Isaac quickly forgot about the minor incident with AishaDoll. Right now, all he could think about was the Cragstone in his inventory.
No one was around to give advice? Fine, he'd just price it himself.
"Starting bid, $1000. Whatever, no one knows what it is anyway. Instant buy... let's put $5000!"
Isaac knew $5000 was steep.
Sure, Cragstone had solid stats, but it wasn't a god-tier item. In gaming, item prices were dictated by rarity more than anything else. A standard level 5 item? Probably not that rare.
Take Hyenaman's Big Club, for instance—it was in high demand and still went for only around $300. Only truly elite items spiked in price.
But Isaac had a few reasons to gamble on the high price:
It was the first green weapon in the entire server.
It was a weapon, the most important gear slot for most players.
And, most importantly, it was on auction. No one had to buy it outright. Let the bids roll in.
Whether it sold or not didn't matter—he listed it anyway.
"Buy it or don't. Whatever."
...
Back in-game, Isaac checked his account.
Everything he'd listed earlier had sold.
33 standard Hyenaman Clubs, after tax: $8150
6 elite Hyenaman Clubs: $3960
A set of shoulder pads: $1350
Total earnings: $13,460!
"Holy crap. Two and a half days of play and I've already made over twenty grand. The helmet's practically paid for!"
Isaac was in a fantastic mood. If he kept this pace, he could pull in $20-30k a month!
"When that silly girl comes back, I'm taking her out for the best food money can buy."
Jumping back into the game, the Red Team was still grinding nearby. Isaac quickly rejoined.
"This is insane. My XP rate is 2.5x what it used to be. I'll just grind to level 10 while waiting for Daffino."
...
While Isaac farmed in peace, others were sweating bullets over a certain listing in the auction house.
The Cragstone Hyenaman Club.
Starting bid: $1000.
Instant buy: $5000.
A level 5 green weapon... going for five grand?
Even the players who were tempted were hesitating.
XSX Gaming Club
Manager and three squad captains stared at the auction listing.
"$5000 instant? That's steep…"
"True, but look at those stats: 9–15 attack. That's miles above the basic Hyenaman Club's 3–6. And the secondary stats are nuts—+6 Strength, +8 Agility, +6 Constitution. That's another +6 attack, +3 defense, and +120 HP, plus buffs to attack and move speed."
"Yeah, there's no denying it—it's a damn good weapon. And we're seriously short on level 5 gear, especially weapons."
"Olive, what's the bid at now?"
Olive pulled up the tracker. "It hit $3200 almost immediately. Now it's at $3700. Twenty minutes left."
"Hah, looks like other guilds are eyeing it too. Anything under $3500 is still reasonable. Bump it by $100."
Keith looked around. "Any of you seen that Greedy Daffino guy? The listing says the weapon dropped from his boss."
No one had.
"Then how the hell did LoneMadness get it...? Isn't he just a reseller? How high is his team's level?"
...
G9 Gaming Club
A good-looking guy shook his head. "$3800. Another bid just came in."
Manager Wyatt sighed. "A level 5 green weapon going for $3800... It's overvalued. We've got the funds, but we're not here to throw money blindly."
Their second team lead adjusted his glasses. "The real problem is, no one but LoneMadness knows where this thing dropped. That's how he's making bank—information asymmetry."
"Well no shit. If we knew where it came from, we'd all be farming it. Anyone seen that Greedy Daffino boss yet?"
Ten captains exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Nope. We've scouted nearby areas. There are more special monsters that drop the Clubs more often, but beyond that? It's full of level 7 or 8 mobs. No way anyone's grinding there yet."
"Exactly. No one's hit level 7 yet, much less entire squads."
...
Dark Genesis HQ
Charles, heir to the conglomerate, was visibly irritated, tapping his chin as he stared at the screen.
"$5000 for instant buy? Has LoneMadness lost his damn mind?"
"You're not gonna buy it?"
"It's not the money—I drop $50k on gear all the time. But this is a level 5 weapon. Even my wallet has standards."
"You're not wrong. And hey, if he could get it to drop, why can't we?"
"But damn, those stats are fire... And it's the first green item on the server. That's flashy as hell. I'm actually tempted."
Rich players do drop big bucks—but they still care about value.
They'll blow $100k for a god-tier weapon, but still haggle over a $300 price cut if it's not worth it.
Bottom line: money's not the problem—it's whether the item's worth it.
Right now, the Cragstone was stuck in everyone's head, dancing between "hell yes" and "no damn way."
...
Somewhere on a gaming forum
A buried thread resurfaced, climbing page after page as more and more players upvoted it.
Eventually, it hit the global North America board.
Isaac had no clue that his original post—completely ignored at the time—would blow up like this.
"Holy crap, legendary thread! Look at the timestamp—he posted this before the Cragstone went up for auction!"
"The keyboard warriors who flamed the OP must feel real dumb now."
"Cragstone's already up to $4000! WTF—five grand for a level 5 green? That's some light novel nonsense."
"Is the OP LoneMadness?"
"Even if not, they're definitely connected—maybe even from his company."
"OP, your team really has thousands of people farming for your boss? What company is this?"
"Please, I'm begging you—tell us where Greedy Daffino is!"
"LoneMadness is such a mystery. What level is he, anyway? I'm betting he's at least level 6. No one's past 6 yet."
And the bidding war wasn't even over.