Vol 2 Chapter 9 (1/2)

Kekeke,

I' why japtem didn't pull any prank this April Fool's day, and Ithe hopes and dreams of all leechers They wanted to redirect the website to a hacker's website to make everyone believe they had been hacked and will be dropping all projects! How dare they?! When I got a hold of the infored to prevent it fro

There will be no bad pranks onnews For example, another early release of Ark! All leecherslive the Random Leecher! Random Leecher for president! For Overlord! World domination!

— A random leecher

PS: If I disappear from the face of the earth after this release, my murder should fall on Cat, the previous Overlord She has infor I' all her dazzle Pssh But who can bla jealous? I'm much more liked by the readers

Hero assembly

”I deliberately gave him advice but he still caht” Vidus tutted after he found Ark fearlessly snooping around the auction again ”Well, no need to concernonce, he won't follow ive him another bitter experience”

Just as Vidus predicted, Ark didn't follow him around Actually, he didn't even participate in the auction for a few days He just went around the auction looking at the itery eyes Ark finally participated in the auction after three days of nosing around He bought cheap items worth a few Silver and checked them, but 80 were failures He suffered a loss of nearly 20 Gold in no tiive up

'There's definitely sooods after that

Two days later, he began to see a change, his success rate went up from 20 to 30, and in once it started to rise, it didn't take very long to rise to 40

'I' of it It's si another 50 Gold or so; Ark felt certain of his perception

Ark had experienced countless part-tis from basic newspaper andthem, he especially re's introduction, working at an antiques store

Ark came in contact with items from all around the world in that job There weren't s that looked extremely expensive turned out to be worthless, and soains of thousands of Won hung with the Identifier's judgement

He never foruesstimate the value of antiques by eye and ear developed There arefactors like luster, shape, use, utility, and scarcity but they all result into one value

The amount of heart and soul thecraftsman makes an item with their heart and soul, even if it looked shabby at first glance, so was 'unique' about it One couldn't put a finger on it, but it definitely felt different

They say practice makes perfect

'Ah, that one's no good Soht about it' Most of the iteht of in that ere fakes

'Hm? That one's better than it looks?' Those were the valued antiques worth hundreds of thousands of Won

'This place is virtual reality; item details are the same as in real life' In order to confir the auction goods It wasn't a shocker, but New World also followed the same rules as the real world This meant it was possible to know the value even if he didn't get it appraised and check the info

After reaching a certain degree of conviction, he started buying ite the items identified, he checked the differences fro and steadily corrected his mistakes It required an enormous amount of perseverance and concentration

After spending several days like that, he stopped encountering losses

But that wasn't all As he checked countless auction goods, he sometimes encountered a totally unexpected bonus

Old Coin (Ancient Relic)

This is an old coin used hundreds of years ago The living conditions in those days can be glin carved into the coin's surface The coin is a relic of the past, but it is popular ah price

Value: 10 gold

Bonus fro information about the ancient relic, Old Coin:

Knowledge of Ancient Relics +1, Intelligence +1, Fame +5

There were items relevant to Ancient Relics mixed in with the Unidentified items If he had such an itee of Ancient Relics stat

'Now that I think about it, the Mysterious Stone Frage of Ancient Relics to check the info I orried about how to raise the stat, but there's a method like this'

Currently, the stat was at 36 Although it only rose by 1, there were still et to 50 if he steadily appraised the with the Knowledge of Ancient Relics was critically necessary for Ark, who summoned Familiars

'I found yet another reason to stay in the auction house Okay, I' more and more motivated'

Once Ark made up his mind, it was scary how persistent he was Besides a few hours of sleep, Ark just about lived in the auction house Slowly, he grasped how much to bid for each item As his success rate steadily increased, his money also started to pile up, if only a little

Once he ed Sid to the auction

”Sid-nim, from now on I will point out so tiive up on it if it exceeds the max sum I tell you and aim for another item”

”What? But I was just about to leave for a trade”

”Please do this as a favor Didn't we cross Grey Ridge together?” Ark held Sid's shoulders and stressed Gray Ridge

'This isn't receiving help, but holding them by the scruff of their neck'

In the end, even Sid beca the auction house

Cohs; however, it was profitable for him as well Ark stockpiled the iteh Sid Thanks to this, Ark made a profit and Sid's EXP rose steadily Of course, no matter how trustworthy Sid was, the Trade Contract was indispensable!

