Chapter 222 The First Mystery Items
"Everyone, I'm proud to finally begin the most anticipated portion of the annual auction, the mystery items!"
By now, everyone was eagerly watching the stage.
Jack was no exception. What got Jack especially riled up was Argyle's attitude about the mystery items.
Though Argyle didn't know what the other auction houses were going to offer, he did hear about how they altered their item lists. He had already done so before he submitted it, trying to take advantage of Jack's deep pockets. And now that the other two auction houses were doing the same, Argyle wanted to see Jack's plan of attack and whether he would run away with every mystery item.
Both Hurmot and Kaldor were in a different room on the third floor, the room reserved for the owners.
"Where is Argyle, that pestro?!" shouted Kaldor. "Is he actually hiding away with that mystery buyer? He's got some nerve not warning us about him and showing favoritism."
"Can you blame him?" laughed Hurmot. "Wouldn't you do the same thing in his shoes? Besides, we've also made adjustments to suit him with our new mystery items."
"Just you wait, I'll walk away with the most winnings this time! You can't compete with the items I've decided to give up," roared Kaldor, boasting with his chest out.
"We shall see what Everla does with our new lists. I'm curious to see how arranged the items this year? Whose items will be sold first and whose items will be determined as the most valuable for the end?" murmured Hurmot, staring at his eldest daughter on the stage. "Time will tell."
"Just wait and see," chuckled Kaldor, calming down as the first item was brought out.
Everla, who was given the responsibility of ordering the items according to price, watched the men roll out the first item to her side. "I'll fill you all in on a special secret. This year, all three auction houses have gone above and beyond to offer you the very best items they have to offer."
"As an example of how generous they are this year, our opening item is something we would normally save near the end. It's a mythic-tier spell scroll!"
While the crowd went nuts, Kaldor frowned.
"What?! Your daughter did this on purpose!"
"Oh, so that one's yours, is it?" Hurmot chuckled.
"Enough! There's no way that neither you nor Argyle offered nothing cheaper than that. She must be trying to start off the auction with a great item to rile the crowd," reasoned Kaldor.
"Who knows?" Hurmot shrugged and glanced toward Jack's room.
He was lucky enough to have Argyle speak up for him and get a chance to speak with Jack. Though he only learned a few vague things about the young hero, it became blatantly evident that the youth was more wealthy than even Argyle during the second day of the auction.
Putting that together with his meeting with Jack, Hurmot planned his items accordingly, targeting Jack with every single item, not just a few. What he wanted was to empty Jack's pockets as much as possible.
Sadly for Kaldor, he didn't know anything about Jack other than the fact that he was insanely wealthy. He had no other hints and failed to prepare as well as the other two. But he wouldn't admit it and would search for every excuse to support his stance.
In the meantime, Everla continued explaining the item. "This is the Tempest Slash wind spell, though it's a one-time use item, you'll only need to cast it once to wreak havoc on your enemies. Who will make the first bid?"
Immediately, the displays on the third floor filled with combinations of lv. 60 and lv. 65 items. It was difficult to determine the most valuable of them, but Everla handle the task like a champ with the assistance of the managers.
"We'll recognize the bid of the peak-tier lv. 65 sword and the mid-tier lv. 65 spear as the highest thus far."
"I'll offer a lv. 70 peak-tier halberd!"
Just when everyone expected Jack to strike, he did and his offer, like always, blew the others out of the water.
The royals were irritated by the man's seemingly endless wealth. They had lv. 70 items, but they wouldn't be willing to spend them so willy-nilly before the final mystery items, which were usually lv. 70 items.
For that reason, the other royals backed down. Since this year's mystery items were far more valuable than usual, they would have to spend wisely and save the bulk of their budget to get an item they really want.
"Going once! Going twice… Sold!"
"Gong!"
Before the crowd could settle down, Everla spoke up again. She hadn't disappeared like she usually did after a sale.
"There's one other change that I've decided to implement for this year only," announced Everla, surprising even the owners. "We'll be going through all ten mystery items in a row! There will be no break between them, so get ready for the second item."
While those on the third floor sighed and did their best to prepare themselves, those on the second floor were more excited. The crazy the auction got, the easier it would be for a bidder to make a mistake, giving the second floor a slightly better chance at the items.
Unaffected, Everla presented the next item at her side. "Again, we have a mythic-tier spell scroll!"
"Ridiculous!" Enraged, Kaldor stared at Hurmot. "She has to be doing this on purpose! There's no way all of your items are that valuable!"
Calm as a spring morning, Hurmot looked up to the now standing Kaldor. "I can't speak for Argyle, but I can guarantee that all of my items are worth more than those spell scrolls."
"Impossible! Show me your item list!"
"You know I can't do that," stated Hurmot with a shake of his head. "You have no hope of changing the listed items now that we've started selling the mystery items. Just sit down, you'll see for yourself that I'm not lying. I'll even point out all of my items for you."
Kaldor grumbled and sat down with crossed arms. He watched on in anger, anxious to see if they really did offer better items than him.
All the auction houses owned incredibly valuable items, but they feared to put up their most valuable items. If there wasn't a guarantee that they'd have someone able to pay the true value of the item, why would they offer such items?
Following that logic, Kaldor was even further baffled. If the other two really offered items of that caliber, he wondered if they would succeed in their bets or if they would lose those most valuable items to low bids.
"This mythic-tier spell scroll uses illusion type magic. The spell mentioned is Body Double," explained Everla. "For one whole day, you'll have a clone of yourself that is mentally linked to you. It's not too strong, but it can speak and sound just like you, as well as physically interact with other people. Other than it being lv. 10, there are no signs that the clone is a fake. Who will start us off?"
"I'll give you a lv. 70 peak-tier helmet!"
All the royals that were eager to fight for the item suddenly frowned. Jack joining the bid made things much harder.
"Going once! Going twice…"
"I'll also offer a peak-tier lv. 70 item!" shouted a royal as a wall displayed a shield.
"Hmm…" Everla was inspecting the two, searching for a difference in value.
"Add this to my offer," stated Jack, bring attention back to his room. He then added a mid-tier lc. 70 shield to his display.
"Do you have anything to add as well?" asked Everla to the competing royal.
The display went blank as the royal said, "I have nothing to add. Let him have it."
"Very well. Going once! Going twice… Sold!"
"Gong!"
Unfazed and emotionless, Jack stared at the stage, waiting for the next item. Suddenly, he asked Argyle, "Were any of those yours?"
"Nope. Of the ten mystery items, each auction house puts up three and the hosting house puts up four," explained Argyle. "My guess, knowing how shrewd Hurmot is, both of those items were from Kaldor and Golden Haven."
"Hmm… Sounds like you and Hurmot are both determined to empty my pockets."
"Isn't that our jobs," laughed Argyle. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be happy with the items you'll have to help you on your journey."
"I guess…"
Back on stage, the third item was revealed and Kaldor frowned deeply, almost forming permanent wrinkles.
"Our third item will be this sixth level beast, a descendant Thunderbird!" announced Everla, unaware of Kaldor's angry roars and her father's chuckles. "You all should know about such a magnificent beast, so it needs no introduction. Let's hear the first bid!"
"I'll offer a lv. 70 peak-tier item!"
Now in the habit, everyone turned around to see Jack's display screen, which showed an ornate dagger.