Chapter 103 - Paying in Installments

“Oh, so this is the guy you’ve been talking about...? He looks a little frail and weak, plus he isn’t nearly as handsome as Little Rui. Besides… we don’t even know if he’s as good a player as you’ve been telling us,” Feiyun gave Nie Yan an uncaring glance as she uttered in an unkind tone.

Her blatant rudeness made Nie Yan wrinkle his brows.

“Feiyun!” Moon Child berated her friend, then looked to Nie Yan apologetically and said, “I’m really sorry. Please don’t mind her. She’s actually a good person at heart.”

Nie Yan just smiled at Moon Child and nodded his head. Although he felt slighted, it wasn’t worth his time to get into a squabble with such a girl.

「Nie Yan, I’m really sorry… Feiyun is a classmate of ours and wanted to come as well. To be honest, I’m not too fond of her, but since Moon Child didn’t want to be rude, we let her tag along. Moon Child is a good friend of mine, but one of her quirks is that she doesn’t want to offend anyone. If it were only me, Feiyun would be long gone,」Yao Yao whispered to Nie Yan, seemingly seething with anger.

「Haha, when it comes to these kinds of people, it’s best to just ignore them,」Nie Yan replied.

With this in mind, Nie Yan no longer paid any heed to Feiyun. He instead directed his attention to Yao Yao and Moon Child and said, “I need to sell a few things here first, I’ll chat more once I’m done.”

“Alright, go ahead!” replied Moon Child as she smiled. Her gentle expression could easily melt any man’s heart.

Nie Yan sat down nearby and began focusing on his own business. When Feiyun noticed that Nie Yan was purposefully ignoring her, she became so mad that her gums itched and her blood boiled.

The four sat in a spot across from the auction house. Moon Child and Yao Yao were giggling and gossiping in hushed tones. Occasionally, Feiyun would interject with a few comments of her own, usually fawning over their appearance. When near these two, she could only serve as a part of the background to highlight their beauty.

“It’s the truth! He really is a skilled expert!” Yao Yao turned her head and nudged Nie Yan. “Tell them! You are an expert, right?”

“Really?” Moon Child asked in a somewhat doubtful tone. She just couldn’t imagine it.

Nie Yan lightly chuckled and modestly replied, “I’m only so-so.”

“Do you think you’re as skilled as our Little Rui...? Please, stop overestimating yourself. Little Rui has always liked Yao Yao. Don’t think you have even the slightest chance with her. You’re far from being worthy,” Feiyun commented in a harsh, mocking tone while barely glancing at him. It was as though she believed it was beneath her to look at Nie Yan for too long,

Nie Yan couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to this girl’s stereotypical words. He reached into his bag and grabbed three pouches of Flash Powder, two Web Scrolls, and two Sheep Transformation Scrolls, listing them all up for auction.

He set one silver as the starting price for the Flash Powders while the Web Scrolls and Sheep Transformation Scrolls were four silver each. Although the little he had in his bag wouldn’t have much effect on the marketplace, he hoped that, by selling them at a high price, he would be able to profit more in the long run. Even though it would sell relatively slowly, he would be able to earn quite a bit and would avoid arousing too much suspicion at the same time. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to them by suddenly flooding the market with these rare items.

Nie Yan’s lack of response quickly bored Feiyun, so she scoffed and soon turned her gaze elsewhere.

The purpose of placing these items in the auction house was to gauge the market’s response. Consumables that could sell for such a high price were few in number. Furthermore, they would only be bought by the players who were well-off. In the end, this was just a test to see if these players were actually willing to spend the money.

Just moments after Nie Yan listed these items for auction, someone already increased the bid on one of the items. In fact, a bidding frenzy erupted for all three. However, this wasn’t all too surprising. At this stage in the game, there weren’t many Mage players who were able to create scrolls. Not to mention, the majority of Mages chose not to learn Spell Scribing, so the more widely available scrolls only came from NPC shops. Unfortunately, they all contained low-level spells like Fireball and would cost an arm and a leg to purchase. Control spells such as Sheep Transformation and Web were extremely rare in scroll form. After all, these spells could practically guarantee victory when fighting other players, which was why they were considered so useful. Aside from that, the scrolls were also great lifesavers since they could be used to flee when encountering a dangerous situation. Besides, to those rich players, a few silvers was merely pocket change. Therefore, the bids on the scrolls only gradually climbed higher and higher.