Thanks to Sid, Ark gained some free time and immediately started another job He re-auctioned iteht cheaply when there were few people

'This one is can be sold for 13 gold at most Since it has Intermediate Protect, once I spend 10 Gold on identification, there'll only be 3 Gold left' He re-auctioned such an ite bid of 3 Gold However, Ark wasn't as naive as to just wait for the item to sell itself

The auctioneer can't place a bid on their own items But an NPC can

Ark used that fact to summon Dedric and made him participate in the auction Ark had to pay if Dedric won the bid, but since Dedric wasn't the one who submitted the item, it wasn't a violation of the rules The small fee he had to pay to put the item up for auction wasn't much of a loss, either

He had hit upon the auction's blind spot

Ark had Dedric and Sid raise the prices on his ite, so of course it see that for a few hours, they hooked 1-2 blind fish At that point, the tho had been raising the price for a while immediately backed off

Even without seeing it, he knehat the expression of the players who took the item they won to the identification shop would be

”A-Ark-nim This is a scam”

”Of course not Not knowing is a sin, that's the world of auction”

”Is that so?”

”Yes, it is,” Ark concluded, with a co After all, Ark had learned it from Vidus

Ark spent ten days like this Except for when he appraised and sold auction goods, he lived attached to the auction house

Money kept co so crazily that he couldn't tell howmoney! No, it was only inevitable he would make money

'By now, I've probably recovered '

It hat Ark was thinking of as he headed to the auction house again when a e box appeared with a cheerful sound effect

You have learned a new skill

Discerning Eye (Special, Passive, Beginner): You have seriously identified countless iteained an outstanding eye for sorting out items

Mana Cost: 20

You are now able to clear Low-level Protect of unidentified items

You can now immediately determine the value of items whose market prices have been checked before

'W-what's this?' Ark's mouth fell wide open

The Identification skill could only be learned by production classes with over 300 Wisdoence

The only exception was to use a Rare skill book However, Ark, a Dark Walker, was able to learn a skill of the sale penny In addition, he also gained the ability to immediately determine the value of an item, which was only possible at the identification shop

It wouldn't have been possible if he hadn't sharpened his eye at the antiques store

”That's right, in this ga then a related skill will form However, to think I was able to learn an Appraisal skill when ician-related”

There was a benefit to spending over 10 days in the auction house The new skill further increased Ark's earnings It was only low-grade, but 10 identifications was 50 Gold In another five days, even after selling 300 Gold to pay the hospital fees, he still has 900 Gold piled up in his bag

In the end though, there was a limit to the amount of money he could make at the auction house

”I don't see any retful eyes

It has been half a month since he started his auction house life Now, Ark had a success rate of alht all the useful iteoods left

It was an auction that only dealt with iteoods would be submitted infinitely

'Is it about time to leave this place?'

Ark as torn Although there wasn't a single hile iteed him-- the auction item currently in front of him

It was a sooty sword blade without a handle On the surface it looked to be trash; but, if inspected closely, there was a peculiar aura e he sensed from it didn't feel like it would make money

'No matter how you look at it, this doesn't seeh it feels like there's so there'

Norht it; but, the circumstances was a bit different this time

'Just who is this guy named Danil?”

The ite bid was just 10 Gold Even so, nobody bidded on the item for the next few hours It just showed how shabby the iteet it easily and bid 10 Gold and 1 Copper But the moment he took his eyes off, a player named Danil raised the bid to 15 Gold

Because of him, Ark's co the price Before he knew it, the price had rose to a whopping 40 Gold

'What the hell? Why is this Danil guy so obsessed with this item? I haven't seen his name in the auction before'

Seeing the price higher than he iined, Ark placed a bid for 40 Gold and 1 Copper as a test Perhaps because Danil's coold One could only think he was crazy

'If that guy isn't crazy, there's so'

After Ark used theprices in the auction house, there were players who used si, was used with discretion to the situation If he raised the bid to 100 Gold in one go, what kind of et hooked?

This was the reason why Ark was concerned It looked like he was fishi+ng too obviously ItIn addition, Danil was a name Ark hadn't seen in the auction house 100 Gold wasn't an amount that an auction noob would recklessly put out without any certainty

'But to spend as much as 100 Gold It's too ridiculous' It was rare for even a flashy-looking sword or aro up by 50 Gold

'What to do? Should I think of it as ht, and bet on it?'

Even after recovering his loss, he had still earned 250 Gold Including the Gold he sold to pay for hospital bills, that was a total of 550 Gold! However, for Ark, 100 Gold was not se

To invest thearound the auction house like crazy for half a htly

'Fine then, since I've learned the Discerning Eye skill you can't even get with ain anyways I've earned all I can fro up my life in the auction house, let's trust my eye! Whether it's a success or a failure, I'll part with the auction with this!'

Just when Arkmemo, another hand approached at the same time and flinched as it stopped It was unthinkable for there to be another player as going to bid higher than 100 Gold on an item like this

With a surprised expression, Ark stared at a Merchant player he'd never seen before The player looked at Ark and frowned slightly

”Are you perhaps Ark-nim?”

”Then you're Danil?”

The Merchant nodded and said, ”I don't knohy you're trying to win this item, but I absolutely need this item Won't you please yield?”

'This guy inner'

Ark's eyes flashed for an instant The auction is a battlefield A battlefield where victory is its and ti rather than swords and shi+elds!

