Chapter 59: Bidding War (2)

Rival was a term that referred to a tenacious individual who always competed due to having the same goals in the same field as others. Typically, rivals numbered at most two or three.

However, the world of

MID Online

was not so easy-going. There were top ten guilds. In other words, there were nine other rivals. Moreover, the challengers eyeing to replace them as one of the top ten couldn't be ignored either.

Therefore, the masters of the world's top ten guilds had to live every day, every minute, every second under pressure. Even just a moment of carelessness could lead to them being overtaken by one of their nine rivals and quickly being eliminated. It was as if they were participating in a marathon without a set finish line!

Amidst this, an opportunity to become the frontrunner in the race emerged.

"The Wanderer's Guiding Bracelet has been listed at the auction house?"

As if they were sleeping giants woken up from their slumber, the masters of the top ten guilds began to move at the news that came out of nowhere. Their values, hobbies, and personalities were very different, but at that moment, they all let out identical reactions as if they were decuplets.

"Get that item no matter what. It doesn't matter how much it costs."

If it meant outpacing the nine rivals, any cost was acceptable.

Moreover, the Black Bee guild was known for rapidly advancing through the main story based on their overwhelming power, so they were naturally a subject of wary attention.

If the guild's intelligence team is correct, that's a quest item related to an ancient king's ruins.

The conquest of an ancient king's dungeon is among the biggest projects the Black Bee guild is recently undertaking.

According to the great wise man Kirian... it's practically a map with dungeons of at least level 190 and over.

We must get it for the guild's growth, no matter what.

The top ten guilds each had different clues and information, but there was one thing they agreed on.

We must buy this item.

We have to buy it before the others do.

Whoever buys this takes a step ahead.

If we stream the conquest of an ancient king's dungeon... we can gain fame, money, and our guild members' growth.

If we can't buy it, we at least need to prevent the others from buying it.

In the marathon they participated in, there was no such concept as rules. Shaking off those behind and grabbing the ankles of those ahead was the only way to desperately move forward and that was the only rule.

And the guild masters, who knew this fact best, also harbored doubts.

But why is this being auctioned? I knew Sting had given the bracelet to one of his close associates....

Could it be that the associate betrayed him?

They wouldn't sell it at an auction unless they were crazy.

It’s not a trap laid by the Black Bee guys, is it?

An enormous number of people were deployed to verify the authenticity of the item. The Wanderer's Guiding Bracelet would end bidding exactly one week from the registration date. During that time, all sorts of information were gathered, and it all reached the masters.

"So... the seller is someone named Unknown? Who are they?"

"What? He’s a solo player but tricked the Black Bee guild? What a lunatic."

"He must be confident in his skills."

"The Glendale expedition force, huh... Do some digging into this guy's identity."

"First, send a message through the community account. Say the Titan guild wants to make a deal personally."

The name Unknown became engraved in the minds of the top ten guild masters from that moment on.

***

"Dang, it's really on the rise. It’s going crazy," Han Jung-Woo murmured with an unbelieving expression.

It had been a week since the Wanderer's Guiding Bracelet was listed at the auction house. Though there were still two hours left until the auction closed, the price had already skyrocketed.

It really must be an important item, huh?

It was the first time a mere Magic-grade item had attracted a bid of 142 million won. At the same time, it was likely that such an event would never happen again, so the players were going crazy.

-What is it? Can someone explain?

└ I'm dying of curiosity too. Someone please explain.

└ I think I'm already dead. Please, anyone, explain.

-Isn't this just market manipulation by some force?

└ We'll see if it really sells or not.

└ Is there really a place that operates so openly though?

└ It seems too blatant to be a manipulation....

The main reaction was confusion about why the item was so expensive.

Of course, Han Jung-Woo was just as confused.

I don't get it either. And at this point, I'm starting to get nervous.

The price of the item had far exceeded Han Jung-Woo's expectations. That meant that the item's value was far greater than anticipated!

But that only made him more worried.

It doesn't matter who buys it, the Black Bee guys are going to be pissed.

Even if they did purchase it, they would be angry, and even more so if they couldn't purchase it.

"Oof, scary to even think of it."

If they decided to chase after him, he'd have to be cautious not only when hunting or questing but even when eating at a restaurant!

"If that situation arises... I'd really go crazy."

Then perhaps it would be a better idea to go to the Black Bee guild's base and just return the item.

"But then I'd go crazy right now."

In other words, he didn't like either option!

There’s no other choice then.

Han Jung-Woo had already started something he couldn’t stop. Even if he apologized now, there was no way they would accept it!

"Since it's come to this, let's see it through to the end."

After all, he was the one with the upper hand at the moment.

***

"What's the result?"

"There's still one minute left."

"Ugh. Was five minutes always this long?" Vulcan, the master of the Warriors guild, let out a groan.

Since his guild became one of the world's top ten, there had never been a moment when five minutes passed so slowly.

I've always lived being chased by time.

Therefore, he was feeling that much more anxious right now. Of course, the thought that someone else was feeling even more anxious at this moment was somewhat comforting.

