Bypass Auction House protections?

June 18 2034 - 09:18:34

Has anyone found a way to discover the identity of seller's on the auction house when they opt for an anonymous sale?

-Aeleo

June 18 2034 - 09:21:51

First, why? Second, impossible.

You'd have to access to the game like a GM, there's no way a player could do it.

-Trendstar

June 18 2034 - 09:24:12

What's impossible? I wouldn't discount anything in Endless just yet, one player has already started wrangling goblins into his own troops.

Maybe it's not widely known, but the system is one of convenience, not protection. If a player gets a skill for it, they'll be able to figure out the IDs of anonymous sales.

-Malakrak

June 18 2034 - 09:32:05

I heard that goblin army myth too, did you hear about the logger? Apparently he's making a killing selling wood to NPCs because the price is calculated by weight.

-Superfly

June 18 2034 - 09:46:18

@Malakrak, how would a player get a skill like that? What does that have to do with killing monsters?

-Noobslayer53

June 18 2034 - 09:55:32

The game isn't just about slaying monsters and doing quests. That's just what players were first drawn to. You can literally do any job you can think of and the game will give you skills to accomodate you. You'll get xp too. I know one player who's signature skill is embroidery.

-Malakrak

June 18 2034 - 10:02:59

LUL EMBROIDERY? I bet he's fucking hating life right now! XD

-Noobslayer53

June 18 2034 - 10:06:23

Actually, it let's him craft cloth armor with additional affixes. Just look at these pants.

Accentuating Breeches of Study

23 Armor

+5 Intelligence

+6 Wisdom

+50 Mana

+4% Skill Experience Gain

Requires Level 18

-Malakrak

June 18 2034 - 10:14:18

Holy shit! What's his ID? I can pay gold!

-Indata

June 18 2034 - 10:20:01

Not gonna share, profession players are being swept up by big guilds already and they are monopolizing the goods produced.

-Malakrak

June 18 2034 - 13:18:29

@Aeleo, if you contact customer support, you could probably con them into giving you the player ID.

-Tophat

Aeleo checked the forum post he made earlier and stopped when he saw one interesting idea.

"Using the game masters to find out unavailable information... that makes sense. Just need to think of a reason to convince them to talk about the transaction..."

Aeleo had the potion in his inventory, it was deemed an acceptable risk if it meant finding out who made it. Aeleo pulled up the item's options again and frowned when he didn't find any new information. What a stupid useless job he had! How was he supposed to figure out who made a potion and sold it through an anonymous system?

Aeleo took a breath, calmed himself. He took a minute to think through the entire situation. There is an alchemist with a legendary trait, they were able to craft a potion with an amazing effect, and the potion was able to be used by anyone.

Wait... anyone?

Aeleo went back to the forum post and checked the item Malakrak posted, it required level 18. Aeleo pulled up some potions in his inventory, even the weakest ones required level 10... Not this one though, why?

Silima had been waiting patiently for Djin to wrap up his terminal time, but five minutes had turned into ten minutes which had become twenty minutes. She understood that sometimes it took a bit of time, but they had a deal and he needed to honor his end.

She stood up in a huff and walked over to where Djin was standing, she could see he had his menus open but they were of course filtered so only he could see them. She tapped his shoulder and he jumped in surprise, hastily closing all the menus.

"Silima! Hey! I was just about to look for you!"

Djin fidgeted a bit, anxiously looking around, suddenly becoming aware of how crowded the hall was.

Silima smirked at him.

"Oh were you? I was worried that you'd forgotten all about me."

Silima batted her eyes at Djin and he grinned back at her.

"Oh I'd never forget that pretty face."

He cringed as he said the words but Silima encouraged the remark, she needed him after all.

"You sly fox, I didn't know you had a silver tongue as well!"

She giggled and pat his arm. Djin blushed a bit and turned the conversation to the matter at hand.

"So I think I alienated Ashen Fury pretty decently already, how do we go from here?"

"To be honest, Leon told me to recruit you at any cost. You could name your price and terms and short of handing the guild over to you entirely, you'd likely get it."

Djin was stunned to hear this.

"What?! Why!? I just hit level 10! Maybe I know a bit more but so what?"

"Djin, you're a level 10 caster who took out 100 bandits in an hour, who can cast magic without using skills, and you're ONLY level 10. They don't even know about your alchemy skills!"

