its former peak.
Among them was Sean, who had just logged back into the game, ready to plan his course of action for the day. It just so happened that today all the members of the temporary party had decided to join him in his endeavors, much to the lack of his agreement.
But as he was about to make his way toward the rendezvous location, a voice called out to him, halting his steps.
“Huh? If it isn’t the famous KuroUsagi,” said a blonde-haired female player, appearing to be in her late teens. Behind her stood almost a dozen players, forming her entourage, which seemed to grow larger each day. “So, what do you think about—”
“Thank you for the offer as always, Miss Auralise. Unfortunately, I have to refuse this time as well,” KuroUsagi interjected while shaking his head.
“But you haven’t heard what I have to offer…” She looked slightly disappointed, as evidenced by her frozen pointing posture, but she attempted to persuade him regardless. However, KuroUsagi remained steadfast in his refusal, declining her offer politely.
Auralise had been persistent in trying her hardest to recruit him into her group ever since the footage of him surviving and eradicating a group of bandits leaked out on the official website forum. In fact, she had once tried to do the same way back when they both joined the game, but he had refused her back then. Now, with his worth known to her, she was even more determined to bring him into her fold.
One of her followers suddenly stepped forward to curry favor by assisting her. “Come on, dude, join us. We can use your expertise, and together, we will dominate this game. In the future, it will explode in popularity, and we’ll be the forerunners.”
“Mm-hmm! The pay’s also amazing. Not gonna lie, it’s way better than flipping burgers at a fast-food joint,” added someone.
“Whoa, you’re a wage cuck?” another member of the group teased, eliciting a chuckle from the others.
“Shut up, you.” He glared at the teasing comrade.
Smiling, Auralise used that momentum to sweeten the deal. “You heard them. For you personally, I’ll even appoint you as a director in my company. Your salary will easily surpass a million dollars per year.” With a flick of a finger, a player, who KuroUsagi couldn’t determine their gender, came to her side and bowed respectfully.
“Indeed, milady never goes back on her word,” chimed Dominique — Auralise’s most loyal servant.
“There you have it,” Auralise concluded with a confident smile.
“…” KuroUsagi was momentarily at a loss for words at this gesture.
On the one hand, it was indeed a lavish offer; anyone in their right mind would agree without a second thought. In truth, he would be lying to say that he was not tempted. On the other hand—
“If it isn’t the little wimp. I see that you’re still as shameless as ever, tricking people for your benefit.”
All of a sudden, a disdainful voice interrupted, and a red towering figure emerged behind KuroUsagi, accompanied by three others. They were his party members: ButterflyWingsAreDelicious, ChickenSmackdown_MaxLevel, DigitalMagicianPatrick, and LunaticScarlet.
“You! Mind your own business.” Auralise huffed. “KuroUsagi and I are discussing important matters here.”
“I go wherever I go. And as the leader of our party, do you think he’d fall for your petty tricks and abandon his comrades?” Butterfly crackled her fingers as she stood before Auralise, looking like David facing Goliath. “If you dare tempt him again, then don’t blame me for getting physical with you,” she threatened.
“As expected of a brute, always resorting to physical violence.” Auralise crossed her arms. “Perhaps you should learn some manners.”
“Oh, are you scared?” Butterfly smirked, clearly taunting her.
Auralise sneered. “Me, scared? Pfft.”
Invisible electric sparks seemed to clash between the two of them as they glared at each other, neither willing to back down. At times, one could hear the harrumphing sound being exchanged between the two. Truthfully, they were both acting like grade school children.
“Um…” KuroUsagi, the guy being fought over, was unsure how to respond. Opting for silence, he avoided becoming embroiled in their conflict, knowing that intervening would only put him in the crossfire. The same could be said for Auralise’s entourage and the rest of his party members.
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“Dude, this is why I said those two together are trouble. We should get out of here before they target us,” Chicken whispered urgently to KuroUsagi as he motioned to leave.
But whether his whisper was simply too loud or the other players, being true acolytes, just had better hearing, both Auralise and Butterfly quickly turned their attention toward them, their expressions anything but friendly.
““Shut the hell up!””
Without warning, the both of them lunged at Chicken and delivered a swift punch to his head, sending the real-life MMA fighter crashing to the ground. Auralise aside, KuroUsagi noted that despite Chicken’s expertise in fighting, Butterfly’s superior physique and speed proved too much to handle. It could be said that Chicken was lucky that the blow wasn’t life-threatening, sparing him from having to endure a resurrection cooldown again.
While the two continued their heated argument, drawing the attention of surrounding players, the headmaster emerged from the building and approached their location.
