The Achievement Junkie 223 Old Friends in the Crowd

"I'll also offer a lv. 70 peak-tier item!"

"I as well!"

"I'll give you a lv. 75 peak-tier item!"

That shout startled everyone, mainly because it came from the second floor and not the third. All eyes moved in great surprise to see a noble holding a robe.

"This is a lv. 75 dragon's sorcerer's cloak. I feel free to inspect it as you see fit," stated that noble with a big smile.

That noble wasn't the only one who was smiling. In his room, Jack laughed and removed his display items without a word.

"What's wrong, Jack?" asked Argyle, who was more surprised by Jack voluntarily giving up the bid than anything.

The auctioneer also noticed that Jack removed his bid and asked, "Sir, does this mean you rescind your bid instead of increasing your offer?"

"Let my good friend have it."

That's all Jack said, but since it came from the mysterious moneybags, the entire crowd went crazy. Did that mean that noble family knew who the mystery man was?

The Lyre Family head made a strange face, trying to make something of the unexpected development. He was focused on the fact that Jack acted like he was gifting the item, as if he could easily outbid him but instead called him a friend and gave it up.

Beside the Lyre Family Head, Tarnel started laughing and looked up to the room of that mysterious man on the third floor. He couldn't see Jack, nor did he ever see Jack's real face, but he knew enough to recognize that the mystery man was the one who had robbed the tomb and gifted him the same dragon's sorcerer robe they were offering.

More roaring laughter was heard from the group beside the Lyre family as well.

There was a young man laughing his head off and staring up at that room. He wandered over to the Lyre family and threw his arm around Tarnel. With a whisper, he asked, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yeah, no doubt."

"Then Keela must be…" mumbled Flint. Suddenly, he started laughing even harder, but this time he stared at the room containing the Zuran royal family. "Wow… he wasn't kidding about his background…"

Continuing the auction, Everla shrugged. "Very well, we will now send someone to inspect the item."

Just then, the Celestial Crane manager appeared in front of the Lyre family. He held out his hand, taking the robe and scanning over every piece of it. "It is indeed what he says. It qualifies as the highest offer."

"Great, are there any other changes to the bids?" asked Everla, glancing at the third floor and noticing the displays clear up. "Going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

The crowd was in an uproar! They didn't expect a noble of all people to come out with the highest bid thus far, let alone win a mystery item.

Tarnel went up to his father and whispered something in his ear, causing a look of realization to flash across his face.

Laughing, the Lyre family head looked to Jack's room. "Thank you for allowing me to win this noble beast. You can consider yourself a friend of the Lyre family."

That statement was made for a few reasons.

First, it was to show everyone that Jack was just being kind and that this was their first interaction. The Lyre family head didn't want everyone coming at him to ask about the mystery man's identity.

Second, it was to genuinely express gratitude to Jack. Without him, they wouldn't have the robe in the first place, let alone win the beast. And they knew Jack had a lv. 85 staff and spent five minutes alone in the tomb, so they assumed that he had more wealth then they could imagine.

Jack didn't reply but he continued to laugh inside his room.

Keela also laughed, happy to see that both Tarnel and Flint were still doing fine. She had already noticed her father, but she didn't care to pay him any attention.

"Moving on to the next item, it's actually another sixth level beast!" As Everla got the crowd focusing back on the stage, another caged beast was rolled out.

All of the royals, who were confused about a noble family having a lv. 75 item, had no time to think about it as they refocused on the next item.

"This one is mine," stated Hurmot, calming Kaldor ever so slightly. "Hmmm… to think Argyle beat my starting piece as well… I wonder…"

As the old man mumbled to himself and the infuriated Golden Haven owner stewed in thought, a large two-headed black and gray wolf roared inside of its cage.

"This Two-headed Wolf has a descendent bloodline from the mythic Cerebus bloodline. And like the Thunderbird, this one is still young and can be tamed. What will be the first offer?"

"I'll offer a lv. 70 peak--"

"This lv. 75 longsword! Peak-tier!" The booming voice of the Maronn family filled the entire auction hall. 

As he pulled out the longsword, the other nobles all stared enviously at the two noble families that exhibited greater wealth than the royal family over them.

The Zuran king stared curiously at the two families. He wasn't mad because he already got what he had come for, but he wondered how they obtained such valuable treasures. And now that they were publically traded for these beasts, he would look a fool for snatching them away from the nobles. 

It was a tricky thing, but he didn't entertain the thought since he already had too many issues to worry about and would soon need both noble families to support him in the near future.

The same manager inspected the sword and sighed in amazement. "It's exactly what he says."

Everla smiled. "Are there any other bids?" 

No one said a thing. For the same reason they didn't bet against Jack earlier, those with the ability to bid up the offer waited till something more valuable showed up on stage.

"Going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

"YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!! Flint, I've gotten you a new friend, so treat him well!"

"I will father! Thank you!"

The father-son duo shouted there conversation, inciting the jealousy of every prince present.

Again, Argyle was startled to see Jack laughing and reluctant to bid. "Do you really know them?"

"Yeah, I know Flint and Tarnel, those two family heirs," replied Jack. "I met them when I ran into Keela. I'm glad they found a good use for the gifts I left them."

"What?! You're the reason they had those?!"

"Who else would be?" Jack chuckled. "Let's keep watching. I'm curious when you're first item will come up."

While the next item was brought out, Everla shouted extra loud to speak over the loud Maronn family, "On to the next item!"

"This is a lv. 70 holy sword! Said to be blessed by the Sword God, Tyres, this sword has the ability to pierce even peak-tier armours and shields. Who will be the first to--"

"One lv. 80 mid-tier weapon!"

"..."

All went silent, even the two owners on the third floor. Everyone was distracted by the axe that appeared on Jack's display, struggling to believe their eyes.

"... are there any other offers?" Everla struggled to get her question out. When the dead-silence continued, she started the countdown. "G-going once… Going twice… S-sold!"

"...Gong…"

While everyone was still in awe, Jack looked back and asked, "Argyle, was that from you?"

"Yup, and I'm glad you liked it!" laughed Argyle, happy to win the best item by far.

"I'm sorry, but that might've been one of the biggest robberies of the day," chuckled Jack, shutting Argyle up.

"What do you mean?!"

"That's not a holy weapon, it's a mythic-tier sword."

Argyle's happy expression vanished. As a lv. 71 swordsman and a wealthy auction house owner, Argyle had already owned a lv. 70 holy sword, hence his willingness to exchange it at the auction.

But a mythic-tier sword… That alone was priceless in the world, but the fact that it was a lv. 70 sword made Argyle's heart ache more than when Jack revealed the truth about the legendary cloak.

Overhearing the conversation, Eliza and the others burst into laughter. The sudden change from total bliss to heart-wrenching pain on Argyle's face made Eliza shed a tear form laughing too hard.

She knew that this auction was her father's petty way of competing and outsmarting Jack after losing the cloak. Yet now, everything was thrown back in his face by another unfathomable loss on Argyle's part.

"Sorry, Father, maybe next time." Eliza came over and hugged her father as she tried to stop laughing.

"Is that a furnace?"

Unlike everyone else, Jack was still looking at the stage and saw the next item coming up. His appetite to spend wasn't yet satiated, and he planned to go for it all.

Chapter end