[What did he mean I could become a god? He was so sincere… Even father never talked to me like that. I… What am I doing? The deal already fell through anyway. There's no longer a need to hesitate. An organization that can hide a seer from PsyCore and drop hundreds of millions of creds like it's nothing wants to recruit me. This is an opportunity that my family can't match.]
Without holding anything back, Celeste told Raine what she knew, “It started a year ago when uncle learned Soulgen was close to developing a new formula that could become their flagship product.” Celeste paused, hoping Raine would have a juicy thought for her but his focus was so intense there wasn't room for random thoughts.
Softly puffing air from her nose, she continued, “Father and uncle convinced the major shareholders to begin selling their shares. Once their control over the future of Soulgen weakened, uncle pressured the company responsible for security. That's when we got our first look at the product. It was unimpressive to the point father withdrew from the project and paired me with uncle to prove I was worthy of a stake in Ronexzera.”
“Anything else?” Raine wasn't looking at her anymore. He tapped through his AR display, double checking his items listed in the auction.
“Yes. There are four shareholders who have stubbornly held their positions. I didn't realize it at first, but I'm now fairly certain they are working with my uncle. I… don't know what their plan is.”
At least she noticed something on her own. Still, their plan is obvious. How has she not figured it out? If she's going to be this useless, maybe I should let her go through some of that suffering before recruiting her. Well, let's see if she's willing to learn first.
Mel held in a laugh, nibbling on some cheese and Celeste ground her teeth as Raine led her through what should have been obvious, “Why would the remaining major shareholders hold out? Why risk their investment of capital falling into the toilet as others sold?”
[Damn him! how is he managing not to sound condescending asking that? Need to focus. If I can't figure this out, he's going to throw me away. If it were my credits, why would I hold out?]
“Because they think there's more to gain by staying?”
Raine looked away from his display long enough to pin her with a heavy gaze, “Close enough. And why would they think that if the product is underwhelming?”
“If I knew tha—” Her eyes widened and she slammed an open palm on the table, making the plates jump, “That filthy bastard! He tampered with the results!”
Raine nodded, turning back to his display while all the pieces fell into place for Celeste. She went quiet, her lips pulled back in a snarl that revealed straight teeth. Mel side-eyed her, wishing she could read her thoughts as well. A minute passed in pregnant silence, interrupted by a soft chime marking the start of the auction.
A transparent AR avatar of a man wearing a fine suit appeared at the far half of their booth. He bowed low, one hand on the brim of his tall hat, “Good day, my dear patrons. It is I—Mason Mnemonic—that shall oversee today's most auspicious event.”
Below the man's image, hundreds of live chat messages flickered by, each replaced so quickly it was impossible to read them all. Mel leaned forward, squinting through the buzz of her few drinks. Mostly, the patrons were confused why the general manager of all Romaxillions was personally conducting an event most assumed would be insignificant.
[Raine never told me what kind of auction it is. This is so exciting.]
“As many of you are aware, a new craze is sweeping the globe. ZionLine's triple time dilation is already being put to good use, boosting productivity in specific fields. What you may not be aware of, is the in-game rentable office spaces that can be fully customized to function for nearly any intellectual endeavor. It is my personal belief that any business unable to incorporate this time dilation into their models will be reduced to a memory in a matter of years, if not months.”
Mel bit her lip, staring at Raine's broad back. [It's just like he said when we first met! These are some of the wealthiest, most affluent people in the world and they're hearing about it a week later?]
The chat was going crazy. Mel wasn't sure why they even bothered as it was impossible to read.
“Therefore, it is my great honor to announce that every auction from this day forth will contain a segment dedicated to ZionLine. Without further preamble, I present our first item,” with a flourish of his arm, Mason Mnemonic revealed a set of 3D armor pieces floating above a pedestal.
