Free Web NovelChapter 134: Chapter 134: The Climax of the Emporium, A Billion-Credit Ego
The pedestal sank into the polished marble floor, carrying the dark matter wings away to be securely transferred to Silas’s inventory.
The Guild Master of Vanguard’s Legacy sat back in his plush velvet chair. He looked smug, but a thin layer of sweat coated his forehead.
He had won the wings. He had established his dominance. But the auction was far from over, and everyone in the room knew it.
The atmosphere in the massive grand hall of the Astral Emporium shifted completely.
The petty squabbles and the mid-tier gear were cleared from the docket. The heavy hitters in the front rows sat up straighter.
The tension spiked so sharply it felt like physical pressure. Every single player in the room, from the lowest rogue to the highest Guild Master, sat perfectly still.
They knew what was coming next. The weapons, the armor, the wings they were all just tactical advantages. They didn’t fundamentally alter the core infrastructure of the game.
Sera took a deep breath. She pressed a button on her podium. Her professional facade hardened into absolute, serious focus.
The central pedestal rose slowly from the stage floor.
The bright overhead lights in the hall dimmed slightly, focusing a single, brilliant spotlight onto the rising platform.
It wasn’t a velvet cushion this time. It was a secure, heavy glass containment unit.
Resting inside the glass, glowing with an intense, authoritative golden light, was a heavy iron token stamped with the image of a crossed sword and shield.
The entire hall collectively stopped breathing.
"The final item of the evening," Sera announced. Her voice resounded perfectly in the absolute silence, amplified by the building’s internal acoustic systems. "The ultimate key to the open world."
Silas leaned forward, his eyes burning with absolute, unfiltered greed.
"The [Guild Creation Token]," Sera declared. "Gold-Tier. This artifact bypasses all standard member requirements and instantly grants the user the official, system-recognized status of the First Guild.
It provides a permanent ten percent experience buff to the entire roster, and unlocks the localized parameters for a massive, impenetrable guildhall."
The crowd murmured. The stakes were astronomical. If a guild secured the Gold-tier token, they would receive a permanent, game-breaking advantage over the rest of the server.
"The heavyweights are going to drop the pleasantries entirely," Nyx noted from the VIP suite on the third floor.
She pushed her dark glasses up her nose, her fingers flying across her datapad as she prepared to track the massive financial fluctuations.
Dante leaned against the soundproof glass, his arms crossed. He watched the Guild Masters below.
"The starting bid," Sera said slowly, letting the tension build until it was almost suffocating. "Is set at one hundred million Veridian Credits." freewebnovёl.ƈom
The bidding war didn’t escalate slowly. It exploded.
"One hundred and fifty million!" Leonidas roared instantly, jumping out of his seat. The Apex Coalition leader slammed his golden warhammer against the floor.
"Two hundred million," Valerius countered smoothly. The Warlord of the Legion of Blades remained seated, his military discipline returning as he focused entirely on the objective.
"Two hundred and fifty," Xerxes said, finally sitting up from his relaxed slouch in the back corner. The leader of the Blood Throne swirled a digital goblet of wine, projecting an air of infinite, unbothered wealth.
"Three hundred million!" Silas snapped, his voice sharp and incredibly tense.
Down on the floor, the numbers flew across the room like artillery shells. The major players aggressively pushed the baseline, completely ignoring standard market value.
"They are liquidating everything," Nyx reported from the suite, her eyes scanning the scrolling data.
"Leonidas just dumped his entire industrial reserve fund into the escrow. Valerius is actively liquidating his guild’s armory assets in real-time to keep up the pace."
"Let them fight," Dante said, his voice entirely flat.
"Three hundred and fifty million!" Leonidas bellowed, his face turning red with exertion.
"Four hundred million," Valerius replied. His voice was strained. He looked down at his system interface, shaking his head slightly.
The Legion of Blades was a massive, disciplined army, but they didn’t have the deep corporate pockets of the other syndicates.
Valerius couldn’t justify bankrupting his entire organization for a single item. He slowly sat back in his chair. The Legion of Blades was officially out.
"Four hundred and fifty," Xerxes stated lazily, taking a sip of his wine.
Leonidas gripped his warhammer. He looked back at his officers sitting in the rows behind him. They were frantically shaking their heads, their faces pale. The Apex Coalition had hit their hard limit. They were completely out of liquid cash.
Leonidas cursed loudly, a string of heavy profanities echoing in his section, and dropped back into his seat.
The field narrowed.
It was just Vanguard’s Legacy and the Blood Throne.
"Five hundred million credits," Silas declared, his voice tight.
