Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 574
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 3 Episode 44
16. The Auction (3)
“Hey. Come out here.”
The members of the Dehaep association all stepped out of the auction house briefly and gathered near the restrooms.
“Sigh. What do we do about this?”
“Did we actually inflict any real damage?”
Having suffered a crushing defeat against Juhyeok, complaints burst from the mouths of several Dehaep members.
“Ah… my points…”
While operations were conducted as a group, losses had to be borne individually by the system.
“Don’t worry.”
The one who appeared to be their leader offered consolation.
“We’ve lost a lot, but combined, we still have over 5,000 points.”
That was true. There was no reason to lose hope yet.
Joint bidding was possible in this auction.
Individual Dehaep members didn’t have many points, but pooled together, it was quite substantial.
After all, the sheer number of people was enormous.
Even with just 500 points each, ten people would make 5,000 immediately.
This group had a whopping 25 members.
“Almond hasn’t spent all his points either. If we reduce Almond’s total points below 5,000 and protect our 5,000-point line, we have a chance at victory.”
The odds definitely existed.
“A chance? That’s like the probability of making it to the World Cup Round of 16.”
Someone grumbled with a disgruntled tone.
“So we’re just going to give up!? And how can you even compare that? That depends on other people’s hands every time, but this only depends on us doing well!”
The Dehaep members nodded.
“Yeah, that’s better than that.”
“Right, absolutely.”
“Suddenly this seems totally doable?”
For them, Damian wasn’t something to abandon easily just because the odds had dropped.
They had to make a desperate attempt.
“Look. Right now Almond is tempting us with auction items and screwing us over with hit-and-run tactics, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But Almond must want something too. There’s no reason to give up all the auction items. From now on, let’s only participate in auctions that look appealing.”
“What? How would we know that? What appeals to him?”
At this, the leader chuckled and muttered.
“That bastard is streaming right now.”
* * *
“Now, this is a special item, isn’t it? A first edition specially provided by Pollis for this auction!”
Whoosh!
The host shouted as he pulled back the cloth wrapping the item.
“The Sayul combination is famous, right?! It’s an action figure depicting the joint attack scene of Sana and Yul!”
Even if it wasn’t a limited edition, a first edition had plenty of collectible value.
After all, there would be something different about it compared to the prototype that would later be mass-produced.
And when they say action figure, they mean a figure that actually moves.
While it depended on personal preference, nothing quite captivated the eyes of novice collectors like Sanghyeon more than something that moved like this.
Especially since it was electronic—the kind that moves on its own when you press a button.
Whirrrrr.
Click.
‘Oh.’
Sanghyeon’s eyes sparkled with delight.
Especially since he had experienced a great victory with the Sayul combination, he thought this would be nice to have.
Tap. Tap.
He nudged Juhyeok and whispered.
“This one. This one.”
“…Ah. You want this?”
“Yeah.”
Juhyeok nodded instead of answering.
“Alright. Let’s begin the auction. Since it’s a first edition, we’ll start at 200 points. Starting at 200 points!”
Snap!
Juhyeok raised his paddle before anyone else.
“There! Immediately a 100-point raise!”
As expected, the Dehaep members follow suit.
“Bidder 92! A 100-point raise! That’s 400 already!”
“Indeed, another 100 points up from the limited edition! That’s 500!”
Juhyeok believed that after 500, these people couldn’t keep up.
From what he understood, the average personal assets of the top 1% excluded individuals were around 700 points.
Following along with 500 or more from there was too risky, and the Dehaep members had been playing that way all along.
“Raising to 600 and continuing! Bidder 51!”
“…?”
Juhyeok sensed something was off.
Raising 100 all at once like that.
Juhyeok tested the waters by raising only 50 points.
“Bidder 14! A 50-point raise! 650!”
“Ah! But! Bidder 51 raises again by 100! 750!”
Another 100?
So boldly like this?
‘There’s no way they’d actually have it anyway.’
Does Bidder 51 even have 750 points?
If I stop here, they’ll back off immediately.
The problem is that Sanghyeon wants this.
“…Hey. You really want this, right?”
Juhyeok asked once more, his voice reluctant. By his common sense, a figurine climbing up to nearly 1,000 points made no sense whatsoever.
