After the intermission, the second half of the auction official began.
“Welcome back ladies and gentlemen. We’ll start the bidding with 10 excellent mana crystals. There are fire, water, wind, earth, light, and lightning mana crystals up for auction. When embedded in weapons a mana crystal increased damage exponentially. Flaming swords not only do burn damage they also looked cool. Also, mana crystal served batteries in-game powering all times of machines. Depending on the weapon or magical artifacts you may be able to stack crystals for greater effects. Well start the bidding at 500 gold for the first fire mana crystal and the buyout price is 5,000 gold.”
Hearing the initial price, made Thaddeus cringe. He nagged himself for underselling his mana crystals. He watched as people started bidding aggressively just to own one mana crystal.
He sipped his drink and watched as guilds raced to bid, he noticed the Mythical Guild and the Blue Rose guild seemed to have a non-compete agreement. Blue Rose Mercenary Guild was a women-only guild that ranked in the top three. The mercenary guild leader was Sapphire, but she was more commonly known as the Fairy Ice Queen. When the water mana crystal was up for auction, there was a noticeable decline in bidders. Thaddeus made a mental note to treat her with deference if they ever met.
Soon all 10 mana crystals were sold. Selling mana crystal proved to be the perfect opening item for the second half, as it got everyone in a bidding mood. The people who won the mana crystal were smiling and the ones who lost had sad faces.
“Congratulations winners! Please remember there will not be a buyout option for items seven through 10. The seventh item, up for auction is the Shadow Cloud Step movement scroll. This skill allows its user to stealthily walk in shadows and shade. This high ranking allows the user to walk undetected in large crowds. We’ll start the bidding at 600 gold,” the auctioneer announced.
At once people white paddles shot up, quickly bidding up the price. Thaddeus watched as the bid doubled from 600 to 1,200 and had no signs of slowing.
1,200
1,300
….
2,500
2,600
…
3,750
4,000
The bidding didn’t slow down until it reached 4,000. The remaining bidders were the Mythical Guild and the tall, muscular, demon-looking man, with black hair and red eyes. The man looked frustrated his eyes browns knit angrily together. He had yet to win a bid and the thought of nothing to show annoyed him.
“I’ll win this item even if I have to declare bankruptcy,” the man shouted.
“Zodiac, I’ll make a final bet. If you beat me then the scroll is yours,” Odin said confidently and then shouted, “5,000 gold!”
Hearing the inflated bid, caused Zodiac to frown. He just announced his desire to win the movement scroll and Odin overbid just to cause him problems. Even worse, he saw the Mythical guild members laughing at Odin’s absurd bid.
“Who will loan me money? I’ll pay 50% interest and reimburse you within the week. Who will help me?” Zodiac shouted from his VIP suite.
The crowd below was quiet. Everyone looked at the carpeted floor to avoid Zodiac’s eye contact. No was wanted to make an enemy out of either. Zodiac was the second-highest-ranked player and was tired of coming in second. He saw this spell as the boost he needed to escape his fate.
“Aren’t you tired of Mythical Guild and Odin’s one-sided domination? Help me defeat him and I guarantee you I won’t forget your kindness. Once I rank first, I’ll help my followers to succeed as well,” Zodiac promised.
Hearing his persuasive speech, a person in the audience stood up and said, “Here take me gold. When you rise, don’t forget me,” a chubby man with blonde eyes and hazel shouted.
Soon more and more people were sending Zodiac their money. Some figured if they could not win an item, at least they could increase their money through interest. Others saw the potential of having the second-rank player own them a favor.
For a second, Thaddeus thought of loaning Zodiac money as well. The 50% interest rate sounded appealing. But when he wondered if the Mythical Guild was tracking who gave Zodiac funds, they might want to renegotiate the mine deal. Without knowing if the funds could be tracked, Thaddeus decided to play it safe and not lend him gold.
Thankfully he didn’t have to worry because Zodiac had already accumulated the necessary funds, he purchased the scroll. With a broad grin on his face and the movement scroll in his hands, he left the auction. Not only did he leave, but the people who loaned him money also left. With no remaining funds they could only window shop.
Thaddeus looked at the Mythical Guild after Zodiac purchased the movement scroll, instead of looking glum, they were laughing. This made Thaddeus and the rest of the audience think there was a defect in Shadow Cloud Steps or that Odin already had a better movement scroll. As people debated which was the likely scenario, the eight-item was brought out.
The auctioneer announced, “The eight-item up for action is the Brutal Crossbow Forging Design. With the Brutal Crossbow archers gain more accuracy and penetrating power. Non-archers may also use this weapon, but with reduced accuracy. Let’s start the bidding at 700 gold!”
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At once guilds began another bidding frenzy. Crossbows were an effective long-ranged weapon that would give any guild an advantage in farming in dungeons or warring against other guilds.
However, Thaddeus noticed something odd when looked at the Mythical Guild. Instead of Odin bidding, it was Huey. He wasn’t sure the reason, but Huey looked determined to win this item at all costs.
In truth, Thaddeus also wanted to purchase the crossbow design. It was the best weapon to defend his village against Felix. He could get Hunter or Joseph to train his villagers how to shoot and with their village walls, they might stand a chance against Felix’s men. However, he didn’t have the manpower to make hundreds of crossbows in a short time, unlike Huey’s Vulcan Trading Company. Thaddeus knew his best chance at getting the crossbows were to buy them from Huey.
Once the bidding on the crossbow passed 4,000 gold, it started slowing down. Blue Rose, Dawn Knights, Arbalesters, and a host of guilds saw this as their opportunity to win a forging design. When the bidding approached 5,000 gold, only Huey and the Arbalesters remained.
