~~~(POV: Justin Xander)~~~
~~~(Location: Outside Auction House, Geonia City, Aeternitatem Genesis)~~~
~~~(Day, Date, Time: Saturday, April 13th, 8:21 AM PST)~~~
~~~(Age: 19 Years)~~~
The front door to the Auction House easily opens as I push against one of the many doors. As I step into the lobby, there are several receptionist booths. Lines are at each one. My eyes drift to the halls and doors around the room.
Players and NPCs are entering and exiting the rooms. I can surmise those are auction halls. Then again, I could be wrong.
Lining the walls and sections above the reception desks are magical boards showing what's been sold. Constantly changing and shifting as it does. It looks like those vintage videos of stock prices before the 22nd century.
Marble and finished granite make up the floors and pillars around the room. I can't say if all the Auction Houses around AG look like this. But if they do, they must make a killing in commissions.
Instead of standing here like an idiot, I make my way over to one of the doors. Opening it and walking through. I'm met with a path leading into a large circular room. Upon entering the room, seats and chairs are lined around the center stage.
Reaching all the way up to the ceiling.
"The Auction is beginning in a few minutes."
A man in fine clothes on the stage makes an announcement to the entire room. This is a perfect learning experience. Finding a seat doesn't take long, and I've got a good view of what's being auctioned off.
I have no intention of buying anything. Not until I understand how this all works. Watching people who know what they're doing is a good idea.
Besides, all I've got to my name in the first place is 6 Bronze and 41 Copper. I doubt that's enough to buy a pillow being auctioned off at this place. As the minutes pass, every seat in the auction hall is filled.
Since I'm simply here to enjoy the show and learn something, I lean back in my chair and put my feet up. The finely dressed man in the center of the stage casts a magic that's unfamiliar to me. As he's about to finish what he's doing, I use (Eyes of Creation).
---[Voice Projection Magic]---
[Grade: Common]
[Player Level Req: 5]
[Damage: 0]
[Cost: 10 MP]
[Info: A simple spell that allows a person to amplify their voice to varying degrees. Used mainly by politicians and public speakers.]
[Effects: Amplifies the voice to louder degrees.]
[EoC Bonus Info: Voice Projection Magic is widely considered an entry-level or beginner magic spell. However, if trained enough, it can become a lethal form of attack. Debilitating enemies and causing debuffs like dizziness and deafness.]
The information from my use of (Eyes of Creation) appears before me. I can't help looking at the third chuck of text. EoC must stand for (Eyes of Creation) in abbreviation.
"Ladies and gentlemen. This session features a wide range of items. Varying from crafting materials to weapons and all the way to modes of transportation."
Whispers from around the room crop up here and there, but it doesn't last long. A lot of players are doing what I'm doing. Here to learn how the Auction House works. It'll be an integral part of the game.
"Since many of you are new to the Auction House. A simple explanation should suffice."
The well-dressed man adjusts his glasses slightly and clears his throat. Preparing for the dump of information he's about to give us.
"When you are bidding on an item, you can only use funds that are in your personal possession. If you wish to use party or guild funds, there are different auction halls inside the Auction House for that."
I take my feet off the table and sit up straight since it's actually getting interesting. I happened to walk into an auction hall that's for solo players only from the sounds of it. Knowing that Auction Houses have different types of auction halls within them is helpful.
Just imagining the big guilds bidding on things makes my head spin. It's unlikely the big guilds have broken a few gold to their names yet for their funds.
"Under no circumstances are you allowed to bid with funds you don't have. The system will be monitoring the funds of a bidder. And if they reach the limit of their funds, they can no longer bid."
There are some groans and small chatter breaking out around me. That's something I wasn't really expecting. But thinking about it, cases where more people are bidding on things to raise the prices and gouging money from wealthy people are common.
This function he's explained is likely to make sure items are sold to those with actual funds to purchase them. And as a byproduct, protect people from buying items at inflated prices.
This is in heavy favor of the rich.
"When successfully winning on a bid for an item, the funds will be immediately taken from the bidder. The system will then deposit the item into your inventory."
Talk about a streamlined process.
"However."
That single word silences the room as everyone watches the man in the center of the stage.
"These are the rules for this Auction House. In your travels to other cities and lands, you'll find that Auction Houses play by different rules. Hearing that, some of you might be a little confused."
Yeah, and I'm one of them. While others have clueless looks on their faces. A simple question runs through my mind when I hear that.
How are players in different Auction Houses compared to us bidding on the same items with different rules? That means if there are more favorable rules for a bidder at a specific Auction House, then people might flock there.
Just from what I've heard, this particular Auction House caters to those with money. Meaning there are Auction Houses out there that allow a poor player to run up the price of an item on a richer player or NPC.
This Auction House doesn't suit new players.
"But that's not my job to explain. I wish everyone luck on their bids, and enjoy your time at Zindars Auction House."
So that's the name of this place. I didn't waste time to find out. Players groan and grumble as the man walks off the stage. Everyone was hoping for more information, including me. This starvation of information for the player base is a double-edged blade.
It's awesome and, at the same time, annoying.
Based on everything I heard, it seems like it's just the tip of the iceberg for the Auction Houses. Many things are running through my head. The first is players and NPCs at different Auction Houses bidding on what we're bidding on here.
All the Auction Houses bid on the same items available for auction. This means someone at a different Auction House with different rules can make someone's life at another location hell.
It's a dangerous game to use the Auction Houses.
For the bidder.
If you're a seller, I can only imagine what awaits there.
My attempts to deduce how this all works come to an abrupt end as the room slowly dims. Losing light except for the center stage.
The man who was speaking a minute ago is off to the side. On a podium, ready to start the bidding wars.
The first item appears floating in the middle of the stage. And before he even starts talking about it, I use (Eyes of Creation) on the item.
---[Exquisite Steel Chestpiece (Forgery)]---
[Grade: Uncommon]
[Store/Shop Cost: 2 Bronze. (Price would be between 38 and 62 Bronze if genuine.)]
[Player Level Req: 25]
[Crafter: Weldeen Mardoni]
[Previous Owner: None (Forgery made to rip off Auction Houses.)]
[Info: Exquisite Steel Chestpieces are used by officers in a kingdom's standing army for better protection when in combat. It's known to deflect standard-issue arrows and tank weaker magic attacks without a problem. However, this is a fake. Not nearly as effective as the genuine product.]
[Effects: +5 Points to the STR stat. (It would be 25 points if this were genuine.)]
[Materials: Poorly forged Steel. Raggedy leather. Cheap Iron improperly smelted.]
[EoC Bonus Info: While the forgery can fool an ordinary person, it shouldn't be able to fool a trained professional.]
As I go through the information provided by (Eyes of Creation.) I can't help focusing on the last box at the bottom of the system screen. Either the Auction House I'm present at is willingly putting this up for auction.
Or someone inside is making a quick buck by letting this garbage through.
It's truly amazing how much I'm able to see with (Eyes of Creation.) I can only guess what a regular inspect-type skill is gonna show a person.
Weldeen Mardoni is the man who crafted this forgery. That's a name I'm gonna have to look up after I'm done here.
"Let's start the bidding price at 25 Copper."
That's an interesting starting price.
Is it a hundred Copper to reach one Bronze piece? Or is it a thousand? These are things I still haven't learned about yet, but maybe I can watch people bid on them to find out.
Speaking of which, there are already players and NPCs starting to throw out money.
They don't know they're getting ripped off.