chsdbacks Chapter 558: Softspark’s Auction—Gossip and Deception
Chapter 558: Softspark’s Auction—Gossip and Deception
With the terrifying [Skullflame Shield] right in front of him, Alex can’t help but stare at it with desire.“Well... this is a somewhat decent shield,” Alex says, his mouth twitching, before he lets out a loud sigh.
Why do I even bullshit? This is not a trade with someone I don’t know or want to deceive. My instincts are always like that. Am I just a fucked up human being? Let’s just be honest...
“Okay, I won’t bullshit you. This shield is mediocre for the average player, but it should be perfect for me. Of course, I desperately want it... I wonder what insane price you paid for it. I’m willing to fairly compensate you for it. Of course, that means you can have the [Cage of Hattori (Pet)].”
Rishi shrugs. “That was our deal, wasn’t it? I am talking about our talk from long ago. You look out for items suitable for me, and I’ll do the same. I have not forgotten the two gifts you gave me last time, and I think I may have taken advantage of you. The [Thorian Core] would have given you three stat points... I realize how much that would have benefited you. [Saren’s Embrace] is a highly specialized but incredibly valuable armor. Any player like me, focusing on SPR, would have bought it at any price. For me, who can’t increase his PHY, it’s worth more than a Black Quality item. My life depends on it. I have tweaked my entire strategy towards this Light Gold item. I depend on it with my life.”
He continues without hesitation, his tone still calm.
“I am picking missions where I am guaranteed that I’ll be able to use it to its maximum potential—I value it that much. I even have a plan to change and upgrade this item. I won’t forget, and I won’t ignore what you have done for me. I intend to repay your favor... now and going forward. So you are satisfied with the trade? I believe we can proceed if that’s the case.”
“I already told you that I want it. So, how about I give you the pigeon, and you give me the shield? Of course, I’ll add a Soul Crystal (Medium) to make it fair, since your item is not Light Gold, but Gold. Or do you want more?”
“Though not necessary, I will be honest and admit that I am in dire need of Soul Crystals. My LUK is not like yours, and these treasured crystals are exceedingly rare. Without them, I’d need to resort to buying them, so your offer comes at a fitting time. I accept; the Soul Crystal makes this an even deal.”
I remember his Death Note requiring them to add an additional page. Totally unrelated, of course.
“It’s a deal then...” Alex says, initiating a trade again.
As promised, he trades one Soul Crystal (Medium) and his [Cage of Hattori (Pet)] and receives the desired [Skullflame Shield].
As he equips it, the shield appears on his back, his [Executioner’s Blade R2] sitting under it, while his [Draining Meteor Sword] is sheathed on his left side.
With his new shield, Alex looks outright menacing. A flaming shield, the skull in the middle constantly burning, fire flowing out of its mouth, while the shield casually sits on his back, with spikes that look almost unnaturally sharp. With his intimidating sword lying underneath, Alex looks like a madman, armed to the teeth and downright brutal and scary.
I... didn’t consider this aspect. This does not help to improve my reputation.
Fuck....
Fuck ❤️
Soulmate needs to buy lots of chicken with all the FC we’ll earn tomorrow.
Princess Jewel can’t wait!!
She’ll look so cool! Anyone having to stare at her while she grills fresh chicken, eating right in front of them without sharing a single bite!
“...”
“...”
“For now, there is something more important I have to do; in fact, it’s essentially the essence of life...” Alex muses. “Time to brag to the others and show off, hehe.”
“...”
“...”
“You two make a great team,” Rishi says, smiling softly.
The next day, Alex, Tereza, Menchi, and Benezia head into the Realm, choosing to teleport straight into their guild house at the ground level of the Player Tower.
Many of their guild members have wished them the best of luck, while others even said they’d attend their private auction and see what all the fuss is about.
They make their way through the ground floor, heading towards the first floor above them—the event floor Alex already knows. He visited it before: once for the beginner meeting hosted by the various guilds, and once again for the previous auction.
