When Kael moved to place the [Sunfire Bell] in the trade window, Elon quickly hit cancel.
“Boss, hold on,” he said, his expression serious. “For this, we absolutely have to draw up a formal contract. If I’m auctioning an item of this magnitude, I won’t be able to sleep at night without one.”
Kael smiled, respecting the man’s professionalism. This was the kind of integrity that built empires. He agreed.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” Elon explained. “I have a registered auctioneer’s license with the system, so the transaction fee is only 10%. I’ll take a 10% commission for marketing and handling, and your share remains the standard 80%. How does that sound?”
Kael nodded. It was a fair deal. From a seller’s perspective, the total cut was still 20%, but the promotional power of a dedicated player-run campaign far surpassed the game’s automated, generic announcements.
A few moments later, a formal agreement appeared in Kael’s interface. It was generated in triplicate, with copies for Kael, Elon, and the system’s records. Only after Kael had signed did Elon finally accept the [Sunfire Bell].
He gazed at the item’s stats and swallowed hard, the sound audible in the quiet stall. “Any guild that gets their hands on this… I don’t think there’s a single boss they couldn’t take down.”
Kael chuckled. A level one [Sunfire Bell] was powerful, yes. But once it was upgraded to level five or higher, it was enough to dominate any large-scale battle in the current state of the game. Of course, the materials required for those upgrades… hehe.
Elon held the miniature bell in his hands for a long time, turning it over and over before reluctantly placing it in his secure inventory.
“Don’t you worry, Boss,” he said, his eyes gleaming with ambition. “I’m going to make sure every single player on every single server knows about this auction.”
Kael just smiled.
Thinking Kael didn't believe him, Elon quickly elaborated. “I have a college buddy whose dad is the CEO of Helios Biosciences. He wants to partner with me to start a company specializing in Godpath commerce.”
“What? Helios Biosciences?” Kael’s composure broke. He had to confirm. “You mean the Helios Biosciences? The company that developed the game’s bio-chips?”
Elon puffed out his chest with pride. “The one and only. They’re one of the four major shareholders in Godpath.”
No wonder… The words escaped Kael’s lips. In a single sentence, Elon had solved a mystery that had puzzled him for years. In the future, there would be hundreds of thousands of merchants and corporations in Godpath, so why was Elon the undisputed king? It was never just about him. He had a corporate giant pulling strings for him from the very beginning.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed in Kael’s mind. It’s the perfect solution. The answer to Lila’s problem had just fallen right into his lap.
“Okay,” Elon said, his excitement returning. “I’ll list it immediately. How about we set the auction for three days from now?”
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“You’re the expert,” Kael said, giving him a reassuring nod. “The timing, the promotion, all of it is your call. I’m putting this in your hands because I have absolute trust in you.”
“Yes, Boss!” Elon’s face glowed with determination. It was a rare gift to find a client who wasn’t a meddling amateur trying to backseat the professionals.
A few minutes after they parted ways, the system announcement went live.
[System]: The player ‘BuysPlanets4Fun’ has listed a [Saint Relic] for auction: the [Sunfire Bell]. Bidding will commence on September 9th at 10:30 AM server time. All are welcome to participate!
[System]: The player ‘BuysPlanets4Fun’ has listed a [Saint Relic] for auction …
[System]: The player ‘BuysPlanets4Fun’ has listed a [Saint Relic] for auction …
The free announcement, repeated three times, blasted across the world channel.
“HOLY CRAP, SUNFIRE BELL!!”
“IT’S REAL! THE SUNFIRE BELL IS REAL!!”
The first to react were clearly players who had been at the Blackwind Brotherhood event.
“What’s a Sunfire Bell? Is it good?”
“Dude, can’t you read the stats linked in the announcement?!”
“+400 HP, +200 Physical Attack, +160 Magic Attack, +120 Physical Defense… meh, that’s like, maybe one or two epic items worth of stats. Not that great.”
“Don’t embarrass yourself, noob! It can be upgraded. That’s just level one. At level ten, those stats will be ten times higher. That’s like two or three legendary items combined!”
“Yeah! And the buff stacks! They stacked it three times at Blackwind!”
“Idiot. Don’t talk trash about things you don’t understand.”
“Lurk more before you post.”
“…okay okay, my bad, I get it, stop flaming me…”
At the same time, Elon began his own campaign, paying to pin a custom message to the top of the world chat. It would reappear every ten minutes—a constant, glowing reminder costing 30 gold per hour. Soon, players from the other planetary servers began to see the news.
On the Vesperian server, Eclipse_Raven, leader of the top guild [Eclipse], saw the announcement, and his eyes lit up.
“Damn it! Those primitives on Earth just squander good fortune. The Sunfire Bell can only belong to us Vesperians!”
On the Khorthul server, Cinder, leader of the [Celestial Accord], reacted with disdain. “Damn. If only a relic like the Sunfire Bell had appeared on Khorthul. To think a backward civilization like Earth could have such luck in Godpath…”
On the Aethelgard server, Leonis_Pierre, leader of [Leonis Imperium], scoffed. “Fuck! How can such a sacred object fall into the hands of those weak Earthlings? It is a gift from the heavens meant for us!”
The fact that a supposedly ‘Common’ tier Saint Relic was drawing the attention of the galaxy’s top guilds was something Kael hadn't fully anticipated. He glanced at the time. It was nearly 11 PM. He logged out.
In his previous life, the long hours he’d spent in the game had destroyed his health, leading to serious stomach problems. This time, he wouldn’t make the same mistake. Rest was just as important as progress.
The next morning, after breakfast, Kael logged back in. Today’s objective: [Blackheart's Legacy].
He made a series of quick teleports, arriving at a small town northwest of Crescent called Dustwind Outpost. He exited through the western gate and followed a dusty road leading deeper into the wilds.
Once the players around him thinned out, he switched his ID back to Dawnbreaker.
The treasure was located in the heart of a vast desert separating Crescent City from the distant Oasis of Zafira. The monsters here ranged from level 20 to 40. Thankfully, they were few and far between, and a careful traveler could avoid most confrontations.
As he crossed the border out of the Dustwind region, the wind picked up dramatically. Kael squinted, his brow furrowed as he looked at the wall of sand swirling in the distance.
A sandstorm. His luck was terrible. Sandstorms could last for an hour or for two days. Without a skill to predict its duration, he was flying blind.
Should I head back and wait for it to pass? he wondered. He wasn't in a huge rush.
Just as he was about to turn around, he saw something tumbling through the gale. It was thrown violently by the wind, rolling end over end.
As it got closer, Kael realized what it was. A person.
More accurately, it was the dead body of a player.
