Dark Magician Isekai: Return and make Fantasy World into a VR Game

"Does our previous agreement still stand?" the fifth grinder asked. "Each of you will give me 200 copper coins if you bid and win the Orb of Deception at a low price."

"Of course, as long as the three of us can win the coins at 300 copper coins and win the orbs, all the extra coins will be yours," said the first boss with a forced smile.

"Alright, I'll be awaiting the good news from you guys," the fifth grinder chuckled, beckoning to his friends, and the group of them went further away and squatted down.

The two rich big shots stared at him for a while, then turned to observe Give Me Medicine who hadn't budged from his spot.

Give Me Medicine's hollow black eye sockets were also fixed on the two of them.

Although the skeletons couldn't show expressions, all three of them knew that each of them was silently cursing…

No one could be certain whether the guy who verbally promised not to participate in the auction actually intended to abstain from the bidding or if he was intentionally pretending and planning to secretly bid 301 copper coins during the blind bid!

And even if that guy was genuinely willing to take 600 copper coins and walk away, there was still Jia Luo squatting nearby, who also had bidding rights!

Jia Luo didn't sell her bidding rights, but she still hadn't left and continued to remain in the area, which at least meant that this female player, regardless of how much money she had on her, could definitely come up with the starting bid of 300 copper coins!

In other words… Regardless of whether the fifth grinder was putting an act or not, the three who were willing to go all out for the orbs couldn't continue to abide by the "harmonious" agreement.

This sort of verbal agreement could easily be broken as long as the agreed-upon conditions were not met. Jia Luo also had no reason to be a part of the agreement and would definitely make a secret bid.

A blind bid was not the same as an outright auction. If the bids were open and a player who promised to give up their bidding rights suddenly raised their hand and made an increased bid, the others could still raise the price. But in a blind bid, everyone only had one chance!

If they continued to agree to only bid 300 copper coins, the other two players with bidding rights could bid 301 and walk away with the orbs, not even having to give up any coins as consolation…

Give Me Medicine sighed inwardly. It was evident that saving some money was impossible.

The two rich big shots also fell silent, a sign that they, too, understood the harmonious agreement was useless in a blind bid.

But… there was still a chance.

After the staredown between the two big shots and Give Me Medicine, both sides returned to their original spots and sat down.

There were three orbs, and the three of them didn't have a direct competitive relationship—they just needed to bid higher than Jia Luo and the fifth player!

Give Me Medicine nervously pondered over what was the safest price to bid…

At that moment, Blossoming Strokes, who had been silent all this time, reached out and poked Give Me Medicine.

Give Me Medicine glanced down and saw Blossoming Strokes hiding her hands behind her back and making a discreet gesture with her fingers indicating the number nine.

Give Me Medicine tilted his head, slightly confused.

Blossoming Strokes used her head and gestured in the direction of the fifth grinder.

Give Me Medicine silently turned his head over. The fifth grinder and his three companions were sitting together, occasionally whispering to each other, seemingly in discussion.

Blossoming Strokes poked Give Me Medicine with her finger once more and leaned closer to whisper, "I've seen that player's friends a few times. They're a small team of five players who only managed to gather some copper coins in the early stages and have been grinding on their own since then. I did some calculations just now, and the number of copper coins they can pool together should be around 800… Also, considering that this group only carries money in their pouches and not a backpack, I think they quickly conceded when they saw the three of you carrying backpacks. I think the likelihood of this possibility is over 80% certain."

Give Me Medicine believed in his teammate's judgment and immediately nodded. "Alright."

While the source of his copper coins was thanks to Vanilla Pudding's help, he needed to fork out his own money for every single one of those coins, so saving as much as he could was naturally better.

After a few minutes' wait, the Ranger Instructor Tuttle Joe entered his tent and brought out five pieces of wrinkled paper. He also picked up five small charcoal pieces from the remains of a fire and distributed them to the five eligible players.

All the players felt their eyes twitching as they watched this absurd means of a blind bid.

The fifth grinder was somewhat stunned when he received the paper. He never imagined the blind bidding would actually require writing by hand instead of entering numbers through a pop-up window in the game system…

And then… this player didn't bother to hide his intentions anymore. He calmly faced the scrutinizing gazes of the other four players and swiftly wrote a number on the paper.

He didn't hesitate much for his bid. After all, there were three wallet warriors with backpacks full of money present, and his chances were already slim. He just wrote down the amount of copper coins he could gather and called it a day.

Give Me Medicine and the other two, who had originally planned to outbid this player, cursed in silence. They just knew that this guy had ill intentions!

Jia Luo, who also received a piece of paper, sighed and dutifully wrote down her max assets… She had been staying there all this time, hoping to take advantage of the situation.

Tuttle couldn't be bothered with these undead players and their scheming. Once they were done, he collected the five pieces of paper and, in ascending order, pasted the bids on the notice board. With a deadpan expression on his face, he announced, "The top three winning bids have been determined. Undead friends who placed bids, please come forward immediately with the copper coins for the transaction."

