Chapter 5

    Auction

    "Mr. Pun, are you sure you want to auction all four legendary boxes?" the female employee asked.

    "I confirm," Pun immediately responded.

    "Understood."

    Pun watched as the employee clicked away on the computer, then an announcement sounded,

    "Announcement!!! From the auction system for items valued over 500 orbs, those interested in bidding please activate the auction tab."

    Pun, curious, activated the auction tab, and the employee nearby explained, "Mr. Pun, you'll see the item names up for auction along with the starting price, which the bank sets. How long would you like the auction period to be? If you need money quickly, you might opt for a 3-hour auction, but if you're not in a hurry, I suggest 7 days."

    Pun thought about his options. He preferred the 7-day option but didn't want to wait that long, especially since he was currently having not a single baht Oh, bead. Well… there must be a way.

    "Actually, I'd prefer 7 days, but I need money soon. Can I auction the legendary jewelry box for 3 hours and the rest for 7 days?"

    "Hmm, yes, that's possible. I hadn't thought of splitting them like that. While waiting for the 3 hours, you can stay here. And don't worry about getting hungry. Oh!! I forgot to mention, as time passes, you'll feel hunger, and every sensation feels very real, including tiredness and thirst. You can check your satiety level on your watch."

    "Eh, someone's contacting me," she noted.

    Pun looked at her as she mentioned someone had made an offer.

    It looks like someone has contacted to bid for the auction. That’s good. That way, I could go on my adventure as fast as possible. Pun looked at the clerk again. She was in front of the computer, typing and muttering something he did not hear. He thought it was that he sat too far from her, so he walked to where she was to catch what she said. Or maybe this is rude? Will I get scolded?

     "Pun, there is a player who contacted us saying they want to trade a Legendary Jewelry Box for 300 orbs and rare items valued at about 200+ orbs. Would you consider this offer? Because from what I’ve seen in the auction market, its price just reached 503 orbs. There are about 2 hours left."

    Hearing this, Pun nearly jumped for joy. Well, at least, he still got 300 orbs of money, which was around 300 million beads. That could be a certain amount of real money. Therefore, he turned to ask a question about the rare items he was offered. "Okay, but what are these rare items?"

    "I suggest you talk directly to the buyer... I'll arrange for them to contact you."

    Before Pun could respond, his watch beeped, signaling an incoming call.

    "Player Temple of Illusion is contacting. Accept?"

    "Accept!"

    "Hello! Mr. Jompran, I'm Temple of Illusion, or you can call me Mai."

    A small, clear voice that sounded like a glass bell echoed in his head.

    "Hello, Mai. You can call me Pun. What are these rare items?"

    "I have a few options for you. If you're not satisfied, feel free to let me know. I can try to find what you're looking for and will even tailor an outfit for you for free."

    "Really? There's custom tailoring too? Then, I've decided on the rare item. Can you tailor an outfit worth 200 orbs? If so, that would be perfect. I'm actually looking for a hunter's outfit."

    Pun felt overjoyed. Wow... selling just one box got him both money and a suit. As long as he could find all the necessary items at a regular NPC shop, he'd be ready to venture into the jungle.

    "A suit valued at 200 orbs?" Mai considered. "I'm afraid we might not have enough materials to meet that value, but I'll try my best. How long can you wait, Mr. Pun? I'll gather my guild members to search for materials."

    Pun felt a bit disappointed. But... is it that hard to find materials? Well, he did have a lot of items. Maybe some of them could be used as materials.

    "What materials are you looking for? I'm willing to help find some since I have urgent matters to attend to."

    "... Alright then. But don't worry, if you bring the materials, I'm willing to pay you for them or find something else to exchange for sure. As for the materials, if you're looking to make a hunter's suit, it's usually made of light armor from leather. The best would be Prae Praw diamond dragon leather, from the level 199 boss, the world's number one in Dream Come True world. I wouldn't have been able to find it before, but last month, my group went to defeat this boss, and we got a share of the dragon skin. So, materials won't be an issue. Next is the thread for sewing; firstly, we want gold threads from the gold silkworm; and next, soul threads from the Leaves of Memory, which are no problem. But for the third thread, the Sky threads made from rainbow spider webs, I only have 2 webs, which isn't even enough for gloves. Getting each web could take days, and there are other materials needed."