On his way, Alex notices a few posters. Three fruits are visible at the top, advertising his event. A sniper rifle, a hammer at the center of it, along with numerous other items, Alex recognizes as his rewards from the last mission.
“Damn! That looks quite good... I’d certainly be hooked,” Alex comments, staring at it with a grin.
Seriously, who wouldn’t want to take a look? It’s free!
“Look, they even mention a Logia fruit, but they don’t reveal which one it actually is... this is quite cool. These goblins are pretty smart; they understand marketing tricks, right? You just want to check it out; it’s human nature.” Alex pauses, then keeps going, curious despite himself. “Do you think a bunch of big shots and high-level players will show up?”
“No,” Benezia states with confidence. “They stay hidden on purpose. They’ll merely send a helper. They might chat with their individual proxies and ask what items are being offered, but that’s all. Usually, events such as this are attended by representatives, not by the high-level players themselves.”
She continues without changing her calm tone.
“High-level players fear being analyzed, exposed, or somehow targeted. While active skills are not allowed in the Realm, you can use passive skills to learn a lot about other players. The true elites are people whom most people probably only encounter once and never again. Because they’ll meet them during a mission and swiftly perish, overwhelmed by their superior abilities. Aside from players focusing on crafting and the guild representatives, the highest-level player I’ve seen was a male player at lvl 20, and I’ve been told he uses the maximum amount of time after every mission. The high-level players also do not show off their equipment, so the exact opposite behaviour of what you are currently displaying, Alex. I even expect that there is still a deeper layer to this realm. If I’m correct, even if you looked at them, you’d probably not even recognize them. They keep themselves hidden very well.”
“As long as the Seekers are banned, this event looks quite promising,” Tereza comments happily.
“Of course they aren’t banned,” Benezia replies, looking unamused. “That would be an open provocation, the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do.”
Menchi stays silent, her eyes bloodshot, her skin dry, her hair dishevelled, looking as if she hasn’t slept in days and doesn’t care who notices it.
Why is she even here? Should have stayed in bed instead.
Finally, the group ascends one floor and arrives at their goal. Only the smallest hall has a bright red carpet in front of it—all other halls are closed, giving the floor a quiet, half-dead atmosphere.
Despite that, and the fact that they are quite early, Alex already sees around thirty players lingering nearby, all seemingly interested in the event and trying to act casual about it.
They ignore them and proudly walk ahead towards the small auction hall, which is guarded by a few goblins. The goblins greet them with cheerful smiles and let them pass without hesitation.
When a goblin smiles, you know you just got screwed over. I mean, I am paying them for their service... well, ten percent sounds like a good deal, but still. When a goblin smiles, a puppy dies on the other side of the Realm... or something?
The venue, despite being the smallest one, still easily offers hundreds of seats, even a few private lounges on the second floor.
Nice.
Inside, they don’t see Glimmerwhisk, but they do run into Softspark, directing staff, whose face immediately sours the moment she notices Alex.
“I... I might be awakening something. Whenever she pouts, I kinda want to tease her more...“ Alex confesses silently.
“Hehe, I get what you mean,” Tereza replies, wrapping her arm around him. “We should ask her out to ‘clear the air’ one of these days. Maybe we can eve—”
“Cease this foolishness and focus on the task at hand,” Benezia comments, grabbing both of their necks with her hands, clenching them tightly.
“Yes, Mommy,” Tereza replies with a grin, causing her to let them off and turn her face away in annoyance.
Walking up to Softspark, Alex tries to look and act polite, even if his mouth wants to misbehave. “Hello, Softspark. I hope everything is... going fin— I mean, proceeding as planned?”
Softspark sighs. “Indeed it is. Since this is an official event, I am doing my utmost best to ensure a smooth completion.”
“Do you have a special MC? I forgot his name, but that last goblin was a little cringe, but also hype. Who is MCing this event?” Alex inquires, his polite language instantly disappearing, replaced by his usual way of talking, revealing his excitement.
