Auction House (2)

How long has it been? I'd gotten so lost in the cooking that a considerable stretch of time had slipped away.

Ah. Is it already time?

Three hours ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had passed before I knew it. I set the cooking aside and stood, and another message bloomed into view.

The Auction House. A place where goods changed hands, same as any other. Until now there hadn't been anywhere dedicated to selling items, so I'd figured this was where it would happen.

People did trade among themselves through the System Bulletin Board, of course, but that method came with no shortage of constraints. There were those who promised a deal and then ran a scam, and even outfits that made a living off plunder. I myself had nearly gotten killed just going out to buy information. That was why most people steered clear of that route unless they had no other choice.

Well then. Time to go make some serious money.

A mountain of Troll Roast sat waiting in my inventory — four hundred pieces, every last one of them a three-star buff item. In the current climate, they were bound to fetch a handsome price.

And if anything decent comes up, I might pick up a few things myself. The Coins I'd saved came to about twenty thousand. The trolls I'd just hunted had padded the total nicely, and someone must have read the strategy guide I'd posted, because a settlement of three thousand Coins had come in as well.

Let's go.

Shhk!

So this is the Auction House?

The atmosphere inside was quieter than I'd expected. Not nearly as many people as I'd imagined — maybe a hundred or so who looked like Awakened.

Quite a few people over Level 10, then.

You needed to hit ten just to use this place, so that number actually looked like a lot, depending on how you framed it.

A broadcast rolled through the hall. Whether they all had something worth selling or not, people started drifting toward the registration desk.

The moment I reached the desk, that label hung over the attendant's head. The resemblance to the fox I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seen in the dungeon hit me at once. Anyone looking at this attendant could tell they weren't someone from Earth — and yet, in both appearance and speech, they were almost identical to us.

People waited their turn in a shuffling line, registering their goods one by one. After a short wait, it was mine.

"Welcome. Do you have an item you'd like to list for sale?"

"Yes. Right here."

I drew two hundred Troll Roasts from my inventory and handed them over.

"..."

The attendant froze. Two hundred pieces was an absurd quantity, and for a moment they seemed unsure how to even register the lot. Then they recovered, composure sliding back into place.

"Will you be selling them individually, or in bundles?"

"Hmm. Bundles of twenty, please."

"Understood."

At my request, the attendant began sorting them into groups of twenty. Once the sorting was done, they continued.

"A fee of ten percent of the sale price will be deducted upon sale. If an item fails to sell, you may leave it listed, but a holding fee will apply."

"Got it."

"What would you like as the minimum starting bid?"

"Let's say one hundred Coins."

With that, the attendant began the registration.

"May I have your ID?"

"My ID?"

"Yes. You registered on the System Bulletin Board, did you not?"

"Ah. It's Predator."

"Processed. Given the nature of this item, it likely won't be introduced all at once — expect it to come up at intervals throughout the auction. Here is your receipt, and this is your bidding number."

They handed me a slip of paper and a plastic paddle stamped with the number twenty.

"Come back with this receipt afterward. The auction floor is that way."

"Thank you."

Registration finished, I followed the direction they'd indicated, found an empty seat, and sat down.

A moment after the announcement, most of the hall had settled into their chairs.

Let's have a look around.

The majority of the people here were probably rankers. Getting a rough read on their faces now would pay off later.

Everyone's gear is gleaming. Maybe that was just what a high level bought you. Class-exclusive weapons, full sets of armor — people sitting around in ordinary clothes were few and far between.

Maybe I should pick up some armor myself.

I was turning that over and scanning the room when someone familiar caught my eye.

That guy?

A gleaming bald head. The man who had come looking for me — Kim Ha-jin of the Cheonha Tongil Guild.

So he made it past Level 10.

There was a good chance he'd been present during the Guild War as well. I couldn't be absolutely certain, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but it had to be him.

And the one next to him?

Sitting together like that, they looked like guildmates.

Wait. Could it be?

Wondering if it might be Hwang Min-soo — the one who'd tried to have me killed — I quietly shifted seats so I could catch their conversation.

"Ha-jin. Think it'll show up at this auction?"

"I believe it will. Someone on the Seoul side was said to have acquired it, and they have no use for it."

"That so?"

They were clearly hunting for something in this auction.

"Once we get our hands on it, we hit the World's Strongest Guild again."

"You're going after them again?"

"Yeah. Gotta snuff them out before they sprout. Otherwise the whole plan goes sideways."

He said it around a cigarette he'd already stuck between his teeth. Whether he realized this was indoors was anyone's guess.

"We've already lost two of our guild members. Four, if you count those dregs who used to work under you. If our fighting strength takes another hit, I don't believe that person would be pleased."

"You just do what the contract says and follow my orders. Why the hell are you running your mouth?"

"..."

Kim Ha-jin shut up at that.

That's Hwang Min-soo. No question.

