"Look at them and then look at yourselves. You're all players, so why is there such a big gap? How do they make money? Why don't you learn from them?"
Old Mac watched with interest as figures moved about in the main hall. He even spotted a few familiar faces, including the city lord, the head of the Adventurers Guild, and the manager of the city's largest entertainnt venue. All of them were wealthy and held significant status.
"Yeah, hey John, how do you think they make money? I can understand how you have twenty million, since you're an Alchemist, but what about them?"
"Isn't it obvious? They make money by leveraging price differences."
John rolled his eyes and gave Exiled Immortal a disdainful glance before continuing, "For example, in Calia City, at costs about 10 silver coins per pound, but the sa at in Talcavano City might cost twice as much. And that's just the basics.
"Do you really think everyone is as interested in pushing the main storyline as we are? There are traders, farrs, businesspeople, and even players who get married and have children in this world. You just never paid attention to them."
John vividly rembered a player in his previous life who beca obsessed with business. Over two years, this player nearly monopolized the seafood trade in Calia City, Talcavano City, Spartonia, and Everglow. By importing goods from Atlantis, they beca the wealthiest player, bar none.
Of course, if they were just rich, John wouldn't have rembered them so well. The key was that this player was also incredibly lucky. They once obtained a [Demigod tier] item, [Pluto's Pouch], from a dungeon.
For most players, this item would rely be an accessory with decent base stats, but for this player, it was like it was custom-made!
The reason was simple: once [Pluto's Pouch] was bound to a player, it could enhance all attributes by depositing silver coins into it.
This unique feature allowed the player to leap into the top ten of the combat power rankings.
So you see? In this world, no matter what you excel at, if you invest ti and effort, you will be rewarded. This person was the best example.
As thoughts swirled in his mind, the auction was about to begin. A beautiful, scantily clad woman took the stage and used a magical device to amplify her voice, announcing the start of the auction. She was Peggy, the host for this auction.
In this top-tier auction, every item up for bid was [Epic] quality or higher, and each had powerful traits. Common items didn't even qualify to be here.
Sure enough, the first item up for auction caught John's eye.
"The first item up for bid is an [Epic] quality [Blade of Silence]. Its special trait is that hitting a target will briefly silence them, preventing skill use for 0.75 seconds and having a 0.5-second effect on monsters. It can trigger every two seconds."
"This is a good item," John remarked.
John let out a long breath and smiled, saying, "In my past life, the [Blade of Silence] beca a staple weapon for all thief players. The silence effect it granted greatly increased the success rate of assassinations. However..."
However, at the mont, John was no longer a thief class, and without the appropriate class skills, this item's usefulness to him was limited.
As expected, the [Blade of Silence] was eventually sold for 3.5 million silver coins to a thief.
What followed showcased the professionalism of the auction house. After an item was sold, the auction house didn't imdiately hand it over to the buyer. This was partly to protect the buyer's identity and prevent potential problems, and it also reduced the need for excessive security.
As for whether the item would be stolen after the transaction, that wasn't the auction house's concern. If it was stolen, it simply ant you weren't capable enough to protect it.
With the end of the first auction, the second item was promptly brought onto the stage. It was a piece of tallic material the size of a thumb, placed on a tray. Even the auction house officials weren't sure what it was, so they set a vague base price of 1 million silver coins, with each bid incrent being no less than 100,000.
Initially, John had little interest in this item. But as it was about to be sold for 1.6 million, Seraphina's voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Bid! Buy this item, and I'll explain what it is later."
Without hesitation, John pressed the bid button and calmly said to Mac, "1.9 million."
"Alright! A bid of 1.9 million from the distinguished guest in Box 2! Anyone willing to bid higher? If not..."
Before Peggy could finish, the player who had previously bid 1.6 million raised their offer to 2.2 million, increasing the bid by 300,000.
"2.2 million, does the guest in Box 2 wish to continue bidding?"
"2.8 million."
"Alright, 2.8 million! A single bid increase of 600,000! What kind of item is this to draw such competition? Any more bids?"
"Are they crazy? Nearly 3 million for a piece of tal?"
"If they can afford a private box, do you think they lack money?"
"By that logic, this item might be a treasure. Why else would they compete for it?"
One player had this thought, and soon it spread from one to ten, then ten to a hundred.
At first, it was just John and another player bidding against each other. But soon, many players who had no idea what the item was, and were purely bidding to annoy others, joined in. In the end, John won the piece of tallic material for 6.5 million silver coins.
Saying he wasn't pained would be a lie. Without old Mac's financial support, this single item would have cost John almost a quarter of his savings!
"So, what exactly is this thing?" John asked Seraphina, frowning.
Seraphina's response left John speechless.
"If you still want to transform your little girlfriend into a player, this item will help. 6.5 million isn't a high price for that."
John's eyes lit up instantly.
"So, you've figured out a way?"
"There's a lead, but many necessary conditions are still missing. So don't get your hopes too high," Seraphina's voice sounded weary. Despite her long sleep, she seed as though she had been awake for days, making John feel deeply guilty.
"The soul essence you ntioned before, I'll find a way to collect so for you."
"That would be best. Alright, enough talk. If sothing important cos up, I'll let you know. Otherwise, don't bother ."
With that, Seraphina cut off the conversation before John could ask more questions. Just then, the third item was brought onto the stage.
This ti, the item wasn't very attractive to John and his group—a badge for elental mages that could boost elental magic power. Unfortunately, none of John's seven companions were elental mages, so they didn't bid.
The fourth and fifth items followed suit, both being high-quality but not very useful to them. They were sold for 5.1 million and 5.7 million respectively.
When the sixth item appeared, Seraphina spoke again.
"This item must be acquired as well."
"The next item is the sixth item of today's auction, a [Legendary] quality single-use item called the [Key of the Underworld]. It can open a portal to the Underworld dungeon for three days! The starting bid is 30 million! Each bid must increase by no less than 1 million!"
"35 million!"
Almost the mont the host finished introducing the item, John imdiately pressed the button, raising the bid by 5 million!
This was a [Legendary] quality item. Even without Seraphina's reminder, John would never let it slip by!
Of course, John wasn't the only one with this thought in mind.
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