Chapter 14
Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Auction (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The quest Hyun-soo received to meet the lord was B-rank.
But he couldn't just write it off as a mere B-rank quest.
'This is a chain quest.'
The quest would continue to link to others depending on the situation.
By the time he reached the end of the chain, the quest's rank was highly likely to change.
'There's no reason for me to refuse.'
Besides, Hyun-soo had to restore the Warlord's old, rusty armor anyway.
“I’ll do it.”
Relson promptly handed Hyun-soo a letter of recommendation.
“Farewell, you genius blacksmith.”
After bidding Relson goodbye, Hyun-soo set off.
Not long after, Hyun-soo entered the beginner's village.
It was in this village that users learned how to handle various quests.
In essence, it was the final tutorial.
However, most players tended to leave this beginner zone immediately without completing it.
Hyun-soo spotted the lord's castle in the distance.
But before heading there, there was something he had to take care of.
'I've put out the most urgent fire, but...'
The VVIP capsule would arrive tomorrow.
And while one of Hyun-soo's goals was to enjoy the game, another was to make money.
Hyun-soo needed money to get rid of his burn scars.
'Food, rent, gas, this month's treatment costs...'
Excluding his father's hospital bills, he needed at least three million won a month.
He had confirmed that he could indeed make money here by grinding, but he still had a long way to go.
'I need to earn at least 100,000 won a day from the game.'
That's why Hyun-soo decided to try using the 'Auction Board,' which became available upon leaving the beginner's village.
Through the auction board, users could trade items they wanted to sell or buy.
“My first sale.”
A strange flutter filled Hyun-soo's chest.
This was the easiest and most certain way to gauge the value of the artifacts he created.
'The first sword I made in this game.'
Hyun-soo let out a wry smile as he looked at Hyeon's First Sword, which he took out from his inventory.
Before listing it, he checked the market price for similar artifacts.
'Between 70 and 120 gold?'
That was about 70,000 to 120,000 won.
It was worth less than Hyun-soo had expected.
He soon figured out why.
'It's because it's for such a low level.'
In Ares, users leveled up the fastest between levels 1 and 30.
Those who did nothing but grind could reach that level in a week.
After checking the market price, he opened the auction house.
[Please set a seller name.]
Another good thing about the auction board was that it allowed for complete anonymity. You could set a name different from your character's.
“Hyeon's Smithy.”
[Hyeon's Smithy has been created for the first time.]
[From now on, you can use the Auction Board anytime, anywhere.]
[Please list your auction item.]
He wrote up the sales post.
[Hyeon's First Sword.]
Description: With no level restriction, it should be easy for beginners to use.
As soon as he posted it, a notification popped up.
[Please set a starting price for the auction.]
'Around 100 gold should be fine.'
100 gold was worth 100,000 won in cash.
Although the grade was good, considering various factors, this seemed like a reasonable price.
If it was worth more, bidders would compete, and the price would go up.
[The auction will start at 100 gold.]
'I hope it sells well.'
Hyun-soo checked out the various features of the auction system.
'It's unusual.'
The auction system in Ares was special.
There was even a seller subscription system.
This feature allowed users to subscribe to a seller and receive notifications whenever that seller listed something.
'I heard there are about ten level 100 blacksmiths.'
There were many blacksmiths and many items for sale.
Therefore, the more subscribers you had, the more of a big name you were.
Additionally, there was a feature allowing people to leave comments under the listed item.
[Ji-hoon: Hyun-soo, let's eat and then play.]
[Hyun-soo: Okay.]
Hyun-soo logged out before heading to the lord's castle.
***
Blam was a member of Golden Shield, a fairly well-known blacksmith guild in Korea.
Golden Shield crafted and sold artifacts, but they also bought items through sales or auctions, dismantled or repaired them, and then resold them.
They also took on commissions.
These commissions came from politicians who wanted to play the game, wealthy tycoons, or simply people with some money to spare.
They were busy and had no time to play games.
Nevertheless, they wanted to get a better start than others.
Since Blam was a minor member of the guild, he mostly handled commissions from CEOs of small to medium-sized enterprises or people who used to be big spenders in other games and wanted to throw money at this one.
A while ago, Blam had received such a request from a CEO.
'I don't have time to play, but I'd still like to start the game a little more specially than others.'
Scanning the auction board, Blam entered the 'Level 1-50 Artifacts' section.
It was, in fact, the board with the least amount of traffic.
Upon entering, he saw a sword listed as 'Today's New Best Artifact #1'.
“Hmm, there are quite a lot of comments for a level 1-50 auction item. Why is that?”
With a puzzled expression, Blam clicked on it to check the item's information.
(Hyeon's First Sword)
Grade: Rare
Durability: 1,000/1,000
Attack Power: 36
Restriction: Level 1-30.
Special Abilities:
·Strength +2, Agility +1.
·Active Skill: Quick Draw.