At the very end of the bidding war, each pouch of Flash Powder sold for two silvers while the Sheep Transformation Scrolls and Web Scrolls sold for around five silvers per scroll. For being so early in the game’s life, selling at these prices was terrific. Nie Yan had once again earned a sizable profit. Sure enough, the ocean of game knowledge he had amassed from his past life was an ocean of wealth as well.

Nie Yan’s items caused a great stir in the auction house. Many players were secretly inquiring about them. Just who in the world was actually able to create Sheep Transformation Scrolls and Web Scrolls? At the same time, many others were inquiring about the Flash Powder as well.

With how well they sold, he continued emptying his bag of Flash Powder, Sheep Transformation Scrolls, and Web Scrolls. Naturally, the more money he earned the better.

“Yao Yao, look at this Eroding Fire Staff that Little Rui gave me as a present. It’s a Silver weapon that boosts Intelligence by six and magic damage by seven! What do you think?” Feiyun took out the staff and waved it around with the intention of showing it off.

Since the game had barely been open for two weeks, a Silver staff could be considered an amazing weapon, let alone one that increased Intelligence and damage as well.

“My staff is Silver as well, but its properties aren’t as good as yours,” Yao Yao replied frankly. She didn’t display much envy in her tone or expression.

“You know, if you asked Little Rui for one, he’d definitely give you an even better staff. He’s had a crush on you for so long, so shouldn’t you respond by now?” Feiyun stared at Yao Yao and asked.

Nie Yan overheard their conversation. It seemed Feiyun had been bribed to be a mouthpiece.

The person Nie Yan cared for the most in his heart was Xie Yao. In spite of that, although his affection for Yao Yao wasn’t etched deeply into his heart, he still cared for her greatly.

Feiyun had treated him rudely despite being a friend of an acquaintance. And at the same time, she was also constantly trying to pair Yao Yao up with another guy right in front of him… Even Buddha had limits to what he could tolerate!

When he saw the bored expression on Yao Yao’s face, he suddenly understood this wasn’t a one-time event.

“Yao Yao, I have an extra staff laying around. It would go to waste sitting in my bag, so why don’t I give it to you as a present instead,” Nie Yan interrupted when he noticed Feiyun was about to urge her on some more.

“Hey, brat! Don’t you know interrupting people in the middle of their conversation is incredibly rude? It’s better if you leave that garbage inside your bag instead of trying to present it as a gift. It’ll save you from some embarrassment!” Feiyun said in a disdainful manner.

“Well, do you realize when others aren’t interested in hearing you talk, it’s incredibly rude to chatter on like a squawking parrot?” Nie Yan replied, showing no trace of politeness in his tone.

“You…!”

“What kind of staff? Show it to me!” Yao Yao intentionally ignored Feiyun’s earlier ramblings.

Nie Yan took out the Staff of Moonlight Worship and handed it to Yao Yao. “This is my gift to you. No need to be shy.”

“Ah~! This is a Gold staff!” Yao Yao exclaimed. She clearly understood just how valuable a Gold-grade staff was at present!

“Yao Yao, let me see. What Gold staff?” Moon Child asked in a doubtful tone.

Yao Yao shared the Staff of Moonlight Worship’s properties with the two girls. Moon Child stared at Nie Yan in shock. She didn’t believe Nie Yan would actually give away a Gold-grade staff. However, Feiyun’s reaction was even more amusing to behold. Her complexion paled, and her expression immediately turned incredibly ugly. If this Staff of Moonlight Worship was trash, then what did the staff in her hand count as?

“Nie Yan, I’m really angry with you! What do you mean, ‘It would go to waste sitting in my bag so why don’t I give it to you as a present?’ It seems you’re tossing it away like it actually is trash! In fact... I really do like this present! Thank you!” Yao Yao said with a faint smile, but then she sent him a whisper, 「I know you’re only putting on an act to shut that annoying person up, but I really do like this staff. Is it possible for me to keep it? I’m willing to pay in installments.」

「No need. I'm actually giving it to you as a gift. It’s just a staff, after all.」From Nie Yan’s point of view, the Gold Staff wasn’t really worth much. It became even more negligible when compared to their friendship.

「Nie Yan, do you think you’re some kind of rich young master? This is a Gold-grade staff! How would it be alright if I didn’t pay for it!」

Nie Yan laughed. He understood her personality and knew full well just how stubborn she could get.「Fine, you win. You can pay in installments. Just give me a silver every month until you pay it back in full. How does that sound?」

「Good! Then that’s settled. Only idiots would act politely with a rich moneybag like you!」After getting her way, Yao Yao revealed a triumphant expression on her face before finally giving way to a charming smile.