Chapter 175 – Philosopher’s Stone
After a while, a full-scale auction began on the stage.
“Now, what you will see this time is a luxury pottery that is said to have come over from the East Continent over the sea! The first one will start at 100,000 gold!”
“130,000!”
“160,000!”
“220 thousand!”
Regardless of age, regardless of nationality, regardless of race.
Rich people from all over the continent engage in a fiery battle of nerves to win the bid they want.
There were some who stuck out their tongues and gave up at the price that endlessly soared above the fair value, but there were also those who couldn’t give up because of their pride and kept raising the price endlessly, only to have tears in their eyes after winning the bid.
‘I have to make sure it doesn’t happen like that.’
Thinking so, I watch the auction going on.
“1.45 million! 1.45 million! Anyone else want to call? 3! 2! 1! Successful bid!”
Right! Right! Right!
First of all, since I was watching from a position one step away from the auction site, there were things I could only see from a third person’s point of view.
That is, the people in the other VIP rooms have not shown any movement so far.
When I asked why, Gabriel, who frequented this place more often than I, shrugged his shoulders and said,
“The items that VIPs like me are aiming for usually come out around the middle of the auction. The Philosopher’s Stone you are aiming for right now comes out almost at the end of the auction, right?”
“Ah. That’s right.”
It was only then that I realized that the items that have been sold so far are relatively cheap among those sold at this auction house.
Since it was my first visit, I didn’t even know it was like that because there was no comparison target.
“Don’t worry, if you wait a bit, everyone will show their faces on the terrace.”
Upon hearing that, Dorothea rubbed her chin in interest.
“I wonder what kind of faces the rich people gathered at this time would do.”
“It may not be surprising.”
“Why?”
“Right now, we’re all normal-looking too.”
When I pointed my finger at the party while saying that, Dorothea frowned.
“I don’t understand the standard of mediocrity you speak of.”
“Ah, I’m talking about external features. You know that all the girls in my family are handsome and pretty.”
“…Huh.”
After habitually flattering her, Dorothea snorted and turned her head away, as if she wasn’t in a bad mood.
Anyway, while she was talking like that, the next auction was starting.
“Hey! Here’s the item on display this time! A card game that everyone enjoys! A super rare card from Tribal Wars! Ancient Wind Magician! That’s the 1st version released 500 years ago!”
“What!!”
The moment I heard the introduction of the auctioneer, I unknowingly kicked out of my seat and stood up.
Dorothea, who was next to her, asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“What, why are you suddenly like this?”
“No, you don’t know that!? That legendary rare card?!”
As a warrior, I raised my voice involuntarily when I heard a remark that I could never ignore.
“Ancient Wind Magician! It’s the first one released in the Ancient Magician series added in the 10th expansion of Tribal War, ‘Ancient Magician’! It’s a card that’s no different from the one who made it to the top in an instant! The sealing rate is so low that when it was first released, I bought a pack worth 1 million gold, but it didn’t come out, so it’s such a rare card that the manufacturer got sued!”
“Oh yeah.”
After hearing my explanation, Dorothea looked at me with a cold expression, then sighed and said,
“Why do you like games that kids play so much?”
“What? Man? You want to fight now?”
“No, that’s okay. What am I going to say to you?”
As Dorothea said, he waved his hand.
Big… Angry
She could say as much as she could to explain the splendor of Brood War, but she knew that no matter what I said, she wouldn’t accept it, so she held back.
Meanwhile, the auction started.
“Now! The first price starts at 500,000 gold!”
Immediately, someone raised their hand and shouted.
“550,000!”
“600,000!”
“800,000!”
Steeply rising prices.
In fact, despite the fact that it is a product only bought by people who buy it because of the limitations of being a card game, there seemed to be a lot of people who wanted to buy it as an investment concept, perhaps because of the awareness of the tribal war.
Who would want to use a card costing hundreds of thousands of gold in a real game?
I’ll use the trial version if I want to use it.
I didn’t really need to buy it because it’s practically nothing more than ornamental and collectible, but as a mage mage deck user, it was a pity to just pass it on.
So I screamed
“One million!”
When I suddenly shouted 1 million, the auction house became agitated.
I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t think there would be a crazy guy who would spend 1 million gold on a piece of paper, or if it was because the person in the VIP room participated in the auction for the first time, but there was no doubt that it was getting a lot of attention.