I was sure of it. That talk of a contract — what kind of hold did it have on him, that he couldn't even talk back?

"So just make damn sure we get that item. With that in hand, it doesn't matter how strong that bastard is — we won't lose the plunder war."

"Understood."

And with that, their conversation died.

What the hell are they after that's worth all that?

Then the lights dimmed, and a man strode up onto the platform ahead.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! I'll be your auctioneer for this evening — the name's Mapin! Without further ado, let the bidding begin!"

The auction took off at a sprint the instant he finished speaking. Weapons and armor of the kind you pulled off dead monsters came tumbling out one after another, along with all manner of other items.

"And now, lot number four — a three-star Flame Armor! Outstanding defense across the board, and against fire-wielding monsters you'll take almost no impact at all. Highly recommended!"

The auction tore along at a blistering pace. Under any other circumstances I would have spent my Coins on that armor. Picking up a decent set of defense had been the whole point of coming. But I couldn't.

Whatever that bastard is planning to buy, I'm taking it from him.

Until Hwang Min-soo's target hit the block, I couldn't afford to spend a single Coin.

"Now this next lot is a little unusual! Troll Roast! A three-star buff item — eat it and your Strength and Health each jump by thirty for a full thirty minutes! And I personally guarantee the flavor is absolutely monstrous!"

My Troll Roast had finally come up. And the entire hall erupted into a murmur.

"What? It raises Strength and Health by thirty?"

"No way. It just looks like regular food."

"Troll Roast? So they made it out of an actual troll?"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠honest truth was that my own stats were inflated to a ridiculous degree — for everyone else, raising Strength by even five points was a genuine struggle. There were only three ways to push your numbers up: leveling, the effects attached to items, and the support skills of buffer-class Awakened. So of course people's eyes were spinning at an effect that handed out thirty Strength and thirty Health just from eating a meal — and not some modest bump, either. To anyone who ran solo, without a buffer tagging along, it looked better than any piece of gear on the floor.

"I can feel the heat from up here! Twenty pieces of Troll Roast — bidding starts now!"

The auctioneer's last word had barely left his mouth before paddles shot into the air.

"Yes! Number thirty-six, five hundred Coins!"

"Number twenty-seven, plus three hundred!"

"Number nineteen, plus five hundred!"

The price swelled in an instant, blowing past two thousand Coins before I could blink.

Holy hell.

A single troll was worth fifty Coins, and one batch of cooking had already climbed to two thousand.

"Number thirty-six, plus five hundred!"

"Number twenty-seven, plus two hundred!"

Once the bid crossed four thousand, only two contenders remained: thirty-six and twenty-seven, locked in a vicious staring contest from seats right next to each other. As the numbers climbed, the sniping started.

"Hey. You done?"

"Why don't you quit."

"Plus five hundred."

"Yes! Number thirty-six — four thousand five hundred Coins!"

Honestly, no matter how good the effect was, it was still a consumable. This was not an item that should have climbed this high. But that was auctions for you. Once the fire caught, there was no putting it out.

"Heh."

Number thirty-six smiled like he'd already won. Number twenty-seven saw that look. He'd been about to fold — but that smug, I've-got-this expression? There was no way he was backing down.

"Plus five hundred!"

"Yes! Number twenty-seven — five thousand Coins! Any further bids?!"

Five thousand Coins. That was not a number you saw every day in this hall. Even three-star equipment struggled to hit five thousand. The sum was so steep that number thirty-six finally threw up his hands and surrendered.

Three! Two! One!

"Sold! To number twenty-seven, for five thousand Coins!"

"Yes!"

After a brutal back-and-forth, number twenty-seven had landed the Troll Roast. He looked down at thirty-six with the eyes of a man who'd won.

"Goddamn it!"

Number thirty-six sat there seething, short just enough money to have lost the lot. And while he was still chewing on that injustice, the next item hit the block.

"Now then! What we have here is another twenty pieces of the Troll Roast you just saw! Our seller split the listing!"

Number twenty-seven's eyes went round.

"What? There's more?!"

He looked ready to crawl out of his own skin. The second lot of Troll Roast went to number thirty-six for three thousand Coins. He sat there beaming at the bargain, then turned that same victorious look on twenty-seven —

And the auctioneer bellowed again.

"And once more — twenty pieces of Troll Roast on the block! Bidding starts now!"

I made way more money than I expected.

I'd honestly figured a few thousand Coins for the Troll Roast would be plenty. All ten bundles sold out, and the total came to twenty-one thousand Coins.

I should drip-feed them next time. I'd flooded the market, and by the later lots the price had sagged enough that I hadn't gotten full value. A little disappointing — but that wasn't what mattered right now.

The hall had torn itself apart over my Troll Roast. Hwang Min-soo hadn't so much as twitched. The man had no interest in anything but the thing he was hunting.

Alright. What is it you're after?