The Achievement Junkie

"Fifteen thousand--

"Sixteen thousand gold!"

"Twenty thousand--"

"Twenty-one thousand gold!"

Tyrel's aggressive counters kept the crowd in suspense. Someone dared counter that person and what would happen in the end? They were excited to see such a bidding war take place.

"Twenty-five--"

"Twenty-six thousand gold!"

"Your highness, if you're not careful then we won't have enough for the later items. Please, be prudent with your spending," warned the royal advisor.

"Don't worry, I'm just trying to force him to dry out his stash. Once he's out, then everyone will thank us and we'll get what we need," answered Tyrel, paying the old man little attention.

"Thirty thousand gold!"

"Thirty-one thousand gold!"

"..."

"Thirty-one thousand gold going once!"

"Thirty-five thousand gold!"

When Jack momentarily hesitated to raise the bid, Tyrel smiled evilly. If that's the case, the impulsive Jack should almost be at his limit. "Thirty-six thousand gold!"

"Thirty-six thousand gold going once! Going twice…"

As the long pause came, Tyrel looked proud and felt accomplished. He had shown everyone that he wasn't someone that could be toyed with and forced the auction's biggest spender to waste his money. Now, he should be able to get what he wanted without worry.

"Sold!"

"Gong!"

"WHAT?!" Tyrel shouted at the top of his lungs and stared back at the stage in disbelief.

"Congratulations, you've secured the last bestial ring of this batch, young prince. Now we'll move on to a few more items before bringing out the next batch of bestial rings."

While some people on the first floor were excited to see the lv. 35 items start to arrive, most everyone was staring at the angry prince and a particular room on the third floor.

Furious, Prince Tyrel glared at that private room on the third floor. He was supposed to only spend twenty thousand on a bestial ring and a maximum of twenty-five thousand. Now, thanks to whoever was inside that room, he had spent thirty-six thousand gold, destroying his bidding budget. How was he going to afford the final items?!

"I'm Tyrel, prince of the Zuran Empire! Who are you to dare belittle and trick me?!"

"Your highness!" This time the royal advisor yelled back but finished with his normal voice. "There are times where you must prove your bearing and keep calm. Don't make a fool of yourself in front of the other nations."

"You chose to make the bid, not me. You wanted to compete, you won. Don't blame me for your victory."

Jack's response caused the others on the second and third floors to swallow some saliva. That mysterious buyer had used the Zuran prince as an example of what would happen if you try and compete. This was a lesson that everyone would remember.

Hearing that, both Tyrel and the royal advisor were grinding their teeth. The man dared to call the prince's heavy spending a victory? He was obviously making fun of the prince.

"Keep calm, your highness. There's nothing we can do about it anymore."

"We should try to--"

"No more! You won't be allowed to compete with him again. You got the item you wanted and now I'll handle the rest of the bids." The Zuran prince may have been the face of that party, but why would the Zuran Empire leave it all to him without having sent someone to handle things in emergencies?

The royal advisor was sent for that reason and he would now take control of all further business. Sadly for the prince, that meant he had proved himself too irresponsible and failed the test of this journey he was sent on.

People on both the second and first floors were winning various items and time passed at a decent pace. Eventually, the last batch of bestial rings appeared.

"Ten thousand gold to start off the bids. Who will it be--"

"Ten thousand gold!"

"..."

Jack instantly made the first bid before Eliza could finish speaking. Normally she would take offense, but this time it made her happy.

No one dared offend Jack this time. After what happened to the Zuran prince, they all let Jack take the first ring and would try for the second and third.

"Ten thousand gold going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

With six bestial rings claimed and purchased, Jack felt satisfied with the Fat Goose Auction House. He had found some of the most important items he needed and at a good price and formed a great relationship for future business. Plus, he was able to mess with Prince Tyrel, and that was well worth his spending.

"As for the next bestial ring, we'll start it off with ten thousand gold again."

