Chapter 111: Chapter111-Auction House
However, before fully unwinding, John had an idea.
It was midday when John quietly sat up, but he still accidentally woke Elaria, who was in his arms.
Elaria murmured softly and gently wrapped her arms around John\'s neck.
No longer holding the lofty demeanor from their first meeting, she asked in a tender voice, "What time is it?"
"It should be around noon. I plan to go out for a bit. Do you want to come along?"
"Sure, where are you going?"
"I\'m thinking of heading to the auction house. This event has yielded quite a few high-quality items. I want to check them out and upgrade our gear."
"Give me ten more minutes, just ten minutes."
"It\'s okay, I\'ll go by myself. You get some more rest."
John chuckled softly and gave Elaria a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Then he got dressed and left the room.
Before heading to the auction house, John returned to Adela Village.
After retrieving the Eternal Alchemy Bible, he also visited the village chief and Ferris the blacksmith.
The village chief was the same as ever, still vigorous despite his age.
As for Ferris, John left him with a lot of Earth Dragon scales and bones as forging materials, which almost moved Ferris to tears.
At the current pace, John felt that triggering Ferris\'s hidden quest was not too far off.
The thought of that [Mythic tier] quality longsword made John\'s heart race.
[Mythic tier] quality gear!
Even in his past life, John had never obtained a piece of [Mythic tier] equipment.
He had acquired quite a few [Demigod tier] items, but [Demigod tier] was still [Demigod tier].
It\'s important to know that some [Mythic tier] equipment possesses the rule power of deities, making it game-changingly powerful and desirable for anyone!
After bidding farewell to Ferris and the village chief, John decided to take a detour to Calia City to visit his nominal apprentice.
To John\'s surprise, Fara had passed the Alchemist exam and became a genuine Alchemist, not just an amateur. This was a testament to John\'s guidance.
After leaving Fara with some basic alchemical knowledge, John crushed a teleportation scroll and returned to Talcavano, heading towards the auction house.
In a city crowded with players, there was bound to be an auction house.
After all, aside from the unreliable black market, players primarily relied on auction houses for trading.
Although the auction house charged a considerable commission fee, it was reliable—money and goods exchanged hands without the risk of foul play.
John trusted the auction house more than the black market.
Unfortunately, when John arrived at the auction house, he was informed that due to a recent surge in transactions, the auction house had temporarily halted all trades.
They would hold a public auction in two days, where valuable items would be auctioned.
If John had items to auction, they could be included after a valuation.
However, the items John had were all priceless treasures.
The [Hermes Set] and the [Bag of Equivalent Exchange for Painful Memories] might be seen as useless by others and wouldn\'t fetch a high price, but to John, they were invaluable.
Unless he lost his mind, he would never auction these items.
As for John\'s equipment, they were ordinary [Epic] quality items, not worth much.
Left with no choice, John returned to the residence and informed everyone about the auction in two days.
"An auction! I\'ve never been to one before, it should be fun, right?" Exiled Immortal said excitedly, waving his hands. "I definitely want to go!"
"Who knows, there might be [Legendary] quality items up for auction. It\'s unlikely they\'d accept money alone; most likely, it will be a barter. It\'s worth trying our luck."
"Uh... I have a question. How much money do you all have?"
Qing, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone. He continued, "I have only a few thousand silver coins. You all probably have about the same, right?"
"Let me check... I have about ninety thousand," said Lily.
"I have more, around one hundred seventy thousand. I haven\'t spent much."
"Hah! Big sis, I have more than you, a full two hundred thousand!"
Exiled Immortal said proudly, looking every bit like a wealthy miser.
Hearing this, John suddenly laughed.
Two million? Was that a lot?
"John, how much have you saved?"
"Tell you and you might be shocked, I have over twenty million!"
At this, Qing\'s eyes widened in an instant.
"Twenty million? Not... how come?"
He couldn\'t understand, nor could he accept it.
While he was struggling to make ends meet, his pocket change could barely buy a few potions, yet John had quietly accumulated so much?
It wasn\'t that hard to understand, considering John\'s class was the \'printing press\' of Alchemists.
Just the potions he left for Fara to sell earned him over ten million silver coins.
Various qualities of potions were a necessity for all players.
After all, Priests, being the rarest class, were quite expensive, and the healing fees kept getting higher.
Compared to that, HP potions were clearly more cost-effective.
"Twenty million sounds like a lot, but it\'s not really. A single [Epic] quality piece of equipment costs millions. If you don\'t believe me, ask Mac; he\'s definitely loaded."
Noticing the looks John and the others were giving him, old Mac put down his bottle, burped loudly, and laughed, "Not much, just a few hundred million or so."
Qing: "..."
It was only at this moment that Qing realized how huge the wealth gap between them was.
"Actually, if it weren\'t for me buying forging materials everywhere over the years, it would be even more. Ten billion wouldn\'t be enough, but money doesn\'t mean much to me anymore. Precious forging materials can\'t be measured in money. If you need them, take them and use them."
"Is this the ugly face of the rich? You\'re not interested in money, right?"
"Mac, we really need you to provide some funds for this auction. Our savings are far from enough."
"No problem, I\'m a regular at the auction house, and the staff knows me. I\'ll go with you all, and I have a private, exclusive box that can accommodate all of us."
"Then it\'s settled. Through this auction, we\'ll sell off the useless items and gear we\'ve accumulated and update our equipment. After the auction, the dungeon at Mine No. 3 will be ready to open. Once it opens, we\'ll get the first-clear rewards and head to Spartonia."
...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the day of the auction.
Due to the large number of participants, the auction house officials set up several rules to limit entry, primarily to keep out players who were just there for the excitement.
These rules included, but were not limited to, a financial threshold: players with less than twenty million were not allowed to enter and could only sell their items.
The auction house also divided the auction into different tiers based on the participants\' wealth, to sell items of varying values.
This system took multiple factors into consideration.
Of course, these restrictions were meaningless for John and his group.
When old Mac showed up with John and the others, the auction house manager personally came out to greet them and escorted them to old Mac\'s private box.
It was clear that old Mac\'s status in Talcavano City was not just for show.
Almost every NPC in the city, including the city lord, held him in high regard.
Sitting in the exclusive box, overlooking the entire auction house from the top, the feeling of having everything under control was intoxicating for everyone.
However, what surprised John even more was that even with the stringent restrictions in the highest-tier auction, the place was nearly full.
The wealth of these players far exceeded John\'s expectations.