The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 444 (Side Story): The Auction (1)

The way to distinguish a village from a city in Fantasia Online was simple. It was the presence of an auction house. That facility was only permitted to be built in places that met minimum conditions and infrastructure. In particular, the auction house here in Raves was famous for its beauty, modeled after the Sydney Opera House.

As Kai walked the streets, he nodded while looking at the bustling crowd.

I only walked a bit but I can certainly tell the number of concurrent players has increased.

It felt very different from just looking at numbers on a monitor, and all of this was proof of how well received the episode he led had been. A pleasant tickle stirred in his chest.

“No, I said I’m just here to pick up the items I bought.”

“Sorry. Regular players are strictly restricted from entering today.”

As Kai arrived at the entrance of the auction house, he heard complaints of discontent and murmurs.

Hm?

Looking over the shoulders of the people, he saw the entrance blocked by men and women in black suits.

The cold-faced man standing at the front said, “Please return tomorrow as a VIP auction is being held today.”

The Auction. A day when the VIP auction, held once every quarter, was taking place today.

“Even if it is a VIP auction day, it doesn’t even start until tonight.”

“There are still hours left, yet they’re already restricting entry? This is stricter than usual.”

“Damn, I even prepared my party, but without weapons I’ll have to rest today I guess."

“Carmelo Company people are always so inflexible, ugh.”

Annoyed players began leaving one by one.

Carmelo Company... them?

Kai’s eyes gleamed as he watched the suited men and women.

That guild was formed only a few months ago.

Yet despite that, it was a mysterious guild where every member was now a ranker. Rumors from headquarters suggested that some parent company was secretly sponsoring them.

Lately there have been more and more cases like that.

As Fantasia Online’s economy grew, companies had begun taking on sponsorship roles.

But if it's that, it is strange. There’s been no publicity at all.

Normally, when a major corporation sponsored a guild, massive promotion followed. That way, they could draw attention from the start, grow quickly, and create stars. On the other hand, Carmelo Company’s growth had been secretive and quiet.

Well, how they play has nothing to do with me as long as they don’t cause trouble.

At that moment, the man’s gaze turned toward Kai, who was the last one still standing there.

“You too, please return tomorrow.”

Even though it was just a game, the frozen gaze made his hair stand on end. The pressure was overwhelming regardless of level or stats.

It’s been a long time since I felt this.

That feeling he had only ever experienced long ago when facing countless powerful enemies. In that nostalgic feeling, Kai was about to smile when the huge man behind the leader suddenly scratched his neck and stepped forward.

“Boss, I’ll take care of this, go on inside.”

“Gillian, don’t cause any trouble.”

“I’m not a kid.”’

When the man called boss disappeared inside, Gillian’s gaze instantly changed.

Thud, thud.

He stepped up to Kai and looked down. “Show your invitation, or get lost.”

“I don’t have it now. A friend was bringing mine as well.”

“Pfftt.” Gillian laughed grotesquely and shook his head. “You think such an obvious lie will work?”

VIP invitations were notoriously hard to obtain. It wasn’t just about money, as level and reputation also mattered.

“An amateur like you could never get one. Even we...”

“Gillian, shut up.” At the sharp warning of his female colleague, Gillian closed his mouth. “Sorry, almost slipped.”

Acknowledging his mistake, his gaze grew cold.

“I might slip again if I talk any more... so get out of my sight.”

As his massive hand reached forward to shove Kai’s shoulder, Kai pushed it aside and said, “If it were such an obvious lie like you said, I wouldn’t have bothered. It would have been exposed right away.”

Gillian silently looked down at his hand Kai just pushed aside.

I was definitely about to shove him aside.

Yet his hand had been brushed away so naturally.

Could this guy be a ranker hiding his level?

No, that wasn’t it. Fantasia Online was also faithful in implementing aspects of sensation that weren’t displayed in numerical stats.

The aura I feel from this guy... is utterly pathetic.

Even though he didn’t know him too well, he was undoubtedly just a weak beginner in both level and stats compared to himself. The problem was that such a weak opponent had stopped his movement.

“Heh, this is interesting.”

Just as Gillian bared his teeth in a grin at finally meeting someone amusing, a wizard in a clean robe appeared. “Do you have some business with my acquaintance?”

Gillian’s gaze shook at the sight of the one who interrupted what had finally become entertaining.

Why is this guy here?

He was one of the hottest rankers recently.

Recognizing his face, Gillian withdrew his hand and shook his head. “No. Was he an acquaintance of yours, Boyd?”

“And what if he is? Do you have a problem with that?”

Boyd’s cold gaze made Gillian suppress his competitive spirit and shake his head. “No. I was only checking because he had no invitation.”

“I brought two, so check them.” Boyd handed over two invitations and whispered to Kai, “Are you alright? It doesn’t seem like anything happened yet.”

“Nothing happened. Not yet.”

It was thanks to his timely arrival.

“Invitations confirmed. Please come inside.”

As Kai walked past, Boyd followed but soon stopped and gave a warning. “You got lucky.”

Had Gillian laid a finger on Kai, he would have had to face all of Cheonhwa’s forces.

***

“Why are you scaring people like that again?” Kai scolded lightly.

“Haha, you heard? You have quite the hearing.” Boyd smiled kindly. “Even if you're retired now, you were once my idol. How could I dare... Oh, by the way, why do you suddenly need gold? Are you planning to fully come back?”

“Not exactly.” Kai shook his head and said, “I have something personal to do, so I will play for about two weeks of real time and then stop again.”

“Two weeks...”

If it was the man before him, who had written legends in the history of games, what would he show in that time again?

Full of anticipation, Boyd nodded. “That sounds fun. It’ll be worth watching.”

“The gold?”

“I’ve prepared it.”

