Chapter 82: The First Item is a Bang

-!!!

-What the—?!

-?!?!?!

-What?

-Wow! Insane!

-Wow, that's crazy LOLLLLLLLLL.

-This is nuts, totally nuts LOLLLLLLLLLL.

Personal Item Auction Event.

Since “treasured possession” felt like too much, this time the event was called a Personal Item Auction, and it was Baek Hyun-woo who brought it up first.

Of course, Levan had already been thinking about getting rid of the Symbiotic Pendant and was considering an auction event using it, so the two quickly reached an agreement.

‘This event should stir up enough buzz until the robe is finished.’

Since Levan had abruptly ended his live broadcast the day before, the attention around him had started to fizzle out a bit.

Besides, the Infinite Tower’s 2nd floor content, which was supposed to be next, was postponed until the robe’s completion.

So, to fill the gap in the meantime, something spicy was needed—right when Baek Hyun-woo brought up the idea of an item auction event.

Levan looked at the camera and spoke.

“Honestly, I could just list these items at the regular auction house, but as a Wartuber, that’d be no fun, right? So, I’m going to try a real-time auction on live broadcast. Oh, and for the record, I’m currently in the Infinite Tower.”

A live-streamed real-time auction.

It’s not that original.

Plenty of celebs already do it whenever they’re bored.

But when Levan does it, it’s different.

Because Levan has items no one else has—the ‘Symbiotic Pendant’.

‘Best to sell a Symbiotic Pendant like this while the hype’s still hot.’

All items naturally drop in value over time, unless something special happens.

But if an item that’s still on fire gets auctioned live by a celeb like Levan?

The price would skyrocket.

Levan continued.

“Alright, so, even though it’s a live auction, just doing it through a live broadcast might be a bit much, right? That’s why OpenWorld, which I’m with, will be helping out. Plus, the auction will be held in person, so I’ll tell you the location. The place is…”

It’s a big-money auction, after all.

So, while the live auction concept is great, at least a minimum of security is needed.

Baek Hyun-woo picked the Infinite Tower—a place with plenty of eyes—as that safeguard.

The venue had already been arranged by OpenWorld. That’s what yesterday’s marathon meeting was for.

“The current time is 1:24 PM. The auction will start at 2 o’clock. See you all at the announced location.”

He’d said everything necessary.

Now all Levan had to do was head to the location and wait for the bidders.

As soon as the stream ended, the Wartube homepage exploded with activity.

-Emergency newssss!!

-Guys, did you hear? Levan’s doing a treasured item auction?

-What’s that guy even do that he has all those Symbiotic Pendants?

-He’s not even level 100 yet—does he have a sponsor backing him or something?

└So true, my king.

-Maybe he’s the son of some major corporation.

└Like Cheonak?

-Seriously, these silver-spoon bastards are flexing even in-game, it makes me sick.

└Aren’t you being a little too salty? Maybe he’s just lucky.

└Where’s that luck for me then?

└Look in the mirror. There’s your answer.

-Anyway, the Symbiotic Pendant hype is wild LOL gotta go watch.

└I’m going too, feels like this’ll set a record price.

Bad news travels fast, or so they say.

The news spread in no time.

Levan was already a rising star, so the buzz only gave his fame new wings.

Major guilds and pro-team scouts especially took notice.

‘Maybe I should try to make an impression while I’m buying something.’

‘He looked pretty athletic in the video… He’d fit right in on our team…’

‘If only our guild had a big name like him…’

For Levan, this was just a publicity event, but for others, it was an opportunity.

And it wasn’t just the big guilds and pro teams—the crowd flocked just to see Levan or to witness an unexpected big event.

“Whoa… this many people are showing up?”

Levan marveled at the gathering crowd.

He was currently sitting atop a spire about three stories high.

This spire, of course, was a structure prepared by OpenWorld—it hadn’t originally been here.

“Levan, have you decided which items to auction?”

“Ah, yes! But honestly, way more people showed up than I expected. I kind of feel bad now.”

“Huh? Why do you feel bad?”

“Because, aside from the Symbiotic Pendant, there’s nothing all that special.”

“But you have several Symbiotic Pendants. That’s already huge.”

“Well, that’s true…”

“Don’t worry too much. This is just a small event.”

Can you really call it a small event with a crowd like this?

The person talking to Levan was the helper assigned by OpenWorld, who messaged him as soon as he logged in.

Of course, more than one staff member had been dispatched.

It was a major event—no way Levan could handle it all himself.

Levan decided to call them “managers”.

‘Wow… just how many people is that?’

