CHAPTER 298: A TOP-TIER ELIXIR!

All around the venue, murmurs of disapproval filled the air. Most attendees scoffed at the price tag. Some sneered at the small wooden box like it was an insult. Others simply turned away, waiting for the final item.

In their minds, only the final legendary item truly mattered. Nothing else, especially a stupid one-time consumable, was worth their attention.

Meanwhile, nestled comfortably in the velvet-draped shadows of the VIP section, Damon leaned back in his chair, a sly grin tugging at the corners of his lips. His crimson eyes glimmered beneath the anonymity-enchanting hood as he watched the madness unfold before him.

Of course, he was smiling. It was because this item was also his handiwork!

What no one in the Valemire City Auction House or the entire Earth Online server knew was the true origin of the so-called top-tier potion. There was no alchemy master behind it. No ancient temple.

Just Damon, killing time with a bored expression and a venom-based racial skill that he’d recently acquired. Venom Generation.

Damon had spent three idle hours generating poison in the most hilarious, most disgusting way possible: by spitting into ten vials. That’s right. The liquid inside that glowing bottle being hailed as a top-tier alchemy potion? 100% pure, Damon-grade venom spit.

He might have packaged the item as if it were produced by some top-grade alchemist, but the true content of the item was actually his... spit.

He hadn’t even expected the auction house to bite. But once they did? He wrapped it in a neat lie about a mysterious alchemist, gave it a shiny name, and sat back to enjoy the chaos.

As for whether it was over-priced? Hell no! It was not overpriced!

In fact, Damon thought it was a damn bargain. His venom wasn’t some low-tier paralytic sludge. This was apex-level poison, potent enough to melt dungeon bosses into goo. His spit should be one of the most deadly poisons currently available in the game!

On the stage, Davina raised her hand again. "Before you make any final judgments, allow me to show you the item firsthand." With careful hands, she opened the box. The crowd gasped. Inside sat a luminous glass vial, its contents swirling with a greenish, purple glow.

[Vileheart Draught (Epic Tier): Origin - unknown. When applied, a single drop can instantly exterminate any creature up to Level 150, including elite bosses and named monsters. It is not classified as a potion or poison and is immune to purification, resistance, or dispel effects.]

As soon as the details of the item were displayed, the crowd instantly quieted down almost everyone suddenly vanished from existence.

"What... what is this?!"

"Wait, hold up—did a player actually submit that?!"

"Holy crap..."

All the players who had come here hoping to get their hands on the legendary item suddenly shifted forward in their seats. How could they sit still after knowing what this elixir can do?!

It wasn’t a legendary item, but the sheer potency of it was enough to steal the spotlight from anything else on the docket, even the so-called final legendary prize.

Gasps turned into frantic whispers. Whispers turned into outright arguments. Players began scanning their auction interfaces, double-checking their bank balances, and cursing their guildmates for not pooling money sooner.

The room, moments ago so dismissive and unimpressed, had transformed into a pressure cooker of greed and ambition.

"I could wipe an entire dungeon with this."

"Forget that. Use it in a PvP war. Imagine nuking an entire enemy squad with just poison!"

"Bro, that thing would make me a god in the game! All the world bosses would become my bitches!"

In the VIP section, Damon tilted his head, amused as chaos bloomed like wildfire. He didn’t even need to stoke the flames. His little bottle of death did all the work.

He nearly snorted when someone in the crowd screamed, "I’ll pay two hundred thousand gold coins right now, just shut up and sell it!"

More voices piled on, offers overlapping in a frenzy. Bids jumped in increments of hundreds of thousands. Alliances were forged and broken in real-time. The entire auction house was one wrong word away from a PvP brawl.

Damon sat quietly watching the world burn over ten vials of his spit. "Best investment I’ve ever made," he murmured under his breath. He was short on money, so he had to squeeze out every gold coin he could from the masses.

Meanwhile, the bids on his spit were going crazy. Heaven Conqueror from the Dark Knights, who had just now badmouthed the auction house for scamming, shamelessly bid 250,000 gold coins.

"Haha, didn’t this guy just call anyone who buys it an idiot? And now he’s bidding like crazy?"

"This ’Heaven Conqueror’ guy is hilarious! Dude’s got no shame at all!"

"I’m telling you, if I ever think about joining a guild, Dark Knights Guild’s off the list. Way too embarrassing to be associated with that bunch."

But the guild and the player could not care less. A lot more than their reputation was on the line, so they continued to bid with frenzy.

Damon recognized many familiar names in the mix. Daddy Brutal announced a bid for 350,000 gold coins. Even Bertram participated and brought the price up to a whopping 500,000 gold coins.

At this moment, someone from the VIP seats finally made a move.

"1 million gold coins."

A wave of disbelief swept through the Valemire City Auction House like a crack of thunder.

Every head turned, eyes wide. Who the hell just jumped the bid straight from 500,000 to a clean 1 million?! That wasn’t a raise; it was a declaration.

Heaven Conqueror couldn’t take it anymore. He spun around, fuming, his voice thundering across the hall.

"Who the hell dares to challenge Dark Knight Guild?! Are you tired of living?!"

But just as he was about to unleash a barrage of curses, his eyes landed on the bidder. And then, silence. Every insult he had lined up died in his throat, his face turning pale.

The rest of the audience, curious as ever, followed his line of sight. Then someone up front, sharp-eyed and breathless, shouted in disbelief:

"Wait a second, that’s Gigarion! The actual Guild Master of Battle Crusaders Guild!"

"No way. He showed up himself?!"

The room buzzed with fresh tension. No one had expected one of the most influential figures in the game to appear, much less to make a bold play like that.

Battle Crusaders were currently hailed as the top guild in the game, and their guild leader himself had shown up for the auction!

The crowd went livid.

"Oooh, now things are getting interesting!"

"Gigarion’s the type who never leaves empty-handed. If he’s made a move, good luck outbidding him."

"I wouldn’t be so sure. Everyone in this hall’s got deep pockets and big egos. Someone might still throw down."

"Either way, that guy from Dark Knights Guild is done for. He just barked at a lion, thinking it was a stray mutt."

"Look at his face! Man’s sweating bullets. Bet he’s replaying that outburst in his head on loop. Serves him right!"

***

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