Chapter 36
It was a peaceful day, no different from usual. Since Kwon-ju said he would log in after 8 PM today, instead of doing homework, Ji-won was browsing the market to see if any good Spirit Master equipment was for sale. Though he needed to enhance his existing items, he was thinking of selling them and buying new ones if he found something better. As his gradually saved gold had accumulated quite a bit, he kept noticing things he wanted to upgrade, making each trip to the shop a happy deliberation about what to tackle first.
About 30 minutes after logging in, if Chelling hadn’t frantically called him through the guild chat, he probably would have continued browsing for about an hour.
[Guild][Chelling: Omfg]
[Guild][Chelling: The Silver Wolf that Guild Master’s been desperately looking for is up for sale]
The Silver Wolf is up for sale? Ji-won, who had been comfortably opening temporary shops one by one, shot up from his seat, causing his chair to shake and rattle.
The Silver Wolf was a rare mount that had a certain drop rate from opening “Eve’s Box,” a random cash item worth 3,000 won, which had only been released once about four years ago, never to appear again.
Though it was simply a luxury item, it looked exactly like the wolf spirit depicted in the Spirit Master character illustration, which had been met with great excitement from Spirit Master users when it was released. Due to the extremely difficult draw rate and consequently high trading price, only a very small number of users had managed to get their hands on it.
Ji-won not only loved upgrading his specs but also enjoyed collecting costume items. He was especially passionate about his class, making him go crazy for Spirit Master items. He’d even dyed his character’s hair light sky blue and always wore a mage cape very similar in design to the one in the official Spirit Master illustration.
If he had been playing at the time, he would have gathered all his gold to buy it, but… sadly, Ji-won had quit the game then as he was a Korean high school student preparing for exams. He hadn’t even known such an item existed, and when he returned and found out too late, the regret was immeasurable. He’d waited, but no listings appeared, making him think it was over.
[Guild][Hando: Really???????]
[Guild][Chelling: Yep, auction at Toben Castle tomorrow at 9 PM, let’s win this!]
[Guild][Watermelon Doctor: Wow, that thing is actually for sale???]
[Guild][olly: Wowww amazingkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk]
The shock of a supposedly non-existent item suddenly appearing seemed to have startled even the quiet guild members, who popped up in chat with comments. Ji-won closed the now bustling guild chat window and belatedly pondered as he reconsidered the timing.
Why did it have to be at that time…
Normally, he would cancel his appointment and go to the auction, but this time he couldn’t. Everyone had said they couldn’t make this time because of this reason or that time because of that reason, and they had finally agreed on a time with difficulty. It was for an assignment that affected his grades… Changing the time again just to buy a game item didn’t seem right. Besides, hadn’t he been the one to insist that everyone must come this time?
But he couldn’t give up such a rare opportunity either. Since mounts became untradeable once purchased, he couldn’t ask someone to buy it for him… Ah, he could just lend his account. With a face like sunshine passing through his mind that had been full of worries, Ji-won immediately picked up his phone and sent a KakaoTalk message.
[Kwon-ju, can you log in with my account tomorrow at 9 and do an auction for me? I’ll buy you something delicious]
The “1” disappeared as soon as he sent it, making Ji-won think Kwon-ju must have been on his phone. He waited patiently for an answer. But even after waiting 1 minute, 2 minutes, no reply came. Was it too much to ask? He could just say it would be difficult if it was.
[Do you have something else going on?]
[noㅇ]
[No]
Just as Ji-won was thinking he should ask another guild member, an urgent reply flew in before even 10 seconds had passed.
At the same time, the sunshine-faced junior on the other end of the phone was too flustered to gather his thoughts. He had been going over his conversations with Ji-won when the sudden KakaoTalk message startled him, causing him to throw his phone inside the moving car. Ji-won must have seen the “1” disappear right away.
“What’s wrong?”
His brother, who had kindly come to pick him up, asked as if he was witnessing some strange behavior, but Kwon-ju was busy picking up his phone and sending a reply. The driver looked straight ahead, seemingly uninterested in what was happening in the back seat.
[The time is fine, I’ll do it for you]
[Thanks, I really have no one else ㅠ]
…Really?
Even though he knew it was just a figure of speech, he needed to know his place. His reactions were as quick as a machine spitting out output values based on input values. He’d probably spend the next few days just staring at this KakaoTalk again. Sensing his own future, Kwon-ju quietly took a screenshot of the chat. He should look at it in his gallery to avoid being surprised by sudden messages like earlier.