    Hearing this, Pun felt disheartened. Just 2 webs not enough for gloves? For a full suit, wouldn't it need like 100 webs? One web took a day. He could only pray with what he had.

    "How can I search for my existing items?"

    "Oh, since you didn't have a storage bag initially, I didn't bring your items. But now that you have one, just a moment... By the way, are you looking for anything in particular? You can call up the item data if you're searching for something. Let’s try it out then."

    Pun smiled at the officer. How convenient! After a moment, a voice in his head announced, "Player Jompran has received 2,993 items. Your bag now has 2,007 slots available."

    "Mr. Pun, try saying 'search' followed by what you're looking for."

    Pun, a bit perplexed, wondered if he didn't need to open the bag after all. Well, might as well follow the instructions; he was known for being easygoing anyway.

    "...search...materials for making clothes."

    He was astonished when suddenly a blue window appeared, measuring about a meter by a meter, with over fifty little slots inside. Next to each slot was a scroll arrow, and then a voice in his head stated, "Search results...materials for making clothes...total of 500 slots found."

    Hearing that, Pun was astonished. Was there really that much stuff? Eh... what exactly did Mai want then? He turned to consult with the employee and decided to invite Mai to the bank to finalize the transaction and make a contract for the suit, with the bank acting as a witness. The employee mentioned it was an unusual case for the bank to sign as a witness, but it was considered special in this instance.

    While waiting for Mai, a man entered the room with a tray of tea and snacks, probably another employee since it was a secure data protection door. Who else could it be?

    "Hello, I'm Kanok Peerasuk, the bank manager. Pleasure to meet you, Jompran."

    The man introduced himself as the bank manager, looking more like a businessman than a regular bank employee, making Pun almost want to rush and carry the tray himself. But Mr. Kanok had already placed the tray on the table and served tea to Pun. But why was Mr. Kanok here? Unless!!... to collect room charges since he had overstayed... Before Pun could wander off with his thoughts, Mr. Kanok spoke up.

    "Please enjoy the tea. I'm here today to draft and witness the contract, and to thank you, Pun, for boosting our bank's revenue to such an extent. As a token of our gratitude, we're offering you a free Crystal card."

    As they were discussing the contract, a knock on the door was heard, and the pretty employee opened it for a slender woman to enter… Beautiful... that word might be short, but it fully described her. With long, black hair shiny blue glittering, a simple yet elegant white cloak, minimal yet luxurious jewelry, God, it's rare to encounter such beauty and outstanding.

    Pun might have stared a bit too long, causing her to shy away, making him realize his rudeness. Feeling embarrassed, he turned to look at Mr. Kanok, who, surprisingly, was also staring unabashedly at Mai. The beautiful employee had to clear her throat a couple of times to bring him back to his senses.

    "Hello again, Mai. You can call me Pun."

    Pun greeted Mai, but her gaze seemed strange. Did he look that shabby... maybe because he emitted a stressed vibe, causing even Mr. Kanok to start looking at him, and the pretty employee to glance at Mai?

    “I’m sorry for being rude. I was just…I was thinking how could you be in a starter clothes… well…”

    After a while, Mai spoke up, slightly embarrassed about being seemingly rude for Pun's attire, making him feel somewhat belittled. Pun could only sigh.

    "Sigh! Well, I got these boxes from a lucky draw at the Gaga Liverman City Mall. Since I got them, I decided to play."

    Pun's response was stiff, showing he was a bit annoyed. Mai lowered her head further, making him feel guilty for making such a beautiful person sad.

    "Eh!! There was a lucky draw with such valuable prizes? Right! Today's the live broadcast of the famous singers' concert. No wonder if there were such grand prizes, investors would've swooped in. Luckily I didn't go because I was busy in the game, or I would've missed out."

    Pun was surprised at how quickly her mood improved when talking about the prizes.

    "Is that so?"

    Before the atmosphere could deteriorate further, Mr. Kanok spoke about the contract. After completing the signing process, Pun received 300 orbs.

    Heh heh, now he could venture into the wilderness.