There was no need for him to shout. Players in the vicinity, regardless of whether they were participating in the bidding or just spectating, had already crowded around.

The top pieces of paper notes at the top had the exact same bid: 1001 copper coins, obviously from the two rich big shots.

In third place, with a bid of 901 copper coins, was Give Me Medicine.

Fourth place was the fifth grinder with the ID "Win By Grinding" whose bid was 801 copper coins.

Realizing that his bid was only 100 copper coins less than the third place, Win By Grinding clenched his fist and cursed in frustration.

"Never mind, Jiang Wei. It's just not meant to be." Win By Grinding's friend patted his shoulder and sighed. Scraping together 800 copper coins had already been the best their group of five could do.

Win By Grinding had a final side-glance at Give Me Medicine, who managed to secure the Orb of Deception with just 100 more copper coins, then without saying anything, left with his friends.

The fifth place bid was 342 copper coins, by Jia Luo, who didn't even come close. She eyed the three winners and muttered with some disappointment, "You rich folks are so unfair, others don't even stand a chance."

"Hahaha, sorry about that," Give Me Medicine chuckled in delight. As soon as the two above two winners completed their transactions and left with their orbs, he immediately approached Tuttle, poured out the coins from his backpack, and placed them in front of him.

Once he obtained the gem, Give Me Medicine immediately wore it around his neck and activated the skill on the accessory.

Amid the amazed exclamations of the spectators and other grinders who gave up their bidding rights, Give Me Medicine transformed from a peculiar skeleton in a cotton T-shirt and shorts, with a waist bag around his waist and carrying a backpack, into a muscular, golden-haired man in a leather outfit.

"Ahahaha, am I handsome or what, Blossom? Am I handsome?" Give Me Medicine lowered his head and looked at his well-developed muscles, thrilled with joy.

"Handsome, totally handsome! You could be the lead in an American action blockbuster!" Blossoming Strokes exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up.

"Whoa, Brother, how does your chest feel so real? Wasn't your original form supposed to be a skinny skeleton?" One player couldn't help but touch Give Me Medicine's chest.

"Is it real? Wasn't it just supposed to be an illusion layer… What the heck! It's real muscles!" Another player followed suit with the touching.

"Hey, hey, don't just touch me like that!" Give Me Medicine quickly waved his arms to fend off these fellas who were being impolite.

"Damn, this feels really good!"

"Where the hell are you touching?!"

The two rich big shots hadn't planned to test the Orb of Deception on the spot, but witnessing the impressive effect of Give Me Medicine's accessory made them curious and they decided to use it as well.

And then… one boss transformed into an elderly gentleman with a dignified face and the air of a general, while the other transformed into a muscular female warrior.

"The heck! Why are you an old man?!"

"How the f*ck did you become a woman?!"

"I chose a female character… Damn, does the illusion follow the player's chosen gender?!"

"Ahahaha! Don't speak with your manly voice, I'm dying of laughter!"

The players that were surrounding Give Me Medicine quickly gathered the rich big shot that was playing a female character.

"Do all the illusions wear the same clothes? Can it be changed?"

"Damn, this physique could be in a biology textbook!"

The big shot who played as a female character couldn't see it himself and didn't mind the mismatch between his deep voice and the female illusion. He was rather delighted to be the center of attention and said, "Wait, let me see… Yes, the outfit can be changed. There's still a secondary skill on the accessory skill with three options."

He then performed an on-the-spot costume change. In a swift movement, the bulky female warrior in the tight rider outfit turned into the same warrior in a long and elegant dress.

"What the h*ck! Hahaha, it's like a transvestite boss but with muscles!"

"These chest muscles are incredible, really damn firm—"

Whii—iik! Tukk!

An arrow struck the head of the player who had rudely slapped the female boss's chest with his bony hand, and he disappeared in a flash of light.

"What the f*ck?!"

The crowd of players surrounding the big shot playing a female character quickly retreated in a panic.

Beyond the crowd, Tuttle lowered his longbow and coldly declared, "Death to those who show disrespect to ladies!"

The crowd of players. "…"

Big shot with the female character. "…"

"Damn, is this NPC a feminist or what? Wait, isn't this fella clearly a guy?" a player exclaimed in shock.

"No, I think the Ranger Instructor just wanted an excuse to kill players. He didn't show any mercy even when female players were grinding here and killed them just as ruthlessly." Another player cleverly saw through it all.

Tuttle snorted disdainfully, not bothering to explain to these filthy undead… Anyway, according to the rules, he could execute these undead on the spot if they did anything inappropriate. He would never miss an opportunity when he saw one!

Unfortunately, no matter how much he killed these despicable undead, he couldn't completely eradicate them. They would reappear lively and kicking after a certain period of time, which really frustrated him.

The Ranger Instructor was known for shooting to kill without any hesitation, and this definitely wasn't the first time. After the initial shock subsided, the players continued with whatever they were doing.