Djin paled.

"Alchemy? I don't... who told you? Kreo?"

Silima face palmed.

"Djin, you talk out loud to yourself a lot, I can hear everything in this building. If you're going to say something sensitive, get a private room or just pm instead."

Djin considered what she said for a moment before bringing up his menu.

Djin: So what did you overhear me saying exactly?

Silima: That not only do you know how to do alchemy, something that most players are floundering at, but you also have two achievements in it!

Djin: That's it?

Silima: ...There's more?

Djin dismissed the chat box but Silima was giving him a pleading look.

"I think you know enough already Silima, let's figure out what we're going to do with Ashen Fury first."

She sighed but nodded in agreement.

"Well besides getting me back into the core group, what else are your demands?"

"I'll keep them simple. One, I don't need to diverge all of my secrets, I'll give up some principles of magic, but not all. Two, I'll participate with the guild but I can't be demanded to do everything, I need a certain level of autonomy. Three, I reserve the right to leave the guild without giving up anything I've gained while I was in it."

Silima let out a long whistle.

"The first two should be easy, but the third one... I don't think they'll go for that... it's essentially saying you're free to loot them and run."

"Only if I ask for what I haven't earned, I don't plan to. So that just leaves one thing."

Silima frowned.

"What's that?"

"You can't tell anyone about my alchemy abilities."

"What? Why not? Do you know how valuable it is? Aeleo's been ordered to look for who made this the creator of this one elixir for the last 2 days!"

Djin sighed.

"I know it's valuable, that's the problem. I don't want to be stuck crafting potions and elixirs all the time. Not to mention that I'd be relying on the guild for materials. No, right now I want to play the game, level my class, and get stronger."

"Okay okay! I won't say anything!"

Satisfied, Djin nodded.

"Alright, let's go talk to Leon and the others."

Djin met with Leon and discussed the terms of him joining the guild. Unsurprisingly, Leon had no objections to Djin's demands, including Silima's return to the core group with him.

"I'd have given much more to get a masterful player like you to join us Djin. Griffit left already to help Aeleo with a task, but you remember Hanazure."

Hanazure was avoiding Djin's eyes, but on Leon's reintroduction she looked up at him.

"Sorry about earlier, welcome to the guild."

She muttered her apology but Djin took it in stride. He smiled as he spoke to her.

"No worries, a little duel now and again is just sport. Let's work together now."

Djin offered his hand to Hana. She looked at it, a bit ashamed, but shook it.

"Deal." Hanazure smiled at Djin.

The group chatted for a bit about what to do next. Leon emphasized that a priority be put on raising Djin's level above all else.

"You're coming with us, we're going to bus you up to our level at a harder hunting ground. It's about two hours from here on wagon, we've got one ready already. Is there anything you need to do?"

Djin thought for a moment and shook his head at Leon.

"Nothing I can't do on the ride. The sooner we go, the better."

Leon clapped Djin on the back.

"That's the spirit. Hanazure, Silima, I've already spoken to the others. You know what you need to do before we set off."

The two girls walked off to accomplish their tasks, leaving Djin alone with Leon.

"Djin, between just us... do you like Silima? Is that why you wanted her to stick near you?"

Djin blushed.

"No, I just... she's nice to talk to, I thought it'd make it easier to get along with you all."

Leon grinned at Djin.

"Easy there, I wouldn't blame you! She's cute, blonde hair, nice body, blue eyes, the pig tails seem a bit childish, but everyone has their taste. I'm not bothered if that's the case, but don't feel the need to pull her weight later on, she's a part of the guild, even if she's not a core member."

"Yeah, she's cute, maybe, let me get back to you on it later. Once I get to know her more?"

Leon laughed and patted Djin on the back again.

Silima, having only just walked away, once again heard everything.

"He thinks I'm cute?"

Her cheeks turned pink but she didn't break her stride.

Djin: Kreo, heading out to a hunting ground. Plan to be on long tonight.

Kreo: Alright, I'm logging for a bit and ordering pizza, I'll leave some for ya.

Djin: Thanks, have a good night dude.

Djin closed the messager app. The group had only been riding from Freemont for about five minutes, the others had entered an idle mode to take care of real world needs for the moment. Djin would follow suit shortly, he just needed to take care of one thing.

"What am I going to do with this..."