Of course, one needed gold to buy items. The bank also offered a service to exchange cash into gold, but that place was sensitive to rumors.

If I exchange the amount of gold I want there, rumors will inevitably spread.

Unlike before, his goal was to act as quietly as possible and then disappear this time. It was better if not only other players but even headquarters remained unaware.

“How much did you bring?”

“20,000 gold to start.”

At such an overwhelming amount, Kai pressed his forehead and let out a sigh. “I did tell you to prepare generously... but there are limits.”

The price of gold had skyrocketed with the end of the main episode and the release of the side story. It was because the number of new players had surged.

“As far as I know, the current rate is a little over 120,000 won per gold, isn’t it?”

“It’s 126,700 won in Korean currency to be exact.”

That meant 20,000 gold was a fortune worth over 2.5 billion won in cash.

Kai shook his head. “I don’t need that much. I don’t even plan to buy that much.”

“Really? That’s a shame.” Boyd showed a genuinely regretful expression.

“The Myers Raid must have been quite profitable for you to casually carry around that much gold.”

“Why are you acting like you don’t already know? Our guild moves gold in the hundreds of thousands.”

That was entirely possible since Cheonhwa was one of the top guilds in Fantasia Online.

“So, how much are you going to buy? She said to let you have it at a little below the market price.”

“Tell her I said thanks.”

She was no longer the master of the Cheonhwa guild now but the chairwoman of Cheonhwa Group. Head of the largest corporation in Korea. It was certainly pleasant to know that such a person favored him.

To be exact, she is just looking after me because she’s close with Ha-Rin.

The two had become friends in MID Online and still met at least once a month.

“I’ll only buy 10,000 gold.”

“Then just give me one billion, since she said to skip the change.”

267 million won as mere change.

At such extravagant spending, Kai clicked his tongue and said, “Thanks. The transfer will go through today.”

“That’d be good. Then let’s head inside.”

“No, you don’t have to.”

Every day’s schedule was packed down to the minute for the master of the Cheonhwa guild. It felt burdensome that Boyd was sparing this much time for him.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Boyd shook his head, clearing up the misunderstanding. “The reason I asked to meet here is because there are things we need to purchase on the guild’s behalf too.”

“I see...”

In that case, there was no need to feel guilty. The two entered the auction house and sat side by side in their assigned seats. The atmosphere with the stage and seating was as dark as a theater, so their voices naturally lowered.

Boyd whispered, “I don’t know what you came to buy today, but let me have one thing.”

“Which one?”

“The Heart of Butifon.”

“Ah, so that’s being auctioned today, huh.”

Two years ago, one of the bosses of the main episode had been the Green Butifon. Its heart, a Unique-grade material, had been sold to a magnate and now was set to appear in the auction.

“As you know, its toxicity was too strong, so there wasn’t a single alchemist who could handle it back then.”

“I see.”

Did that mean the Cheonhwa guild already had an alchemist capable of handling it?

Ramus had estimated three years... As expected, players always shatter common sense.

Kai nodded. “I have no interest in the Heart of Butifon.”

“Thank goodness. Then I don’t need to feel sorry for asking.”

His tone carried the confidence that no matter who bid, he would be the one to win it.

A moment later, the stage brightened and the auctioneer stepped up onto it. “We thank our VIP guests once again for coming to our auction...”

Once the formal greetings were finished, the real auction began. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“The first item is the elixir, Vermilion Face Fruit! It increases all stats by five and has the effect of whitening the skin like pure jade. The bidding starts at 30 gold.”

The bidding proceeded through the virtual pads installed at the seats.

“The price is still climbing! 70, 80, 90... Oh! 100 gold has been offered!” The auctioneer encouraged the competition, letting out a delighted scream. “110 gold, do I see 110? If not, I will start the countdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven...”

The numbers dropped, but no higher bid came. It was then that Kai tapped his pad.

“200 gold! 200 gold has been bid!”

“Wow.” Realizing who the bidder was, Boyd whistled softly. “So you plan to spend all 10,000 gold tonight, huh.”

Kai didn’t deny it and nodded. “Yeup.”

He intended to buy every piece of equipment, skillbook, and elixir that appeared at the auction.

“Let me know if you run short on money. I brought plenty.”

“Only if I need it.”

From then on, Kai’s gold quickly decreased with each item that appeared.

Buy elixirs first to cover my low stats in the short term.

When he judged that his stats were sufficiently supplemented, he bought the best equipment available for each level. Then he bought skillbooks with the remaining money.

“Phew.”

10,000 gold. Over 1.2 billion won in cash had vanished in just an hour and twenty minutes.

“Earning it is hard, but spending it is instant... I’m done.”

“Already leaving? You should stay and grab something to eat with me," Boyd said with a disappointed look. “The next item is the Heart of Butifon, let’s leave after that.”

“Hm...”

There was no reason to refuse such a small favor from the man who had given him a 267 million won discount. Kai nodded and waited for the Heart of Butifon to appear.

“Now then, next up! An item that has slept in a magnate’s mansion for two whole years and is finally being released to the market for the first time... huh?”

At that moment, an employee rushed onto the stage and whispered in the auctioneer’s ear, and the auctioneer was shocked.

“No, how on earth could that... How does that even make sense?”

After asking the staff member several questions, the auctioneer bowed his head with a pale face.

“I-I’m terribly sorry, but today’s auction will conclude here.”

As the flustered auctioneer disappeared, a curtain dropped to block the stage.

Of course, there was only one reason why an auction house wouldn’t present an item as scheduled. That was when the item itself wasn’t there.

“Sorry, but let’s have that meal another time.” Boyd’s eyes gleamed coldly as he rose from his seat. “It seems I’ll have to find out who dared lay their hands on my property.”