[Superior Scaled Pauldrons: (Common Grey - LVL 10) (DEF +17) (PTC +3) (FIN +3) (PHY +3) (Durability 75/75)]
[Superior Scaled Chestplate: (Common Grey - LVL 10) (DEF +21) (PTC +2) (PHY +5) (Durability 75/75)]
[Superior Scaled Greaves: (Common Grey - LVL 10) (DEF +18) (PTC +5) (FIN +2) (ACU +2) (Durability 75/75)]
Raine leaned back, disappointed. They went with one of mine at the start? This might be less lucrative than I thought.
“Do not be fooled by their common grade. After careful comparisons with hundreds of level ten pieces, it's clear these three host unrivaled defensive statistics. As you were all made aware, bidding will be in-game currency only. Starting at ten gold coins at increments of 1 gold.”
Raine punched in a quick command and Mason cleared his throat, “The seller just informed me they would accept credits at a rate of one hundred thousand to one.”
The chat exploded in a burst of complaints even as the first bids came through. Within five seconds, the set of three items had risen to fifty gold and didn’t show any signs of slowing down.
Mel swallowed hard, leaning toward Celeste to whisper, “Five million credits already?!”
“Shh,” Celeste’s angry response was loud in their booth, her eyes glued to the display. Her fingers dug into the armrests of her chair as she leaned forward. [I was there on day one and didn't realize the value of what was right in front of my nose. So frustrating! This must be why he's been so fixated on my Crimson Nebula character. More and more, it feels like the only thing I've done right recently is listening to this asshole.]
Soon, the chat slowed as the price rose to an eye-popping three hundred gold. Mel's brain short-circuited, unable to do the simple math when Mason counted down, finalizing the sale at exactly three hundred and fifty. Raine glanced at his bank account, brows rising when the full thirty-five million credits were deposited. Romaxillions usually took a steep cut.
Gold is much more valuable than creds, and always will be. Still, the opening rate when the credit shop opens will only be around twenty thousand creds per gold, maxing out around fifty. At double that, I'm getting a great deal. Can't let all my items sell for credits though. Especially the good stuff.
[This isn't even his good stuff?!] Celeste wanted to spit but kept her reaction in check since he had yet to say anything out loud.
“Our next items are basic potions. There will be a total of five bids, each containing fifteen potions for a specific resource. Starting with health, at fifteen gold and fifty silver increments.”
Raine sat out, uninterested in fighting over items that could be purchased for much cheaper at the right vendors. Each set went for close to thirty gold, making him shake his head at how foolish the rich could be. Then again, it only took a hundred thousand guild members, donating a few copper a day to create a significant gold income. At this point, it was highly probable for one or two of the people participating to possess gold in the tens of thousands.
Raine practically wiggled in his seat, impatient to get his own guild up and running. If he continued as a solo player, eventually, his advantages would be overwhelmed by pure, unstoppable financial might.
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Another dozen normal items were quickly bought up before Mason clapped softly, “Shall we begin the true segment? Our next fare is something special, so do pay attention. Reportedly dropped from a nightmare difficulty dungeon, and our first non-common item. Starting at one hundred gold, don't miss out on this prized weapon fit for any commander of a guild's front-line forces.”
[Double-tap Greataxe: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 10) (Attack Power +65) (Attack Speed -.25) (PTC +15) (FNS +10) (ACU +5) (Durability 160/160)]
Heh. I hope Talerra's watching. I bet she's pissed.
[She?]
[Who the fuck is Talerra?!]
Raine didn't notice the set of piercing glowers directed at his back. The bids went crazy, right along with the chat.
“That's so much stronger than a regular lvl 10 L.B. weapon!”
“The differences inside each tier of equipment can be that large?!”
“Has anyone besides Alaric cleared a nightmare dungeon yet?”
“Is he really taking part? I wonder if I know him.”
“That other guy got a world first for clearing one solo. It might not be Alaric.”
The bidding quickly reached an astronomical seven hundred gold, finally stopping at seven seventy-five. Mason rubbed his hands together excitedly, “Congratulations on our last winner. We're moving right along and I do hope you've been prudent up to this point, because a very special guest has listed several premier items that will leave those of you in the know, salivating.
