The Achievement Junkie 215 Flexing on Kings

"..."

Everyone looked over to Jack's room, half expecting him to make an insane bid right out the gate. But the bid never came.

"Twenty-three thousand gold!"

"Twenty-four thousand gold!"

Once everyone thought Jack wouldn't be bidding, they all continued as normal. It was soon sold for forty-six thousand gold and the next holy item was brought out. 

But again, the crowd was disappointed when Jack didn't make a bid.

Inside his room, Jack was inspecting the secured storage ring. He already knew what items would be sold on the first and second days, so he didn't bother paying attention until something he wanted was up for grabs.

Some people in the room enjoyed drinks while they chatted and others enjoyed watching the auction. They didn't bother Jack, who had his eyes closed and was in a meditative position.

Jack checked the ring and was somewhat happy with his findings.

There were a few swords and items, ranging from lv. 30 to lv. 40 and most of them were holy items. It proved how effective it was to be a cash player from the start, making it easy to grind and later forget about the items you once held dear once you had surpassed them.

Happier with those swords than what would be sold in the auction, Jack pulled the five different lv. 35 holy swords. This instantly caught everyone's attention, especially Argyle, Maynard, and Maura.

"Maura, I'll let you pick one sword first and then Maynard will choose the second, you the third, and Maynard the fourth," explained Jack as he laid the five swords on the table.

Staring at the sudden appearance of holy swords, Maura eyed Jack and smiled wide.

She grabbed a shortsword with felt as light as a feather. Though she wasn't able to put any mana into it due to her level, Maura could tell by the design that the sword was made to be extremely quick. "Thank you, Jack!"

"You're welcome."

Maynard glared at all of the swords and shook his head.

"Jack, I'm sorry but I'd sooner use these lv. 30 katanas then use any of these. As a samurai, I only wield katana," explained Maynard.

"Wow… You really will be perfect being pledged to Jin," sighed Jack. "I'm not going to lie, I thought you might say that. I'll still get you katanas, but I thought I should at least offer them."

"In that case, Maura, go ahead and choose two more. That way, you can have more options to choose from when up against varying opponents."

"O-okay!"

Without a second thought, Maura grabbed the second shortsword. It was totally different from the other one and felt extra heavy in her hands, but she did prefer shortswords to other styles of blades.

Plus, it gave her the thought of creating her own sword style. By using both an ultralight shortsword and an extra heavy shortsword, she would be able to alternate between lightning-fast strikes and heavy strikes with enough practice.

For the third sword, she chose the one she felt blended best with her water type energy. It was a short saber, but it would allow her to add slashing type attacks to her arsenal, though it would be much more obvious than the hidden light-heavy style she wanted to create.

"Thank you, Jack!"

Maura jumped for joy and clung to Jack in glee. She quickly pecked him on the cheek before he coughed and avoided showing much public affection.

"Alright, then let's get back to the auction. The swords I would've bought for you should be next," mentioned Jack, trying to calm Maura down.

They all refocused and waited a few minutes for the next trolly to be brought on stage.

Now everyone could see two sheathed shortswords, a nearly identical pair. They were very ornate, showing more intricacies than any of the swords that Jack just offered them.

"These are from the Holy War and were used by heroes in battle to fight the demons of Skaryn," explained the auctioneer. "With them, the wielder will have strikes at the speed of light to maneuver around any defense. As they should be sold together, we'll start the bidding at forty thousand gold!"

"Forty thousand gold!"

"Forty-five thousand gold!"

"Fifty thousand gold!"

The bid rose steadily as all the royals argued over it. After almost everyone on the third floor had made a bid, the price finally stopped eighty-two thousand gold.

"Eighty-two thousand gold going once! Going twice…"

Staring at Jack's room, the auctioneer and the crowd waited for him to make a bid and run away with the spectacular item. However, Jack still made no bids.

"Sold!"

"Gong!"

Another half an hour passed before the next trolley carried in another set of swords, but their appearance was much simpler.

"Though these katanas seem ordinary with their plain black handles, I can assure you that they are anything but ordinary," stated the beautiful woman on stage. "These black katana are actually blessed by Choron, the Shinobi God who follows Skaryn."

Looks of awe filled the crowd as they reevaluated the katanas in front of them.

The auctioneer continued, "These katanas carry a shadowy, illusory aura, making it difficult for opponents to read your attacks. As a set, their starting price is fifty thousand gold!"

"Fifty--"

"One hundred thousand gold!"

"..."

Now coming out of silence, Jack stunned the crowd with his aggressive betting. Most royals all stared at that booth, wondering how a supposed young man could afford everything he was purchasing. It was only the first day, yet he had spent a massive fortune like it was nothing at all.

"One hundred and five thousand gold!" a challenging bid was called out.

Waiting a moment, the auctioneer yelled, "One hundred and five thousand going once! Going--"

"Wait!" shouted Jack. "Would you consider a trade?"

"That depends on what you're offering, but we definitely would accept a worth trade." The woman nodded, happy to finally get their first trade offer.

During the auctions, traded goods were always best. Auction houses would always have money, but getting valuable goods as bets almost always paid off in the long run for any auction house.

"I'll give you two lv. 45 peak-tier weapons, a spear and shield of the same set."

Suddenly, Jack's wall displayed the items he mentioned, startling the crowd and showing off the fine design of the lv. 45 items.

The woman looked into the audience to see three people, the head managers of the three auction houses, wondering if they would agree. But before she got her answer, another offer was made.

"I'll also offer two peak-tier lv. 45 weapons and I'll throw in twenty thousand gold!"

All three managers nodded, agreeing to the new offer.

"We shall accept your offer as the current leading bid. Going once! Going twice--"

"Or…" Jack yelled, stealing the spotlight again. "Or would you prefer a lv. 60 peak-tier weapon?"

The woman instantly looked to see the three smiling managers. It was a clear winner and on obvious choice. "We shall graciously accept your offer. Going once! Going twice… S--"

"WAIT!!" shouted the same person who previously countered Jack.

Up on the third floor, that royal was furious. "I, the King of Fulken, would like to ask the gentlemen with the current high bid to withdraw his bid!"

While everyone was baffled by the king's statement, he continued, "You are no king and you have yet to admit who you really are, so I can only assume that you have no background and were lucky to gain some items and gold. But I will declare you as a friend of Fulken and give you a title in my kingdom if you will rescind your offer. What do you say?"

"..."

Silence filled the room. All eyes were focused on Jack's room, which still showed a lv. 60 spear. Then, another image appeared on the screen beside the spear, and a third image as well. The entire crowd had their mouths agape.

"I don't come from a real background, huh?" mocked Jack. "In that case, explain how I can also afford to add both of the peak-tier lv. 45 items to the bid just because I'm feeling generous?"

"Sir, does that mean--"

"Yes, my new bid is the peak-tier lv. 60 spear, along with the peak-tier lv. 45 two-piece set I showed earlier. I'll give you all three items for those two swords."

"Sold!"

There was no pause or countdown. The auctioneer immediately accepted the offer, not daring to miss such a generous offer.

While everyone belonging to the auction houses stared at Jack's room with awe and praise, the Fulken King was bright red and livid.

Not only was he completely rejected, but he was also walked all over and made a laughing stock.

The other kings and queens all looked at Jack's room differently now. 

They knew he wasn't to be underestimated or belittled. Otherwise, he might humiliate his competitors, even if he spent far more than any of them would willingly give. Kings weren't supposed to have less wealth than non-royalty, yet this mysterious man proved he could out flaunt them all.

Chapter end