After all, expensive electronics outside were selling for under 1,000 points.
“Yeah.”
Sanghyeon nodded.
He had the attitude that there was no problem even if it went over a thousand points.
-Dehaep’s crew is relentless
Why can’t we just stop here? lol
-Does Bidder 51 even have 750???
While watching the chat.
Juhyeok realizes something.
There was no hint in their words.
Their very existence was the hint.
‘Ah.’
They were watching the broadcast.
Juhyeok raises the points by 100,000 and then sends a private message to Sanghyeon.
[Juhyeok: Tell me it’s a waste and to drop it. Say you won’t spend over 800. They’re streaming this.]
“Ah. But. Over 800 is a bit wasteful. Let’s stop now.”
“I thought so.”
Sure enough, Dehaep, who had been raising by 100 each time, switches to 10.
“Bidder 51! 10 points! Raise! 770!”
It wasn’t certain, but Juhyeok felt it was worth a gamble.
“Just raise one last time, and if they go higher, we’ll buy something else.”
“Okay~ let’s do it. Over.”
Juhyeok raises by just 10 more points.
“Bidder 14! 780!”
Now the price is 780 points.
A slight tension fills the air.
“780…! Do we have any more bids!?”
The host asks once more and begins the countdown.
“5! 4! 3! 2! 1!”
Ding!
A notification rings on Sanghyeon’s phone.
“Congratulations! Bidder 14! You’ve won the Sayul Combination Figurine!”
“Oh!”
Sanghyeon seemed delighted, but.
Juhyeok felt something was off.
‘Even if we don’t go up to 1,000 points, this doesn’t feel right.’
It was because of what those people had done to him.
It was Juhyeok’s blunder for not thinking about the broadcast.
‘No matter how many points we have, they’ll band together and bid from over there….’
Though we have far more points on this side, if they unite by sheer numbers, there’s no telling what kind of points they could muster.
It was hard to imagine Almond not getting Damian, but Juhyeok didn’t want to spend more than 2,000 points on Damian.
It would be natural to spend the minimum on Damian and buy many good items instead, wouldn’t it?
‘What should I do….’
Juhyeok pondered.
Broadcast bait.
Broadcast bait, huh….
“!”
A very simple trick occurred to Juhyeok.
* * *
“Wow. Damn… we really got him good.”
“He burned through almost 800 points? Nice~”
The Dehaep members were excited and giggling.
“The broadcast bait idea was perfect.”
“Right. Whatever Almond wants will definitely be mentioned first on the broadcast anyway. We just need to watch for that.”
From a streamer’s perspective, he couldn’t avoid broadcasting, so their reasoning was sound.
“We just need to jump in on whatever Almond wants and drain his points.”
“Okay.”
Since the strategy was to only bid on items Almond desired, they paid no attention even when the next item came up.
Even when Juhyeok placed bids, they didn’t bother to compete.
After all, they knew it was bait.
“Hey. That cunning bastard. He keeps throwing bait at us.”
“Just ignore it. We don’t even want those items anyway.”
The Dehaep members didn’t take Juhyeok’s bait.
Well, he was saying it outright on the broadcast like this.
[They’re scared to bite because they know it’s bait]
Juhyeok pretended not to know and accused them of being afraid.
“Scared my ass~”
The Dehaep members chuckled.
[Oh. I need to buy that one.]
Almond’s voice comes through.
He wants to buy this item.
All the Dehaep members prepare themselves.
[This time let’s set an upper limit before we bid.]
It was Juhyeok’s voice.
At the mention of setting an upper limit, the Dehaep members’ expressions brightened.
[Around 1,500 points works for me.]
1,500 points!?
[Oh. That aggressive?]
[Yeah. I want this one.]
[Well. Sure. You have plenty of points anyway. Might as well spend them on what you want. I’ll set the maximum at 1,500.]
The Dehaep members’ expressions filled with both reluctance and joy simultaneously.
Being able to deduct up to 1,500 points from Almond’s total was certainly a good thing, but.
“Hey. None of us individually have 1,500 points.”
The problem was that they didn’t have 1,500 points individually. At least not on their own.
“We’ll have to bid together.”
So from this point on, they decided to proceed with a joint bid.