    The mood brightened considerably once the money was secured. Pun called up the inventory for Mai to select the materials, offering to hand over anything she chose since the pretty employee mentioned no one else could access his inventory except for the owner. Pun watched as Mai's eyes gleamed at the sight of the materials, reminiscent of seeing precious jewels. While Mai was selecting materials, Pun took the opportunity to enjoy the delicious tea and snacks Mr. Kanok had brought.

    Hmm, the tea is still warm, and the snacks are crispy bread with white sugar crystals... The sweet and soft taste, complemented by the smooth tea, had Pun fully immersed in the flavors, completely detached from the outside world.

    "Mr. Pun, Mr. Pun?"

    Eh, he must've been too absorbed with the food. Hearing his name called, he saw the two ladies trying not to laugh at his distraction.

    "Ahem, yes? Is there something, Mai?"

    "Um... ahem... it's like, I have got everything now. The ingredients from you, Pun, are all excellent. There are buttons made from polished chimera bones, dewdrop diamonds from mermaid’s hair. The items I’m going to make include about 300 items. And if combined with what I already have, oh God! I think we can create an outfit even more expensive than the Diamond Dragon Suit of Light dropped from the level 199 boss, worn by the leader of the Dragon Guardian Guild. With everything ready like this, I will do my best not to dishonor the name of the Goddess of Weaving for sure. Just wait for about 2 days, okay? I will mobilize all my guild members to their full capacity. See you then, Pun."

    Pun could only listen to Mai's lengthy explanation without a chance to interject. It seemed... Mai was happier than when receiving the legendary jewelry box. It looked like she really enjoyed making clothes. Pun recalled Mai mentioning she owned a clothing store here. She must be skilled, as the employee didn't comment further. Maybe Pun should inquire more about Mai from the assistant.

    “Is this question also considered as a prize?”

    Pun was left dumbfounded. Just asking that wasn’t allowed? Well, leave that aside for now. Not sure what face Pun made for the employee to laugh before suggesting that Pun looked for information through the media communication channels or searched on the game’s internet.

    “Is there another computer? I’d like to search on it.”

    “There are service shops in the city. You might want to take a look. By the way, do you know how to get there? If not, you should look at a map. You can buy maps from any general store, but I saw you already have one in your inventory. With so many items, you hardly need to spend any money. Use some of your money, or it’ll just sit there and rot."

    After saying that, the employee walked away with a light laugh. Pun scratched his head in frustration, thinking he might need a special course from his father when he got back. He opened his inventory to look for the map, which turned out to be a small silver chip. Not knowing what to do next since the employee had left, Pun could only check its properties.

    High-Resolution Rare-Level Map of Dream Come True Game

    How to use: Insert it into the watch slot.

    Hmm, Pun thought, lucky that it was explained this way. He looked at his wristwatch, then inserted the chip into the slot, and the familiar voice in his head said, "Downloading... map...5…4…3…2…1... Completed."

    But how to open it? Probably the same way as before.

    "Properties."

    Digital Watch

    Properties: Displays the current date and time in Dream Come True world and the real world. Can charge various chips into the watch.

    How to use: Just tell the watch what you want.

    Staring at the watch in amazement, Pun initially thought it needed batteries. Little did he know it was operated this way.

    "The current date and time in Dream Come True and the real world."

    "March 8th, Year 8,006 of Dream at 4:00 AM. The current date and time in the real world: June 18th, Year 1,001 of the United Era at 1:00 AM."

    So, he had been in the game for 4 days already? Time flew. But how far had the auction progressed?

    "Auction tab."

    Items Starting Price Current Bid

    1. Legendary Weapon Box 500 orbs 700 orbs

    2. Legendary Clothing Box 500 orbs 650 orbs

    3. Legendary Pet Box 500 orbs 680 orbs

    Time left before auction ends: 5 days

    Five more days, huh? Well, he already has 300 orbs in his inventory.

    But where's the employee? Probably at the counter. Before going, Pun decided to check if his items were all accounted for and lovingly looked at his talisman, worrying, "Where should I put this talisman? It says it can be used as an accessory, but where?"

    Before he could finish, the red talisman around Pun's neck turned into a red light, wrapping around his neck. Pun smiled again, reassuring himself, "Online games are truly amazing..." and stepped out the door.

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    In a small info box: Dream Come True game has been operational for 18 months, equivalent to 6 years in-game. It started on January 1st, Year 1,000 of the United Era (reset).

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