For Danil to show his feelings like this, in such a place

After Ark saw Danil's response, he perceived that the suety appearance, it was clear there was some reason he had to win this auction no uaranteed to have a profit worth the amount he had bid!

'I'd be an idiot to lose such an item in the auction'

Without saying a word, Ark raised the bid to 110 Gold

Danil flew into a rage and bid 120 Gold However, without even batting an eye, Ark raised the price several times Danil's face soon paled When the price finally exceeded 200 Gold, Danil complained with an exasperated expression

”You're too much”

”It wasn't too much The auction house has always been such a place If there's so you want, you don't ask your enemy to yield-- you do whatever it takes to crush your opponent Don't you know asking him to yield was your h et out of the way”

At that moment, another person approached and said what Ark had wanted to say The person was none other than Vidus, who had been in the auction house for the longest time

Vidus glared at Danil with disparaging eyes Danil ed expression, but he walked away as if he had nothing to say

Then, Vidus' gaze settled on Ark

”Are you also set on this?”

”There isn't any other hile item”

”H up quite a lot of iteh calculation; you must've made a few hundred Gold”

”I wasn't following you, Vidus-nim”

”I know that ave up on early” Vidus studied Ark with fresh eyes ”But this is truly ae iteiven you a hint, but it shouldn't have been easy What's ing an item's e an item not by Silver but down to the Coppers Is there some sort of method I'm unaware of?”

It was the result of his tenacity to save even a single Copper

”I didn't know it then, but rinning, Vidus nodded

”So your high quality eyes have set their sights on this item? Then, I too can't just yield it to you Since my income isn't the sa, I'll make up for it with this chance”

”Are you saying you want a bidding war?”

”That's right”

Vidus laughed as if amused by the bellicose Ark ”However, since that fellow has dropped out thanks to you, there's no need to raise the price too ht? It's ridiculous for professionals like you and I to senselessly raise the price like crazy It's not good to shed each other's blood Therefore, I'll make a proposal”

”Please continue”

”There isn't much ti this on We'll write down the her aets the item How's that?”

”Sounds good” Ark answered without hesitation

After all, if they had a price war there was no way Ark would win Vidus, who had been earningtime, would have many times more capital than Ark

In fact, Ark was certain Vidus was the player who had bought the Epic ite around the auction house There was no way he could ith ainst such a well-endowed player Even if he did win, he couldn't hope to recover his losses after raising the price even more in a battle of pride

'Alright, how much should I write down? How much will Vidus call?'

Now that the onized for a , and quickly wrote down a price

”Now, at the count of three, we'll both reveal them”

At the same time, they both showed their prices

Vidus had written 220 Gold After checking the price, a triumphant smile spread on Ark's face

”It's my victory”

”Da write?”

”I re you Vidus-niher when you are bidding decisively”

Vidus winced, then let out a sigh and shook his head

”I lost I completely lost”

”Then I will take this item”

Ark wrote 220 Gold and 1 Copper on the ite the auction rang and the NPCthe auction caement office and paid the price, it'd be his fareith the blind auction

”I' lots of money”

”Look who's talking-- you cleaned out all the profitable ones in just half aArk run off with his backpack jingling, Vidus stuck his tongue out

Raising the price by 10 at a ti auctions in real life But ould have thought a rookie would pick up on the habit he hiotten all about

”With an eye of that level, it'd be fine to leave him the entire auction house Should I have asked where he lived? Seeing how fast he picked it up, he's probably working in the field already Shame”

Just as Vidus was turning while s his lips, someone ran in helter-skelter and rejoiced when they saw the item had disappeared

”The auction finally ended!”

Vidus stopped walking and turned around It was a young player wearing a set of black leather ar a helpless expression-- he looked around and tearfully etic face

”I'm sorry, Shaold, I wasn't able to win the itereed upon amount the contract was invalidated I will return the money entrusted to me”

”Wh-what did you say? What are you talking about? 200 gold should have been enough”

As Danil returned the money pouch, the user named Shambala's face twisted

The player who had actually wanted the iteent quest, he had promised payment and had entrusted the auction to a Merchant instead

Vidus grasped the gist of the situation and tutted, ”Tsk, tsk, you had a proxy contract with that fellow?”

”Ye-yes, so what?”

”It's a shame, but the item you wanted was taken by someone else”

”Wh-as it? Just as it?”

”His nauy is very tenacious, so if you want to buy it, you'll probably have to add at least 100 Gold on top of that price If you still want to buy it, you should hurry and follow hiht now”

Before Vidus even finished talking, Shambala ran out of the auction house

”That rascal Ark, he surely took his share to the very end”

Unfortunately, while Sha towards the appraisal shop, Ark was strolling to the Trade district The ite Eye skill, Ark didn't really need to go to the appraisal shop

”Well, shall we see the result? Discerning Eye!”

With a cheerful sound, the item's informationpopped up

Black Frost Blade (Ancient Relic)