The Support Ate it All
Chapter 394: Auction (2)

This “cooking foil” axe was hard enough to find an owner for, and even if someone did take it, its performance made it nearly useless in combat.

I wouldn’t use it as a weapon either.

But what if it had a different purpose?

For example, what if someone planned to melt it down and extract just the raw materials?

Then it would be like getting high-rank materials for only a few thousand points.

The tricky part is figuring out what’s inside.

In the short time the host introduced the item, one had to guess based on appearances alone.

That wasn’t exactly easy, which is why even the second and third seniors weren’t quick to bid.

On the other hand, I had the eyes of a stagnant water, honed through countless encounters with all sorts of items.

Maybe not a 100% accurate guess, but I could come very close.

As a final safety measure, I had also double-checked with the bundle of light.

It’s packed full of silver and mithril.

The sub-materials only made the shine more pronounced, giving it that cooking foil look.

But if you ignored all those extra elements and focused only on the silver and mithril—

If there was enough to forge a single weapon, it would be worth at least ten thousand points.

Of course, the other participants had no way of knowing that.

They just glanced at me with puzzled expressions and whispered among themselves.

– He likes that thing?

– What a weird taste.

– Eh, maybe he just genuinely likes it.

– Maybe it’s better than it looks?

– Don’t be ridiculous. You can tell it’s cheap just by looking.

Meanwhile, Shin Byeong-cheol’s gaze was strange in a different way.

“……”

Having tagged along with me up until now and seen things firsthand, he probably figured I had some kind of reason for bidding.

Even so, he kept his hands lowered. This time, it seemed he had chosen to yield rather than compete.

That was surprising, especially when the smell of points was so strong.

But Shin Byeong-cheol wasn’t the only one who caught a whiff.

A second-year senior who had been eyeing the item finally raised his hand.

“1,400 points.”

It wasn’t a bid made out of confidence in the item itself. It was more like someone reacting to the atmosphere.

I paused briefly, then raised my bid again.

“1,500.”

“1,600.”

The second-year senior also placed another bid after a brief moment of hesitation.

We continued to raise the price bit by bit, taking turns.

“2,000.”

“…2,100.”

However, once the bidding price exceeded 2,000 points, his pauses grew noticeably longer.

And in the end, just as he was about to raise his hand again, he slowly lowered it.

It looked like he’d decided that, even if the item seemed interesting, it wasn’t worth spending over 2,000 points on.

The auctioneer made one final call.

“The current highest bid is 2,400 points. Any more takers?”

By now, the looks from the surrounding crowd had turned to ones of pity.

They probably thought it was already a waste at 1,200, and thanks to a pointless bidding war, the price had doubled for no reason.

Of course, I wasn’t bothered in the slightest. I knew full well that the actual value was well over 10,000 points.

The auctioneer began the countdown.

“If there are no more bids, we’ll conclude. three, two, one… Sold!”

I walked up to the side of the platform, paid the points, and received the shiny axe.

[Sterling Mithril Axe (C+)]

Just as I thought. It was an item meant to test your eye for value.

Even the name was basically an advertisement shouting, “I’m made of silver and mithril~!”

If that information had been revealed up front, there’s no way it would’ve ended at just 2,400 points.

To preserve the thrill of the auction, they had hidden the details, even at the cost of losing potential points.

With this, I’ve gathered all the materials for the statue.

A B-rank material selection ticket from a side quest, a B+ rank Black Mithril ingot picked by the bundle of light, and now the recently acquired cooking foil axe.

I’d have to visit the sculptor club when I had the time.

Even after that, we continued watching the auction.

The auctioneer introduced various items like daggers, clubs, and whips but nothing really caught my eye.

“……”

Seo Ye-in too seemed to be getting bored. She began nodding off on her feet.

Then, all of a sudden, she glanced toward the exit, grabbed my arm, and gave it a gentle tug.

“……”

“What is it? Something there?”

“Wheein.”

That was a very familiar sound effect.

My expression instantly stiffened.

“This is… the Lucky Charm Radar?”

“Wheein—”

“Let’s go. Where is it?”

In times like this, following it was always the right call.

I followed Seo Ye-in’s steps into the [Ranged] auction section.

But the first thing I saw there wasn’t a useful item.

“Kim Ho…!”

It was Cha Hyeon-joo. The rabid Chihuahua.

She was glaring at us like she wanted us dead, grinding her teeth.

– Grit grit,

I lazily waved a hand and greeted her in the most robotic tone imaginable, like reading from a textbook.

“Yeah-hi-good-to-see-you-I’m-doing-well-hope-you-had-good-time.”

“What if I didn’t have a good time?”

“Not my problem. Am I supposed to care about that too?”

Cha Hyeon-joo’s face twitched with rage.

Then she glanced over at Seo Ye-in and asked again.

“You know I won against her, right?”

“I saw the replay. You fought well.”

“Then keep your promise.”

“What promise?”

I asked in confusion, and Cha Hyeon-joo snapped.

“You promised! You said if I won, you’d fight me!”

I paused to dig through my memory.

Right—there had been a conversation like that during the three-way battle.

– So, you’re saying you won’t fight?

– Things have an order, you know.

– Then what am I supposed to do?

– Try beating this person first.

I tilted my head slightly.

“That’s true, but I never said I’d fight you if she won.”

“?”

Cha Hyeon-joo’s face went blank.

She had just realized she’d been tricked all along.