[hjw1027
1027hjw*]
His ID and password are really simple. Somehow, it seemed fitting that they were just made up of his name initials and date of birth. While forcibly pulling down the corners of his mouth that were childishly rising at each trivial fact, more KakaoTalks kept coming from Ji-won.
[There’s OTP so let me know when you’re logging in]
[Including what’s in the storage, it should be about 1.8 million gold]
1.8 million gold was worth about 900,000 won in real cash. It was an enormous amount to spend on just one mount, but Ji-won had been waiting for the Silver Wolf mount for a long time. He had originally planned to use the gold he had been steadily saving to try for +13 on his cape and gloves, but he decided to postpone the spec upgrade since it wouldn’t cause major problems in his immediate gameplay.
If I put in all 1.8 million gold, I should be able to get it. After sending a KakaoTalk to Kwon-ju, Ji-won opened his storage to check exactly how much gold he had when Chelling brought additional news.
[Guild][Chelling: But about the Silver Wolf]
[Guild][Chelling: I heard Cheong Ji-in is taking out a loan to go for it]
[Guild][Hando: Cheong Ji-in??]
[Guild][Chelling: Yep]
Cheong Ji-in, ranked 5th among Spirit Masters. He was someone who lived only for Arc Serenity, literally a person whose life was trapped in the game—so much so that it was rarer to find a user who didn’t know him. He used to stream like Jung-hoon, though he quit due to repeated controversies. Ji-won wasn’t sure about his recent activities, but one thing was certain: he was a veteran player just like himself.
“Of all people…”
Above all, Ji-won had a bad history with him. He had been one-sidedly criticized and though it was resolved well, he wasn’t a user with whom Ji-won had good feelings.
[Guild][Chelling: He’s been going around telling everyone]
[Guild][Ddaji: As expected of Arc Serenity’s honorary resident]
[Guild][Watermelon Doctor: At this point, shouldn’t they give him citizenship?]
Ji-won started to think he might not be able to get it. Who was Cheong Ji-in? A hardcore user who borrowed money every month to play games, then worked intense daily part-time jobs to fill the gap, repeating the cycle. Ji-won, who had once lost to him in an auction for a mage-exclusive item, knew this better than anyone. He thought Cheong Ji-in might have gritted his teeth and borrowed from everywhere.
[Guild][Chelling: A few days ago he posted proof of his credit card debt after failing to get his gloves to +14 kkkkkk]
[Guild][Chelling: This auction might be a bit tough~^~^]
[Guild][Ddaji: Honestly, losing to anyone else is fine but this ba$tard…]
Chelling, who had clashed with Cheong Ji-in multiple times in the game and had long been enemies, mentioned his credit card debt to reassure Ji-won. Not just +13, but attempting +14… Thinking about Cheong Ji-in’s specs, which were much better than his own, Ji-won belatedly sent one more KakaoTalk to Kwon-ju.
[If it goes over 1.8 million gold, give up]
Honestly, he didn’t want to lose it… but if he couldn’t get it, there was nothing he could do. There were many other places to spend money, and using real cash felt a bit wrong too. Trying to clear his mind, Ji-won started looking for items he could sell to earn a bit more gold.
Oh, but does Kwon-ju know how to auction? I don’t think I’ve ever taught him.
[Have you done an auction before?]
Kwon-ju, who had been holding his phone waiting for the next message, briefly turned his gaze to the window. The car was just passing through the main gate.
Recently, he had been spending time with guild members, which meant less time alone with Ji-won in the game, something he already found regrettable. If he just said he hadn’t done it before, Ji-won would probably send a video link. Kwon-ju, who already knew Ji-won’s pattern of helping newbies, took preemptive action.
[ㅠㅠ I looked at videos but I don’t really understand]
[Then let’s try it once]
[When will you log in?]
Success. 3 minutes to his room. 1 minute to wash hands, 1 minute to turn on the game. After making a brief plan, Kwon-ju got out of the car, leaving a message that he would log in within 5 minutes. It was a bit of a gloomy thought, but… he planned to pretend not to know as much as possible to receive a 1:1 auction tutorial from Ji-won for as long as possible. The purpose of coming home after a long time had long disappeared from his mind.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
