Chapter 406 - 400 : Team Auction

"Impressive." Sato praised after going through the stats of the new pieces of equipment.

"The [Ghost-slayer Gauntlet] looks like a good piece of equipment for an MT while the [Unknown Bone Spear] would be a [Berserker]'s favorite." Seiichi commented on the two equipment. Sato had shared the results of the appraisal to everyone as they were all teammates. Also, it would help with the next series of actions.

"Yeah. Even the [Sierran Leather Armour] is very useful. With good timing, you would actually be a monster in it. Imagine when your opponent goes in for the last hit against you and you suddenly recover your health and strike back, hard. Damn, I want it." Fudo added.

"So apart from the 3 pieces of equipment, there are a 28 two-star ranked materials and 5 three-star ones. As for the last one, it's surprisingly a 4-star materials, though low on the rating scale." Sato said as he rummaged through the pile of loot on the floor.

"Of the two scrolls, one is a defense-type scroll called [Kiln-hold], as for the other one. I believe we've got jackpot." Sato smiled as he went on to share the details of the last scroll.

[[ System interface :

Forging Blueprint :

Metal-braced Wooden Bow and Arrow : Level 10-15 Mid-tier to Upper-tier Mortal rank.

Requirements : Level 10 and above || 20 [Strength] || [Ranger]

Bow :

[Physical Attack] +25

[Attack Speed] +20

[Strength] +7

Stats may vary due to quality of the final product.

Arrow :

[Attack Speed] +10

Damage dealt increased by 20%

Special characteristic : Greater air resistance with increased hit-rate and accuracy. Enhanced penetration effects.

Forging requirements : Apprentice blacksmith rank at the very least with the required necessary knowledge.

Forging elements : Iven Wood, Silver core, Dawn Steel metal...

System Comments : Want to be a great archer with high accuracy and damage? Then find yourself a blacksmith to make this.

]]

"A production manual for a level 10-15 Mid-tier to Upper-tier Mortal rank bow?" Seiichi sucked in cold air.

His family was rich and because of that, Seiichi had received a few training sessions in marketing and business management. Just by recalling that Sato was a blacksmith, Seiichi could instantly see the value of the production manual in their hands.

While it was true that the Caventry's library did have a few production manuals, some of the items there were beyond Sato's current capabilities. It was like seeing a mountain of gold but not being able to touch it. Therefore, the guild funding plan was a mess and still in development. However, with this new production manual as well as the Generic series of [Rigged Steel long-swords] and [Fine-Steel amours] he made, Sato would be able to develop a stable source of income for the team. If Fudo's alchemy products as well as Xue Yan's talismans were added to the mix, the team would eventually be swimming in gold.

"A forging blueprint? Nice. It will probably sell for a lot." Yato brightened his eyes. However, he slowly shut up as he noticed that the others looked at him strangely.

After some hesitation, Yato then asked,

"...What?"

"...dummy." Fudo muttered.

"Well that's everything." Sato freed Yato from suffering any more at Fudo's words.

"We will now proceed to share the loot." Sato said following which everyone began to rub their hands in anticipation.

While the forging blueprint wasn't useful to them, the others were. Ignoring the two pieces of equipment that were only usable by physical classes, the [Sierran Leather Armour] attracted the attention of the team's two mages as well as the [Assassin] Lu Zhen. Having the leather armour was pretty much the same as having an extra life especially since the team didn't have a healer class player among them.

Seeing the hint of anticipation in their eyes, Sato spoke up.

"Since the team was recently formed, it will be difficult distributing the items fairly. Therefore, apart from the materials which will be shared amongst ourselves, excluding the 3-star and 4-star materials of course, the rest would be auctioned among ourselves. The money gained would be added to an official account that would be operated by Seiichi. Any disagreement?"

"None." Everyone but one person immediately replied.

"Huh?" Seiichi was stunned. He was the only one that didn't exactly agree with statement.

"Why me?"

"Out of everyone of us, you're the only one who has a degree in business management. I only know how to fix machines and kill monsters." Sato smiled.

"Okay then." Seiichi accepted.