“Auctionator Snazzik is not available—he’s back on the Goblin Plane of the Realm, with his family. I’ve been told he has sixteen wives, and number two and four are pregnant,” Softspark explains politely.
“Sixteen wives? Damn, that’s insane,” Alex remarks. “I guess that’s where all the confidence comes from... shouldn’t he be out working though, so he can provide for his family? He must have a lot of kids.”
“It’s not my place to comment or gossip, but I’ve heard a rumor that his wives are... not goblins. Apparently, they’re from all races. You know, Glassbutton from accounting even told me that he courted a female ogr—” Softspark chatters, about to lose herself in gossip, before just stopping mid-thought.
“In any case, I’ll be taking over. Though I am new to this role, it’s quite an honor.” She clears her throat, forcing herself back into a professional tone. “Though I have my... differences with you, you have provided an honorable offering to the Union. We are selling what you have gathered with pride. It will be good for Lady Glimmerwhisk and her reputation that one of her little pets is openly showing off his accomplishments.”
Princess Jewel’s accomplishments are legendary. It’s only natural that she gets to show off her superiority. It’s an honor for the Union to be associated with Princess Jewel.
“I don’t think she was talking about Jewel,” Tereza tries to explain, but Alex grabs her shoulder.
“Let’s just go with it,” Alex states. “Yes, Jewel, you get to show off today.”
❤️
“Then please, the auction will begin soon. What is the plan?” Alex asks. “I trust you, but I really depend on a lot of FC coming in. I don’t want to fuck this up. How is this going to proceed?”
“We have guards all over the auction. They have special rights and can even temporarily ban players from the entire floor, even for a lengthy amount of time. Should someone try to disrupt this official event, I can promise you that whoever does so won’t like the immediate and delayed consequences,” Softspark says proudly. “The Union will not be disrespected.”
She pauses, then continues, all business again.
“As for the plan, we start with cheaper items. I can’t sell everything you’ve given me, though.”
“Sorry, but these [Red Stones] are simply beneath the auction. They might be worth something, but on principle we will only sell highly priced Green Quality items and above. We’ll return the [Red Stones] to Lady Benezia—they can be better sold to players focusing on crafting. As for the progression of the auction, the best course of action is to announce the articles in fitting batches that share a common theme, introduce them, and allow the audience to calmly think things over while the tension builds. For example, I intend to start with your collection of precious katanas, adding the [Skillbook: Dual Sword Proficiency]. Though the name says sword, it includes any class of sword.”
“At the same time, your three Rokushiki skillbooks also make up one package.”
“Between them, I’ll auction off the Devil Fruits, of course, leaving the precious [Suna Suna no Mi] for the grand finale.”
“Naturally, Gold Quality items are sold on their own; they deserve that much,” she goes on, sounding almost proud of herself.
Looks like she knows what she’s doing. I can see that she put some thought into it. Fine then, I’ll trust her.
“An appropriate course of action,” Benezia states. “I assume you’ll have people participating who will ensure our items sell for an appropriate value?”
“Yes. Our starting bid is quite low, which is also natural for an auction such as this. We have people who will participate to get at least the fair market rate. You do not need to worry—at worst, you’ll quietly get your items handed back to you, though that prevents you from ever openly selling them. Our reputation is important, after all.”
Sneaky goblins... I like it. They are so openly dishonest, I’m a little impressed.
Finally, Softspark ends her explanation. “After the event, we have organized a little exchange. It’s a common occurrence that people who want to sell items approach players with a lot of FC. After the auction, you will be among those players. If you do not desire this, simply tell us when you want us to officially end the event.”
“No, that is quite okay. I wanna see what people try to sell us... maybe there is something good available,” Alex decides. “With Benezia’s knowledge and Experience and my Toxic gaming experience, we won’t be taken advantage of.”
“Then, with that, let’s begin the auction,” Softspark declares eagerly. “Please take your seat on the side. While you may observe, and I’ll introduce you to the participants, it’s impolite to interfere in any other way.”