The capital of Reinhardt was bleeding gold. Inside the grand arches of the Auction House, the air was thick with the desperate energy of men who understood that power was not just found in levels, but in the steel one carried.
Zirkan, the 1st ranked Swordsman and a pillar of the Giant Guild, stood frozen before a terminal. His eyes, usually sharp and predatory, were wide with a disbelief that bordered on shock.
"Seventy-five silver... for a single arrow?" he whispered. His gaze shifted to the Unique-rated listings. "And eight gold for a 'Mythical' Jaffa-Silver Arrow? One hundred percent defense penetration? This is a joke. It has to be a developer's prank."
Across the hall, hidden beneath a deep hood, Vantner of the Tzedakah Guild was aggressively hammering the 'Bid' button, his bald head slick with sweat. He didn't care if it was a prank.
Jishuka had been very clear: If those arrows go to another guild, don't bother coming back to the guild. But as Zirkan scrolled further, the arrows became the least of his concerns. His breath hitched as he opened the item description for the Ideal Armour.
"Level 180 requirements... but the stats are comparable to Level 220 boss drops," Zirkan analyzed, his gamer instincts screaming at him. "And these skills—Persistence and Bisect—they don't consume mana. This isn't just gear; this is a paradigm shift for the Ranker meta."
He checked the seller's ID: SK-5,732,917. Anonymous.
"An Anonymous ID? Smart," Zirkan gritted his teeth. He saw the six Epic sets and four Rare sets, all from the same source. "A single blacksmith produced all of this in a single dump. This isn't a lucky find. This is a gold mine. No... this is a factory."
He immediately opened a high-priority comms line to his Guildmaster, The Baron of Pedro.
Deep within a subterranean vault far from the capital, a massive greatsword Cleaved through the torso of a Trueblood Vampire Baron.
Chris, the 3rd ranked player in the Unified Rankings and leader of the Giant Guild, wiped black ichor from his jaw. He had recently been granted the title of Baron and the monster-infested territory of Pedro; he was under immense pressure to arm his vanguard to secure his borders.
His interface flashed red. It was Zirkan. "Zirkan, I'm in the middle of a raid. This better be—"
"Master, look at the coordinates I just sent," Zirkan's voice was uncharacteristically sharp.
"There is a Blacksmith. An anonymous player. He just dumped a hoard of Unique and Epic gear that outclasses our current production lines by at least two tiers. The Tzedakah Guild is already trying to corner the market."
Chris paused, resting his heavy blade on his shoulder. He opened the linked item descriptions. As he read the stats of the Ideal Longsword, his eyes flared with a cold, calculating greed.
"The attack power is high, but the 'Mana-free' skills are the real prize," Chris muttered. "In a prolonged siege, a warrior who doesn't rely on mana is a god. Zirkan, what's the bid on the Unique set?"
"It just bypassed 500,000 gold, Master. The Silver Knights guild have entered the fray."
"Listen to me," Chris commanded, his voice echoing through the dungeon. "Empty the regional guild bank if you have to. Do not let Peak Sword take that armor. If we can't find the man who made these, we ensure his masterpieces belong to the Giant Guild. I want that blacksmith, Zirkan. Find whoever is tied to that ID!"
Back at the fountain square, the "Mastermind" behind the chaos was currently on page 142 of The History of the Saharan Empire.
[Your Intelligence has risen by 1.]
Arthur stretched his arms, hearing the satisfying pop of his joints. He noticed the crowd around the Auction House entrance getting denser and more frantic. High-level players were sprinting in and out, some looking devastated, others looking manic.
"The market seems lively today," Arthur thought with a small, amused smile.
He had a vague idea that his "practice items" would cause a stir, but he didn't care for the specifics of the bid war. He had already set his eyes on a different horizon. He stood up, adjusted his simple commoner's shirt, and checked his pocket watch.
"Time to head toward the border. I shouldn't keep Jinho waiting."
As Arthur walked toward the city gates, he passed right by Zirkan. The Ranker was frantically shouting into his comms, looking for a "Master Blacksmith," never realizing that the man he was looking for had just brushed past his shoulder, smelling faintly of old paper and woodsmoke.
The journey to the border passed in a blur of rhythmic carriage wheels and the steady flipping of pages.
By the time Arthur reached the rendezvous point at the edge of the Gravelmark Mountains, his Intelligence had climbed significantly, and his system logs were a waterfall of gold-plated notifications.
The bidding war had reached a fever pitch during his transit.
* Ideal Armor Set (Unique): Sold for 610,000 gold to the Giant Guild.
* Ideal Longsword (Unique): Sold for 380,000 gold to a high-ranking solo player.
* Ideal Shield (Unique): Sold for 290,000 gold to the Silver Knights guild.
* Miscellaneous Epic/Rare Items: Totaled 420,000 gold.
[Total Profit: 1,620,000 Gold (After taxes)]
At the current exchange rate, Arthur had effectively become a multimillionaire in the real world overnight by himself. It's not the profit of Kim Industries, it's his own income.
He closed the window with a flick of his wrist, his expression unchanged. To him, this wasn't a fortune; it was a budget for the war he intended to wage against the Mero Company.
The air at the border was thin and crisp, scented with pine and the faint metallic tang of the rocky peaks. Arthur stood at the designated meeting point, his simple clothes contrasting sharply with the rugged, high-level terrain.
"Arthur! Over here!"
A group of heavily armored players stood near a rocky outcrop. Leading them was Jinho, clad in gleaming silver plate armor that reflected the mountain sun.
Beside him were Beomsuk and Taeshik, looking like seasoned veterans with their high-level equipment and battle-scarred shields.
"You actually made it," Jinho said, jogging over to clap Arthur on the shoulder. He paused, blinking as he looked Arthur up and down.
"Wait... Level 172? And you're just wearing... commoner clothes? How did you even survive the trip through the monster zones?"
Arthur just smiled, his sapphire blue eyes calm. "I took a private carriage and kept my head in a book. It was a quiet trip."
The rest of the "old dorm group" looked skeptical. To them, Arthur was a friend who had clearly spent too much time in the "safe zones" and not enough time gearing up.
They had no idea that the very sword hanging from Jinho's waist was an inferior mass-produced blade compared to the "scraps" Arthur had just liquidated in Reinhardt.
"Well, don't worry," Taeshik said, patting a massive shield. "The quest we found is in a hidden cave nearby. The mobs are Level 160, but with us carrying you, you'll hit Level 180 before the week is out. Just stay in the back and don't draw aggro. We don't want you losing EXP in those clothes."
"Understood," Arthur said, his gaze drifting toward the peaks of the Gravelmark Mountains. "Lead the way."
As the party began their ascent, Arthur's Dignity stat continued to exert its subtle, invisible pressure.
Despite his plain shirt and lack of visible weaponry, the high-level NPCs guarding the border pass found themselves stepping aside, their hands going to their chests in a reflexive salute as he passed.
"Did those guards just bow to him?" Beomsuk whispered, glancing back.
"Must be a bug," Jinho muttered, though he couldn't shake the feeling that his old friend seemed... larger than he remembered.
The hunt was about to begin, and the "EXP Bus" was carrying a passenger who could have bought the entire mountain range if he felt like it.