Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Money Makes Money (2)
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WhyYouTalking: Solo wipe, this is legit ㄷㄷ
Ward: I believed in him from the start. Rokan God!
Invania: Let me ace my college entrance exam. Romen!
└Jeremy: Then turn off your PC and start studying first.
TaxCarriage: When Blood Chaser guys came to catch me, I yelled that Rokan showed up and they ran lololol
Filmel: Blood Chaser whatever, it's all hype anyway. They just flashed bright early on with numbers.
└DarkMintChoco: If one guy is slicing them up, what about all the people who got robbed by them before lololol
└BenHarpa: If you haven't experienced it, shut your mouth. Rokan's the impressive one. How do you beat those numbers.
Callusion: Heard the yukgaejang here is good, came from Kob region for condolences. Blood Chaser elegy.
GreatGeneral: Heading out to hunt Blood Chaser. Recruiting party members (1/10)
└SeriousConcept: Blood Chaser hunt. Joining, recruiting party members (2/10)
The tide had turned. Ordinary users who witnessed Blood Chaser getting thoroughly looted by a single Rokan began shaking off their fear of them.
"Things are getting interesting."
Users from completely different regions dismissed them as hype, undervaluing them, while those active in the same region who had been getting hunted started doubting.
They thought maybe the individuals weren't that skilled—it was just their numbers allowing one-sided beatdowns.
Some even started actively forming parties to counter Blood Chaser.
No posts about clear results had gone up yet, so the truth was unverified, but the shift in perception alone was significant.
If public opinion swung toward driving out Blood Chaser, other guilds that had maintained an unspoken mutual non-aggression might step up front—who knew.
And so a day passed where prey and hunter swapped roles.
To be precise, less than half a day, but the field dynamics had changed dramatically.
From steady rain to scattered showers.
Blood Chaser's activity had shrunk sharply, and even when they appeared, they hunted a few users in a very short time before fleeing like they were escaping. Just like a brief shower.
It was passive behavior out of fear that Rokan might use his Rune Book to chase them.
Thanks to that, whereas normally they'd have to abandon hunting in an area the moment they appeared, now they could hide briefly and resume hunting.
This alone was huge good news for users. Not so welcome for Rokan, who kept missing them.
"What a bunch of spineless bastards. Fine, let's see how long you can keep running."
Rokan vented a string of curses at the petty Blood Chaser before logging out in the village.
Once his login restriction ended, a massive deal awaited Rokan.
* * *
"Disguise."
Using the special effect of his Mastermind title, Rokan headed to the promised spot everyone was waiting for.
The city central square.
It was a place swarming with people even without this deal, but Rokan chose it for one reason.
Lots of eyes.
Many eyes meant that who shelled out how much for a guild house would get verified and rumored without him saying a word.
'Win-win for both sides, right?'
From the guilds' perspective, who were buying guild houses to show off anyway, the extra publicity wasn't bad.
'And I'm making the money.'
Though he'd probably bleed more cash than the secret auction.
He was already curious just how far they'd go, mindful of all the watching eyes.
'Looks like everyone's here.'
Arriving five minutes early and scanning the square, Rokan confirmed nearly every guild from Trinsic had gathered. They'd formed their own clusters, and amusingly, their positions revealed an unspoken current ranking.
Strength in The Lord wasn't just levels and headcount, but right now, it seemed to boil down to that.
'Time to start.'
Right on the dot, Rokan stepped forward from a short distance away, in his disguised appearance and name.
He mounted the makeshift stage the guilds had naturally formed by sitting in a circle. Piercing gazes poured onto Rokan.
A normal person might shrink and act unnaturally just from that, but Rokan pushed through as if it were routine. He'd stood unshaken before not dozens, but thousands, tens of thousands.
'Everyone's itching for it.'
Drawing their eyes naturally, Rokan clapped lightly to grab even more attention.
They probably had tons of questions, but Rokan had no intention of dragging it out. They weren't close enough to exchange pleasantries anyway.
"Whew, quite a crowd. Feels like I should introduce myself, but I hate wasting time, so let's cut to the chase and start the deal."
"Hold on."
Then someone shot up a hand.
MP Guild's master, Piria.
"What?"
"How do we know you're the one who posted about selling the guild house?"
A question only they could ask. The 'dungeon purchase' was known, but not who they dealt with. Unless he outed himself, they couldn't exactly say, 'This isn't the guy we saw when we bought the dungeon.'
So she beat around the bush, but Rokan had no plans to play along with such half-baked tricks.
