HC:Pacifist | Ch. 40 - Cat Out of the Bag

As soon as Mel exited the cave, her eyes widened. How were so many people here already? The arrival of high-level players around her was causing a commotion among all the beginners. They were all entranced by the shiny effects of their high-end equipment. 

She could see ColdHand from the Hydra guild and BlueFire from the Ogre guild. The cat was out of the bag. She knew that rushing in here like this would draw some attention from beginners, but she forgot to consider the guild parties that farmed this dungeon for [Miniaturizing Potions]. She suspected they were responsible for so many high leveled players being here. They must have contacted the higher-ups in their guilds, informing them of her presence here. Mel clicked her tongue. How could she have been so careless? It wouldn't take long for them to join the dots if they already hadn't.

She saw BlueFire coming her way to try to pry information from her. She was terrified of him. This dangerous man could learn almost as much from someone's silence as from their words. She hurriedly activated the skill that made Goldie grow bigger, and jumping on it, she flew away toward Greensburg before BlueFire could even say hello.

When she had called her guild leader, she had told him that the implications of her discovery- Although it couldn't yet be confirmed if there was any connection between the hidden room in the Rat's Cave and the appearance of [Power Truffles], it was too much of a coincidence. 

If they could secure a steady supply of [Power Truffles] and give one each to their core team, the strength of the Krakens would skyrocket. The leader of the Krakens had already given the order to buy out all [Miniaturizing Potions] on sale.

*

"BlueFire, any news?"

"You were right to send me here. There was a hidden room inside the Rat's Cave. It requires drinking [Miniaturizing Potions] to get in. I had to use the only one I had."

"What's inside?" There was a slight tremble in Ogre's voice.

"A very high-end NPC. Question marks are the only thing I get when I use my observation skills. There are four guards around it. They signal they will attack if I come closer to their aggro zone. I didn't approach."

"What do you make of this, BlueFire? What should we do?"

"My suggestion is to up the farming operation here. Double it, at the very least. Triple it if you can. We must come here a lot to get some reputation with these NPCs. Perhaps we have to be friendly with them before we can interact. Or maybe there's a quest line we didn't know about."

"Why not just buy out the stock?" Even as Ogre suggested, he had already sent an order to all his staff to contact their merchants, who stood on guard in the auction houses for such eventualities.

"You can try, but I think we're too late."

The frown on Ogre's forehead and the deep sigh confirmed BlueFire's prophecy. Before this incident, [Miniaturizing Potions] for sale in auction houses were already as rare as unicorns. Any potions for sale were sold for no less than ninety gold. Ninety gold for a consumable that only lasted thirty minutes was highly overpriced. Ogre had just gotten word that all over the world of AstroTerra, representatives of the Krakens had stormed the auction houses and bought out any [Miniaturizing Potions]. When their spy in the Kraken guild noticed it, it was too late.

"Do you think there's a quest with this NPC that awards [Power Truffles]? Or is there a secret shop that those NPCs run?"

"If there is such a quest, and the seller got a completion rate of S or above in it..." silence hung in the air as the gears turned in BlueFire's head, "It isn't too farfetched that he was awarded two of the prized consumables." Ogre took a few moments to ponder their next move.

"Those developers... They keep leaving us treasures in areas we have already left behind. I'll talk to HR and have them start hiring more members. We are stretched too thin. We can't afford to have a presence across all game levels as we stand right now.

BlueFire, talk to our hunting party there and tell them to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. They know this map better than any of us. Tell them to think of any quests we might have missed. Then, please go to Greensburg. Stick around until the auction ends. Try to see if anything interesting happens. I will send one of our couriers to give you some extra gold, just in case."

"Sure thing, boss." Ogre clicked the red button that ended the call.

Throughout the great guilds of AstroTerra, similar conversations took place, and the influx of players herding toward Greensburg increased. Many guilds were already dreaming of starting a [Power Truffle] production line.

*

As Mel's golden hawk landed on the central square she had left a few hours earlier, she noticed that it was harder to find a space near the Auction House to land on. She eventually did so and took a moment to study her surroundings. A few faces were familiar, from fights between guilds or disputes over wild bosses. 

However, most players crowding around the auction house were solo or regular players who dreamed of getting a [Power Truffle] to bolster their stats. They must have known that it was neigh impossible for them to get it, but there was a buzz of excitement in the air. Probably many had gathered around to watch the show.

Mel looked at the system clock. She had made it with fifteen minutes to spare. She went to take her place inside the auction house and, out of curiosity, checked the auction house for [Miniaturizing Potions]. They were sold out. The record for the highest purchase price of the item had been beaten too. One of the potions had been sold for 135 gold. Kraken had done an excellent job.

As the hours kept ticking, the time for the auction drew closer. Mel mentally reviewed how she would go about bidding. The rules for this auction were: a minimum bid increase of 100 gold, and the item would be sold if there were no new bids for fifteen seconds. It would be a bloodbath. 

She checked how much gold she had. The guild had given her 100,000 gold. Good grief. Money was never enough in this game. Even an item one could gain from a level 10 boss could go as high as several thousand gold. She was sure she wouldn't have to spend all this gold on the [Power Truffles]. It was only worth buying up to a specific price. After that, it was better to invest one's resources in getting a better skill or a piece of armor that granted equivalent effects.