He pulled up his signature skill and activated it. A glowing digital red 1 was in his hands.

"Damage, stats... maybe my mana pool..."

He wracked his brain for what to do with the digit, if he put it somewhere meaningless, he'd have to wait a week before fixing it.

"Forget skills... what about my achievements... let's see..."

Grand Achievement - First Elemental Mage

You are the first player to have used three different elements in casting!

All elemental spells will cost 10% less mana.

You are 10% more resistant to elemental magic.

Elemental Mage Class Unlocked.

"I can make my spells cost 110% less mana, or become 110% more resistant to elemental magic..."

Grand Achievement - First Enchantment

You are the first player in the game to apply an enchantment.

All of your enchantments will be 20% stronger.

Increase all stats by 2% for each piece of enchanted gear you wear.

Profession Unlocked - Enchanter

"I could give enchantments that are 120%... no... 210% stronger. I don't have any enchanted gear yet though."

Grand Achievement - First Alchemist!

You are the first player to create a useful potion!

All potions you use will have a 30% stronger effect!

You consume 30% less ingredients when performing alchemy!

Profession Unlocked - Alchemist

"Potions that have 310% stronger effect, consume... 310% less ingredients when performing alchemy... would that even work?"

Grand Achievement - First Perfected Brew

Using knowledge unknown to history, you managed to perfect a flawed recipe.

All potions crafted have 20% greater effect.

You produce 50% extra potion when brewing.

Water can be used instead of Potion Base.

Profession Unlocked - Legendary Alchemist

"210% greater effect... why is this worded differently from the other one? Or create 510% extra potion when brewing... that's a lot of extra productivity."

Achievement - 10 Skills created.

You are now able to select an ability to receive 3x growth rate.

This cannot be changed until the skill reaches level 10.

...!

Djin paused on this achievement... this... this was it!

"I can make a skill grow 31x faster! I could start make my skill levels skyrocket! It's still on Heart of Mana too! Yes, this is the one!"

Djin pushed the red one into the achievement window and set it inside the 3 and x.

Achievement - 10 Skills created.

You are now able to select an ability to receive 31x growth rate.

This cannot be changed until the skill reaches level 10.

It worked! The box now said his selected ability would grow 31x faster! Djin took a look at Heart of Mana's progress bar and already it was speeding forward. He wasn't even using his mana and the skill would level in the next hour!

"Alright! This signature skill might not be flashy, but it's going to be absolutely broken for me! Now, let's check over the items from earlier."

Djin had gotten the earing identified, but Kreo had taken the gloves and boots. He opened up the item description.

Chaos Hoop

Equip Effect: Cast spells will consume between 0 - 100% extra mana to deal 0 - 200% extra damage.

Equip Effect: Damage taken will deal 0 - 10% extra damage to you and give you mana equal to the same amount.

Requires level 16

The options weren't bad, Djin wasn't able to use it yet though. He stowed it away and brought out the Skill Enhancement Book. The entire reason he and Kreo had been grinding so hard to hit level 10 was to use this item on one of their signature skills. Was that a good idea now? He already had a broken skill, it had taken eight minutes and three escalations just to give him a signature skill, the last thing he wanted was more attention on it.

Better just to use the book on something else, the +1 was broken enough already anyway. Even if the book changed it to a +2, it wouldn't make much difference. His other skills, well they were all about to get boosted anyway from the growth rate modifier. Maybe there just wasn't much use for this skill book for him...

Djin closed the menus and went idle. The screen went dark and then the pod opened, Luke climbed up out of the pod and went to the toilet. After a quick relief, he found Alex sitting at the table eating pizza, Luke sat and joined him.

"Hey, so what are they like?" Alex asked.

"Leon seems pretty relaxed, hard to believe he plays a berserker. Hanazure was proud at first but now she's a bit meek after I humbled her. Haven't really met anyone else, heard that Griffit is supposed to help Aeleo find out whoever made a crazy good potion. Which I'm pretty sure is the one we sold."

Alex guffawed.

"Geez, what a fucking web this is. Think they'll find out it was you?"

Luke waved the question away.

"Not likely. You sold it anyway, so they'd being pulling your thread, not mine."

Alex nodded.

"Right, well if they chase me down I'll still keep your secret. I'm going to get some sleep, don't stay up all night"

Luke waved him off and checked the time, it was nearly 1 AM. He should've felt drowsy at least, but he was wide awake.

