Elven Kingdom.
The venue for the World's First Auction was chosen in the most prosperous building not far from the Adventurer's Shop.
According to Hilulele, it was also to leverage the popularity of this auction to draw traffic to the Adventurer's Shop, boost consumption, and increase tax revenue.
She unexpectedly had some business acumen, but not much; with the resources sold by the Adventurer's Shop, it was already the top trend on the continent without needing marketing.
At this moment, Adventurers from all over the continent gathered.
Even many legendary Adventurers and legendary Adventurer Teams who had retired for years re-emerged, congregating in the Elven Court.
Walking on the street, any random person could be a renowned powerhouse in the Adventurer industry.
Various races gathered here, making the usually monotonous Elven Court, which only had Elves, much more diverse.
It truly had the demeanor of a world center.
Hotel tax revenue surged significantly these past few days. Fortunately, the Elven Court had expanded greatly recently with the resources from the MC Dungeon.
Even if the customer flow doubled, it could still accommodate them.
Among these people, there were many who had grudges against each other and powerhouses who acted flamboyantly.
But at this moment, they were all honestly acting as new-era Adventurers who valued civilization and promoted new virtues.
The patrols of Hippogryphs and the Winged Cavalry in the sky never ceased, coupled with the presence of many powerhouses in the Elven Court.
Even some legendary Adventurers above Lv80 had to rush to help old grandmothers cross the street.
No one dared to guess what the already deeply-rooted base of the Elven Kingdom had evolved into with the help of the MC Dungeon.
Naturally, no one dared to cause trouble here.
Instead, many Adventurers crowded at the entrance of the auction house, looking at the notice board.
Many auction items had been revealed in the past few days. How to put it—anyone who saw them couldn't help but drool.
The worst items, in their opinion, were quasi-legendary equipment, and legendary equipment and resources were countless.
Even so, many mysterious items had not yet been unveiled.
For example, the so-called divine-grade resources that made various nations not hesitate to have key figures retire early and join Adventurer Teams just to acquire them.
Adventurers from all corners of the world stopped at the notice board, their eyes burning with greed as they scanned the items on display.
They wished they could tear off the pictures and devour them alive.
Just acquiring one item could greatly boost a team's strength and provide an opportunity to become a legendary Adventurer Team.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious hotel just one street away from the auction venue, the members of Golden Village, separated for five years, were finally reunited.
Inside the guest room, drinks flowed freely, and Gahaffa's boisterous shouts could be heard even through the thick door.
"Awesome!"
Gahaffa drained his cup of wine and wiped his beard.
"This wine in the Elven Kingdom seems to have changed taste; it's so good!"
Fatz nodded with a smile.
"I heard it's brewed from the food harvested from the MC Dungeon—"
"Is that so?"
Gahaffa hadn't really paid attention to such things; he just simply found it delicious.
"Relo and the others are really missing out—"
The yellow-bearded Dwarf strongman sitting beside them shook his head helplessly.
"Relo and the others aren't like us; they all hold official positions now, so they can't come to this auction—"
"No problem, as long as the money comes!"
Gahaffa chuckled, patting Fatz next to him.
"With the gold sent by Relo and the others, plus the money we've saved, and Fatz's capital as a big financier, we're sure to buy a lot of good things this time!"
With that, Gahaffa grandly slammed his wine glass on the table.
Reuniting with Fatz these past few days, he had rediscovered the feeling of adventuring together in the past.
He seemed to have become that simple-minded, boorish captain again.
But Hiron clearly didn't give him face, immediately retorting:
"Captain, what you said has very little weight—. Fatz told me you couldn't even afford fifteen hundred gold coins."
"Well—"
Gahaffa scratched his head awkwardly.
"People have their tight moments, you know. Don't worry, once we've finished our purchases this time and resume adventuring, I'll quickly save up more gold coins!"
Hearing this, Fatz merely sighed.
He didn't believe a word Gahaffa said.
Their captain was clearly not someone who could hold onto money.
However, it was a good thing that Golden Village could resume adventuring.
Fatz really wanted to visit that miraculous MC Dungeon someday if he had the chance.
"Hiron, have you decided what you want to bid on?"
Snapping back to reality, Fatz's attention shifted to Hiron.
He needed to prepare in advance and organize everyone's desired items.
Fatz, who was never short of money, was worried about funds for the first time.
Even though he had converted some of his assets into gold for this World's First Auction, Fatz still lacked confidence.
The weakest participants in this auction were quasi-legendary Adventurer Teams, with terrifying cash flows.
Moreover, the items in this auction often involved legendary-grade items, and the casual Sold Price would probably be equivalent to a city's tax revenue for half a year.
Coupled with the fact that various nations also sent people to bid, Fatz couldn't imagine how Golden Village's cash flow could compare to the reserves of the various nations.
After all, he heard that this auction even allowed the exchange of gold for resources like technologies and skill books.
Even if Relo and the others provided a massive amount of funds, Fatz didn't know how far Golden Village's cash flow could sustain them.
"If possible, I really want that Nether Alloy Enchanted Armor set."
Hiron immediately became animated, slamming his rough palm heavily on the table.
He was flushed with excitement.
"That is definitely a magical equipment that has reached legendary status. The entire Dwarf Empire doesn't have many sets, and to make one, even five or six legendary smiths would need luck."
The more Hiron spoke, the more excited he became, introducing the normal legendary equipment crafting process to Gahaffa and the other two.
Only artisans who understood equipment crafting could comprehend the difficulty of inscribing magic patterns, and the magic patterns of that Nether Alloy Enchanted Set even involved top-tier patterns related to laws.