"..."

When Jack didn't make a bid, the other's on the third floor heaved a sigh of relief. They understood that Jack was done chasing the bestial rings.

"Ten thousand gold!"

"Thirteen thousand gold!"

The bids raced on and someone soon reached twenty-two thousand gold. Everyone stared at that private room on the third floor, wanting to know what would happen.

"Twenty-two thousand gold going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

As the gong sounded, the entire crowd was happy. That crazy money-bags had finally stopped taking the bestial rings!

The last bestial ring was purchased for twenty-six thousand gold, most likely from someone that was sent for that item specifically. Why else would he offer so much? Not everyone was as rich as Jack.

"Moving on, we'll now bring out the lv. 40 items and give you a range of options to choose from. They're all peak-tier, so don't think you'll get them for too cheap. This spear will be first and the bidding will start at ten thousand gold."

Maura and Jack watched on, not caring for any peak-tier equipment. What he wanted to know was what was special about the next batch of bestial rings? Also, what would be the final item that had attracted so many influential people?

The spear sold for sixteen thousand gold and the bids continued for some time. It was already evening by the time all lv. 40 items were sold and the next special items were wheeled out.

"These are the special bestial rings I mentioned earlier. These are peak-tier lv. 40 rings which the Fat Goose commissioned a long time ago. Now, they'll finally be sold here. The bidding will start at twenty thousand gold!"

Eliza's announcement struck the crowd dumb. Not only were they lv. 40 but the bidding started at twenty thousand gold?

Special items would almost always sell for at least twice their starting price, if not more. They all knew these three rings would be the most expensive items yet. It would be a battle between the third floor.

"Twenty thousand gold!" One private room started the bid causally.

"Twenty-two thousand!"

"Twenty-five thousand!"

"Forty thousand gold!"

Just when people were wondering if the money-bags on the third floor had reached his limit, Jack raised the price by fifteen thousand in a single shot. He wanted everyone to know that he wanted the first ring.

"Forty thousand gold going once! Going twice…"

"Wait!" Another young voice rang out from a private room. "I don't have more gold, I can offer a lv. 45 peak-tier sword. Would that be enough?"

Eliza chuckled, "We'll have to check it out but it may--"

"I'll offer a lv. 50 peak-tier shield."

That calm, confident voice cut-off Eliza and startled the young man who had offered the sword.

A moment passed without a response before Eliza replied, "A lv. 50 peak-tier shield will definitely work, so no inspection will be needed. Young master, do you have anything to counter?"

"I have nothing to beat such a great deal. I'll wait for the next ring," stated that young man. "Also, I hope that his excellency can forgive the Aazoon Kingdom for raising the price. If you wish, please come and visit us, it would be an honor."

With his invitation on the table, that young man stopped talking and let the auction continue.

Everyone was startled to hear the young man's final words. Even more surprising, the young man had offered that mysterious buyer to visit the Aazoon Kingdom as a guest of honor. Only a prince could make such an invitation.

"Thank you." That was all Jack said in reply, not wanting to hold up the auction or accept in the open.

That Aazoon prince said nothing more but he smiled. He found Jack amusing and could tell that whoever was bidding in that booth was young like himself. And although he hadn't accepted the invitation, he hadn't denied it either. It seemed like that person just didn't want other's to know much about him.

Happier than she thought would be possible, Eliza quickly moved on. "If there are no other counters, then the Fat Goose will accept the offer of a lv. 50 peak-tier shield in return for the lv. 40 bestial ring."

It wasn't that there was no one else with lv. 50 items, but most of them weren't peak-tier. And if they had peak-tier lv. 50 items, who would willingly part with it?

In Modern Kartonia, peak-tier lv. 50 items were extremely rare because very few blacksmiths could make them. Typically, a peak-tier lv. 50 item was priced for over sixty thousand gold. For that reason, the Aazoon prince had apologized and wished that Jack would forgive them.