Marcus was speechless again. Old Vine really was a genius at making money, coming up with a scheme like this. Wealthy players could buy a ticket to attend the live auction for at least thirty gold coins, and players who were less well-funded could still pay sixteen gold to access the viewing room in the shop. He had covered every angle, which explained why the place was booming.
"Old Vine, have all the tickets been sold?"
"Every single one. Especially the hundred seats in the VIP section, those were taken almost instantly. There are plenty of rich people out there, and they all care about appearances. Sitting in the VIP section shows status, and anyone who has money is fighting for a seat. Stone, the price of the Guild Creation Token tonight will far exceed what we predicted. You should be ready."
Marcus smirked to himself. He could handle that. The more gold coins this brought in, the better.
"Stone, according to the rules, the auction tickets are handled by the Auction House, so I can’t split the ticket profits with you. Because of that, the seven-three split we agreed on for the viewing fees is actually a loss on your end. Of course, the only reason the ticket sales are this high is because the items you’re auctioning are valuable, especially the Guild Creation Token, which is the main reason my auction house suddenly has a reputation. So, to be fair, I won’t take the ten percent auction fee this time. But the two percent system fee still has to be paid by you. How does that sound?"
"Deal. Works for me."
Old Vine clearly had real-world business experience. He was ruthless about profit but fair about it, leaving Marcus nothing to complain about. Marcus had to admit he admired how the man ran things. Old Vine wasn’t just shrewd, he was strategic. His whole plan was to aim for the high-end crowd, auctioning to the wealthy, but without shutting out the regular players, letting them pay for access to watch the event.
"I’ll transfer your share of the gold right after the auction. Oh, and Stone, remember to let me auction anything good you pick up in the future."
Marcus and Old Vine exchanged a knowing smile, both aware they were about to make a fortune together in Dominion.
But something occurred to Marcus, and he paused. With income like this, Old Vine had to be on the Wealth Leaderboard. He opened it to check.
Wealth Leaderboard:
1. CryptoWarlord – 58.42 Million
2. InfernoFiend001 – 55.56 Million
3. Hexium – 51.12 Million
4. Old Vine – 48.72 Million
5. Demonic Dragon – 46.41 Million
6. GoldDiggerIRL – 43.89 Million
7. SoulfireBlade – 38.78 Million
8. ThreeleafDad – 35.74 Million
9. Slayer#Apex – 27.71 Million
10. PantherTech – 25.42 Million
Sure enough, Old Vine wasn’t just on the leaderboard, he was already sitting at fourth place. His rise was absurdly fast, practically overnight. Marcus felt a surge of satisfaction, knowing a third of that wealth technically belonged to him.
"Old Vine, I’ve got three more pieces of top-tier equipment on me. Let’s put them up for auction tonight too."
"Golden equipment? Show me." Old Vine’s eyes brightened immediately. With a few more high-quality Golden items, the auction would look even more impressive, and players would see that the Old Vine Auction House wasn’t just famous because of the Guild Creation Token, it also handled exceptional equipment.
Marcus had three Golden items at the moment: the Black Iron Spiked Club, the Skeleton Bow, and the Stormstrike Staff. He also had the Mythic Artifact, the Ironwood Staff. He planned to keep the Skeleton Bow for his sister, and he would let Old Vine auction off the other pieces.
"Ah, perfect, these are excellent. Stone, this Black Iron Spiked Club actually has better stats than Cabaro’s Greataxe. Did you pick this up today?" Old Vine stared, stunned. Most players might go an entire week without seeing a single piece of Golden equipment, yet this knight, Stonehaven, had somehow acquired another one, and one with incredible stats, all in a single day.
It was probably for the best that no one else knew how ridiculously lucky Stonehaven was, or the entire player base would be in an uproar. Comparing yourself to others only made you sick.
"Yes, I ran into one. This Sorcerer’s staff is solid too." Marcus handed Old Vine the Stormstrike Staff.
"The Stormstrike Staff for a Level 20 Sorcerer, excellent attributes. Stone, one of my friends plays a Sorcerer. Name your price and sell this directly to me." Old Vine practically snatched the staff the moment he saw it, unwilling to let anyone else get their hands on it.
He’d finally found a staff with stats worthy of a gift. With this, his precious granddaughter would finally get off his back about the drinking. Old Vine suddenly felt the world was a slightly warmer place.
"Old Vine, I also have a Mythic Artifact staff for Sorcerers. Interested?" Marcus said casually. Since Old Vine had been fair enough to waive the ten percent auction fee, he was willing to show him the Ironwood Staff as well.
"A Mythic Artifact?"
"Yeah. Come on, Stone, take it out. Let me see it." Old Vine was practically vibrating. A Mythic Artifact? With this, both of his granddaughters would forget whatever they were sulking about yesterday. They’d come back from leveling last night wearing identical scowls, muttering about some knight who’d bullied them.
Marcus was reaching for the Ironwood Staff when a sudden flash of light bloomed in the center of the room, gradually forming two figures.
’Those figures look familiar. Where have I seen them...?’
Because of the login protection, the two players’ bodies were enveloped in a soft glow, their faces blurred. They must have logged out here earlier and were now logging back in.
Marcus nearly groaned. ’Come on. Dominion is way too small.’
The light faded, revealing two slender figures, both as graceful as plum branches. Their waists were so slim a single hand could circle them, and the lines of their bodies were elegant and perfectly proportioned. What struck Marcus most was that they were identical, so identical it was almost unfair that such beauty could exist twice.
Their faces came into view. Their features were delicate, refined, almost sculpted, and exactly the same. Identical twins. But where one had a cold, arrogant air, the other had a playful and charming expression, giving each of them a different kind of appeal. They were the Twin Sorceresses, Icefall and Firebrand, the same pair he and FreshwindElara had run into yesterday.
"What are you doing here?"
Marcus was still processing the shock when Firebrand spotted him. She shot him a glare, clearly startled to see him.
"What are you doing here?" Marcus shot back, just as stunned.
"I asked first, so you answer first." Firebrand glared even harder, her posture screaming that she was ready to attack if he said the wrong thing.
"If you don’t answer me, then I’m not answering you first." Marcus glared right back. ’Who’s afraid of who here?’
It wasn’t as if he owed them anything. In fact, he wasn’t even upset about how dismissive they had been yesterday. He had actually been friendly, yet they were acting like he had done something wrong. What kind of logic was that?
Icefall, on the other hand, wasn’t angry, but her frosty, superior expression was still firmly in place. She gave him one cool glance before looking away as if he wasn’t worth a second of attention. That irritated him even more.
’I risked my life yesterday saving you two from the Ironwood King. That was bravery. That was kindness. That was the kind of effort people should at least acknowledge.’
There’s a saying about repaying a drop of kindness with a whole wellspring. A life-saving favor was supposed to be worth a lifetime of gratitude. Marcus wasn’t asking for that. He didn’t need them pledging their undying loyalty. A kiss would’ve been nice, sure, but even a smile or a simple "thanks" would have been enough.
But if this was how they wanted to play it? Fine. Two could play that game. Marcus felt his own irritation, banked until now, flare to match theirs.