The one-billion-dollar bid from Carina left every guild leader from the Earth Server utterly speechless.
Inside the [Titan Guard] viewing room, Draevan slammed his chair against the floor.
“These off-world bastards!” he roared. “Coming to our server and running wild! This is an outrage!”
In his fury, he smashed the virtual tables and chairs around him to splinters. Fortunately, the game prevented him from harming other players, or the room would have been a bloodbath. His guildmates could only cower at a distance, not daring to speak. After venting his anger, Draevan stormed out of the auction house. He owned a publicly traded food processing company, but it was a modest enterprise; there was simply no way he could liquidate a billion dollars in cash.
Silverwind, the leader of [Silverwood], was in a similar position. He ran a major shipping and fisheries conglomerate, and stretching to three or five hundred million was already pushing his limits. A billion would shatter his company’s capital chain.
Only Dreadclaw of [Apocalypse] hadn’t given up. He was frantically working his phone. A few moments later, the call ended. He sighed, slumping back into his chair in defeat. It was clear his backers were cutting him off.
Amidst the despair, only Magnus of [Sovereign] was smiling as he finished his own call.
“Great. And wish my cousin a speedy recovery.”
Roland hurried to his side. “Boss, what’s the word? How high did the old man raise the budget?”
“He bumped it to a billion,” Magnus said.
“A billion?” Roland glanced at the bid from Carina. “That’s not nearly enough.”
“I also just spoke with my uncle Mordant,” Magnus said with a confident smirk. “They’re willing to offer some support.”
“What?” Roland’s eyes widened. “No wonder the Mordant family isn’t here today. They’re backing you from the shadows!”
Magnus sighed. “Not exactly. The main reason they didn’t send a representative is because my cousin is sick.”
Roland stuck out his tongue. “Well, thank goodness for that. If the Mordants were bidding for themselves, we’d probably have to add another zero to that price.”
Magnus looked up at the main screen. “You’re right,” he murmured. “The real leviathans haven't even shown up yet. Perhaps they’re still deciding if Godpath is even worth their time…”
On stage, Elon was in his element.
“One point two-five billion! Eclipse_Raven from Vesperia bids 1.25 billion! Do I hear any other bids?”
He was practically trembling, his voice cracking with excitement. His most optimistic estimate for the bell had been one or two hundred million. This was more than ten times his wildest dream.
“One point two-five billion going once…”
“One point two-five billion going twice…”
“One point two-five bi—”
Before he could drop the hammer, a new voice cut him off.
“One point three billion!”
It was Magnus, from the Earth Server.
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“YES!”
A massive cheer went up from all the Earth-based players in the audience. After being dominated by the off-world guilds, one of their own was finally making a stand. Magnus remained calm, his expression unreadable.
This time, Eclipse_Raven didn’t raise his paddle immediately. Instead, he got on his comms, clearly trying to secure more funding. The leaders from Carina, Aethelgard, and Khorthul were all doing the same, their faces tense as they held urgent, whispered conversations.
Elon resumed the countdown.
“One point three billion, going once…”
“One point three billion, going twice…”
“One point five billion!” Cinder from Khorthul was back, his voice radiating confidence.
“One point seven billion!” Magnus’s own voice shook as he threw out his absolute final offer.
But the bidder from Khorthul countered without missing a beat.
“Two billion!”
The number silenced the entire auction house.
Silence. Utter, deafening silence.
No one could believe that a level 1 Saint Relic was about to sell for two billion dollars.
The guild leaders still on their phones relayed the new price to their backers and were met with a string of curses before the lines went dead. One by one, they hung up, their faces grim with defeat.
Cinder surveyed the competition, his expression overflowing with triumph. His backer had just granted him their full support, giving him a terrifyingly high budget.
“Two point five billion.”
The voice was calm, steady, and came from a player who had just entered the hall.
Everyone turned to look. A collective chill went through them.
When this leviathan entered the water, the feeding frenzy was over.
The newcomer was none other than Caleb, heir to Earth’s number one financial group, the Mordant family.
“Cousin!” Magnus gasped. “But I thought you were…”
Caleb simply waved to the stunned crowd. He was in an exceptionally good mood. Today, after a successful and revolutionary new surgery, doctors had finally managed to link his brain directly to the Godpath servers. Though his physical body remained paralyzed, he could now move freely within the game.
The very first thing he did upon waking up was log in to buy the Sunfire Bell.
He was behind in levels, but with a Saint Relic like this, clearing dungeons, killing bosses, and power-leveling would be a breeze. Mordant Financial was a global titan; a few billion was pocket change.
The other guild leaders knew they were outmatched. They could only watch in silence as the final hammer fell.
“Two point five billion, sold! For the final time!”
CRACK!
Elon’s gavel struck the podium.
The Sunfire Bell. Final price: 2.5 billion dollars.
The number sent shockwaves across the globe. No one could fathom it.
The most shocked of all was Elon himself. He collapsed into his chair, his hands shaking so violently he could barely execute the trade command.
System: The Sunfire Bell has been sold for $2,500,000,000. After a 10% transaction fee, you have received $2,250,000,000.
Elon stared at the notification, counting the zeroes over and over. He just sat there, catatonic. His personal commission on that one sale… was 250 million dollars.
He was snapped out of his stupor by the audience.
“Hey! Get on with it!”
“Yeah, there’s still one item left!”
“Let’s see what you saved for last!”
Elon slowly pulled himself together. He shakily rose to his feet and walked to the last hostess, who was holding a box covered by a blue cloth. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to steady his nerves, then pulled the cloth away.
Inside was a single book.
The crowd was confused.
“What kind of book is that?”
“A skill book?”
“What skill book could possibly follow the Sunfire Bell? It must be for a hidden class.”
“A hidden class book? Could it be that valuable?”
Elon had regained his composure. He smiled at the audience, his eyes settling on Caleb Mordant’s private viewing room.
“We just established that the Sunfire Bell can be upgraded,” he began. “But that raises a few questions, doesn’t it? How do you upgrade it? What materials are required? Where do you find them? And what level are the monsters that drop them?”
As he spoke, he lifted the book. The title on the cover was now clear to everyone.
[A User's Guide to the Sunfire Bell]
“What the hell?”
“It’s an instruction manual!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s auctioning the manual separately?”
“Who would be dumb enough to buy that…”
“Heh. I can think of one person.”
Thousands of pairs of eyes slowly turned towards Caleb Mordant’s room, mischievous grins spreading across their faces.
Caleb’s expression darkened. This hustler, Elon. He’d found his golden goose and was determined to pluck it clean.
“You’ve got nerve,” Caleb said through gritted teeth. “Name your price.”
Elon had intended it as a playful prank. If the buyer refused, he would have just given it to him. After all, the manual was useless to anyone else. He planned to hold up one finger, make a quick million for himself.
But before he could speak, Caleb cut him off with a cold snort.
“A hundred million, fine! Just get it over with.”
Elon froze, his jaw hanging open. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
