Infinite Realm

As the auction for the item got more heated, Sato and the others stared in interest while also taking note of the numbers being called as well as the speaker. While these items weren't so impressive to the NPCs present, to the players, they were heavenly items that could affect the power structure of the player community in IR.

An average Low-tier Rare-Steel rank weapon could do a lot in the hands of an Expert player, much less a level 20 Mid-tier Rare-Steel rank weapon that could be enhanced up to level 25. Even though the player wouldn't be able to equip it anytime soon, considering that it came from an auction organised by the City lord's manor and was forged by the recognised top apprentice blacksmith of the city -who had officially become a true blacksmith-, there was no doubt that the quality of the item surpassed the ones players would find in the market or out in the fields. Therefore, even if such quality of equipment becomes common, the one being sold today would still stand above the rest in terms of ability as well as potential.

"1 gold coin and 20 silver coins."

Finally, the price increase came to halt as most of the other bidders began contemplating whether it was that useful.

Currently, no one knew the price for a level 20 Mid-tier Rare-Steel rank weapon and so no one could guess the cap for the weapon in display. They could only rely on their gut feeling and stop bidding when they felt the price wasn't worth it any longer. And as it stood, most of the bidders felt that 1 gold coin and 25 silvers was too much a price for a level 20 weapon that wouldn't be readily used yet. 

Rather than doing so, it would be much wiser to spend that money on something important and much needed. Also, there were a lot more items on sale so there was no need to go broke so early just for a weapon that can't be used yet.

"Going once, going twice, going thrice. Sold."

*Bang*

The hammering sound of a gavel resounded across the hall again as the bidding for the spear, [Red Nightfall], came to an end. The winner of the auction turned out to be the first player who bidded on the item

"1 freaking gold coin with 20 silver coins on top. When did we have so many rich players?"

A wave of energy spread through the hall as the entire players became lively. 

NPCs spending gold coins was normal and understandable, but for players to do so was different. While it was a known fact that guilds already had their funds in gold coins, the specific range or even the upper limit was unknown. Very few players actually believed that these guilds would be able to spend 1 gold coin on just one item alone, unless it was every important, as most players believed that doing so would affect the finance of these guilds. But just the first item that was biddable was already sold for a gold coin plus 20 silver coins.

"Are we still the richest?" Fudo asked with a seemingly down tone as the auction continued with the next item being brought out.

"Stop messing around, dimwit." Yato lectured him.

"Looks like the funds of the big guilds have grown a lot this past week." Seiichi nudged his glasses as he commented.

"True. But that doesn't have anything to do with us. We just need to focus on ourselves first." Sato replied.

The 7 of them were in gathered together in one part of the auction hall, and while this wasn't wise to do since they had a slight beef with Emperor's Might and Battle Wolves, Sato wasn't bothered.

"Hey, isn't that the guy that was wanted back in Riverdale town?" One player whispered to another as he gazed at Sato's direction.

"Yeah, it is." 

After glancing at Sato, the colleague of the previous speaker nodded in acquiescence.

Sato had spent the entire week forging and exploring Maldora Canyon so he was barely spotted by players during this time. Even when he was exploring the city, Sato didn't visit any public sites like the City's library or square as he fet like he wouldn't find anything useful there. Instead, he had visited rundown areas, pubs, and small stores in search for a good mission, but even the times he spent doing this was very short as most of his focus was on forging.

With the two players recognising Sato, the news began to spread that the once famous 'most wanted' was present at the auction grounds. The information was even attached with the #BlackRock'sAuction tag on the forums. As a result, almost everyone who was paying attention to the forums during this time, had discovered that Sato was present. There were even a few other posts taht took pictures of the 6 with him, attaching captions like "Seven Star Glory Assembles".

By the time the next item was sold, without doing anything, Sato and his crew had began trending on the forums for Black Rock City's province as well as a few other neighbouring cities.

"Famous again." Lu Zhen smirked as he saw the various captions and posts with their pictures on it.

"These guys sure do work fast." Xue Yan said with a slightly irritated voice. 

Xue Yan was used to being alone and laying low. The only exception to this was when she hangs out with Sato and the others. Therefore, having her picture appear on the forums bugged her.

"Will those two guilds do something about us?" Katsuo worriedly asked.

"Ignore it. They will all cool off soon enough. Also, there's the fact that this is a safe zone, and nothing like Riverdale. Security here is more assured so none of the guilds would try anything stupid." Sato comforted.

"True." Seiichi remarked.

Elsewhere in the same hall...

"Boss, we just got info that those guys are here. Check the forums." Iron Bear reported to Silver Wolf.

"Huh?" 

Silver Wolf opened the forums as Iron Bear had said and immediately turned his eyes to the top trending posts. 

The first post was tag about the auction which was pretty much understandable. Clicking on it, Silver Wolf was greeted by the sight of the various posts with the tag. The first one was about the spear, [Red Nightfall], that sold for a gold coin and 29 silver; the current highest bidding price for an item. The next post was about Sato's presence in the hall which caught Silver Wolf's attention almost immediately.

"He's actually here? Good, good." Silver Wolf chuckled.

"Keep an eye out for me in him, okay? Once this auction is over, I would like to have a nice chat with him."

Following Silver Wolf's commands, Iron Bear sent an [Assassin] player who had the [Hunter] subclass and was also good at tracking, to keep an eye on Sato and the gang, but specifically Sato.

"Next on the line now would be an item from an apprentice blacksmith who recently relocated over to the city." The lady on the stage introduced.

Following that, the NPCs began murmuring with some questioning why such an item was being sold in this type of auction and not a regular one.

"So realistic." Xue Yan couldn't help but comment. 

It wasn't just her that thought so but also every player in the hall. No one expected the NPCs to react to the player 'portion' of the auction and only took them as bystanders. 

However, this development went to show that the protocols and programming governing the behaviours of NPCs was well thought and true to the statement of the developers that the NPCs were, in essence, the same as humans.

"I know you're all surprised and pretty skeptical about the quality but I'm here to tell you tha,t just like I said before, every lot on display has been tested and verified by our appraisers. We don't plan on cheating anyone here as that's against our code of conduct."

As the NPCs recalled the announcements made at the start of the auction, they all calmed down and waited for the auction to proceed.

"Damn. Do these NPCs take us as a joke? Just because we're still low levelled, they actually think that our items aren't worth buying?" A certain player in black gown and with red hair complained. He was a member of the League of Hammers and it was his product that was currently on display, hence his emotional outburst.

"Calm down. What would you expect from them? That they readily buy our work? Even though this is a game, you tend to forget the developers advice, 'Treat the NPCs as you would humans'." A deep voice sounded from the side. 

The speaker was a player similarly in a black gown like the others, however, he had his face shielded with a hoodie that cast a dark shadow over it. His facial appearance and even gender couldn't be made out. If not for the deep voice that came from him, the player would not be identified as a man.

"I get it." The red-haired player calmed down. The man beside him was a player he couldn't take lightly, even more so since he was in the League of Hammers. 

"Thank you for your understanding." The female auctioneer said to the audience.

"Now, may the auction for the weapon beside me begin."