Equipment Farming (2)
-Hey, hey, calm down. Obviously, I called to ask if I could introduce you. Log in first so I can mention your ID, then hop on and whisper them right away.
-Thanks, man. You know you're the only one I trust in Taitonic, right? Appreciate it, Hyunjung!
-Gross, kid. Just do what you were gonna do. Anyway, I'm heading in first!
After hanging up with Hyunjung, I roughly calculated how much I should bid on the Jet-Black Magic Tower Archmage Set. My ultimate goal was to kit myself out entirely in at least Legendary gear. But not only was it pricey, it was damn hard to find, making it impossible for now. So, grabbing high-enhancement Unique items was the next best thing.
That said, this Jet-Black Magic Tower set currently up for sale was reputed to be as good as your average Legendary gear.
I'm using a longsword instead of a staff, so I won't get peak efficiency out of it, but it's still worth every gold. A +10 robe means big boosts to defense and mana... Most importantly, it'll let me spam those skills I've been holding back on without as much regret.
After restarting as a Marsh Thief, I'd discovered a critical flaw I hadn't considered in my plans: skills were too mana-hungry to spam freely! For me, where mana was basically health, each skill cost four times the mana in HP. In those burst-DPS moments, it felt like I was taking more damage than I dished out.
No wonder my hunting style had naturally shifted to basic attacks over skills, unlike other players. It was why I had the efficient Holy Sword but couldn't branch out much despite learning multiple skills.
This gear offsets that penalty. Worth buying no matter the price. Think rationally—better gear means less dying, saving gold in the long run.
My stingy nature from years of frugal living kept nagging about cost-performance, but I steeled myself. Even all together, it wouldn't touch the Holy Sword's price. Prioritizing survival gear was the real money-saver.
With my purchase resolve firm, I logged back into Taitonic.
No time to waste, so I whispered Hades99 right away.
I teleported to the imperial capital Ostarg via spatial mage, then dashed at max speed with agile moves and Shadow Step. Arriving at South Square, Hades99 was chatting in a corner, surrounded by mages.
"Last buyer's here. We'll limit bids to these folks—asked by an acquaintance."
The mages numbered under ten, but every ID was a big name—no unknowns.
Huh?
And among them, an unexpected face: Taesung's Hong Dang Mu, tied to my bad blood.
Heh, running into this bitch again. But aren't Atlantis and Taesung rivals? How's she in on this bid?
As if to answer, Hades99 explained.
"Everyone's here, so to recap: I've devoted three years to Taitonic with some achievements, but sadly, I'm quitting. Proof? Already left Atlantis guild, as you see."
"Shame, Hades. You were close to ranker status."
"Thanks. Sold most gear, but luckily rushed this Jet-Black Archmage Set before logging off, so small auction. Wanted a name user to have it—no merchants invited."
Quitting with a +9 Unique push to +10? Fittingly bold for a ranker retirement. Probably pocketed billions from other sales already. Wanted to leave a mark, maybe.
"Enough talk—auction starts. Set only, no pieces separate. Bid on +10 Jet-Black Magic Tower Archmage Robe Top, +9 Jet-Black Magic Tower Archmage Robe Bottom, +9 Jet-Black Magic Tower Archmage Robe Pauldrons!"
Unique Grade (+10 Top, +9 Bottom/Pauldrons)
Top-tier mage survivability and mana pool.
Everyone knows rares safe to +6, Uniques +4, Legendaries +2. +10 rares were common, but +10 Uniques? Rare as hell—low drop rates meant few to enhance.
Even with cash, hard to stock enough. A popular set like this at +10? Once-in-a-lifetime, like when rankers quit!
No one here would pass it up.
"1.4 mil gold!"
"1.5 mil!"
"1.55 mil!"
Bids soared into the hundreds of millions. But base no-enhance piece hit 5 mil won, so +10 was still undervalued.
Even +10 Unique has limits—can't top low-enhance Legendary. That's the ceiling.
The merits kept it hot. I jumped in, upping bids steadily.
"1.86 mil!"
"1.92 mil!"
