“You may call me Nem. Some of you are probably wondering why you’re on the floor instead of a booth.” The overseer twirled a cane as he walked, ending with a dramatic point at the crowd. “That’s because you’re not important.”
The murmurings and atmosphere of ill feelings only made Nem smile. “If you feel otherwise then prove it.”
The god snapped his fingers and ten thin cards appeared in front of Shin, two gold, five silver, and three bronze. The same happened for the others, though the composition of their hand varied.
“The rules are simple. Highest bid wins. If you don’t like that, use a ticket! Start a battle of will with the leading bidder and take the item outright. Bronze means you pay the difference between the current bid and what the item is worth. Silver takes the current bid from the defeated along with the item. And gold… takes everything. If the challenged beats the challenger of any ticket, they take all the tokens they have, and the challenger has to have at least the amount of the total bid for a ticket to work. Didn’t I say it was simple? If you have any questions, you should probably give your tokens to someone else.”
Nem thumped his cane on the stage before him. “Because those standing above are special, they get a bonus. You have two minutes to recruit any other players you know, up to the 40 strong capacity of a guild. Choose wisely~”
“Are we going for a full guild?” Yen asked Shin, after Nem held silent for a few moments.
“Just a party.”
Shin mentally sent out his invites and familiar faces soon appeared in the room with them. First Ashley and Dante, answering the call immediately. Then Jean a second afterwards. Basem a few after that, almost reluctantly. And finally the confrontational Cheon Mujin with more than a few misgivings.
“The same temp party, huh… I was expecting five more monsters… Most of them are normal.” Yen seemed genuinely a bit disappointed.
“Said the same thing about me.” Donny chimed in.
“You just happened to have some screws loose. But I guess if Shin picked them, they probably do too.”
“I won’t tolerate these insults, woman.” Mujin snapped at her.
“Really…? What century are you from?” Something seemed to resurface in Yen’s mind. “Ah, you were going on about Cheon before. That’s a fantasy name, are you murim too?”
Mujin’s expression worsened though he didn’t reply.
“What’s your power?”
“The Cheon clan ended in the 17th century. There’s never been sign of their revival.” Kamala explained.
“Even if I was born with nothing! Even if I am the last! I carry the will of the Cheon name.” Fierce intent enveloped Mujin as he spoke, every word emanating his resolve.
Yen eyed the spear wielding sohei. “So what’s your rank?”
Silence answered her again within his combative mood.
“Seriously? You got a big mouth for an unranked.”
“Ahh…” Jean spoke up, his expression calm and indifferent as ever, bordering on a brooding apathy amidst the tension. His tone carried only enough emotion to be considered casually professional. “I never ranked either. Is that a problem?”
“It’s fine.” Shin answered casually and honestly.
“...alright.”
Yen glanced at Ashley and Dante before returning to Jean. “I guess you’re the scout.”
“Probably.”
“Can you deal with traps?”
“Up to epic tier.”
“Finally, an actual scout.” Yen seemed more than a little relieved, looking to Shin. “Good job.”
“Thanks?”
Yen’s joy turned to suspicion. “...you picked him because you knew, right?”
“No.”
She took a few moments to process things. “Did you seriously just pick whoever?! Do you understand how fucked we’d be without a decent scout?!”
“It’s fine, though?”
Yen suppressed her further complaints, knowing they’d just be wasted. “...it’s actually kind of annoying how this looks like a balanced party.”
“We don’t have much time left.” Kamala interjected. “We should discuss the upcoming auction.”
“Who has a god backing them?” Donny asked the new recruits.
“I do.”
“Same~”
Only Dante and Ashley answered, though by the expression of the others they were at least aware of the feature.
“Titles?”
“That’s a secret~”
“King of Stories.” Dante freely offered the truth where Ashley didn't.
“Alright, Shin already told you about the trait thing before. Every god thinks it’s a good idea, so keep that in mind.”
“What if more than one wants the same trait?” Yen asked.
“We’ll figure it out if that happens.” Donny turned his focus to the stage.
“Times up~” Nem announced, bringing the attention all back to him. “There are four categories up for auction. Without further ado… Legendary tier items!”
