NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: Frenzy
As Xu Feng began to register his item, he was once again hit with the reality of the cruel system.
Even when one wanted to list their items for auction, they needed to put in some money as a guarantee.
Essentially, if one failed to sell the item they listed, then a percentage of the guarantee money would be taken away by the system once the time limit ends.
'As disgusting as this feature was, it does help prevent an overflow of garbage items.' Xu Feng understood the intention behind this structure, but being on the short end of the stick made it somewhat bitter.
Nevertheless, Xu Feng paid the money forward as a "guarantee" and proceeded to begin his listing.
In his possession, there are 94 inferior potions, so Xu Feng planned on auctioning them in batches of 5 potions. For those unwilling to do some math calculations, Xu Feng was going to have 18 batches.
However, he wasn't going to outright auction them off. After all, he needed the players to understand the value and importance of these inferior potions.
Thus, Xu Feng started off by selling the remaining 4 potions individually to test the water and allow the players time to comprehend its value.
[Fire Resistance Potion] x4
Seller: Anonymous User
Starting Bid: 5 copper coins
Buyout Price: 1 silver coin
Time Left: 6 hours
Reading the preview of the interface that would be published, Xu Feng nodded his head and confirmed it.
"Huh? Fire Resistance Potion? How did a player manage to get a potion already?"
"This anonymous user is selling them individually and there are only 4 available. Damn it, I need to get my hands on it."
"This Fire Resistance Potion is exactly what we need for the dungeon, Scorched Caverns. We must get our hands on this potion at all costs!"
"Jeez, luckily I didn't purchase those expensive gears yet. How can those gears be more useful than these potions?"
The moment the Fire Resistance Potion appeared on the Auction Market, every nook and cranny of the region went into a frenzy, each wanting to bid for themselves.
Of course, there are some people who hesitate if they should spend 1 silver coin directly to buy it out. After all, there were 4 of them, and everyone had the same thoughts in their mind: there was no way other players had sufficient funds to bid.
Thus, a bidding war soon erupted, with each bidding increased by 1 copper coin.
Meanwhile, in a somewhat secluded forest, a female voice could be heard shouting in a frantic tone.
"Gentle Wind, big news! There's someone auctioning a Fire Resistance Potion!" Autumn Breeze rushed ahead and stopped just a few meters away from Gentle Wind.
"I just checked the attributes of the Fire Resistance Potions, and it seemed they are the perfect counter to the Scorched Caverns. If we obtain them, then the first clear achievement is guaranteed to be from us, Silver Wind." She said enthusiastically, showing Gentle Wind the Auction Market.
Gentle Wind was astonished, her eyes glued on the intense bidding war for the Fire Resistance Potion.
"The seller just posted a few minutes ago, but the bid price is already at 73 copper coins."
"Yeah, should we also join the bidding and increase it by 5 to scare the others away, Gentle Wind?"
"No need for that," Gentle Wind shook her head and opened her own Auction Market. Afterward, she decisively clicked on the buyout price and purchased it, shocking Autumn Breeze on the sideline.
Simultaneously, in some other locations, multiple players had their mouths wide open, seemingly in shock.
"What the hell? Which rich bastard purchased the buyout price already?"
"God damn it, I should have clicked the buyout price. That bastard didn't play by the rule and just swept it off!"
"Hmph, the next Fire Resistance Potion is opening in 10 seconds. Screw the bidding! I'm going to buy it immediately."
Due to Gentle Wind's antics, almost everyone stopped their naive thoughts of hoping to cheap out on the potion.
None of them dared to risk it again and allow the mysterious buyer to get it.
Even though it was quite costly and could damage their funding, they couldn't care less anymore.
If the same mysterious buyer obtained all 4 of the potions, then wouldn't it mean the first-clear achievement was going to be them?
Such horrific thoughts were enough to unite them all with the same mindset: they wouldn't let anyone else have it but themselves, no matter what.
As everyone else had their fingers ready on the "buyout price" button, back on a street in Riverwood Town, Xu Feng was yawning, seemingly bored by the event.
Truth be told, he was about to fall asleep on the bench to get some rest.
Moving around didn't tire him, but it was the sitting and waiting for the synthesize that truly tired him out. One would rather have something to do and move around than be forced to sit and wait patiently for a result.
Glancing at the Auction Market interface, Xu Feng saw his potion being published again, albeit this time, it was purchased in an instant.
'I underestimated the wealth that these players could gather in such a short time.' He sighed, feeling somewhat defeated. Had he known these players were more decisive, he would have set the buyout price higher.
The bidding war was officially over, and it was the start of whoever had the fastest finger in clicking.
It was just a shame that Xu Feng wouldn't have an idea of who the buyer was. Otherwise, there could be an interesting development with such information in hand.
System: Congratulations to Adventurer Lin Feng. The items you have auctioned in the Auction Market have been sold out. After deduction of the tax, your total comes to 2 silver coins and 70 copper coins.
'The original deposit was returned to me, but the tax was 30 copper coins. Just how black-hearted can this tax be?' He twitched his mouth.
Aside from being an interface available to connect a player with others, the interface didn't offer anything else. Yet they are brazen enough to take a 10% sales tax right from the get-go.
"I want to enjoy this kind of life too," he placed his palm under his chin and lamented.