Since there was an obvious reason as to why and since Sato trusted him, Seiichi didn't question his decision any longer.

"Also, the vice-team leader would be Fudo." Sato added.

Same as before, no one argued or dropped a controversial statement. While it was true that Fudo has a tendency to joke around a lot, they knew that he had his serious moments. This became especially clear during the raid where everyone apart from Sato had worked together to defeat the Kobold King.

Apart from Xue Yan, Fudo was the next best performing player to the point that his precise timing had saved the life of Katsuo, who served as the MT in the fight. His commands in the battle had also made sure that none of them had fallen prey to the final throes of the Kobold King, with everyone coming out alive. The same could also be seen when the group of 4(Fudo, Katsuo, Yato and Lu Zhen) took on the kobold horde alone.

"Okay, now back to the main point. The three pieces of equipment will be auctioned alongside the forging blueprint as well as the 3-star and 4-star ranked materials. The defense-type scroll would be taken as a team property so will be exempted from the auction and held in the team's inventory, ran by Xue Yan. The remaining materials would be shared as a reward amongst ourselves. Any problem with that?" Sato gave out positions while he also decided the rule for the loot allocation.

"None so let's start already." Fudo was becoming impatient.

After the battle, everyone in the team was rewarded with a gold coin each so the auction was destined to be heated. Even so, Sato, Xue Yan and Fudo were among the richest. Since Sato wasn't a mage, Fudo didn't need to fear his participation in the bid for the [Sierran Leather Armour], but the same couldn't be said about Xue Yan. With the current wealth in her hands, Fudo believed that only the top of the class 1st tier guilds as well as super guilds would be able to rival her wealth. And this was on the condition that the sum of all the guild's assets were calculated. In other words, a super guild branch like the one headed by Azure Dragon was actually poorer than her if their liquidated cash were to be compared!

'Worse comes to worse, I'll borrow from Sato. The bone spear and the gauntlet aren't suitable for his class so he won't bother with them. His sights is probably set on the forging blueprint and no one would bother to drag it out with him. Even if he aims for the 4-star ranked material next, so he should have a lot of spare cash remaining.' Fudo began making plans.

Unknown to him however, everyone else had reached the same conclusion. The key to winning their bids laid in Sato's hands or rather wealth. Even Xue Yan realised that she might not have things easy if Fudo, Seiichi or Lu Zhen decides to borrow from Sato. She could only hope that he wouldn't give them much.

The major key laid in which item would be auctioned out first. If it was the leather armour, then the other two competitors would most likely borrow from Sato. If the leather armour came last, Sato wouldn't have enough to lend and Xue Yan would surely win the bid as long as she doesn't participate in the others. It all came down to getting her priorities right.

The others like Seiichi and Yato, however, had their thoughts elsewhere. Chances were that they wouldn't get what they desired most so they began setting their sights elsewhere.

Sato was sure to get what he wanted and everyone knew it was the forging blueprint. If no one challenged him, he would have a lot of spare cash to aim for the 3-star and 4-star star ranked materials. In other to prevent him from participating in the other bids, they would have to place false bids to increase the price of the blueprint and make Sato spend a lot.

The risk in this plan laid in the chance that if Sato decided to drop out of the run, they would end up purchasing the forging blueprint. To them non-blacksmiths, it was pretty much useless. As for selling it outside the team, that wasn't a wise decision and could possibly affect the team's growth rate. Hence, they would reluctantly have to sell it to Sato. Chances were that Sato would put in a trade for it rather than to buy it back with cash. The problem though was that whatever Sato wanted to trade with would definitely be irresistible to them but their cash would be depleted.

"The rules of the auction is as thus; first, once a bid has been placed, one would have to make sure they can afford it. If the bidder happens to win the bid, they will have to pay up. If they can't do so immediately, their weapons and equipment would have to be mortgaged to the team." Sato smiled as he made the rule.

"Secondly, lending is permitted so you don't have to be too worried about not getting what you want."

The second rule alone was enough to eliminate Xue Yan's chances of winning by a landslide and it would also make her more cautious in her decisions.

"I wish you all the best and I hope we all get something out of this.. Now, may the auction commence."