BXBX NOVEL Chapter 99 98-Forum Upsurge, Gifts from the Auction House
Chapter 99 Chapter98-Forum Upsurge, Gifts from the Auction House
John was about to respond, with a satisfied smile on his face.
However, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Emma's little head poking over with curiosity.
"Johnny, who are you chatting with? You seem to be really enjoying it," Emma pouted, her voice filled with a hint of complaint.
As the chat channel was only visible to the player himself, Emma couldn't see anything despite her best efforts to peer over.
Unable to suppress his amusement, John said, "It's just Blue Sea, he's inviting me out for drinks, probably planning to introduce me to Adam."
John thought it was wise to keep Snowla's message under wraps.
Sure enough, Emma immediately let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, is that all? I thought you were rekindling an old flame."
John could only grimace.
Regardless of how naive a woman might be, her sixth sense was always eerily accurate in these matters.
Emma waved John off, "Let's get back to fishing, Johnny. You go attend to your business."
John nodded, then advised, "You should head back to school soon, your studies are being neglected..."
Emma's face turned a shade of pink, and she hastily made her exit with White Feather.
John watched them go, a fond smile on his face.
Only with this little rascal could he feel this relaxed.
After some thought, he responded to Snowla: "Quite busy today, feeling a bit worn out. I have some things to handle later, after which I'll log out. If you need help with any difficult dungeons, feel free to ask."
Despite being a bit upset, Snowla knew that John was a man of his word.
So, she agreed, "Alright then...but you better not refuse when I need your help next time."
John then looked at the last message, from the guild leader of Travelers, Bambooist.
John had always kept a respectful distance from this woman.
Despite several encounters in the game, their relationship was more ally than enemy.
But she was always a mystery.
John only knew she held a lot of sway within Travelers, assuming she was one of the high-ranking officials.
He never expected her to be the guild leader.
Bambooist's message was similar to Snowla's, seeking John's help for some high-level secret dungeons.
Clearly, John's strength displayed today had caught the attention of many powerful factions.
John's reply was essentially the same as to Snowla - he didn't commit, but said he'd consider it later.
Meanwhile, within the Travelers' private room...
Seeing the message, a seductive smile slowly spread across Bambooist's face.
"As expected, he can't be easily coerced. This man isn't one to bend under pressure. Let's take it slow... Galewind, we'll see if you can escape my clutches..."
As the last traces of presence in the room dissipated, only the echoes of Bambooist's whispers remained.
The auction ended, and the myriad of players began to depart.
Those with the energy headed back to grind and level up, vying to become a top player like Galewind.
The exhausted ones logged off, only to start chattering and bragging on the Godslayer game forum.
Overnight, the name 'Galewind' became known to all.
Some had secretly filmed John's show of strength at the auction and uploaded it to the forum.
The views skyrocketed at an alarming rate.
Doubts arose about the authenticity of the video, especially with the claim that John had managed to obliterate the guild leaders of the top ten guilds in a single blow and endure the system punishment lightning.
It was unbelievable.
It wasn't until high-level players who had been at the auction started vouching for the video's authenticity that people began to believe.
In the meantime, Dawn Guild posted a bounty of 10 million on the forum, incentivizing players to hunt down Galewind.
With that, it became clear that the video was not a hoax.
The 10 million bounty stirred many a heart.
However, the thought of facing John's terrifying power quickly cooled their excitement.
No one wanted to be the laughing stock attempting to take down a man who could stand against the system's punishment.
As time passed, a new trending topic emerged on the forum: Can players ever truly fight the system if they maximize their abilities?
It was well-known that a game was a low-dimensional world created by human programmers.
The system acted like an administrator.
The player's in-game actions, despite their avatar's high level or power, were supposed to be under the system's control.
But John's stunt today had turned everyone's perceptions upside down.
Withstanding three rounds of system punishment lightning and coming out unscathed was simply unheard of.
The discussion grew, drawing in more and more players, until the game developers themselves had to intervene.
The game company released an official statement: "In light of the numerous online discussions surrounding the rules within Godslayer, we'd like to make the following clarifications:
1) Godslayer is unlike any other game on the market, boasting a high level of freedom. There are numerous hidden easter eggs within the system, and players' growth isn't strictly bound by system constraints - in principle, they can grow infinitely..."
2)The internal regulation system of our game utilizes a high-level intelligent supervisory system, and the game world is vast. We encourage players to explore and research...
A thousand-word-long official announcement made players' eyes light up.
The first two points of the statement alone revealed a vital piece of information:
Players truly can challenge the system as long as they continue to grow.
As a result, an increasing number of players swarmed into the game, sparing no expense to level up and increase their power at a frantic pace.
The game's popularity continued to rise, and the number of concurrent online players reached an astonishing figure...
John, however, was unaware of the butterfly effect he had set in motion.
He was quietly waiting in his private room.
Soon, there was a knock at the door.
With a calm voice, he said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Master Reo, accompanied by Isabella, walked in.
Isabella's face was flushed, the excitement of the event still lingering.
As soon as Master Reo entered, he gave a deep bow to John: "Thank you for your substantial support of Dawn Breeze Auction House. On behalf of the auction house, I extend my highest respects."
John was momentarily surprised.
He hadn't expected such a grand gesture from Master Reo.
He quickly dismissed the formality, saying, "You're too kind, Master. I'm just a casual seller. I just happened to have some nice items and chose your auction house for consignment. It's nothing substantial."
Master Reo, stroking his long white beard with an amiable smile, responded, "I'm not exaggerating, but stating facts. It seems you haven't realized just how significant your consigned items have been for our auction house. The two legendary equipment today alone will elevate us to the top auction house in the Northern Myst Empire. Reputation and status are things money can't buy..."
"And let's not forget the Silver Tear that set our auction house's fame. For such great kindness, no amount of gratitude is excessive." Master Reo cast a glance at John, who was deep in thought.
There was another key point he had not explicitly mentioned: John's audacious move to quietly break through the barrier and intervene.
The auction house higher-ups fully realized that this mysterious strongman's power far surpassed their imagination.
This was no ordinary guest; he was potentially a goldmine for the auction house.
As long as they maintained a good relationship with Mr. Galewind, would they ever lack valuable items to auction?
After a swift meeting of the auction house's higher-ups, they had sent in Master Reo.
John, quick-witted as he was, immediately understood their intentions.
He politely responded, "I've worked with your auction house several times, and the trust between us is strong. In the future, if I have suitable items, I will continue to consign them to your auction house for auction."
Master Reo nodded in satisfaction.
That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
"Our esteemed guest, Isabella will handle your profits, so I won't bother you further," said Master Reo, suddenly producing two items as if by magic.
"These two items are additional gifts from our auction house. Please do accept them."
John accepted them curiously.
One was a black card with gold text engraved on it.
The other was a small white object that looked like a broken tooth.
John immediately cast a detection spell:
[Dark Gold VIP Card: Self-issued by the Dawn Breeze Auction House in the Northern Myst Empire, this card is exclusively given to our most prestigious guests. Only 150 of these cards exist, and this is the last one. The other holders are either the upper echelons of the Northern Myst Empire or renowned powerhouses in the Godslayer world.]
[Effect: The holder of this card can receive the highest standard of treatment at all branches of the Dawn Breeze Auction House. Furthermore, the consignment fee for all items at the Dawn Breeze Auction House is reduced by 10%.]