Coming to a halt, he spoke in a sonorous voice that carried across the academy grounds. “The bandits have been subdued, and their spoils have been sorted out. Now that you acolytes have all rested and gathered, it’s time to distribute the loot. Because some items hold a significant value that exceeds a certain point, there will be an auction to give you a chance to obtain special, limited items and ensure fairness and opportunity for all.”
When the players heard the words of the headmaster NPC, they immediately surrounded him with bright eyes.
Spoils!
Merit points!
Special, limited items!
There were also favorability and amity points!
Without waiting for the players around to utter a single word, the headmaster beckoned at them majestically to follow him. “Without further ado, let us proceed to the auditorium.”
“Quick! To the auditorium!” someone exclaimed, quickly rushing ahead.
“The special item is mine! Anyone who tries to snatch it will face my wrath!” A player with red hair laughed manically.
“Stupid! This is an auction; the highest bidder gets the prize.”
“How dare you covet my item! Prepare to face my fury!!” The red-haired player seized the guy who just explained the rule by his collar.
“Shit, I was just explaining!”
There were also some “strange” incidents happening between two guys like this one:
“Hey, who’s pushing me on the butt? Don’t push, especially there!”
“Who would want to touch your flat ass, dude?”
“It’s you again!”
Amidst the chaos of the overly hyped players vying for limited weapons and equipment, all the players in the academy rushed to the grand auditorium. Even the two female players locked in a face-off cared not about their conflict, quickly joining the fray in a frenzied rush.
Having recovered from the punches on his head, Chicken grabbed KuroUsagi’s shoulder and the rest of the party members, hurrying them along. As they arrived at the auditorium, they were greeted by the sight of two wooden boxes piled high with spoils, accompanied by a fairy assisting the headmaster — it was none other than Lizbeth the assistant fairy.
This auction was something that they had anticipated for days, and it was definitely going to be awesome.
***
Victor gazed at the influx of players pouring into the auditorium with a satisfied smile. He had waited for several days before finally tallying up the total merit points as well as commencing this auction. The delay had been necessary due to some “adjustments” in regard to new NPCs that he would add, but that was inconsequential for the moment.
Activating his Master Shadowlink Mark, Victor assessed the current status of the academy while waiting for the players to properly settle in.
Academy Name: Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi
Headmaster: Victor Asteriscus
Academy Points: 690
Academy Grade: Level 2
Total Acolytes: 198/250
Progression Value: 210/250
While the progression value points remained stagnant in the past few days, the completion of one dormitory and the reinforcement of a wall were sure to meet the quota soon. Plus, based on the steadily increasing number of acolytes, he expected that leveling the academy could be achieved in less than a week.
Returning his attention to the players, Victor strode to the podium and began distributing merit points gained from the more mundane loot, allocating them based on each player’s contribution recorded by their Shadowlink Marks. On average, each player received around one hundred points. The merit points earned from defeating bandits and completing missions had been given days ago. As such, players should have the highest amount of merit points right now.
It was time to squeeze them dry of them then.
Satisfied with his cleverness that seemed to know no bounds, Victor noticed Lizbeth, who was here to help him, was suppressing her urge to criticize him. How typical of her.
That said, he proceeded to explain the rules of the auction. The bidding method was pretty straightforward, similar to the ones in real life.
First, he would estimate a starting price and allocate a maximum of two minutes for each item. Interested players could then bid on the price in succession. In principle, the price increase would not be less than one merit point each time, until no one increased the price again or the time limit was reached. This was so that the players wouldn’t play around and waste his time.
Then, if an item remained unsold due to lack of bids, it would be recycled by the academy at a discount of the starting price, then repriced and sold in the smithy or a general store that he planned to open in the next update with the introduction of currency.
Last but not least, malicious bidding would be met with punishment: a 25 percent deduction from the quoted price. Recurring offenses could lead to exclusion from future auctions or even expulsion, resulting in a loss of qualification for the game.
All merit points generated by the auction (excluding items not part of the loot) would undergo a 10 percent deduction as tax, with the remainder added to the total post-war income and shared among all participating players based on their contributions.
Reaching for one of the boxes stacked with spoils, Victor picked up a longsword and started doing the work that an NPC should do — to appraise the equipment.
“This,” he began, holding up the longsword for all to see, “is a high-quality longsword. While its design may be somewhat conventional, its durability and sharpness should not be underestimated. It can slice through leather armor like a hot knife through butter.”
Running his fingers along the blade to the hilt, Victor continued, “Now we begin the bidding. The starting price is seventy-five merit points, and the bidding time limit is two minutes. If you are interested, please raise your hand and bid.”