This was Thaddeus’ first time hearing of the Arbalesters. According to Heaven’s Gate Forum, the Arbalesters were a large guild, headquartered in the Rhine Theocracy. The guild served as the Rhine Pope’s paladins. They governed major cities, enforced religious dogma, and served as inquisitors in heretic trials.
If the Arbalesters won forging design, Thaddeus was sure he’d lose his chance to purchase crossbows. With that in mind, he transferred 2,000 gold to Huey, with a request that he get first purchasing right.
“You got it! I was at my limit. But thanks to you, I’ll win those designs” Huey replied excitedly.
Thaddeus watched as Huey’s nervous sweating frown turned into a relaxed, confident smile. With the new funds, Huey increased the bid to 5,200. The battle waged on until Huey finally won the Brutal Crossbow Forging Designs with a bid of 5,500 gold. After his victory, Huey transferred 1,500 gold back to Thaddeus with an estimated arrival date.
After Huey’s victory, Thaddeus observed as Odin called Huey over for a chat. As they talked, Odin’s head turned to face Thaddeus’ VIP suite and the two men locked eyes for a second time. Odin simply nodded courteously and then turned to face the stage for the ninth item’s reveal.
The ninth item was a lightning strike spell which Freya won anticlimactic. When she did for the first time that night, Thaddeus watched as a group of single men praised her as their goddess and refused to bid against her. A quick search on the forum revealed both Freya and Sapphire had large fan clubs.
There were pictures and videos of women in various battles. While both were leaders in their respective guilds, Freya was more sadistic and merciless, while Sapphire was more regal and noble. Yet both were beautiful and captivated men’s hearts. Moreover, both were rumored to be in a secretive relationship with Odin and unfortunately pitted against one another publicly. While some rumors may have a kernel of truth, they were more likely to be fiction than fact. In Heaven’s Gate, anyone with a little notoriety had a page full of rumors.
With the ninth item sold, it was finally time for the tenth and final item. Everyone waited in anticipation to see the last item. It was common to save the best item for last. For the last time that evening, the auctioneer walked on stage and describe the item:
“The last item up for bid is a replica Stormbringer sword. There is a myth, that the legendary blacksmith Orion created a beautiful runic black long sword that devoured the souls of his victims. It was heralded as the finest greatsword ever created. Orion made the sword for a demigod, who achieved great wonders. However, the demigod became too conceited and villainous through his constant victories. To save the lower realm Orion fought the demigod and bested him in battle. He reclaimed his masterpiece and destroyed it to save the lower realm from tyranny.
However, there exists a rumor that Orion did not have the heart to destroy his masterpiece, instead, he divided the sword into five separate swords, each sword a replica of the original. Whosoever can reunite the five replicas can reforge Orion’s masterpiece. Yet, no one knows the reforging process. Runemaster and Legendary crafters have tried and failed. The name of the replica auction today is Black Flame and has a will of its own. Winning the sword is not enough, the winning bidder must bond with the sword, or lose their ownership.”
When the auctioneer finished, the audience and VIPs were in an uproar. This even as a replica, this was a godly sword. Who knew what kind of hidden talents his sword held? Even Thaddeus after hearing the sword’s lore would’ve happily traded his axe for this sword.
“Let’s start the bidding at 1,000 gold,” the auctioneer announced.
At once the first bid came in at 5,000 gold. Such a large bid was an attempt to scare off competitors. Yet, no one was scared.
“To own this weapon, I wouldn’t think twice about mortgaging my houses,” shouted someone from a VIP suite.
“I’m prepared to bankrupt my guild to own this weapon,” came another.
“Ha-ha, that’s all? I’d sell my children to own this sword,” claimed a person in the audience.
“You fool, unless you bond with the sword you are wasting your money. Let those of us that have a realistic chance bond with it first,” said a refined woman sitting next to Sapphire.
“Boo!” the crowd jeered from below.
Hearing the crowd mock her, her refined features turned red with anger. She looked poised to jump from the suite and attack her mockers below. If Sapphire had not consoled her, the angry women might have attacked for real.
The bidding escalated pasted 7,000 gold. Yet people refused to let go of this opportunity. Of all the people, Odin was the most aggressive bidder. The bids continued to increase until they reached 8,000 gold. At which point Odin and a mysterious hooded figure were the only ones left. Eventually, Odin won the sword with a bid of 8,500 gold.
Thaddeus and everyone at the auction was blown away at the amount of gold Mythical Guild spent today. It was truly heaven-defying. To think they had enough gold to purchase eight of the ten items up for auction. They certainly were the wealthiest guild and winners of the first auction.
“Friends this auction has been a wonderful success. I am pleased to announce the auction house owners agreed to host a second auction after New Year’s. Moreover, I am pleased to share that the egg market is now open. If you wish to purchase a mount or beast companion, try your luck at the egg market. You have a .0001% chance of selecting a mythical beast, .001% of selecting a legendary beast, .001% of selecting an epic beast, .01% of selecting a rare best, a 10% chance of selecting an excellent beast, a 20% of selecting an uncommon beast, and a 60% chance of selecting a common beast. I look forward to seeing you next year,” the auctioneer said as he and the high elf bowed.
When the auction was over, Thaddeus felt a beam of light surround him. He could feel himself being teleported away back to Woodhaerst. Seconds later he found himself returned to his empty farmhouse. The first thing he did when he got back, was checked his bag of holding. In his inventory, he saw the nature soul bead, apiary, and bathhouse building scroll.
When he finished checking his inventory, he looked outside and noticed it was night. Instead of placing the buildings, he decided to log off and mentally prepare for his first day of work tomorrow.