"Must be from laying in the pod all day, the other's are going to be waiting for me."

He tidied up the pizza boxes, made sure the kitchenette was decent and checked how much time he had left.

"About 10 minutes before we're supposed to start, enough time for a quick shower."

"He's late!"

Leon sighed while Hanazure fumed. They'd been reconnected now for about 30 minutes and the wagon had already reached their destination, large grassy plains near the edge of a forest. Djin's character sat in the back in the 'grayed' state that indicated the player was away. Leon expected this however, it's very common since a lot of people forget about the time differential between the game and real life.

"It's not an issue, the other members are still on their way. At best the extra time would've been getting to understand each others abilities better before we began. Let's layout the base camp so we can set the NPC laborers to it."

The game had three different types of Non-Playable Characters:

Pawn-type NPCs were those that had no personality but could be hired and given orders. They didn't act like robots though, they'd chat, slouch off, interact with players even. You'd get the distinct impression that they were almost all identical though. They were the background characters that gave the game more realism while giving the players more freedom. Ashen Fury currently had a hefty group hired and now they were setting up a large camp under the direction of Hanazure.

Game NPCs were the ones that no player could exert control over, but acted the same as Pawn-type NPCs otherwise. The vendors and quest hall adminstrators were these types, ready as ever to help players but confined to a set space within the game to serve their needs. You could hire pawn-type NPCs from a game NPC or interact directly with the pawns to get a better deal.

Real NPCs were the rarest, such as the priest in the church that Djin visited. These NPCs were not bound to any one area and could display near perfect free will, they even had an understanding of the games mechanics to a certain degree so that when player's acted strange around them they could work it out. Menu access appeared as a type of magic and the characters going gray or logging out was considered a type of spiritual stasis. Some players believed that the Realies knew they were in a game and they were just role playing along instead of actually being fooled.

Djin logged back in to see a bustle of motion around him. Pawns hustling about setting up palisades, wooden defensive fences that is; tents, a watchtower, cooking areas, and even some latrines. It was a flurry of activity and Djin loved it, he watched as Silima set down another ghostly preview of tents that the pawns were gathered around. She tapped a screen of affirmation and the laborers set about setting up the buildings. She turned to Djin as he walked up.

"Figures you'd show up when most of the work is already done!" she joked.

"What's with all the... all of it? This looks like a war camp!"

Djin looked around again and sure enough, there were already some pawns dressed as guards and stationed around the perimeter.

Silima giggled at Djin's bewonderment.

"War? With only thirty pawns? We'd be slaughtered! This is just a small expedition camp, it's cheap too as long as none of the pawns die."

"Pawns?"

Silima gestured out at the laborers.

"Pawns, the NPCs that are doing all the work. So long as all they end up doing is some work and guard duty, we don't have to pay a death stipend. The camp acts as a good homebase for when you're far from town too. When the rest of our group arrives we'll even have a merchant for selling junk to! The Field Marshal is bringing the more important pawns in the next few hours."

Djin pondered the title.

"Is that a special class, Field Marshal?"

"Yep, it's the first class you can get to make you more proficient at commanding pawns. It's already done wonders for our guild because of how much stronger your expedition camps can become, let me show you."

Silima led him around the camp, quickly explaining the process. The entire camp itself qualified as a safe area when it wasn't under assault, allowing for certain menu actions or to logout from the game. If the camp was disbanded or destroyed while logged out, you would be forced to login to the nearest town you've already been to instead. However if the camp was under attack, you could still login.

That was the purpose of the tents, well one of the purposes. You also required a certain number of tents to keep the pawns happy, but any extra sleeping space could be used to allow logins while under assault as long as the defenders didn't exceed the population cap.

"It's like an RTS game, each of these tents can support 4 people. We currently have enough room in camp for 48 total, but with the 30 laborers, the 4 of us, we only have extra room for 14. The rest of the guild will fill those numbers when they arrive."

She showed him the latrines next. They served as a way to cure ailments that you might incur in the field.

"Poison, disease, curses even. They are very poor at their job, but you can spend an hour in the latrine to remove all debuffs. We didn't use them at first, but after one particularly rough fight with some Mushroomheads we decided that it was worth the effort to make sure we had them."

The cooking area was next, a larger tent with a space partially dug into the ground was here.