Description: The best sword a level 1 user can wield, born from the crudest materials.
“...?”
Blam tilted his head.
'Who is this blacksmith, Hyeon?'
One thing was certain: it wasn't an NPC.
He first checked the current auction price.
[Starting Bid: 100 Gold.]
[Current Bid: 214 Gold.]
“...?”
It was a rather high price for an artifact from the beginner zone.
Blam checked the comments.
[Wow, 214 gold for a level 1 sword? These guys are crazy, lol. Bunch of idiots.]
[You're telling me you'd spend 200,000 won on a sword you can't even use after level 30? Are you nuts~]
[There are so many rich kids in this country, lol.]
[Aren't rare swords like that common... the ones you get from NPCs for clearing quests.]
After carefully re-reading the item information, Blam's eyes widened.
“That's what you say because you're all idiots.”
The appearance wasn't what was important.
Blam's heart pounded.
'I have to buy this.'
In an instant, the CEO vanished from Blam's mind.
Even as he was thinking, the bid was still rising.
[Current Bid: 228 Gold.]
[Current Bid: 236 Gold.]
'Looks like other blacksmith guilds have caught the scent.'
Blam hurriedly sent a whisper to his vice guild master.
[Blam: Vice Master, how high should I bid on this?]
[Kei: What is this?]
[Blam: It's an artifact listed on the auction board.]
[Kei: Keep matching the bids for now. This is special.]
[Blam: Right?]
[Kei: Hold on, let me check the board myself.]
Soon, the vice master whispered him again.
[Kei: The regular players have no idea, Blam. You know why the bidding is on fire, right?]
[Blam: Of course. It says it's the best sword born from the crudest materials.]
Regular users might just think it was a sword obtained by some special, skilled player.
But if you looked at it piece by piece, it was incredible.
The phrase 'best sword' meant it was the first of its kind ever created for that level range.
'Crudest materials' meant it was made from truly worthless ingredients.
An artifact's quality was heavily influenced by the blacksmith's skill, but the materials also played a huge role.
And yet, this was made from the crudest materials.
[Kei: That thing will be badass if it's enhanced.]
Right, enhancement.
Ares also had an artifact enhancement system.
And this enhancement system followed a rule common to all games.
'The cruder the materials used to make it, the higher the enhancement success rate.'
If the materials were truly crude, the enhancement cost itself would be low.
If it was enhanced well, it could easily be used up to level 50.
Blam started to chase the ever-increasing bid.
Then, the vice master, Kei, whispered him again.
[Kei: Blam, the Guild Master wants us to win that auction no matter what.]
[Blam: The Guild Master?]
Surprisingly, the master of the Golden Shield guild was the 12th-ranked blacksmith in Korea.
He was someone who usually didn't bother with such trivial matters.
[Kei: Look at its name.]
[Blam: The name? What about it?]
Blam mulled it over.
“Hyeon's First Sword... Hyeon's... Hmm...?”
Blam soon sensed something was off.
“First? As in, the first sword he ever crafted...?”
Blam's eyes widened in shock.
“The first sword he ever made is a Rare!?”
[Blam: Holy...]
[Kei: What do you think 'First Sword' means? It's a hint that he plans to sell more artifacts. Who else would put 'First' in an artifact's name otherwise? And here's why the Guild Master wants to bid on it.]
Truthfully, even considering everything, Blam had wondered if it was truly necessary to win the bid.
[Kei: A reasonable price would be around 300-400 gold. But what happens if this unknown user grows in the future? It means we bought his first-ever sold artifact for a high price. We have no connection to this person, so this is our chance to make one.]
Ah...
Blam understood.
This unknown blacksmith could be a goose that lays golden eggs.
Whether they brought him into the guild or secured a deal for his artifacts...
The goal was to get close to him, one way or another.
'Does that mean the Guild Master recognizes his growth potential...?'
It was astonishing that a beginner user had already caught the eye of the 12th-ranked blacksmith.
Slowly but surely, the bid continued to rise, and Blam kept pace.
***
After having lunch with Ji-hoon, Hyun-soo logged back in and reached the vicinity of the lord's castle.
Just then.
[Please check the Auction Board.]
“Hmm?”
Hyun-soo, who had turned off comment notifications to avoid distractions, wore a puzzled expression.
He had only turned off comment alerts, not board notifications, so it must have come through.
As far as Hyun-soo knew, the board notification usually sounded for one of three reasons.
The bidding time had expired.
No one had bid, so it was telling him to lower the price indefinitely.
Or a high bid had been placed, urging him to check it.
'Ah, please...'
Hyun-soo worried that the first sword he had ever made in the game might be worthless.
Come to think of it, that day had been the first time he had held a hammer in a very long time.
It was also the first artifact he had made right after starting the game.
Literally just whipped up on the spot.
Hyun-soo brought up the auction board and squeezed his eyes shut.
He slowly opened them, then let out a gasp of shock.
“Whoa...?”