Chapter 117 - Aqua Rose
With Shi Feng’s bid of 30 Gold Coins, the price of the skill book was greatly increased.
A few Tier 2 NPCs shook their heads at this sight, giving up the bid, one after another. Although this skill book was good, its price was simply too high.
Just as Shi Feng was about to relax…
“35 Gold!”
A resonant voice resounded throughout the entire auction venue.
Shi Feng turned his head to look at the source of the voice, nearly cursing out loud as he found the voice’s originator.
The person who yelled out the bid was actually not an NPC with a melee Job, but a Tier 4 female Wizard.
Magicians[1] were always the richest individuals in God’s Domain. To a Tier 4 Wizard, they only need carry out a single magical research to earn 30 to 50 Gold Coins.
“How unfortunate.”
Shi Feng shook his head, no longer competing for the skill book. He only had slightly over 30 Gold Coins. He couldn’t compete for it even if he wanted to. If he had known this skill book would be sold, then he would not have chosen to sell his Gold Coins for Credits.
Although Shi Feng had retired from the bidding competition, the other Tier 4 melee Job NPCs were still fervently competing over it. The price of the Thunder Flame Explosion had already risen to 45 Gold at this point. Aside from the equipment that were over Level 100, none of the items auctioned so far could beat this price.
“45 Gold going once!”
“45 Gold going twice!”
At this moment, the sound of a notification from the System arrived.
System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 31 Silver have been added to your bag space.
System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 44 Silver have been added to your bag space.
System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 27 Silver have been added to your bag space.
……
A series of notifications arrived, numbering at least twenty. Shi Feng was immediately shocked when he heard these notifications arriving.
He did not understand what had actually happened. During the time he had been in Blackwing City, there were actually so many players who had bought the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design, that in just a moment, his wallet had greatly expanded.
Since Shi Feng’s wallet was bulging now as he yelled out without hesitation, “46 Gold!”
“45 Gold going thrice!”
“This gentleman has bid 46 Gold! Are there any higher bids?”
“49 Gold,” the Tier 4 female Wizard knit her brows slightly.
Shi Feng was now extremely confident. If the female Wizard truly wished to buy the skill book, then he would definitely lose the bid. However, the value of this skill book was certainly not that great to this lady. Shi Feng did not believe that she would spend such a large amount of money just to buy it.
“55 Gold,” Shi Feng decided to be decisive instead of waiting for the price to slowly rise.
For just a skill book, 55 Gold Coins was definitely an astronomical price. The female Wizard was no fool herself, so she immediately gave up on winning the bid.
Seeing Shi Feng bidding with such a high price, the other NPCs looked at Shi Feng like they saw a fool. Even if they were to hire a Tier 3 or Tier 4 Job-related tutor to teach them a skill, the fees would not exceed one or two dozen Gold Coins. Moreover, the skills they could learn were much better than the Thunder Flame Explosion. Now, Shi Feng was actually spending 55 Gold Coins to learn such a skill. He was no different than a fool for doing so.
However, NPCs would not be able to understand the world of players. In the initial stages of the game, the prowess of a skill could greatly change the overall strength of a player. It was especially true for a super-rare skill like Thunder Flame Explosion, which was an AOE skill that carried along a Fainting effect. It would bring endless benefits to Shi Feng in the future. Even if he had to spend 100 Gold Coins for the skill, it would still be worth it.
Without any more NPCs joining the bid, the white-bearded old man finally slammed the hammer.
“Congratulations to Mister Black Flame for winning the Thunder Flame Explosion!”
Shi Feng joyfully handed over the 55 Gold Coins, receiving the Thunder Flame Explosion skill book in return. He then immediately learned the skill.
Thunder Flame Explosion was a godly skill for grinding monsters and PK in the early stages of the game. With the skill in hand, Shi Feng had thought of several more ways to grind monsters.
Following this, the auction went on for another hour or so before ending. However, none of the items that appeared were the ones Shi Feng needed right now. Moreover, every one of those items was auctioned off at prices of over a hundred Gold. The final item to appear was even an Epic Ranked item. Many Tier 4 NPCs madly bid for the item, with the final bid priced at over 5,000 Gold. Shi Feng could only observe the bidding process at that time, unable to join in on the actual fun.
After the auction ended, Shi Feng walked out the entrance of the Auction Hall, satisfied. He wanted to return to Red Leaf Town immediately to find out what had actually happened there. Just why did the number of players who purchased the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design increase so much?
If there was still money that could be earned from the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design, then he would immediately create another batch. He would earn as much money from it as possible, alleviating the emptiness of his wallet in the process.
Shi Feng was originally considered a very wealthy person within the region of White River City. However, after making a trip to Blackwing City, he had suddenly discovered that he was actually just a poor bastard.