[Recipe (Rapture’s revenge): (Complete Set - Medium Armor - Lustrous Blue - LVL 20)]
“What?! Who would auction something so valuable?”
“My highest members are only thirteen! Who found that, and where?”
“I'll pay two hundred million credits for information on the seller or the drop location!”
After those first few comments, Mel couldn't keep track of the rest. She gave up, watching Raine lean back with his hands behind his head, a pleased whistle on his lips. [No way… this is his too? He made a billion creds selling that engine. Was that just the start? The more I learn, the more I wonder who he is.]
Hmm. Should I do credits on this one too? The is probably the best exchange rate I'm ever going to get and the proceeds from Frontier are going to be gone in a flash soon as I start recruiting.
As the item reached two thousand gold—a tenth of a billion credits—Celeste’s heart stopped. Her throat was dry and shivers raced up her spine. [I was right again. Who cares about Soulgen; he's the real prize.] She glanced at Mel, eyeing her up and down as a startling realization popped into her head. [Powerful martials are rarely monogamous. Is he expecting me to… but I've never even kissed anyone before. Stop! He hasn't had a single thought about that. So why am I? Besides, he has this floozy he's clearly into or he wouldn't have brought her instead of me.] Both relieved and annoyed for some reason, Celeste refocused on the auction as Mason Mnemonic spoke again.
“Calm yourselves, my dear patrons. There's more to come, though this is our only recipe,” his taunt had the desired effect and the bids soared again. Two unknown buyers quickly dissuaded the competition, their back and forth bids reaching three thousand gold in minutes.
Talerra Tafell aka SolemnRiver
- Six thousand kilometers away, Phoenix Clan territory, Romaxilians -
“You can’t win. Give up now and save yourself the embarrassment,” the speaker was by all rights a specimen of human perfection: Tall, powerfully built, a class four martial at a young age with an immaculately sculpted physique, and beyond wealthy, his sway over the opposite gender was unsurpassed.
Talerra’s disgusted frown didn’t budge as she ignored the young man's newest heckle. She focused on her display, watching the prize item of the auction rising in price at a disturbing pace. With their connections, it had been a simple matter to acquire the full list beforehand; it changing drastically minutes before the event began was only a minor inconvenience. On the other hand, the new contents of the list had turned their somewhat cordial booth into a battlefield soaked with killing intent.
Damian Tafell pretended to check his watch’s interface, chuckling darkly, “Would you look at that. Elder Lanill lent me another thousand gold. You really should have prioritized securing at least one elder’s support instead of playing grabass with your ugly girlfriend. Now look at you, about to lose to me before our competition begins. Why are you even pretending to try?”
Freyja—FierceFire—leaned forward to stand and rebuke his insult but Talerra’s hand painfully gripped her knee. She shook her head at her friend and the girl relented with a snarl.
We were given an equal split of the guilds excess funds. If he really did get help from Lanill, I can’t win. The best I can do is make him pay dearly for the recipe. Wait… if he’s really here.
Talerra used her nextgen LinQ to access her ZionLine account, pulling up the few interface options she could manipulate outside the game. Meanwhile, her cousin Damian made another bid with a vicious smirk.
Raine KongRu
Raine wasn’t the least surprised when a message from Talerra appeared with a soft ding. He skimmed it quickly.
“I know you’re taking part in the auction. Lend me a thousand gold and I’ll pay you back twenty percent interest.”
With a happy smile, he punched in a quick response, “No thanks.”
“Twenty five percent.”
Raine’s chuckle was evil. Rubbing his hands, he checked his gold balance before responding, “I can lend you two thousand and I don’t want any interest. You’ll owe me a favor.” Raine wasn’t bothered by lending her all his current gold, as the higher she drove the price on his item, the more he would make in the end. And now that he was about to receive such a huge windfall, it was time to set the stage for what he needed from her all along.