* * *
“Alright, we’ll start the bidding at 200 points!”
Almond’s side moved faster than anyone else, raising the bid by 100 points.
“Ah! Bidder 14! 100 points! 300!”
Then the Dehaep members rushed in.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
They began raising the price without hesitation.
“400! 500! 600!”
Knowing that the enemy was thinking up to 1,500, there was nothing to hold back.
Eventually the price surpassed 1,000 points.
“1,000 points!!! For the first time since the auction began, we’ve exceeded a thousand!”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
The auction participants whispered among themselves. Once the price exceeded 1,000 points, only a limited number of people could participate.
It was the same for the Dehaep members.
“You and me. Let’s go.”
So now it was a joint bid.
Clack!
The bidding paddles were shared and glowed the same color.
“Oh!? A joint bid!? Bidders 43 and 19! A whopping 1,100 points!?”
The Dehaep members raised it to 1,100 points.
Almond’s side countered, raising by 100.
“Bidder 14! Raising! 1,200!!”
1,200 was an astronomical figure, but the Dehaep members didn’t hesitate.
“This time I’m going in.”
With one more person added to the joint bid, they started raising again.
Click!
Three paddles light up with the same glow.
“Wow! Three joint bidders this time!? 1,300! Do we have 1,400!?”
Gulp.
The Dehaep members swallow dryly.
Now 1,500 is almost within reach.
Both sides were in a tense moment.
“1,400! Do we have it!?”
Almond’s side shows no response for a moment.
Could it be… An ominous atmosphere settles among the Dehaep members.
“Counting down… Ah! Bidder 14! Are you following!?”
Almond’s side raises their paddle.
Click!
“50! Raising by 50! 1,350!”
Phew.
Almond’s side followed with 1,350.
They seem to be planning to raise by 50 increments as they approach 1,500.
“1,400! Do we have it!? Will you bid higher!?”
Now only 100 remains until 1,500.
It wouldn’t be strange if they dropped out here.
“Hey. What do we do? Should we go up to 1,400? Or should we just drop out now?”
The Dehaep members, gripped by anxiety, ask each other.
The other side could suddenly drop out.
“Hey. Would the ones who said they were thinking up to 1,500 suddenly drop out here?”
Opinions split. One side says to go higher, the other says to drop out now.
“You never know. For us, it’s just a 100 difference. It’s better to be safe.”
“Yeah.”
The side pushing to go higher groans in frustration.
“Ugh…”
Thump! Thump!
My heart pounds rapidly.
“If not! Beginning countdown! 5! 4…”
The gavel is coming soon.
What should I do? Should I be greedy for just one more step? Or should I stop?
There might not be another chance.
Then…
[Ah. Please don’t come in. You irritating bastards… Let’s take it here. Even if we just take it here, we’re still making a profit.]
These words came through the broadcast.
‘They want to take it here.’
‘They think taking it here would be incredibly profitable?’
As the Host’s countdown narrowed.
“…3! 2!”
──A sharp sound.
The bidders opened their eyes wide as if on cue and raised their paddles.
“Oh! Joint bid! Raising 50 points! 1,400!”
The Host looked at Bidder 14 and asked.
“Do we have 1,450!?”
Almond’s paddle remained still.
Was he deliberating? That made sense. We were approaching 1,500.
“Alright! Starting the countdown!”
The countdown began again.
“5!”
At that moment, I thought he’d raise it by about 10 and bid.
All the bidders thought the same.
“4!”
But then, unease began to creep in.
“3!”
Why had he been silent all this time, only to mutter something like that at precisely that moment?
“2!”
And why was he so quiet now?
“Ah….”
One of the bidders let out a sigh.
“No, damn it! He said he’d buy! He said he’d buy at 1,500!”
“What the hell is this!?”
Cries of protest erupted.
But time flowed on impartially.
“1!”
The Host’s countdown ended.
“Sold!!! The first joint bid has been sold!”
At that moment, all the bidders heard through the broadcast.
[Pffft…!]
Someone’s voice unable to suppress laughter.
It was probably because of this snicker.
That shortly after, a post like this appeared on the community.
[Serious) Analysis: Is there a problem with the points Almond received at the final challenge booth??]
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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