As the seconds ticked away, the bids began. In seconds, the price for the two truffles immediately skyrocketed to 10,000 gold. The players with more impressive wallets wanted to immediately remove small fish from the equation. All around her, frustrated voices were complaining about capitalism and a guild-ridden game.

After five minutes, the price had reached 18k gold. She bid 19k gold. Someone else countered with 21k gold. They were trying to show her they meant business. By then, only a few players were still participating in the auction. Others were waiting to see what the selling price of the [Power Truffle] would be. After all, it was the first time this item had ever been sold at an auction house. 

By looking at the record price, everyone could tell how much it would be sold for. 25k gold, 26k gold, 27.5k gold, 28.3k gold; the bidding slowed down. The increments were being done in the hundreds and not in the thousands. It was time for her to try out her strategy. 35k gold! The bidding stopped. She kept her fingers crossed. She wasn't willing to spend more than this on this item.

Congratulations! You've won the auction. 2x [Power Truffles] were transferred to your inventory!

She tried not to break into the song and made sure she joined the choir around her of exasperated sounds and frustration. She didn't want anyone to think the Krakens had won this transaction. There were always those who tried to discern the winner from their facial expressions. 

She checked the items out and, without hesitation, used one [Power Truffle] on herself and the other on Goldie. Their stats instantly skyrocketed. They now had 20 more strength. More importantly, she unlocked one more stat bonus, strengthening her significantly.

She didn't leave the auction house, though. She went to the market window and saw what she feared. Another [Power Truffle] was going to be sold in one hour. The seller had made it so that this auction would only start after the previous one had ended. 

Many happy grunts were heard around her. Players could still have a chance of gaining the items. Other, more level-headed players had their brows creased, Mel included. It was as she feared. A player has found a way to get their hands on [Power Truffles]. She bit her lips. 

How wonderful it would be if she monopolized such a prized item! Someone out there had their life on the fast track to success. With nothing left to do, she started window shopping. As she looked at other items that had just been put on sale, her jaw dropped.

"Kraken!"

"Mel, what's up? Did you get the truffles?"

"Yes, but that's not what I'm calling you about. Someone is selling a batch of five [Miniaturizing Potions] in Greensburg?!"

"What? Five?" Mel saw her guild leader bite his fingernails, as he usually did when he was nervous. "What's the listing price?"

"Open bid. The auction starts in ten minutes. The minimum amount is..." her shoulders sank, "1k gold."

"Darn it. Someone is out to milk us dry. We have no choice. Go in. Up to 2k gold is fine."

"OK, boss."

2k was nowhere near the selling price. Someone ended up buying the item for 3k gold. As soon as the batch had been sold, another batch showed up for sale. This time it was a batch of four [Miniaturizing Potions]. The most frustrating thing was that it, too, had been set for a minimum selling price of 1k gold. This time it was sold for 2.8k gold. Yet another batch. This time, it was a batch of six. Then one of two, and finally, three more potions being sold individually. Then it stopped.

Someone had just sold twenty [Miniaturizing Potions]. This couldn't be a coincidence. Could this be a stunt being played by one of the guilds? It wasn't impossible. 

One of the guilds finds the secret room. Then, they gather as many [Power Truffles] and [Miniaturizing Potions] as possible. They spread out a rumor and jack up the price. What guild was in dire need of cash? She emailed her suspicions to her guild leader. She then focused. It was time to try to win the other [Power Truffles] for the guild.

*

Among the crowd of players at the auction house were the three friends Walter, Will, and Wesley. (Chapter 11). After they cleared the beginner area, they settled in Greensburg. They had spent the day hunting wolves and had come to check out what the big fuss was about.

"Walter, check out the spear that dude has equipped. You have to get one like those!"

"Guys, if all three of us mortgaged our house, sold our kidneys, traded real money for in-game gold, and offered the spear to Walter, he would still have to play a few decades before he had the stats to equip it," teased Wesley. Walter's eyes were unfocused. He must have been in the forums, thought Wesley.

"Will, Wes, I was just checking the forums. One Power Truffle has just been sold for 21k gold."

"Uuf! That's a lot of dough."

"There's one more for sale. It's the fifth in a row. Everyone's going crazy about this. Someone has just become rich overnight."

"Let's check it out. We must also put these wolf pelts and wolf meat for sale."

They saw some high-end players participating in a shouting contest as they entered the auction house. Ignoring them, they went to the side and sat. All of them opened their trade windows.

"Oh, man. Look at it. It's a great item. The auction is going to start in twenty minutes. Shall we stick around and see what happens?" Tried Wilson. Wes ignored him.

"I have already put our loot for sale." As Wes was good with accounting and had a good head for money, he was in charge of the financials of their characters. They just left it all to him.

"Oh wow! Our drops have already been sold," announced Wes, happily. "With all these people window shopping, the market is hot today."

"Sweet!" chimed in Will.

"Good job, Wes!"

"There's also a bunch of interesting items up for sale." Wes scrolled down the window and found something that made him give an appreciative whistle. "Guys, do you already have any accessories?"

"I have a tin earring," said Will.

"I don't have anything yet," Walter said.

"There's someone here selling accessories from the Raven's Nest dungeon. They are better than nothing and much cheaper than the next best thing. What do you say we buy them to complete our slots?"

"We trust you, Wes. Just go for it."

Wes selected [Crow Feather Necklaces] and [Crow Feather Earrings] for the group.

Ch. 39 - Leak

INDEX

Ch. 41 - Back Scratching