The Achievement Junkie

As for the crowd, they were in awe of Jack's wealth. It was common for the great auctions to climax with a lv. 50 peak-tier item, yet they saw someone they presumed to be a young man offer such an item for a lv. 40 ring. That was truly showing off one's wealth.

The other two rings were both traded away. One went to that Aazoon prince for the lv. 45 sword. The other was traded for a complete set of lv. 40 armor.

Eliza quickly moved on to the lv. 45 items but the crowd wasn't as shocked as they normally would be. How could they be shocked after hearing a young man trade a lv. 50 peak-tier shield like it was nothing?

Those lv. 45 items came and went, leaving them ready for the next special item.

A dazzling lance was brought forward, captivating the audience. Its aura was radiant and holy as if it were created by the gods.

"This is lv. 45 lance is a holy item from our archives at the Fat Boar. Blessed by Halmut himself, it allows its user to wield light itself and cut through anyone who dares to get in your way. This item will begin at thirty-five thousand gold."

"Thirty-five thousand gold!"

"Forty thousand--"

Fifty thousand gold!"

The entire second and third floors started to compete, easily doubling the price.

It wasn't hard for the auction's regulars to figure out that the holy lance was supposed to be the final item up for grabs. From the noble's reactions, it was easy to see. What was surprising was that it was brought out one round too early. Since there was still one last round of bids for mid-tier and high-tier lv. 50 items, there should also be one last special item up for grabs.

Did the auction house change to selling roster because of that mysterious young man's earlier trade? Some of the wiser men in the room started to think that.

Those in running the Fat Goose Auction House had their own reasons for changing the selling roster. Though it would appear less significant after Jack's incredible trade, what the managers wanted to know was if Jack might be able to afford something even more expensive.

When Jack said nothing and showed no interest in the holy item, it only confirmed Eliza's thoughts.

She had spoken with the managers and they guessed that Jack would only be enticed by special or strange items and nothing else. They had considered this because of his purchases and by the fact that he ignored every normal item they had offered. Their conclusion was that they wanted to test Jack and his spending limits with an item that would typically never be sold outside of the yearly auction.

If they failed to find a buyer, they didn't mind because they had earned a fortune already thanks to either Jack buying things or Jack causing others to overspend. And if they guessed correctly that Jack would go after such an item, they would be thrilled to have found such an amazing patron out of thin air.

As an auction house, they would naturally collect extremely valuable items, some of which very few people could ever wish to afford. The managers wanted to know if Jack was one of those few people.

"Seventy-one thousand gold!"

The bids started to slow down. As Eliza started the countdown, many looked up to that particular room on the third floor. Would he bid again? Many hoped he would.

"Seventy-one thousand gold going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

Everyone on the third and second floors was amazed that the mysterious young man hadn't said a word about the holy item. Other than Jack, almost every person on the second and third floors had made a bid.

The only other group that didn't was the Zuran Empire. Before they knew it, the price had passed their limit.

Originally, they had set aside seventy-five thousand gold to purchase that holy item. With it, they planned to lead the next war against Reinolt and challenge their mysterious expert. However, they were cut short thanks to the prince's antics and had no chance to win the auction.

"Moving along, we'll bring out this week's mid-tier and high-tier lv. 50 items. Mid-tier items will start at twenty thousand gold and high-tier will start at twenty-five thousand gold. First, this helmet!"

Keeping things moving, Eliza continued to sell the regular items with a feeling of suspense in her heart. She knew that the managers would select one of the Fat Gooses rarest items to sell at the climax, but she had no clue what it would be. The managers didn't have much time to find an item that might appeal to Jack's strange taste for merchandise. Not wanting to wait for long, Eliza rushed the rest of the auction.

As the night was getting late, the final high-tier lv. 50 items were sold off. To crowd's surprise, that mysterious voice hadn't spoken up in a long time.

All those people in the second and third floor were anxious to see what the auction's final item would be. The supposed final item they all came to bid for was already sold and they had no clue what would happen next.

The worst thing was that the previous winner of the holy item wouldn't be able to bid on what was about to arrive. He won what he had wanted, but he also felt like he lost because he had no money left to compete.

"I know what you're all thinking. What could top the holy lance that we just sold off last round? Well, not even I know, not until this curtain disappears!"

On cue, the curtain slowly opened and revealed seemingly-regular black cloak inside of a well-adorned glass case.

While everyone was looking at it in confusion, Jack's heart was pounding as he stood up and stared at the cloak.

"Most of you are probably wondering why we are trying to sell a common cloak. Let me tell you all that this cloak is worth more than everything mentioned here today," explained Eliza, startling the crowd further.

"The Fat Goose has held onto this cloak for more than a century. All we know is that it has the ability to change the wearer's appearance at will and it can work for anyone of any level. Yes, I said for anyone of any level. This is a true treasure, so we are only offering it in trade for another item or set of items we feel would be sufficient. The bids will begin in one minute, that way you can double-check what it is you have to offer."

The entire main auction hall was silent, other than the sounds of heavy breathing.

Those wealthy nobles above were staring greedily at the cloak. Even if they had to give up everything they had on them, they had to try and get that item.

Jack was thinking the exact same thing. But unlike the nobles, Jack knew what that item was and had even used it countless times in-game. During his antics to became the achievement junkie, that cloak was his most used item during his entire time playing "A Hero's Tale."

Named "Sterfen's Cloak," the item was exactly what its name described. It was created by Sterfen himself and only available during events and special bosses.

One minute passed by as if it were a second and the nobles made their first offers and they were all equal to Jack's previous offer for the ring, a lv. 50 peak-tier item.

"We, the Aazoon Kingdom offer a peak-tier lv. 50 war axe."

"We, the Zuran Empire offer a peak-tier lv. 50 katana."

"We, the Maltor Kingdom offer a peak-tier lv. 50 flame sword."

"We, the Stladen Kingdom offer a peak-tier lv. 50 ivory bow."

"We, the Fulken Kingdom offer a peak-tier lv. 50 long shield."

"We, the Sandros Kingdom offer a peak-tier lv. 50 speed boots."

"We, the Barzdol Kingdom offer a peak-tier lv. 50 war hammer."

The entire audience was in awe. A peak-tier lv. 50 shield was offered in trade earlier and astonished everyone. Now, they were fully desensitized to all of the previous bids.

With seven competing bids of peak-tier lv. 50 items from seven nearby countries, only the yearly auction could boast of such a deal taking place.

All eyes were on a single private room on the third floor. The young man in that room had amazed everybody with his wealth and only ever bid on strange or special items. If any item of the whole auction should catch his eye, it was that cloak.

While everyone was looking at his room, Jack contained himself and kept from bidding just yet. He understood that the bidding had only just begun.

Once the true bidding war broke out, then Jack would make his move on the cloak. No matter what any of his competitors offered, Jack would finally show a glimpse of just how wealthy he was. In order to get that legend-tier cloak, Jack was willing to give up anything.