"This is the stockpile area, the tent acts as a larder to keep food and other supplies. Players don't need the supplies, but any pawns you have with you will consume a bit each day. If you run out, you'll be forced to pay more money to them for a while, but eventually they'll desert rather than starve. We'll have enough supplies for a total of ten days, and we'll look into getting a resupply if things are going well."

Silima took him to the last structure built in the campsite, a large wooden tower about three tents high.

"The watchtower, our camp is small enough to just have one in the center. Larger camps will require more watch towers all around the perimeter to function properly."

"Function how?" Djin asked her.

Silima was about to speak when a bell started ringing from the top of the tower. The pawn yelled out to the camp. "Movement to the east! Ten figures!"

"Function like that, any camp can be assaulted in the wild. However, you'll always get a five minute warning if a pawn spots it. Be right back."

Silima grabbed the tower's ladder and hoisted herself up next to the guard in an instant. Meanwhile Leon and Hanazuer ran up to Djin, likely over the alarm. Before anyone had a chance to speak, Silima jumped back down into the group.

"Two orcs, eight goblins, markings show they're a part of the Blood Skulls."

Hanazure groaned but Leon smiled.

Leon spoke, "It would seem they're even bolder now despite our previous efforts."

He turned to Djin.

"We're out here on an assignment from the province's Baron to cull their numbers. The goblins are lower level, around 15, the orcs are much stronger, around 25. Right now it's just us four, so we're going to have to pull some pawns in with us to fight so we don't lose the camp."

Djin gave Leon a puzzled look.

"Aren't you guys level 30 already? This should be no problem."

It was Silima that told him now.

"Djin, enemies get much more skillful at higher levels. Leon could beat an orc one on one, but there's two with eight goblins. If we get surrounded, then we'll be slaughtered immediately."

Djin looked at her and took in what she said. He nodded and ran out towards the east.

Leon, Hanazure, and Silima looked at each other in confusion.

"What's he doing? Don't tell me he's scared!" Hanazure mused.

Leon shaked his head.

"If he was scared, he wouldn't have ran towards the enemy. Let's follow him."

Djin accessed his menu quickly as he ran, time to get back part of the deal that Khayn made with him.

Ultimate Skill - Sealed Mind of the Archmage

You hold knowledge of all magic within your mind. However you have had your mind sealed by the Demi-god Khayn. He will allow you to regain your knowledge if you earn his favor.

If you are unsure of how to earn Khayn's favor, you may communicate to him at any of his shrines or churches.

Favor: 1

Please select your choice from the following screen.

Djin didn't wait to read the full screen before he selected one of the boxes under 1 Favor Magic.

1 Favor Magic 3 Favor Magic 5 Favor Magic 10 Favor Magic 100 Favor Magic ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? Magic Runes ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????

Thank you for your selection. The following magic has been unsealed:

Passive Acquired - Magic Runes Lv. MAX

You hold all knowledge over Rune magic. Runes are magical characters that hold great power, however the longer the runeword, the greater the mana cost.

Runeword Power - +50%

Runeword Duration - +200%

A flood of information flowed into Djin's mind, settling into his brain as though it had just returned home from a long trip. Djin recalled his time in the tower, reading Figura's Lexicon of Runes... he remembered so much now. Rune words were both the cheapest and most expensive magic in the game. A single rune was 50 mana, but to make a runeword you would need anywhere from one to ten runes. The mana cost was doubled for every additional rune in the runeword. With his current mana...

Skill evolving!

Heart of Mana has become Mana Core

Mana Core - Lv. 1

Your heart, having been so saturated with mana, has become a mana core itself. Keep it safe, it is now one of the most valuable materials in the world.

Mana Pool Increased - 1000

Mana Regeneration Increased - 20 MPS

Spell Mana Cost decreased - 10%

It was plenty enough if he kept his runewords to three characters. He set his hand to the ground and left a faint imprint as he created a runeword on the ground. He rushed to the next spot in mind, and did it again. Over and over until he had created ten runewords in the grass around him. His mana was depleted, but he could feel more pouring out from the center of his body, filling his body like a vessel. Silima had watched him work for a little while, but soon she was more concerned with the enemy than him.

"Djin, get back! They're coming!"

Djin turned to see her waving at him in distress, he looked back out across the fields and realized that the five minutes were up.