"Six hundred," Xerxes countered instantly.
The leader of the Blood Throne hadn’t even blinked. He operated out of the southern deserts. His syndicate had avoided the early-game territorial wars and spent the entire cycle monopolizing trade routes and hoarding wealth. He was treating the auction like a casual game of poker.
Silas gritted his teeth. He pulled up his system interface, his eyes scanning the numbers.
His guild treasury was rapidly depleting. The corporate backers had given him a massive war chest, but he had already spent heavily trying to hunt Dante, and he had just burned hundreds of millions on the previous items.
"Six hundred and fifty million," Silas snarled, gripping the armrests of his velvet chair.
"Seven hundred million," Xerxes replied, entirely unbothered.
The crowd in the auction hall was completely paralyzed. Thousands of players sat in absolute silence, watching two men casually toss around numbers that rivaled the gross domestic product of small countries.
Up in the VIP suite, Lila covered her mouth with both hands. "Seven hundred million. Sera’s family is going to lose their minds. She’s completely crushing her quota."
"Look at Silas," Dante pointed out, his eyes locked on his former friend. "He’s breaking."
Silas was physically shaking. His pristine Silver-grade armor clattered slightly as he shifted his weight. His interface was flashing aggressively with incoming private messages.
Down on the floor, Silas’s chief lieutenant, Vic, leaned in close to the Guild Master.
"Guild Master, you have to stop," Vic whispered frantically, his eyes darting around the silent hall. "We hit the hard cap of the corporate allocation at five hundred million. You are bidding with your personal funds now. If you go higher, you are liquidating your own real-world portfolio."
"Shut up," Silas hissed without looking back.
His interface pinged again. It was a high-priority, encrypted direct message from Elara, his real-world strategic advisor.
[Elara: Silas, cease bidding immediately. The return on investment does not justify bankrupting your personal trust. The corporate board is monitoring the stream. We can secure the Second Guild milestone for a fraction of the cost. Fold.]
Silas stared at the message. He aggressively swiped it away, dismissing the warning completely.
He didn’t care about the return on investment. He didn’t care about the Second Guild milestone.
He looked at the stage. He looked at Sera standing behind the podium.
Sera’s family had set an ultimatum. If she didn’t hit a thirty-billion-credit valuation, she would be forced into a corporate marriage with Silas. The marriage would secure the ultimate merger between the hardware and software distribution monopolies on Veridia.
If Silas didn’t secure the First Guild token, his real-world backers would view him as a failure. The board of directors would pull their support.
The massive corporate merger with Sera’s family would fall through. He would lose his dominance. He would lose his legacy. He would just be a guy who got lucky in the beta test.
Desperation and ego completely hijacked his brain.
"I am the Guild Master of Vanguard’s Legacy," Silas muttered to himself, his hands shaking. "I am the face of the Zenith Protocol."
On the stage, Sera maintained her flawless, professional smile.
"I have seven hundred million credits from the Blood Throne," Sera announced smoothly. "Do I hear seven hundred and fifty?"
Xerxes smirked from the back row. He swirled his digital wine goblet, looking incredibly smug. He was perfectly content to push the price. He thought he had broken Silas.
Silas stood up from his plush velvet chair.
He ignored Vic reaching out to grab his arm. He ignored the flashing red warnings on his banking interface alerting him of massive asset liquidation. He ignored every single shred of logical financial advice.
He needed to establish absolute dominance. He needed to impress his real-world backers and crush Xerxes in front of the entire server.
Silas didn’t raise the bid by fifty million.
"One billion Veridian Credits," Silas stated.
His voice echoed loudly across the silent marble walls of the Astral Emporium.
The crowd actually gasped. Players dropped their datapads. A billion credits for a single system item. It was a historic, astronomical sum. It was sheer, unadulterated financial violence.
Xerxes stopped swirling his wine. The smug smile slid entirely off his face. The Blood Throne leader slowly lowered his hand, staring at Silas like the man had lost his mind.
Silas stood in the center aisle, breathing heavily, his face flushed red with exertion and manic pride. He glared at Xerxes, challenging the desert warlord to match him.
Xerxes shook his head and sat back down. He was done.
Up in the VIP suite, Dante watched Silas stake his entire life on a digital token.
"He actually did it," Casanova whispered, his eyes wide. "He just bid a billion credits."
"He just burned his entire empire to the ground," Dante said quietly, a cold, dangerous smile spreading across his face.
Dante turned away from the glass window. Silas was completely bankrupt. The trap had sprung flawlessly. It was time for the anomaly squad to take their turn on the stage.