There were a few moments of hesitation before her next message, “... I can’t. My family would crucify me if they knew I accepted an open-ended deal like that.”
“Okay then. A favor owed to me by your personal guild that won’t in any way affect the Phoenix Clan.”
“Deal!”
Raine sent her the contract and she signed it so fast he doubted she read it. Not that he was out to try and swindle a girl with such a dangerous family. With a quick command through his watch, he transferred the gold and in the next instant, the price of his recipe jumped by two thousand. He leaned back again, his grin so wide it hurt his face.
The auction chat crawled to a stop, the last entry a simple, “No way.”
She can’t only be competing against her cousin. Another super guild? Solitary Supremacy maybe? Idiots. Good luck making enough sets of that awful armor to earn back a hundredth of your investment.
Five thousand was apparently their limit, as the price ticked up once more by fifty, then sold. Mason cheered, “Congratulations to our esteemed patron on a victory well fought.”
Quick as lightning, Raine input a lengthy, private message. Mason's brows rose and he grinned mischievously, “The seller of the last item, a Mr. Desolate Broker, would like to extend his thanks to the winner of the last bid. He hopes our good patrons will continue to treat him well with the rest of his lustrous merchandise.”
“Desolate, my ass! Is he making fun of us?!”
“The rest? Is it possible there's better stuff than that recipe?”
The next item appeared, prompting another explosion of messages.
[Immaculate Damascus Short Sword: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 15) (Attack Power +55) (PTC +12) (ACU +9) (PHY +8) (Durability 150/150)]
The sword from the mystic realm sold for a respectable one and a half thousand gold. By that time, the gold he’d lent Talerra had been transferred back to his account.
Clever girl just wanted to screw over her cousin. Didn’t cost her a cred, either. Hmm, what I need from her will only help her in the long run. I better make sure she pays in another way.
Celeste frowned over his shoulder, the last of her wine forgotten. [Is he still thinking about this Talerra? Why is she clever while I’m, ‘stupid little girl?’ Talerra, huh? That name’s familiar. Could it… No, there’s no way he knows someone like that.]
The next weapon, then the spare armor from the lustrous chests reached similar prices. When the weapon after that looked like it would sell for half, Raine allowed credits again. The prices of the following seven Lustrous Blue level fifteen gear reached four thousand each, all paid in credits.
Raine watched the balance in his account race upward by just over one and a half billion credits. Most, if not all of that would be gone soon as starting a fresh guild required extraordinary capital. Not needing to worry about selling any Soulgen stock to make it happen was a huge relief.
Mason started in on a farewell speech which Raine tuned out. He stood, stretched, and reached for his jacket. An alert from his watch populated into a message from Mason Mnemonic.
“Dear, Desolate Broker. Allow me to thank you personally for single-handedly turning our first ZionLine auction into a raving success. Due to your contributions, I've reduced our usual fifteen percent commission to five. I do hope you choose to return. We will, of course, accommodate you accordingly.”
Raine paused to respond, “Thank you for your generosity. I'll be sure to return, though I can't promise the same level of participation.”
“Understandable. Until then, I vow we'll do our utmost to find something worthy of your attention.”
Accessing his ZionLine inventory through his biometric connection to the still off-line server, Raine saw the twelve thousand, six hundred and fifty gold added to his account. The number made his mouth water and he knew exactly what to do with it when he returned.
Well. This was much more lucrative than I expected. If not for Celeste, I wouldn't have even known about the auction. Guess I owe her another free lesson.
Mel held in a long grunt that came out in the form of a groan. She pressed a hand to her stomach, “S-sorry. I think it's the cheese.”
Celeste shot her a seething glance. By the time her eyes snapped back to Raine, she was all bottled sensuality as she licked her lips. [You want to play it that way, eh Mr. Desolate Broker? Every hour we're together, I'll pick apart more of your secrets. We'll see who comes out on top in your little lessons.]