Just as Shi Feng was about to leave Blackwing City, a hurried shout came from behind.
“Brother Black Flame, please hold on!”
Shi Feng turned his head around, discovering Lonely Goose and the other players from before. Amongst the bunch, there was also Egoistic Blade, the person who had eagerly tried to chase him away.
“What?” Shi Feng indifferently asked.
Although Shi Feng could understand the reason behind Lonely Goose’s exclusion of him just now, understanding only remained as understanding.
After all, who would have any pleasant feelings with being chased away just after being invited?
Hearing Shi Feng’s indifferent tone, Lonely Goose helplessly smiled, saying, “Brother Black Flame, I apologize for the incident just now. It was all a misunderstanding. I wonder if we can still have a chat?”
“Brother Lonely Goose, I’ve already said before, people who walk different paths cannot make plans together.”
How would Shi Feng not know what the thoughts Lonely Goose and the others were? Before, these players were able to discard him because of profit. Now that they had found out he could enter the Auction House, they all came running back.
Regarding the behavior of Lonely Goose and the others, he felt only disgust for it. Forget cooperation, who knows when they would sell him out for profit once more?
Seeing that Shi Feng had turned around to leave, Egoistic Blade furiously shouted, “Don’t simply throw away this chance we’ve given you. The influence that first-rate Guilds like us possess far exceeds what you can imagine. By aiding us, you will be able to receive a generous return of at least 5 Gold Coins; that’s enough for you to become the richest person in a Town. Others won’t ever get a chance like this, so you best think it through clearly. After some more time passes, your title will be of little value. This is definitely your one chance to make a lot of money.”
To any independent player, being able to become the richest person in a Town was definitely just a pipe-dream. Achieving such a feat meant that a player had to have more than three to four Gold Coins in their pockets. To a Town that was still using Copper Coins as the main medium of trade, this was definitely an astronomical sum.
“Richest in Town?” Shi Feng could not help but laugh, saying, “This is truly an attractive remuneration. Unfortunately, I’m not interested in it.”
What a joke. Before he had come to Blackwing City, he was already the richest person in the City. He did not lack in that amount of money at all.
“May I know if you are Mister Black Flame?”
At this time, a beautiful female player walked over, asking. The girl looked to be between the ages of 21 and 22, her appearance extremely beautiful, and her body garbed in a gorgeous purple robe. The girl had her lips pursed; her eyes squinted into a smile as she looked at Shi Feng. On her delicate white cheeks, a tinge of blush could be seen as she smiled at Shi Feng, further increasing her charms.
“That’s right, and you are?” Shi Feng was not familiar with this girl before him. However, seeing that she was a Level 7 Cursemancer and she wore a complete Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, it would seem that her strength was definitely out of the ordinary.
“Hello, you can call me Aqua Rose. We previously met inside the auction venue, but you might have missed me there,” the elegant girl named Aqua Rose said with a smile.
Hearing the girl’s self-introduction, Shi Feng was greatly shocked.
One of the top ten ranking Cursemancers in God’s Domain, the Tier 6 Curse God, Aqua Rose. Shi Feng was actually able to meet her at this place.
In Shi Feng’s previous life, Aqua Rose’s fame was much greater than the Cleric God, Violet Cloud.
“En, were you at the auction just now?” Shi Feng was startled. It should be known that, in order to enter the VIP Section’s auction venue, one required a certain amount of status. Shi Feng was only fortunate to have obtained the Demon Hunter title after doing the first phase of an Epic Quest.
“I naturally can’t compare to Mister Black Flame. I was only in there to take a look, unlike you, Mister Black Flame, spending 55 Gold just to buy a single skill book,” Aqua Rose sighed, saying, “Hence, I am representing Twilight Echo to seek cooperation with you. I wonder if Mister Black Flame would be interested in this?”
Twilight Echo was a grandly reputed Guild in the virtual gaming world, a titanic existence. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was one of the more famous elders of Twilight Echo, and her position was extremely high within the Guild. Her fame was no less than that of Gentle Snow, and she was an existence of which very few had not heard.
Hearing the conversation between Aqua Rose and Shi Feng, Egoistic Blade and the others were extremely shaken, their tongues tied up as they dumbly stared.
Originally, they had thought of Shi Feng as a mere independent player. So, how much money would a player like that possess? If they were to give him 5 Gold Coins, he would definitely be deeply grateful to them. Yet, from Aqua Rose’s words, Shi Feng had actually spent 55 Gold just to buy a single skill book.
Even if they added up all the money they possessed, such an amount was still more than double theirs…
Just who was this Shi Feng actually?
TL Notes:
[1]Magician: I’m not really sure about this class, but since it wasn’t mentioned in one of the 12 main classes, I’m assuming that it is some hidden class or one that was limited to NPCs only.