Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Elixir Bidding War
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"W-We want 100 too!"
Geum Eun-dong shot his hand up high and shouted.
"What, that's all?"
Seong Rosa, who hadn't uncrossed her arms until now, finally downed the potion with a gulp.
And after a moment of silence...
"150."
"That's cheating! You said limited stock!"
"So what? Our guild's all mages. You guys can make your own, right? Drop to 50."
Seong Rosa dropped the refined act entirely and snarled fiercely at Geum Eun-dong.
"W-We have fragile bodies too! F-From all the research! You should say that to C-Camellia Guild instead!"
"Oh, right. Camellia, you drop to 50, and we'll take 200."
"Don't talk nonsense. Before I regret stopping you from leaving earlier and throw you out myself."
"Now, now, let's all calm down."
I stepped in before they wrecked my new coffee table and sofa.
"Just so you know, the special price per bottle is 40 million won!"
"......"
Silence fell over the room.
It was understandable.
A-grade potions normally traded for around 10 million won per bottle.
Of course, prices varied by maker and effect.
But 40 million per bottle out of nowhere?
It was so steep that complaints wouldn't be surprising...
"Camellia takes 200 bottles."
"W-We want 300!"
"Fantasia bids 350. Cash upfront."
"Wait, hold on."
What was this?
Had I priced it too low?
But 40 million per bottle meant 4 billion for just 100.
How much money did these people have?
Now that I knew 40 million wasn't an issue for them, time to squeeze a bit more.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm from allies like Heatwave Guild, but as I mentioned, stock is limited."
"H-How limited...?"
"Right now, I only have twenty bottles."
"That's too few, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"You're kidding? Twenty bottles to shove in whose nose?"
"F-For now, even those..."
Good reactions.
"As you all know, these aren't ordinary potions. Nothing like this has existed before. They're on the level of miracle elixirs. They take a ton of rare materials and effort to make."
"......Yeah, that tracks."
Seong Rosa tapped an empty potion bottle with her nail in agreement.
"I'd love to compromise on potency and mass-produce them like a factory line. But our S-rank crafter is stubborn about quality."
"Q-Quality is life for crafters! Sounds just like him!"
"That's why I'm in a bind. I didn't expect everyone to love them this much."
I shook my head and sighed dramatically.
I knew they'd come charging in with fire in their eyes.
I just hadn't expected them to throw down billions in cash without blinking.
"Oh, and the commercial versions last 20 minutes, not 10."
Now things should kick off.
And my prediction was spot on.
"Fantasia at 41 million per bottle."
"Petty. Camellia offers 43 million, Nayeo-ju-ssi. Sell to us."
"Bragging about money in front of Maestro? We can do 45 million!"
The bidding war ignited.
I let the three guilds drive the price up for a while.
"46 million!"
"46.5!"
"Argh, 50—f-fifty million!"
"Moneybags Maestro brats!"
Fantasia dropped out first, as expected.
That's what I'd been waiting for.
"Then these twenty bottles go to Maestro."
"Y-Yes!"
"Wait. These?"
Yu Myeong-hwa's eyes gleamed.
Sharp as ever.
She caught that too.
"Yes. I'll contact you again once I have more stock."
"S-So next time, we might have to bid over 50 million per bottle?"
"We're not that ruthless."
"Phew, good..."
"Next time, fifty bottles—ten each."
"......"
The room went quiet.
That meant five bidding rounds next time.
Cash burn would skyrocket.
Then I caught Yu Myeong-hwa and Seong Rosa exchanging subtle glances in silence.
Plotting collusion, huh.
"If the three guilds don't offer a satisfactory price, I'll invite others. They won't have your cash reserves, but we uphold the spirit of helping humanity."
In other words, plenty of buyers if you pass.
"......Nayeo-ju-ssi, you're getting more tempting by the day."
I shuddered imagining what keyword might pop up.
Jang Su-ho was "Master," Kang Han was "Comrade," Jeong Je-hwa was "Muse."
What would Yu Myeong-hwa's be?
"That wraps up today's tasting. Let's call it."
I hurried to clear the room.
"Geum Eun-dong Vice Guildmaster, taking them via sub-space?"
"Y-Yes!"
The moment I set the twenty elixir bottles on the table, Geum Eun-dong whisked them into his sub-space like they might vanish.
He even called in the space mage waiting downstairs.
No faith that Yu Myeong-hwa and Seong Rosa wouldn't try something before leaving the building.
"W-Well then, I'll be going..."
Oh, right.
Forgot the most important part.
Grab.
I snatched Geum Eun-dong's hand mid-reach for the teleporter's arm.
"Vice Guildmaster."
"Y-Yes...?"
"You know payment is cash, lump sum, right?"
No cards accepted.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million, billion... Heh heh heh."
The number in Justice Guild's bank account sparkled gloriously.
So round and pretty.
What font does this banking app use?
I need to find out and set it as my phone's font.
And it's not just me.
"Who knew Justice Guild would see a day like this."
"Think the bank will call? Or worse, tax audit?"
Even Han Ji-seong and Jang Su-ho were thrilled.
Then Im Cheong-su, who'd been staring at the balance on my phone, shot to his feet.
"Where you off to, Cheong-su?"
"To make more elixirs. Gotta earn more."
"Don't overdo it, absolutely not. Got it? Tell me if you need anything!"
He flashed a thumbs-up over his shoulder and vanished into the workshop.
Cute guy.
Tomorrow, I'll lay out all his favorite meat sides.
But Kang Han had been quiet since the Maestro deposit confirmation.
"What're you thinking, Guildmaster?"
"Nothing much."
Nothing my foot.
He looked like he was digging a hole to China.
"No weird thoughts. Think about how to spend this wisely where it's needed."
"......It's too much."
"Feels huge, right? Get used to it. Cheong-su's earnings will dwarf this going forward."
"Guess so."
"Just enjoy it purely. Justice Guild won't scrape by on money anymore."
Kang Han nodded and cracked a small smile.
Yeah, it'll take time to sink in.
I was pondering a group summer vacation abroad when...
Knock knock.
A knock echoed.
All guild members' heads swiveled toward the sound.
The training room door, closed tight.
Kang Han's relaxed face hardened instantly.
In a flash, he summoned a spear crackling with electricity in one hand and crept silently to the door.
"Huh? A letter?"
No one outside.
Just a palm-sized envelope floating there.
"Commission letter."
Han Ji-seong sighed in relief.
In a world with phones, email, even faxes, who sends physical commission letters?
Only one guild I knew did that hassle.
One of the Big Four. The mages' guild.
The one with foul-mouthed Seong Rosa as master.
"Fantasia, probably."
The kind of commission Fantasia might send us right now...
As I pondered, Kang Han fetched the letter and broke the wax seal stamped with Fantasia's emblem.
A massive hologram burst from the envelope.
Note: Accepting binds you to a secrecy spell.
Accept Invitation?
( YES ) / ( NO )