However, I decided to put a steel plate on my face and become a black cow.
‘I don’t know anything else, but I can’t stand the first edition.’
The current auction card, Ancient Wind Magician, went down in rarity from Special to Ultra instead of increasing the card’s encapsulation rate while reprinting the ‘Ancient Sorcerer’. As a result, the first edition of the special rare version, which was even questionable about its existence, received a huge premium.
That happened about 500 years from now, so considering the historical value accumulated over that time, it is truly at the level of a sacred relic in the card world.
“1 million! 1 million! Who wants to sing more! 3! 2!”
‘Auction! Please bid as it is!’
However, as if my heart was being heard, the sky indifferently raised the highest bid again.
“1.1 million!”
“Yeah! 1.1 million! Only 1.1 million came out!”
Since the auction house has surpassed the initial expected fair price, it is now a full-fledged chicken race.
I gritted my teeth and cried out.
“1.2 million!”
“Yes! 1.2 million! Guest number 31! Are you going to call more?!”
“1.25 million!”
I immediately shouted along.
“1.3 million!”
Then, the person named No. 31, who was fighting 1:1 with me, licked his lips, as if he was choking at the steeply rising price.
‘Give up if it’s expensive.’
I didn’t want to raise the price any more.
No matter how rich I am, I know that it is Eva to pay 1.3 million gold for a single card.
However, the other party must have thought that if he missed this opportunity, he would no longer be able to see this card, so he shouted after much thought.
“1.35 million!”
“1.35 million! The highest price has been renewed again!”
As if it was my turn this time, the auctioneer looked at me as I leaned out from the terrace of the VIP room.
At this point, it’s a battle of pride.
The promise I made earlier was overshadowed, and the 1:1 composition was purely based on capital and capital, so the competitive spirit subtly flared up.
It’s literally ‘Hey, do you have that much money?’
Even though I realized that I was doing something crazy, I ended up shouting.
“1.5 million!”
Then, exclamation mixed with admiration erupted from all sides.
“Is that a vip after all?”
“The money seems to be rotten and overflowing.”
“How serious you are about card games.”
They didn’t seem to have expected that a madman would burn the price of a decent house with a piece of card.
And that madman was me.
To be honest, 1.5 million gold is not even a speck when considering the total amount of my wealth, but I feel like I’ve lost something.
Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you don’t know how much money is wasted.
Anyway, when the price reached 3 times the original price, the number 31, who had been competing with me, shook his head, as if he had finally given up.
“3! 2! 1! A successful bid! A successful bid!”
Only then did I feel the tension melt away, and I let go of my stiff expression and smiled.
“Huh, huh huh huh.”
What is this, how does it feel?
Camilla, who was watching me from behind, shook her head and said.
“Severe card addiction.”
Then Dorothea ate a snack and helped with a word.
“Still, it’s a relief that Tribal War is healthier than other card games.”
“I do, but I’m not investing too much money.”
“Anyway, he has a lot of money. Let’s leave his hobbies free.”
I was deeply moved by Dorothea’s silent support of my hobby after ignoring it earlier, but I didn’t express it outwardly.
This debt, I’ll have to pay it off in bed later.
***
Even after winning the bid for the Ancient Wind Magician, auctions of various items were held.
Among the items were a sword made of meteorite, an invention made by the legendary dwarf Nakamura, and a slave from the beast tribe.
And when the middle of the auction passed, as Gabriel said, big hands in other VIP rooms started to move.
The items VIPs bought were mainly rare or expensive items worth collecting.
Looking at the average successful bid price at the end of the auction, it was definitely a price that could not be purchased with a reasonable amount of money.
Eventually, as the auction neared its end, the item I had been waiting for was finally out.
“The product I’m going to introduce this time is the Philosopher’s Stone! A legendary jewel that only top-notch alchemists can make! Today, I’ll start with 30 million gold!”
30 million gold.
20 times the Ancient Wind Magician I bought earlier.
It’s not an unaffordable price, but it comes out pretty hard from the beginning.
And, among the people in the VIP room, I wonder if I wasn’t the only one aiming for the Philosopher’s Stone, from the terrace of the VIP room across from me a resounding voice came.
“Forty million.”
“Yes! 40 million as soon as we started! 40 million came out!”
As if I was possessed by something, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
That would also be the case, because the person standing on the terrace of the VIP room across from him was Glinda, the Southern Witch, whom he had met just two days earlier.