The words Legendary Item appeared in bright orange letters in the dark of the stage surrounded by gaudy effects, and a podium appeared in the center with a rotating cube bearing shifting images of awe inspiring weaponry and armor.
“No need to worry about waiting for the right one. The winner can choose exactly what they want! Only a thousand items are up for grabs, so get it while you can.”
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“If we can choose…” Yen perked up.
“Don’t.” Shin said.
“Why?”
“We can take them later.” With a thought he sent all members of the party an equal share of the tokens he extorted before, about 590,000 each, leaving Shin with around 4.53 million himself.
“Good point.”
“Let the auction begin!”
A menu appeared before all players in the theater and the auction begun in earnest. Thousands, millions of bids flowed in, yet to everyone’s minds it felt as easy as tracking a few dozen. It only took moments for the bids to peter out until truly only a few dozen remained, none of the names standing out. Three seconds went by with the final bid a shade over 100,000 and a chime rang through the room. The item box on display vanished and a second took its place, starting the next bid with no further fanfare.
“The traits category should probably be legendary too. Right?” Donny commented as they stood around watching the early bidding without much to do.
“The gods wouldn’t make such a big deal about it if that was it. It has to be mythic, or there’s a way to upgrade.” As Yen’s focus seemed to drift yearningly to the future, the young hunter put a winning bid near 150,000 and in moments an item box hovered in the air before him. Immediately the box shone and in its place appeared a compound shortbow made of luxurious ivory and wood. “Hey... Didn’t you hear what we said?”
Basem stored the bow away with no response, holding an air of defiance. An attitude that only annoyed Yen further.
“Listen, the only people bidding now are goons. The real numbers will show up later with the real prizes, and you just reduced your limit and showed your hand. Unranked especially can’t afford to screw around.”
“I ranked.” Basem shot back.
“When?”
“...first stage.”
“What did you pick?”
“Triple Shot.” The aggressiveness of the Hunter’s tone took a spike from the questions thrown his way.
“...does that turn one arrow you shoot into three?” Yen’s mood shifted a bit. Basem said nothing in response but the answer was obvious to anyone who looked at him.
“Are you serious?” The critique in her voice ramped up. “Ranking is the only time you can get anything from any class, that sounds like something every random archer can pick up, I can’t believe you wasted it.”
“Silence, whore!”
A great force grasped Basem the moment the outburst left his mouth, rooting him in place so strongly he couldn’t even twitch a finger.
“I’m trying to help you.” Yen’s demeanor changed, the look in her eye that of a coldhearted tyrant. The calm tone of her voice as though making a callous decree to a subject only heightened Basem’s fear. “What’s wrong? Can’t get out? If you had the right skill, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Don’t bully the kid too much.” Donny chimed in from the side, though his focus largely laid on auction.
Yen gave Basem a silent stare just a bit longer before cancelling the spell. The hunter darted to the back of the room fully on guard the moment he could move. Even after Yen turned back around to the auction, he kept his distance and vigilance.
The winning figure fluctuated from bid to bid but a clear trend showed it to be gradually rising over all. Still, no player notable made an appearance well into the three figures but towards the end, a change finally happened. The image of a bronze ticket bloomed into existence and two players were teleported to the stage.
They glanced around nervously, but neither seemed to be able to move and soon their consciousness seemed to be pulled from their bodies. They held in place for a few silent moments but soon their expressions started to tense and beads of sweat pouring down their faces. Finally something broke in one of them and the challenged player dropped face first on the stage, dead.
“Congratulations~” Nem told the winner of the invisible battle, still exhausted. “Let’s see how much you have to pay.”
The god flourished a hand to a counter that appeared in the air at the back. The figures rapidly shuffled, even the amount of them itself, until finally…
[???]
The winner erupted in a blaze of fire to horrifying screams of pain, thrashing madly around until his body spasmed and turned to ash.
“Too bad~” Nem taunted with a devious smile. “You didn’t have enough.”
A weight of danger fell on the theater.
“Trial bullshit…” Yen silently cursed.
“What’d think, millions?” Donny asked.
“I think it’s a fucking trap.”
The rest of the legendary tier item auction went on with no further incidents nor any particular standouts, giving a sense that the true powerhouses were waiting and watching.
“Boring…” Nem muttered, conjuring a seat for himself as the last item was won. “But…” A smile found his face again. “I wonder how many can sit out the next one.”