Levan turned his head to look at the throng in the plaza.

At a glance, there had to be well over several thousand.

At exactly 2 o’clock, as promised, Levan started the live broadcast.

[Starting live broadcast.]

As the broadcast began, a camera appeared in midair.

Levan waved at it.

“Water-ha! Hello, everyone? It’s Levan. As promised, we’ll start the personal item auction now.”

-Wow! It’s finally starting.

-But why are there so many people LOL.

-First time seeing this many at a live auction LOL.

-Levan really is at the top now.

-Probably does well in real life too.

The chat exploded as soon as the stream began.

It was moving too fast to keep up with.

Levan said, “Everyone knows how these live auctions work, right?”

-Bidding by donations, right? LOL.

-Bid with donation money!

-Of course! Donation bids are the standard~!

-The problem’s the entry fee LOL.

-How much is it?

There are two types of auction houses in Warlord.

An online auction house accessible anywhere, and an offline auction house staffed by a specialist NPC.

The only real difference is online vs. offline, but both charge a fee to use.

However, for personal auctions like this live broadcast, there are no fees.

Instead, since there’s no NPC or system running it, the host has to handle everything.

So, many live auction hosts use donations.

In other words, bids are placed via the donation system.

Like so.

Ding!

-‘Levan’ donated 1,000 won!

[Correct. Donation bids are the way to go for live auctions! This auction will proceed via donation bids!]

With the alert sound, Levan’s donation message popped up on everyone’s screen.

Donation.

Short for “donation”, sometimes called “done”, and since you pay money to write the message, it doesn’t mix with the normal chat.

The streamer’s Wartube account keeps a record of the donor’s name, donation amount, and message.

‘I don’t know who first came up with this, but it’s smart. I’ll give them credit.’

Levan grinned, having explained the auction format by donating to himself.

Paid auction entry.

With so many onlookers, it’s the surest way to filter serious bidders during a live auction.

-LOL he’s getting a taste for money the moment he’s trending.

-Is he a self-made monster?

-He’s a money hound, a money hound.

-Gross, for real.

-Lol, called it.

-But is there any other way to do this?

-There isn’t LOL, stop whining.

The chat ran wild.

He’d expected that.

So he ignored the raging chat and continued the instructions.

“Oh, by the way, just to be clear, since this auction is using donation bids, anyone messing around with fake donations will be permanently banned, just so you know.”

Then—

Ding!

-‘Meromeroni’ donated 1,000 won!

[So what? So what? A donation is real cash—who are you to lord over it?]

There’s always someone who tries, even after a warning.

As expected.

Levan read the donation message and said, “Manager, please ban that person.”

“Understood.”

[Meromeroni has been banned.]

The managers handled everything from chat moderation to donation management.

That’s what they were here for.

Right after the provoking user was banned, Levan spoke.

“See? There’s always someone who steps up during chaotic times. But I have no mercy. Sure, some people might think a channel ban is nothing, but… you all know, right? I’m hitting the Infinite Tower’s 2nd floor soon?”

After the “1st Floor Clear Part 4” video went up the previous day, everyone knew what Levan had earned from clearing the 1st floor.

So curiosity about the 2nd floor was at its peak.

If you get banned from the channel in that situation, the one who suffers isn’t Levan—it’s the banned viewer.

-Whoa, that’s scary.

-Levan, I didn’t say anything, I swear.

-This is terror politics.

-Is this how the Cultural Revolution ends?

-Proletariat, forever!

-Why’s there a commie in here LOL.

-Hurry and go to the 2nd floor, please.

-Pishoom-pashoom! A streamer blackmailing with content?

-Wow, he’s got them on a leash LOL, yessir!!

Wartube only officially allows one account per person.

Of course, you could use someone else’s account or a relay room to watch, but if your own account is banned, you won’t get notifications or access live content—so content-hungry fans would go crazy.

“Alright, now that you know where the line is, the rest is up to you. Let’s begin the live auction!”

-Whoaa!!

-It’s starting LOLLLLLLLLL.

-What’s the first item?

-Normally, the first auction item is the crappiest one, that’s the rule.

-So true! So true!

-What is it, I’m curious LOL.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the auction started, the manager set off fireworks they’d prepared in advance.

Levan hadn’t expected that.

Watching the fireworks burst, Levan realized again how much effort OpenWorld was putting into this.

So he decided to go all out, too.

“Alright! First item! The first item is a Symbiotic Pendant of Amthoslin!”

-!!!

-?!!

-What?!

The chat began to explode.

(Serial) The Mage Doesn't Hide His Power