Grinding her teeth in anger, she tried to say something, but I cut in with a final word.

“And it’s not even over yet. It’s 1:1 now, right?”

“……!”

“If you fight again, she’s gonna win.”

Seo Ye-in quietly joined the conversation.

“I’ll teach her a lesson.”

“……You two are having so much fun, aren’t you.”

Cha Hyeon-joo shot us both a look full of irritation.

She clicked her tongue and muttered.

“Tsk, fine then. Let’s say it’s 1:1. Settle it for real this time. If I beat her again, then you’re fighting me.”

“Sure, if you win.”

“Hmph.”

Cha Hyeon-joo already looked like she thought the match was a done deal.

But would things really go as she expected?

After all, the genius sloth had even picked up a custom-tailored skill.

That part would be more fun kept a secret, so I didn’t bother mentioning it.

The conversation died down for a moment, and we turned our attention to the stage.

The item currently up for auction was a magic quiver.

It had a sleek design with a six-pointed star engraved on it.

Maybe that’s why multiple participants were raising their bids.

“3,300 points.”

“3,500.”

I kept my eyes on the quiver and asked casually,

“Are you not going to buy that? Looks pretty good.”

“What for? It only looks fancy. Doesn’t have much substance. I already have one, anyway.”

She pulled out her quiver from her inventory to show me.

C+ rank.

She didn’t reveal the options, but they were probably decent.

Better than the average first-year’s, so no real need to replace it for now.

“Still, that one seems to have a higher potential.”

“What would you know? You’re a mage.”

Cha Hyeon-joo dismissed me without hesitation.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame her.

From her perspective, I probably sounded like I was just pretending to know what I was talking about.

So I turned to my lucky charm.

“The mage has been silenced. As a fellow ranged class, I seek your expert opinion. What do you think?”

“That one’s better.”

Grind—

As soon as Seo Ye-in answered, Cha Hyeon-joo ground her teeth.

“Now you’re taking turns provoking me. You two are perfectly in sync, huh.”

“We’re not trying to provoke you. I’m just saying, it’s clearly better. Higher ceiling.”

“Then why don’t you buy it?”

“Maybe I will. Let’s compare.”

Cha Hyeon-joo snorted.

“Go ahead. If it’s really that good, I’ll buy it off you for double.”

“Really? Double?”

“I said I’m serious, so quit talking and buy it already!”

“Well, if you insist.”

By now, the auction price had passed 4,000 points and was nearing 5,000.

I raised my hand and spoke up.

“20,000 points.”

– ……!

– ……!

A sudden silence fell over the auction hall.

Then came the stares. Every eye turned to me like I’d lost my mind.

Hard to blame them. The bidding hadn’t even hit 5,000 yet, and I’d just called out 20,000. Of course I looked insane.

The auctioneer was clearly just as startled but quickly regained composure and spoke.

“T-Twenty thousand. We have a bid of twenty thousand points. Any higher bids?”

– ……..

– ……..

Naturally, no one else raised their hand.

I wasn’t just acting crazy. I was announcing it to the whole room.

The auctioneer slowly scanned the audience before continuing.

“Three… two… one… Sold.”

I promptly paid the 20,000 points and brought the quiver over to Cha Hyeon-joo.

“Here, take a look.”

[Hexagram Quiver (D+)]

▷Upgradeable (Remaining slots: 6)

▷Bonus effects based on upgrade count

At the moment, it was just D+ rank with no standout options, so in its current state, it was clearly inferior to Cha Hyeon-joo’s C+ quiver.

But that was for now. With a whopping six upgrade slots, this thing had potential.

Depending on how I enhanced it, it could easily surpass C, maybe even reach A-rank if things went well.

And if bonus options stacked on top, it’d be even better.

“I said it had a higher ceiling, right?”

“……!”

Cha Hyeon-joo pressed her lips together, speechless.

I looked off in another direction and let my words slip out like a casual remark.

“What was it you said earlier? If it turned out to be that good, you’d buy it off me for double? And you were sure about that?”

“You— You—! Was this your plan all along?!”

“Well, obviously.”

Truth was, I probably could’ve won the item for just 6 or 7 thousand. But that kind of margin wasn’t enough for me.

I needed at least 20,000 to make it worthwhile.

I added a bit more explanation.

“It’s not even that bad a deal for you. If the upgrades go well, it could end up B-rank or higher. For an item like that, 30,000 wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

“…Then what about the extra 10,000?”

“Tuition fee.”

If I really wanted to mess with her, I could’ve gone as high as 100,000 points.

But too much greed always backfires. Trying to squeeze out more than I should would only cause problems.

A loss of around 10,000 points could be chalked up as Cha Hyeon-joo’s personal mistake, but the bigger the amount, the more likely the archery club itself would get involved.

“If she keeps picking fights, it’ll just be a pain.”

And honestly, no point in dragging that kind of headache onto myself just to earn a little more.

Cha Hyeon-joo might have a temper, but she wasn’t stupid. She seemed to realize I’d let her off easy.

Still, having to hand over more than 40,000 points on the spot was clearly rattling her. Her hands were visibly shaking.

“Y-You… You… I swear. I’ll get you back for this…”

“Oh no, thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”

Leaving a trembling Cha Hyeon-joo behind, I turned to Seo Ye-in and showed her the points.

“Look at this. It’s like my points got duplicated.”

“Con artists are strong.”

“Wanna go buy sleep masks? Maybe a panda plushie too?”

“Happy.”