Putting themselves in the shoes of the Dwarf Empire, if such enchanted equipment came from them, they would definitely guard it tightly.
The Elven Kingdom actually put it directly up for auction?
Does that mean they can arm their armies with legendary equipment?
The more Hiron spoke, the more excited he became, already proclaiming the MC Dungeon as the world's number one Dungeon.
"Legendary equipment, an enchanted Nether Alloy set?"
Fatz had a bit of a headache.
He had seen that enchanted equipment set: helmet, chest plate, leg armor, boots.
All of them were imbued with a large number of law-based attributes.
Combined, they were probably top-tier even among legendary equipment.
Most importantly, that set came with an enchanted Nether Alloy Sword, and it was a bundled sale.
That sword was even more outrageous!
Taken alone, it could make all the major legendary Adventurer Teams fight over it.
Knockback, Fire Aspect, Unbreaking, Looting, Sweeping Edge—especially that Looting enchantment.
It could increase the material drops from magical beasts, and that alone was enough to drive Adventurer Teams wild.
That was a money-making artifact!
Fatz had no doubt that a single sword alone could sell for tens of millions of gold coins. Bundled sale—
That could almost be described as a combination of two legendary equipment sets!
If Gahaffa had worn that enchanted equipment, when they encountered the Mountain Giant back then, not only would Nili not have sacrificed herself, but Gahaffa might even have been able to exchange a few blows with the Mountain Giant.
After a long silence, Fatz wrote a number with trembling hands.
"Eighty million gold coins—"
"The price of that legendary equipment set will not be less than eighty million gold coins."
Three years ago, the Magic Dynasty's legendary staff was auctioned for thirty-five million gold coins.
Eighty million, this was an extremely conservative estimate.
Fatz even suspected that for that Looting enchanted Nether Alloy Sword, major legendary Adventurer Teams wouldn't mind paying eighty million to buy it.
But Golden Village, even emptying their coffers, only had a little over three hundred million.
They could probably buy it if they forced it, but other resources were also very important.
"Ender Pearls also need to be bid on. The Elven Kingdom already demonstrated their use during the war with Doragon; they are items with innate spatial abilities.
They can save your life at critical moments, so we need to bid on at least five stacks."
One stack of Ender Pearls would probably not be less than one million, which Golden Village could barely afford.
There were also other equipment and materials.
Fatz really needed some lapis lazuli for reserves, which offered zero loss in magic transmission.
But this item would definitely be targeted by various nations, and Fatz wasn't very confident in snatching it from the tiger's mouth.
"Don't overthink it."
Gahaffa smiled, handing the wine glass to Fatz,
"Just do your best, buy what you can. Competing with the whole world this time is an honor, no matter what."
Fatz sighed.
Honestly, he wanted to buy everything, but his funds truly paled in comparison to those of the various nations.
He also had to set aside some as reserve funds for future purchases at the Adventurer's Shop.
Indeed, acting according to the situation was the best choice.
After a moment of contemplation, Fatz still softly said:
"I'm still more curious about what the Elven Kingdom has become in the MC Dungeon, and what exactly the MC Dungeon is, why it even has divine-grade resources, and why even divine-grade resources can be auctioned—"
As he spoke, Fatz subtly glanced at the elegantly dressed man on the nearby balcony, who was looking out at the auction venue.
That was someone from the Olyana Kingdom, or rather—
He was the Olyana Kingdom's king's private minister.
To participate in this auction, he directly resigned from all his positions and temporarily joined Golden Village.
He knew very well that this person came for the divine-grade resources, although Fatz didn't think the Olyana Kingdom could compete with powerful entities like the Orc Empire and the Magic Dynasty.
But it was his homeland, after all, and he was willing to make things convenient. Moreover, the Olyana Kingdom would also provide some financial support for their auction.
"Don't think about those things."
Gahaffa waved his hand indifferently. "Divine-grade resources are the core of the official struggles between nations; we can't compete for them. Let's just honestly buy some things to improve our strength."
That item was clearly prepared for the various nations. Gahaffa was very certain that if any Adventurer Team dared to intercept it, they would be chopped into mincemeat by the armies of various nations as soon as they left the Verdan Eternal Forest.
They couldn't guard that deadly item.
It was said that the most elite troops from various nations had secretly arrived, and all magic teleportation arrays outside the Verdan Eternal Forest were being watched by various national forces.
Gahaffa had no doubt that a terrifying battle would erupt outside after the auction.
That divine-grade resource—
It wasn't something that could be easily sent back home after being bought.
As Gahaffa thought, for some reason, he suddenly chuckled.
After a while, he wiped away the tears from laughing.
"I heard those old geezers from the Adventurers' Guild are also very interested in divine-grade resources. I wonder if any of them are outside the Verdan Eternal Forest. If so, Gahaffa will definitely go watch the show.
And while he's at it, he'll have to steal a few blows, as interest.
Fatz shook his head helplessly.
"They're not stupid; they wouldn't dare to go against the various national governments, especially since almost all secret troops from various nations have been dispatched this time.
They won't seek death at this critical juncture."
"That's true—"
Gahaffa scoffed.
"They only know how to bully Adventurers who have no one to care for them. But this time they can't enter the auction, so those old fogeys must be furious, right?"
"Don't underestimate them."
Fatz was not optimistic about this.
"If the various national governments can think of sending people to join Adventurer Teams, how could they not know? It's just that they can't come in a big way."
"That's enough!"
Gahaffa drained his wine, slamming the glass heavily on the table.
His eyes were filled with ruthlessness.
"Once we buy good things and become stronger this time, I will definitely get justice for Nili!"
"A bunch of old fogeys—they don't have many days left to live!"