"1.95 mil!"
"2.5 mil gold."
From petty increments to mid-200s mil in a flash—Hong Dang Mu's entry.
"Everyone's around the same level anyway. Why waste time? No one else can use this properly but me... I'll take it."
"Whether others can use it ain't your call," grumbled a mustached middle-aged mage.
"You all know—Taesung's Hong Dang Mu. Only ranker here. How could anyone use it better? Or outbid me in gold? Thought I'd snag it cheap, but wanna compete? Fine! I'm confident—keep bidding if you're not scared of field PKs!"
Her veiled threat worked; no follow-up to her 500k+ jump. Some probably bailed when she showed.
But she overlooked one variable: me.
"2.51 mil gold."
My bid echoed calmly amid the silence, sans her boasting.
"Gasp!"
"Who?!"
Users gawked at my unknown ID. Hong Dang Mu's pretty-but-arrogant face twisted.
Eh, saw her true colors in the last siege—expected.
"Hmph! 2.6 mil!"
"2.61 mil."
"This fuck? 2.7 mil!"
"2.71 mil."
She jumped by 100ks; I countered instantly with just 10k more.
"Time! Hold up, Hades! Who's this? Not even a mage-looking ID, first time seeing it. Really here for the set? Prove you're buying, not shill-hiking the price!"
"Hm... Acquaintance vouched, identity solid. But big money—better verify. You're all known, but not this one. Cool with that, Sandro?"
Fair point, so I nodded. "How do you wanna check, Hong Dang Mu? What'll satisfy you?"
"If serious, you brought gold. Show in trade window. Can't cover your bid? Obvious fake. Refuse? Pay for screwing around!"
She glared at Hades99, suspecting a shill scam for higher price.
Hostile guilds, huh? Taesung assholes always picking fights. Damn, gotta power up quick—wanna crush 'em all!
Stoic-faced, I approached and traded her—loading not 2.71 mil, but 4 mil flat.
"Wh-what?! 4 mil gold? Not bluffing?!"
"Don't have time for games."
"How's a noob like you swimming in gold? Fuck, pisses me off! Can't buy Unique 3-piece for this?!"
My rare-gear look fooled her into thinking scrub. I eyed her tantrum coolly.
"Sorry, any rule saying noobs can't have money?"
"What the—?!"
"Anyway, proved I got funds. Fair's fair—your turn to verify."
"What? Verify me?"
"Yeah. Match my gold in trade. Or were you the one jacking prices without cash?"
"The fuck 'you'? This little shit...! Argh, insane! Who brings 4 mil gold to a Unique buy?!"
"What? No money but fronting hard? Can't prove funds, fuck off. Stop inflating with bluff. Ranker my ass—no gold fine, but no pride?"
"Eek!"
Short 400k apparently—she fumed without matching.
"Fuck, Taitonic's loaded with whales! Unknown scrubs hauling billions?!"
"Everyone starts as a scrub. Why the casual tone? We know each other?"
She edged toward curses but held back—unlike Magnum days, my cash intimidated.
"Uh... +10 Unique for this? Waste. Just window-shopping, not must-have. Hades, I'm out—good luck abroad!"
Would've fought dirty before, but she bailed, rambling excuses.
What? Me rich? This gold's from your ring sale, bitch. Heh, mouth itching to spill!
With her gone, Hades99 spoke.
"Price settled—last bidder Sandro at 2.71 mil if no more? Anyone?"
"Hold up!"
I stepped in for the other bidders; he looked puzzled.
"What's up, Sandro?"
"Heard Hong Dang Mu? Said herself not serious, couldn't prove funds. Basically a shill hiking price, right?"
"Huh, true? Could've won high but flaked on payment."
Nice—middle-aged mage backed me.
"For fair auction, restart from pre-her at 1.95 mil. Sound right?"
"Well..."
He couldn't argue. Auction restarted; my funds scared off rivals. I snagged the +10 Jet-Black Magic Tower Archmage Set for 1.96 mil—a steal, plus bending Hong Dang Mu's nose a bit.