"Simple. Don't bid."
Rokan's answer was straightforward.
Don't trust me? Don't bid. If you don't buy, oh well.
No need for him to prove himself—it was that simple.
"What the...?"
Piria looked dumbfounded, clearly not expecting such a bold pushback, but Rokan didn't wait.
He kicked off the auction lightly.
"First item, we'll skip the suspicious Team 8. You all know the details, no need to explain. Starting with the two-story houses. Light start at 10 gold per month. 10 gold."
Snap!
The long-term lease for a two-story was 5 gold monthly. But Rokan opened at 10—double already—and guilds snapped up their paddles without missing a beat.
Paddles Rokan had pre-assigned numbered for each guild via the board.
"Team 3, 10 gold. First one, let's go quick. Bids in 2-gold increments. 12 gold, Team 9. 14 gold, Team 11. 16 gold..."
He didn't know real auctioneering, but he'd seen it on TV a few times. Recalling that, prices shot up fast as he mimicked.
"20 gold, Team 15. Anyone higher?"
Tripling the 15 gold effortlessly, all the way to 20!
It was a monthly burden, but that made it worth splurging. In a month, everyone would be stronger, revenues skyrocketing.
A 1-gold difference felt heavy now, but who knew—it might be pocket change then.
'That's how they all sink into the swamp, heh.'
Only Rokan knew. Exchange rates were 200,000 won per gold now, and they'd only stay that high or higher for months.
Growth meant bigger income, sure, but expenses ballooned too, always cash-strapped.
Splurge wrong now, and they'd struggle paying debts, never properly growing the guild before vanishing.
'Not my problem.'
Utterly unrelated to Rokan. Their misjudgment, that's all.
"Anyone else...?"
"22 gold!"
At the last second, the big bid came from none other than Piria. Despite being excluded at the start, she couldn't hold back.
"No more? 20 gold to Team 15. Guild name?"
"Steel Legion."
"Sold to Steel Legion Guild."
"Yes!"
Thud thud thud. No wooden gavel, but everyone got it—the first item went to Steel Legion. And MP Guild got snubbed.
But that wasn't all. Rokan had no intention of letting it slide easily.
"Team 8, who broke the rules, is excluded from the second auction too. Remember, one warning only."
Piria bit her lip hard at the subtle but firm words. She hadn't expected this even if she offered more money.
Missing the auction pissed her off, but the other masters' snickers were unbearable.
Meanwhile, Rokan pulled out the pre-filled 'contract' item—blanks only for amount and buyer—and handed it to Steel Legion.
"Let's do the contract now. You made the bold call first—gotta give some perk for that."
With only those fields blank, the deal wrapped quick.
Trinsic's first luxury home owner was set.
"Heh, we're out first!"
Two houses meant nothing anyway, and funds were tight, so Steel Legion's bidder left right after contracting. Probably to check the guild house and recruit new members.
Everyone here could guess that, ramping up the urgency.
"Next, another two-story. 15 gold start. 15 gold, Team 6..."
"......"
As if reading their minds, Rokan launched the second auction instantly. Seeing the actual contract sealed the deal—bidding heated up even more.
In that fervor, only Piria trembled, lips clamped, signaling someone instead.
'Proxy bidder?'
To Blood Chaser's master.
Grab ownership first, then transfer via contract with Blood Chaser and MP Guild. Proxy bidding.
Rokan clocked it but ignored. Whoever took it, he got the gold—that's it.
"23 gold, sold to Team 3."
Hotter than the first, the second two-story fetched 23 gold. Stimulated by Steel Legion's win, guilds started overextending.
Just a few gold difference monthly. Get second jobs, bank loans up to 3 gold—worst case, squeeze members for loans and pay.
That mindset pushed budgets higher. The terror of installments, loans, robbing Peter to pay Paul.
"26 gold..."
"30 gold..."
Rokan's listed houses sold one after another without hitch. Each contract fueled frantic messaging to guildmates, squeezing funds to snag a house before stock ran out.
Rokan hadn't revealed total listings from the start for that reason. He dragged subtly, repeating bids to buy time for fundraising.
Fear of running out hyped them, self-hypnosis rationalizing higher bids with optimism.
"35 gold! 35 gold bid. Anyone higher?"
Finally, the fifth and last two-story hit 35 gold. Just calling it the "last" doubled-plus the start.
Amusingly, the one dropping that sum was Piria.
"35 gold, sold to Team 8."
Rokan flashed a sucker-friendly sales smile as he pulled the final two-story contract.