Infinite Realm

"The bidding may now commence."

*Bang*

A loud sound akin to that of a gavel being struck on a sound block resonated through the hall as the attention of the audience was centered on the item on the stage.

According to the history of the southwest region of the main continent, Emperor Melanchulus was a great Emperor who had lived more than 4000 years ago. He had managed to unify the entire southwest region under his command and ruled the area with an iron fist. There was an era of peace and stability in the regions he ruled, while the neighbouring kingdoms were constantly being assaulted by his forces.

Civilisations that had managed to survive during that period outside of Emperor Melanchulus' rule could be said to be powerful nations. Even if they did so by simply teaming up, such couldn't be underestimated. As such, relics and artefacts from those places were pretty valued among the aristocrats of the kingdom. Though it was true that the item on display didn't have any special features or functions, just from being a collection from that era, it was already worth something.

"5 gold coins."

A bold and confident voice sounded as a bidder's card was lifted into the air.

"5 gold coins and 50 silver." A calm voice was heard before the auctioneer could react to the previous call.

"Hmph. 7 gold coins." The first speaker said with an overbearing tone.

Without the players being able to consider joining the bid, the price had already gone beyond their reach. Only the top guilds in the game could now afford it, although they could barely do so after scraping up their wealth.

"10 gold coins."

As the price continued to soar, the players were left astonished regarding the progression of the event. The first lot had already climbed up to a price of 10 gold coins and it wasn't even a weapon but some random vase. If it already costs this much, then how much will the other items cost?

While this was heartbreaking for most, to some, they felt a blood rush. In their opinion, there was a chance that the next items would be more expensive than this vase. However, the game would definitely not cheat them, so, the next items would surely be some high-quality stuff. Maybe it might even be a Mid-tier or Upper-tier Rare-Steel rank equipment. Low-tier Rare-Steel rank weapons were already capable of changing the outcome of a battle as well as improving the overall strength of a player. Recalling this, one could only imagine how powerful a Mid-tier Rare-Steel weapon would be.

While it was true that the cost was high, as long as they gathered more of their funds, the guild representatives would be able to cover the cost. And it was exactly this that they had begun doing. Every single one sent a message to their various backers, asking for more money as well as their suspected reason why.

"Going once. Going twice. Going thrice. Sold, for 12 gold coins and 40 silver coins."

While the big guilds rearranged themselves and organized their finances once more, the auction for the vase was over with the item going for a whopping price of 12 gold and 40 silver coins despite having a starting price of 3 gold. To Sato, this wasn't strange. 

Generally, the first item to go for sale in an auction determined whether staying behind for the entire event was worth it. It was usually more expensive and valuable than the other items but not too valuable enough to become the main event.

The next item was otherwise quite similar to the previous one in terms of practicability and value. It didn't have any function and was better left as a souvenir for the rich or some collectible they could hold onto and show to their friends.

Like that, 4 more items were put on sale with their prices ranging from between 6 gold coins to 10. 

To kill themselves during the boredom, a few players had even participated in the auction, making false bids on lots with a crafty smile. There was no prevention method or identification process that was used to confirm whether these players could afford the numbers they called out and the individuals in question didn't care. Since they called the number out for fun and not to pay for the item, most of them were careful in their approach and actions lest they fall prey to their own pranks. It wasn't until an item was almost sold off to a player did the others finally calmed their enthusiasm down and stopped playing around.

Just as the players were beginning to get impatient at not seeing anything valuable to them, the auctioneer addressed the crowd once again but this time, her words struck the hearts of the players.

"The art sale is officially over. In case you are unaware, the auction today is divided into two phases to cater to the masses. The first part was the art auction where we sold off a few pieces of art to the general public. Do keep in mind that some of those arts were once held by the City lord's manor so their value is actually much more than what was called out or even sold for. If not for this charity event, such wouldn't have been possible.

"As for the second part of the auction, here we would see the main items going off for sale which includes a few items that would especially be attractive to adventurers here. Without further ado, let's continue."

As the auctioneer concluded her words, a dazzling spear was brought onto the stage.

