With the auction gaining a large-scale attraction from many people, the bids started to skyrocket quickly. Until now, no one knew about the max-level character in the Continent of Magic. But the desire to own and display the most popular endgame character began to rear its ugly head.
It got to the point where the bid finally crossed the 10 million mark. He had surpassed the market value of the character's equipment and the in-game currency he owned. With regret hanging over their heads, people began to back out of the bid, one by one.
"The person selling this avatar is really horrible."
"How could anyone auction off such a valuable character in just one day?"
"Whoever the seller is, he must be very confident that he can get the maximum bid."
People poured out their regrets and were amused by the auction comments. In a short time, comments surpassed 9,000 posts. The auction automatically extended with last-minute bidding, and when it passed the 13 million won mark, several companies intervened and the bidding continued.
This auction was not something that would only end with the people involved in the bidding. If the auction ended with a colossal sum, the publicity effect of news and word of mouth was incalculable.
Starting an ad campaign wasn't cheap, and even if money was invested in the ad, it wasn't guaranteed to capture the public's attention. But what about the news of a final character being sold at auction? This would dominate people's attention and interest. With that in mind, the Public Relations office of several companies entered the auction.
The field of Digital Media, where there was fierce competition, and Game Streams, wanted the ultimate character. The character's value or market price didn't matter. What mattered was the potential market share and credibility they would receive if they could broadcast a special documentary about said character in the once most popular game.
The other winner of this fierce competition that raised the bid to heights, was the auction site where the traffic increased exponentially.
Finally, the auction came to an end. At the end of the auction, five Game Broadcasters were struggling, but CTS Media, known for its quick market share capture and high ratings, was the final bidder. Through the intervention of the president's secretariat, signing the final bid, they successfully won.
*****
"Hi." Volkner woke up abruptly to take the call. The day before, he was working at a construction site, so he fell into bed as soon as he got home. He only earned $70, as the foreman complained about the quality of his work and reduced his salary.
- Good Morning.
He heard a charming female voice coming from the receiver.
"Ah… I think you might have the wrong number." He couldn't imagine any women calling his house, so Volkner was about to hang up the phone, when...
-Excuse me, maybe you uploaded your account for an internet auction?
"Yes, I have."
- This call is from the publicly traded company, CTS Media. I'm Yoon Nahee, secretary to the president. We currently place the successful bid, so I ask that you contact the auction company and call us back?
"Oh wait. Successful bid?"
- Yes. A successful bid. Haven't you checked yet?
"Oh no. I was very busy so….."
Yoon Nahee of CTS Media was no ordinary woman, she was talented enough to work as the president's secretary. She spoke eight languages and was surrounded by people who wanted him. She was getting fed up with someone so rude that she didn't even bother to check out this gigantic thing.
"So how much was the winning bid?" Volkner was shaking inside. He was hoping beyond hope to earn at least $2,000 to at least pay for his grandmother's medical expenses. But the sound coming out of the receiver nearly made Volkner pass out in shock.
- It was 5 million and 900 dollars.
The current market value of volkner's jyx character was around 20K. If the game was at the height of popularity, only one of the equipment would have more than 100K. Since the game was old, the market value was extremely low. But through various factors such as limited auction period, rarity, and public interest, the price has overtaken.
This was headline-grabbing and what CTS Media expected. But Volkner ignored this.
"You are kidding?"
- What?
"Did you call at this hour just to tell me something like that? I'm hanging up."
Hanging up the phone, Volkner gave a bitter laugh. "How did they find out I posted something up for auction? And how did they get my number for such a prank?" Volkner could not believe such a call of desire, it was simply absurd. But he checked the site anyway and the auction he posted was on the front page. Thousands of people were talking about it, and the winning bid was, as she said, $5 million and 900.