Infinite Realm

"Would the guest over there please take a seat." The lady on the stage said with a nice smile though anyone with half a brain would obviously know that she was quite pissed.

"While it's true that our auction house is usually concerned with only the authenticity of the item, if a consignor claims that it's an original product, the auction house would check to verify that fact as it would affect the final price of the item. Therefore, you need not worry when we say that this is indeed an original product from the apprentice blacksmith nicknamed the Cloudsmith."

"So it's true!"

The entire hall was filled with commotion.

Presuming the chest plate to be made by the Cloudsmith was nothing compared to having the auctioneer confirm this fact. This meant that the Cloudsmith had visited the auction house at some point in time today and also verifies the previous idea that he was currently the number one blacksmith of the region.

"But why didn't he join the League of Hammers? He could easily take the role of their leader with such a skill like this?"

It wasn't known which player said this exactly but the question has begun spreading throughout the hall as various conspiracy theories were also being born.

"With that settled, we can now proceed with the auction. Most of you here should know how an auction works as well as the placing of items. So without any further explanation from me, you should be aware of the quality and authenticity of this item.

"Starting bid is 30 silver coins and every increment should be not less than 5 silver coins."

Compared to the starting bid of all the items provided by the other players, Sato's was the highest so far.

"The auction house does take it to be an amazing work of art." A player among the League of Hammers group said with a thick tone of envy.

"45 silver coins." 

A bidder's card was immediately raised as a price was shouted.

"For a Low-tier Rare-Steel rank equipment? Aren't you shameless?" Another player jeered at the previous speaker.

"65 silver coins. This isn't a place where the poor can bid."

An uproar rose but at the comment and the bid that was placed. In just two bids, the [Balk Rose Armour] had already become the second most valuable item made by a player on sale during this auction.

"You're indeed right." A proud voice belonging to a woman sounded across the hall.

"The poor shouldn't bother bidding on this item. 1 gold coin."

"!!!"

All the players in the hall were immediately stunned silly by that remark. A gold coin, at the third bid sounded very absurd but when one recalls that the item on sale was a defensive piece of the Low-tier Rare-Steel rank and could readily be used as it was a level 10 weapon unlike [Red Nightfall], it was pretty much worth the price. However, Sato guessed that there was another reason for the absurd increase in price.

'I hope he's indeed here, otherwise this much spending would be pointless and severely affect the guild.' Yukino thought. 

She was the one who had just bid 1 gold coin for the chest-plate and even she felt that the price was a tad too much. However, Yukino had a reason for doing so.

It was a well-known fact that the Cloudsmith was a player, and judging from his erratic movement and behaviour, he was most likely a solo player who had no alliance with any guild. Also, since he had put up his equipment for sale in this auction, chances were that the Cloudsmith would be here. As this auction was the only chance were the Cloudsmith could be spotted, Yukino had to demonstrate a sign of friendship, signifying that she, or rather the guild behind her, would like to partner up with the Cloudsmith. Si CE she couldn't meet him upfront, the best way of doing this was to buy his equipment, and do so with a large amount of money.

While this sounded dumb, it wasn't. Not only would it demonstrate a sign of goodwill but it would also imply that Emperor's Might has a lot of spare cash to help support the blacksmith in his research; something every solo lifestyle class player desired when selecting a guild to base at.

"Going for 1 gold. I want to remind you all the hat the blacksmith who forged this very item was once praised by Lord Owen, and we should all know what that means."

As the auctioneer added that line, the NPCs in the seat became surprised.

Lord Owen was a noble and not an ordinary one. He had ties with the Royal family of the Fallen Heart Kingdom and apart from that, he was a master blacksmith. Even in a city like Black Rock City, a Master was the highest rank one could find. And for an apprentice to be complimented by such a figure, it meant that their achievements in the future would not be little.

'So they even know about that too.' Sato thought.

The compliment the auctioneer referred to was the fact that Sato had passed Owen's test back at Riverdale town. While he did it just for the rewards, Sato never knew that there was a hidden advantage like this.

"2 gold coin."

"!!!"

A price that had surpassed the highest price bidded on an item by a player was called out, but the most surprising thing was the origin of the voice. It wasn't from the first floor that housed all the players in the avenue but instead, it came from the second floor where the private boxes were located.

"It can't be..that bid, came from the second floor!."

While the location didn't seem so special enough as to shock the players, it actually was. From simply seeing Yukino's presence alongside the other top guilds' representatives on the first floor, the players were able to surmise that it was only NPCs that were currently on the second floor, and simply from glancing at the seating arrangements, the NPCs on the second floor were no ordinary ones.

Two things were shocking from this discovery. First of all, an NPC had placed on bid on a player's work. Second of all, it wasn't an ordinary NPC who did so. When considering this, the price of 2 gold coins didn't seem so impressive anymore.

The players weren't the only ones that were shocked. Sato was and even the auctioneer too. She didn't expect that a personage on the second floor would be interested in a children's play toy. In the eyes of the NPCs, anything below level 20 was an ant. One can only become recognised as a fighter if they were at level 20 or below, otherwise I'm the eyes of the NPCs in the city, they were still kids. Therefore, a level 10 equipment was just a decorative piece of item that should be hung on the wall for show.

The auctioneer never expected someone on the 2nd floor to be interested in this item, even more so that figure. Since ethos auction wasn't anything special to the NPCs, not a lot of important figures had attended it, with only one of them being worthy to stay on the second floor.

'This kid seems to have caught his interest.' The auctioneer sneaked a glance at Sato.

Knowing that no one else would bid more than that, the auctioneer decided to bring it all to an end.

"2 gold coins. Going once, going twice, SOLD to room number 2."

*Bang*

And so, the best equipment forged by a player blacksmith had ended up in the hands of an NPC. The players, who obviously loved gossips a lot, had already began to spread the news on the forums. It wouldn't take long before the entire IR server knew that an NPC had bought a player's good in an auction. 

The reason for all this hype was because events like this barely happened in other similar games. Even if it did, it was usually when players were already high levelled and could forge equipment that were attractive to NPCs and players alike; equipment that were usually legendary ranked or similar. However, this was the first time something like this had happened. An esteemed NPC bought a low-levelled item made by a player.

"The Cloudsmith is indeed the bets player blacksmith." 

Statements like this could be heard all over the hall from the plaers present.

As for the cause of all this, Sato, he was stunned silly as he never expected the price of the armour to go that high.

'Maybe I should be selling my products here more frequently.'

Just as the players were prepared to all leave, the auctioneer spoke up once more.

"Now may we proceed to the next piece."

Another one!

Every player was surprised.

"Next is an item different from the rest. A pair of runes forged by an apprentice Scribe. While the artist has no name[1], the quality of the runes is beyond what one would expect from an apprentice and even more impressive than anything that has appeared so far.. Starting price is 30 silver coins with every increment being worth 3 silver coins."