The weapon had a red hue to it, akin to the flames of a phoenix. The spearhead was ink black, absorbing all variations of light and giving a creepy feeling to the spear itself. As for the shaft, it was marked with engravings all over it that would give off a light hum the very first time a had grabbed onto it.

"What would a fundraiser for the military be without any weapons for sale? I present to you, the Invincible warrior [Red Nightfall]." The auctioneer introduced with a lovely voice.

"Forged by the top apprentice blacksmith of Black Rock City who just broke through to the ranks of nominal blacksmith, [Red Nightfall] was his exam product as well as the signature of his potential having a shot at the Master title." 

Following her words, a light screen appeared behind her showing the stats as well as the story behind the weapon. This was to make things easier for players as the chance that their [Inspect] wouldn't be able to see everything existed.

"A level 20 Mid-tier Rare-Steel rank spear." Sato sucked in a cold breath of air.

It was already a difficult issue to spot a Low-tier Rare-Steel rank item or equipment but before them was a Mid-tier one. And best of all, it was a level 20 weapon.

"It has 2 active skills and 2 passives. Boost 2 Main attributes and 2 secondary attributes, and can also be upgraded once to the next level checkpoint, which is level 25. No matter how you look at this, this is a worthwhile creation." Lu Zhen couldn't resist commenting.

"Sadly, the big guilds would be the ones contending for it and most of all, no one uses the spear amongst us." Seiichi analysed.

The spear was most suitable for a [Strength] based class and among that was the [Guardian], [Paladin], and [Berserker], but best for the [Berserker] class. The team only had a [Paladin] who was Katsuo, however, he wasn't good with a spear so it was unnecessary to consider getting one.

"Starting price commences from 30 silver coins and each increment should not be less than 5 silver coins." The auctioneer said.

A starting price of 30 silver coins made the spear look and sound cheap but it was done so to increase the number of competitors as well as to make the bidding more fierce. Everyone present could roughly estimate the price of the weapon if it were spotted in an NPC store therefore, they knew how cheap a 30 silver coins starting price was. Even 75 silver coins were barely suitable to acquire the spear.

"50 silver coins." A loud voice resounded from the right side of the hall. 

It was a player who represented a big club and he had been annoyed about not bidding for anything so far. With a bid easily accessible to players, he made no effort to hold himself back as he called out his offer.

"60 silver."

"65 silver coins."

"70 silver coins."

With the first call breaking the silence, all the players who could roughly afford the price began calling out their offers. Even if they couldn't use the spear, they could at least sell it to an NPC store for a much higher price so most players who had the money didn't skive away from this auction.

"Plebeians." A cold grunt sounded from in front.

A player in gold-coloured armour together with a black spear beside him snorted as he saw the masses bidding enthusiastically for the spear.

"1 gold coin." The player called out as he lifted his bidder's card.

"Hoooo!"

A shock wave spread amongst the players as they didn't expect someone to jump directly to the gold coin threshold but after seeing the player who did so, some were not surprised. 

The golden armoured fellow was an Expert for a 1st tier guild who played the role of charge. Apart from being an Expert, he was ranked 381 on last year's 'Newcomer's List' compiled by the super guild Hermes, and appeared on the 673rd position on the 'Gamer's Expert List' for the Asian region. This meant that out of 1000 top-rated players who had managed to enter the list, he was better than 327 of them. This was with more than 300,000 gamers residing within the Asian region alone. Therefore, he was ranked 673 out of 300,000+ which was a massive achievement no matter how one viewed it. It was because of that that he had every reason to be prideful and arrogant at this moment.

"Hey golden boy, take a chill pill okay? You're not the only one interested in this item." A jovial voice sounded from behind.

"1 gold, 5 silver coins."

Everyone turned to the source of the voice as they never expected someone to blatantly harass the expert in front. However, once they found out who it was, they all understood things. It was another Expert who was a member of the guild of the golden armoured player. The two had clashed in battle multiple times so it was reasonable for there to be a form of dissatisfaction and malice between the duo.

"The auction is finally getting lively." Sato commented from the sidelines.

"Can't wait to see what more they have ready for us."