The glowing sign above the stage changed.
[Skill Slot]
“That’s right!” Nem announced with gusto, rising to his feet again. “An additional space within your status, same as what’s granted to all you rankers. There’s only a thousand total, so do your best not to fall behind. Also… I’ve decided to make things a little more fun. The bounty system. Anyone can now put up a bounty on any player they choose. Whoever defeats that player in a battle of wills will claim all bounties on that person!”
A new section appeared in their menu monitoring all bounties. Within moments, dozens and dozens flooded in, the result of prior rivalries and new grievances formed within the dog eat dog world of the Tower. And towering above them all, was one on Shin submitted by Cyrus Atreus, totalling 5 million tokens.
“Must be the one that got violated.”
“Clown.” Yen smirked.
Nem raised a hand. “Begin.”
Shin without hesitation put down a bid of 4 million tokens. In an instant, he found himself on stage, standing opposite a young man in garbs befitting a musketeer with long flowing blond hair and an air of being full of himself.
“Thank you in advance for the tokens.”
The confident taunt fell on deaf ears as Shin waited for whatever was supposed to happen. Several moments passed, the same amount as the duel before. Shin felt something pull his mind and the musketeer dropped dead. Shin glanced around then desired it, and found himself back in the booth, an extra skill slot capacity in his build and his tokens more than doubled.
The bidding started again and Shin put 5 million. Again, a silver ticket challenger took the bait again, this time his opponent a decrepit old man with a wicked disposition, dressed in a dark robe stitched with bone.
The Confessor gave nothing but cackles before the reigning top ranker. Powerful in combat, he was sure, but he had no equal in Willpower, that he was sure as well. Ten million tokens and the reputation of felling an object of respect and terror would be his.
The allotted time passed and the old man found himself in a world of wisping darkness, the boy no longer before him. The Confessor glanced around finding nothing else with him in the void, his sneer turning to a frown of annoyance. He had no experience with this ‘battle’ before, but he doubted one could run from it. And yet, the boy was nowhere to be found.
Finally, something caught his attention, a hanging crescent of white just barely noticeable within the void. The crescent widened upwards, gradually, slowly, like an opening eye. Further and further it opened, crossing a black iris and a hollow pupil. The Confessor stared back, his thoughts still before the eye of the void, as it raised half open, and the old man slumped to the stage floor.
Nem fell back into his chair in a fit of mocking laughter, kicking out his legs in pure joy. “Did you fools think this was something as shallow as an Attribute? Will!” Nem stressed the word as though none listening had ever heard it before. “The greatest measure and tool ever known. Something you fools would be lucky to-”
A single spark of red lightning flashed over Nem’s side, and he sat back quietly in his chair, with a slightly annoyed but resigned expression. Though to his right he caught notice of Shin still remaining on stage, eyes closed.
Shin focused inwards, ignoring everything else. The first time was over too quickly but with this last battle, he had just barely enough time to feel something. Deeper. Grander. The feeling grew strong as he pulled it up to the surface. His right eye opened slightly and a weight fell on them all. Sharper and heavier than any had felt before. Something beyond intent, beyond resolve. Something imposing.
Nem swiped his hand and the pressure disappeared in an instant, a smile returned to his face. “That’s too early for you.”
Shin glanced down, feeling blood trickled down his right eye. “Thanks.” He vanished from the stage with the calm interest of Nem. He returned to his booth captured in silence. A silence quickly broken.
“Why would you do that?!” Yen yelled. “You had the perfect set up. Who’s gonna take the bait now, you Will monster?”
Shin wiped the blood from his eye. “It’s fine.”
“It could have been better, ugh…”
A stark difference in reaction could be seen between the old party and the recent. Neither Yen, Donny, nor Kamala showed much surprise to Shin’s impromptu display, having been around him long enough to not be shocked at his nature. Even Karla was unfazed, rather her desire to fight simply intensified.
The newer members, though, looked at Shin in a different light, of various kinds. Dante held a keen and inspecting interest. Ashley was thrilled beyond containment. Basem seemed more wary than ever, too wary to even leave. Mujin’s troubled expression turned to one of determination through clenched teeth. And Jean calmly questioned his decision to join this party.