Envious of the female character who could "change outfits," Blossoming Strokes eagerly extended her hand toward her pal and said, "Let me try, let me try it out too!"

"Oh, oh, alright." Give Me Medicine, who had just changed the outfit using the secondary skill, quickly canceled the illusory disguise, took off the precious gem necklace, and handed it to Blossoming Strokes.

Blossoming Strokes excitedly activated the equipment skill that appeared in the skill panel after wearing the accessory.

And then, she transformed into a super muscular lady with a broader and more athletic figure than the female character-playing big shot's illusion…

Before Blossoming Strokes could recover from the shock of realizing her arms were thicker than most people's thighs, she noticed that the players who had been standing next to her, including her companion Give Me Medicine, were recoiling and retreating from her in fear.

These extremely bold players wouldn't even be scared away by the most terrifying zombie NPCs, but this behavioral abnormality immediately gave Blossoming Strokes an ominous feeling.

In a trembling voice, she asked, "W-what are you all doing? W-why are you keeping a distance from me?"

"N-nothing, really, it's nothing." Give Me Medicine, who had put at least two meters of distance between them, quickly shook his head.

"It's nothing? Then why are you still backing away?"

"Just… It's really nothing." Give Me Medicine seemed unable to bear it anymore, stiffly avoiding eye contact and not daring to look straight at Blossoming Strokes.

Blossoming Strokes: "…"

She slowly turned her head to face Jia Luo, the female player who had managed to gather over 300 copper coins by herself.

Jia Luo, a lone wolf and strong-willed grinder, couldn't hold back the urge to gag and made an unpleasant sound.

Blossoming Strokes. "…"

Blossoming Strokes couldn't accept the fact that her character's illusion was even more horrifying than a zombie NPC and only assumed there was a problem with the accessory skill. Thus, she hurriedly fumbled to activate the secondary option.

Upon making the selection, the default rider outfit on her illusory disguise transformed into the same gorgeous dress that the big shot with the female character had.

Exclamations for "Argh!" and "Damn!" sounded from players who were already three meters away. Some screamed in horror, others covered their eyes with both hands, and a few turned away hastily and even ran away.

The two big shots some distance away from the main crowd who had been excitedly experimenting with their illusory disguises looked over in astonishment.

Big shot No. 1, whose disguise was an old man, revealed a sympathetic look on his face.

"Something's terribly wrong!" Blossoming Strokes shouted as she took off the Orb of Deception, forcibly ending the illusory disguise cast on her.

Then, Blossoming Strokes dragged her teammate Give Me Medicine and ran to find Vanilla Pudding.

Qin Guan wanted to play as a warrior and had no intention of playing as a knight. Moreover, as a broke streamer that understood his own economic ability well, he didn't harbour any unrealistic fantasies with the Undead Horse.

However, because there was a player in the small team he formed who had farmed Knight Instructor reputation and a wallet warrior that had sought him out because of his recruiting ability, Qin Guan was presently camping at the Knight Instructor's construction site, where the outcome would be decided shortly.

After the auction of the Orbs of Deceptions was completed, a fourth player that had farmed enough reputation appeared at the Knight Instructor's side. And now, all the rich big shots and onlookers waiting around nervously watched the final dash for the last remaining slot.

Blossoming Strokes arrived at the site and, without saying a word, put the Orb of Deception around Qin Guan's neck.

"Congrats on successfully getting the orb, Give Me Medicine!" Qin Guan said gleefully as he checked the equipment information. "Do you want me to try it too?"

After confirming that using the equipment skill wouldn't bind the orb, Qin Guan activated "Illusionary Disguise."

In an instant, Qin Guan transformed from an ordinary, aged skeleton into a stunning and powerful beauty with a slender waist, well-defined limbs, and flowing wavy hair.

Her physique was more athletic than Gal Gadot's, her demeanor more assertive, and her appearance even more beautiful than Emma Stone's.

"What the hell?!!!"

Not only Blossoming Strokes and Give Me Medicine, but the players who were anxiously awaiting the Undead Horse auction's conclusion turned their attention to Vanilla Pudding in unison and erupted with ecstatic excitement as if they had unexpectedly seen a top-tier celebrity beauty sitting among them while they were squatting at a roadside stall eating fried noodles.

"Why!" Blossoming Strokes burst into tears. "I can't accept this!"

Inside the Town Hall, Yang Qiu couldn't bear to watch the female player who had been passionately rallying "OtherWorld" and even delaying her own quests to defend the game crying her heart out.

He silently exited the imprint matrix. "I didn't expect this either…" muttered Yang Qiu as he awkwardly made himself a new cup of milk tea.

"Illusionary Disguise can only modify the user's appearance based on their own physical properties, and the original form is still those soldiers who perished on this ancient battlefield. When I gave you rows of female skeletons to choose from, who would have imagined the guy would have chosen the most beautiful one, while the girl picked the most horrifying amazon warrior…"