Chapter 834 - Tool of Astronomical Value

"There’s actually such a thing in God’s Domain?" The Strengthening Device was even enough to tempt Gentle Snow.

As players reached higher levels in God’s Domain, battles grew increasingly intense. Against powerful monsters, in particular, the burden on their equipment Durability was massive. It was impossible for players to fight for extended periods in the fields. They had to return to towns frequently to repair their equipment. This limited their grinding and questing efficiency.

Unfortunately, no one had found a tool in God’s Domain that could solve this problem. The only solution they had was to prepare several sets of equipment as temporary replacements.

However, Guilds simply did not have enough equipment to supply every member with multiple sets. It was especially true for top-tier equipment. Even a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros had to rely out outside sources for equipment, not to mention other Guilds.

To make matters worse, as players faced higher-leveled monsters, equipment drop-rates decreased.

This had significantly slowed Guilds’ development.

If Guilds had a tool like the Strengthening Device, they could solve this problem.

Although the Strengthening Device was somewhat expensive, compared to the cost of preparing one or two additional sets of top-tier equipment for a player, the Strengthening Device was a cheap solution.

Gentle Snow wasn’t the only person who had realized this. The representatives of the various large Guilds also understood the value of the Strengthening Device.

Unfortunately, only one device was up for auction right now.

"I wish more were up for sale," Gentle Snow sighed in disappointment.

Although everyone shared her feelings, nobody held back when placing their bids.

"Two Gold!"

"Two Gold 10 Silver!"

"Two Gold 30 Silver!"

...

Although only one Strengthening Device was available, many people participated in the bidding. This was completely different from the golden tablet’s sale. The tablet’s price would soar randomly by several hundred or thousands of Gold. Small Guilds simply could not afford to participate. However, they could compete for an item that only cost several Gold.

"Five Gold!"

Hidden Cloud decisively raised the bid by a large margin, causing hesitation to ripple through the crowd. After all, if they call out a higher bid now, they would be challenging a Super Guild. They were not so desperate as to offend a Super Guild for a single Strengthening Device.

Suddenly, Quiet Melody shouted, "Six Gold!"

"Melody, you think you can challenge me?" Hidden Cloud sneered. He then shouted, "Ten Gold!"

Now that he had the golden tablet, the Guild Elders were extremely pleased with him and had marked down his contribution to the Guild. Hence, he was in a very good mood. Moreover, the Guild had sent him the collected money. Even after paying off his debt to both Gentle Snow and Shi Feng, he still had around 5,300 Gold. He was not afraid to compete with the Sacred Temple in the least.

When the bid reached 10 Gold, everyone promptly gave up.

If they bought the Strengthening Device for 10 Gold, they would lose money rather than saving it.

After a moment of thought, Gentle Snow chose to give up as well.

Only a single Strengthening Device was up for sale. Even if she obtained it, its impact was limited.

After the hostess slammed her gavel three times, Hidden Cloud won the Strengthening Device.

Unfortunately, before Hidden Cloud could celebrate his victory, the hostess presented another Strengthening Device. Unlike before, however, she displayed a stack of 100 Strengthening Devices.

"One hundred devices?" Gentle Snow was momentarily stunned. Immediately, joy blossomed in her heart.

One hundred Strengthening Devices would have a far greater impact than just one. It would be of great help during large-scale team quests.

"Three hundred Gold!"

"Three hundred and ten Gold!"

...

"Five hundred Gold!"

The bids continuously increased.

"You want to compete with your meager wealth?" Hidden Cloud laughed. If he could obtain these 100 Strengthening Devices, he could contribute far more to the Guild. He then shouted, "Seven hundred Gold!"

"Eight hundred Gold!" Phoenix Rain bid.

"One thousand Gold!" Hidden Cloud raised the price without hesitation.

"One thousand and fifty Gold!" Quiet Melody gnashed her teeth as she rose the bid.

If she missed the opportunity to purchase these Strengthening Devices, who knew when she would get another?

"One thousand, two hundred Gold!" Hidden Cloud leisurely raised the price once more.

Even to a Super Guild, 1,200 Gold was not a small amount of money. In the end, both Quiet Melody and Phoenix Rain could only relent.

However, nobody could have expected that, after this stack of Strengthening Devices sold, a stack of ten Strengthening Devices would appear on the screen.

"Damn! Is the system playing with us?!"

"Can’t they just tell us how many Strengthening Devices will be up for auction?!"

Although the various large Guild representatives were excited that the Strengthening Device had appeared again, they also felt helpless. After all, who knew if this stack of Strengthening Devices would be the last available?

For a time, everyone participated in another bidding war for the Strengthening Devices.

As one Strengthening Device after another sold, Shi Feng’s elation grew.

In the end, all 2,000 Strengthening Devices had been purchased, with an average price of 10 Gold. After deducting the 30% handling fees, Shi Feng earned a total of 14,518 Gold. This was far more than he had initially expected.

With this money, he would have no problem purchasing the five plots of Land in Snow Field City.

After the auction concluded, players began to filter out of the Auction House.

"Boss, we really hit it big this time. Not only did you get the golden tablet, but you also bought plenty of Strengthening Devices. It won’t be long before you secure the position of the Fourth Floor Master," Blaster whispered his congratulations.

"It’s still too soon to celebrate. Now that we have the rights to the tablet, as long as you guys put on a good show, it will only be a matter of time before I become the Fourth Floor Master," Hidden Cloud laughed. He then shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng, who walked alongside Gentle Snow, and said quietly, "But that Ye Feng cannot stay. He swindled 2,000 Gold out of me. He is looking to die. Send someone to keep an eye on him. Once I’m done dealing with the golden tablet, I’ll teach him that it is not that easy to earn my money!"

"Boss, rest assured; my men are already following him. He won’t escape," Blaster reported as he patted his chest. He could only feel sorry for the Swordsman.

Throughout God’s Domain, there were very few people Hidden Cloud could not kill. He had even recently obtained an excellent dagger. The weapon was practically a nightmare for Hidden Cloud’s targets.

Just as Hidden Cloud and the others left the Blackwing Auction House, everything on the street froze.

"What’s going on?"

The players wandering the street were shocked.

None of them could move, not even a step. They couldn’t even make their fingers twitch. It was as if time had stopped, and only their minds remained active.

As the space had frozen, fear surfaced in everyone’s hearts. They felt as if they stood in the middle of a ferocious beast’s nest, and this ferocious beast had already stretched its jaws and was prepared to devour them all.

Even Phoenix Rain, Quiet Melody, Gentle Snow, and the other top-tier experts were astounded by this surprising event, much less the various ordinary players.

After all, it wasn’t just players who could not move. Even the Level 180, Tier 2 guards patrolling the street had been rendered immobile...

Meanwhile, without anyone’s notice, a black figure had appeared in front of Hidden Cloud and quietly overlooked the Assassin.