A Psychological Battle

As the bid caller signified the start of the bid, people turned to look at the screens beside them, pondering whether it was worth trying to get a useless herb.

On one hand, the herbs would be useful for alchemy and healing potions, and since it was herbs imported from the famed Urabia, they would definitely be extremely effective.

But on the other hand, why would they need to spend this much money on just 5 herbs? Couldn't they just buy some lower-grade herbs in bulk?

This was what tormented many minds with procrastination, unknowing of the real potential effects of the herb.

Meanwhile, a boy with silver hair and sharp crimson eyes was smiling to himself as he stared at the personal bidding screen in front of him.

'Puhehe. This is perfect! No one is willing enough to buy these herbs!'

The bidding screen in front of me was showing a real-time graph of how much the price of the item was going up.

It also showed a timer at the top left, giving us 5 minutes to bid as much as we could for the item.

What was really funny was that the price had only risen by 50AX over the past 2 minutes!

Compared to how quickly people were willing to buy the skill book earlier, this would be a piece of cake.

However, what did concern me, was the fact only one person had tried bidding for the item, raising the bar to 800AX himself.

'Does he want to secure the item so that no one would buy it?'

Quite foolish, I might say so myself.

My plan was to pounce at the last moment, raising the bid to 1000AX.

At this moment in time, it was a psychological battle between us two, even if the opponent didn't know it.

'If I want to avoid a bidding battle for the item like in those stupid novels, I need to mentally crush the other bidder.'

First things first, I needed to find out who I was up against.

'System, trace the bidding interface, and find out who is the one that auctioned 800AX.'

[Host, why don't you just buy these flowers from the normal market? They will be much cheaper and you wouldn't need to spend 1000AX just for herbs from Urabia.]

'The reason why I am in this auction house is BECAUSE I need the herbs from Urabia. They are obviously going to be much more effective if grown properly.

Anyways, please hurry and track the other bidder.'

[Very well, please place your palm over the screen like before.]

I did as I was told, and heard a small beep come from the monitor again.

[The bidder's name is {Alex Detrimont} and he is actually sitting two rows in front of you.]

Now that I looked at him properly, I noticed that he had a tense expression on his face as he was staring at the screen.

He also was wearing a white overcoat and had blonde, wavy hair.

'So he wants these herbs for his alchemy experiments huh, well, I'm sorry, but I will put the herbs to better use...'

'Actually, wait a minute, "Alex Detrimont", ISN'T THAT ONE OF THE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS IN THE ACADEMY!?'

By some incredible coincidence, I had found one of the original characters from the game.

All playable characters in 'WOV' were in the 3rd year of the Academy, which means that he is currently the same age as me and about to join the Academy.

Alex Detrimont would also be a very overpowered potion and poison character, who was also very interesting to play with. He also doesn't come from a rich noble family but had enough talent to make it to the Academy.

'If I befriend him now, I would have instant access to free potions! I shouldn't miss out on this opportunity.'

The only problem that I had, was that he was trying to buy the same product as me, which is never a good thing.

'How about we come to a compromise, then I should be able to build a relationship from there.'

And so, I had decided that I wouldn't 'mentally crush' him, but just win the items normally.

Then, a pop-up notification appeared on the bidding interface.

{2 minutes remaining, please hurry and bid.}

The bid was still miraculously at 800AX, which was probably the cheapest thing this auction would be selling.

Thus, I waited and waited, until there were 30 seconds left.

The price still had not changed, and people were starting to get bored.

I could see from my seat, that Alex had started to smile a bit, and was probably happy that no one was bothered to take his item.

But I still lay in wait, patiently waiting for the right time to come.

The time showed that 5 seconds were left.

'Just a bit more.'

4 seconds left.

'I can still wait...'

3 seconds left. The price was still 800AX.

'NOW!'

I pushed down the 'bid' button, raising the price to 1000AX.

The bidding graph shot up, and people became surprised at the last-second bidder.

Alex stared at the screen in confusion and shock, wasting some time before frantically pressing on his screen.

"And the Azure Sigillum Herbs goes to 'Bidder 455'!"

'Heh.'

I smiled in satisfaction, and that my plan had worked.

'Alright~ Now, that I have this, I should quickly lock my stats before the military training starts.'

Yes, in case you haven't realised by now, the reason why I needed a week was so that I could lock all my stats, and return to an unawakened.

If an 'F-' rank were to take the herb, they would lose a rank in all stats, and return to 'G' rank, or in other words, a normal civilian. This way, I would officially pass through the awakener trial.

Furthermore, just before the Academy Selection Competition starts, I would eat another herb and boost up my strength, joining the Academy as an E- rank.

(A/N: I think I forgot to mention, but you can only break through ranks with the herb once, as the body wouldn't be able to handle it again.)

My plan was perfect.

I could see Alex start to get up in frustration, heading for the door. He probably was only interested in this item, and couldn't bare the irritation of losing the item he was sure to get.

Ah~ How naive was the way of a human?

He couldn't realise just how much potential this single herb had, capable of allowing someone to break through ranks.

In fact, all of the people here had missed out on this opportunity.

"Sir, please meet me outside to collect your item."

The pretty assistant whispered in my ear before heading back out to the darkness.

'Well, I still need to meet Alex, so I should quickly get the items and leave now.'

With that, I got up and left the room, returning to the lobby of the Auction house.