I wonder if Sting is getting a nervous breakdown.

Regardless of what anyone said, Sting, who had to buy his own item with money, would be feeling the worst!

And what if he wanted to buy but failed to?

"That would be amusing," Vulcan smiled, considerably less anxious.

Vulcan wanted to make a video call to Sting, but knowing Sting’s temper, he could declare a guild war right then, so he refrained.

"Master, the auction has ended!"

"And? Which guild won the bid?"

At his guild member's upcoming report, Vulcan's gaze became serious. Now, the guild to be named would laugh, while the other nine guilds would cry for a while.

But Vulcan, observing his guild member's strange expression, felt something was off and asked, "Why do you look like that?"

"Th-that is...."

How could this even be explained?

The guild member, with a look unsure of how to explain the situation, said in a bewildered voice, "The Wanderer's Guiding Bracelet. The sale was canceled three seconds before closing."

***

In the moment the mouths of the world's top ten guild masters simultaneously dropped open, they were faced with even more shocking news.

"W-we’ve received a message from Unknown!"

"He wants a deal with our Warriors guild."

"Ha, of course Black Market is perfect for deals. He sent a message wanting to sell the Wanderer’s Guiding Bracelet."

"We just received a message that he wants to pursue a positive transaction with our Titan guild."

"There's a chatroom link in the message."

"He wants a private meeting with the master, so you should click the link yourself."

Kai had sent the same message to the nine guilds excluding the Black Bee guild!

At the same time, the once lonely and quiet chat room began to buzz with activity.

[Vulcan has entered the chat.]

[Goliath has entered the chat.]

[Xao Lin has entered the chat.]

[Sandro has entered the chat.]

[Catherine has entered the chat.]

The masters of the top ten guilds started pouring in less than a minute after the message was sent!

They expressed their current emotions after seeing the names of the chatroom members.

[Goliath: ?]

[Xao Lin: ?]

[Sandro: ?]

[Minerva: ?]

[Katherine: Huh?]

Let's pause for a second here....

After about ten seconds passed with no further chatting, Kai tapped on the hologram keyboard.

[Unknown: Welcome. Let's resume the auction for the Wanderer's Guiding Bracelet.]

[Xao Lin: What do you think you’re doing right now?]

[Minerva: I entered the chat after seeing the message that you wanted a deal... Explain what’s going on.]

[Goliath: This guy was just a crazy bastard.]

Han Jung-Woo smirked the moment he read the master of the Titan guild curse at him.

[Chat owner Unknown has kicked player Goliath from the chat.]

As this message appeared, the complaints that were popping up one after another abruptly stopped. The chatroom turned icy in an instant!

[Unknown: I guess he has somewhere important he needs to be. If anyone else needs to leave, please let me know now! :)]

[Minerva: ...]

[Sandro: ...]

[Catherine: Oh my, what a psycho.]

A master of one of the world's top ten guilds wouldn't be jealous of even the president of a major corporation. Such individuals would have never been treated this way before.

Faced with an unpredictable psycho named Unknown, they became as silent as if a cat got their tongue.

Well, I've put them in their place for now... I just need one of them to name a price now.

Then, the auction would naturally proceed.

The first to break the long silence was Vulcan of the Warriors guild.

[Vulcan: What currency would you prefer the sale in?]

[Unknown: Please refrain from trying to find out information about me. Gold is the standard.]

[Vulcan: ...My apologies. 300 gold.]

That was the beginning. Then the eight guild masters started typing in the chat to not lose to one another.

[Minerva: 350.]

[Xao Lin: 400.]

[Katherine: 520.]

[Sandro: 800.]

The price rose rapidly!

However, Kai merely nodded his head without much excitement.

The price just before the auction ended was 160 million won, so this is nothing.

Moreover, the situation seemed similar to before, but in reality, it was very different.

Well, these folks have their pride through the roof, don't they?

There was a clear difference between sending a guild member to participate in an auction and jumping into the price competition themselves.

In fact, the atmosphere in the chat room became increasingly heated, and soon the auction turned into a battle of pride.

Then Vulcan made a bold move.

[Vulcan: 2,000 gold.]

"Whoa...!"

That was equivalent to 200 million in cash! He had easily surpassed the highest bid made during the official auction.

However, the others seemed to reconsider the item's value, as no further chats came up.

Will this amount directly secure the bid for the Warriors?

But before that thought even finished, the chat started buzzing again.

[Leonard: 2,150 gold.]

[Yoshiatsu: 2,200.]

[Minerva: You guys are so... ugh. 2,300 gold.]

Pride turned out to be such an expensive thing!

Kai wanted to burst into laughter holding his stomach but barely stopped himself.

It's too early to laugh.

To cancel a sale item in an auction, one had to pay 5% of the bid amount. That meant Kai had paid a whopping 8 million won!

After paying a shocking amount of 8 million won, I should at least make fifty times that, shouldn't I?

Even as he had this thought, the price of the item continued to rise.