Chapter 114 - 111: Dividing the Spoils

Chapter 114: Chapter 111: Dividing the Spoils

Unfortunately, Bai Ya was just too slow to react. In the end, it was Furen who suddenly cut in.

"No! Lu Wei, I don’t agree to an even split!"

’You finally fucking said something!’

’I was about to run out of lines!’

"Hm?"

Lu Wei sighed in relief but kept his tone intentionally puzzled. "Then how do you think we should split it?"

"I think you should take at least half!"

Furen’s tone was firm. "After all, just as you said, you contributed far more than we did! It’s only right that you get more of the loot!"

’Good man, Furen. That’s exactly what I was waiting to hear!’

’But... isn’t half a little low?’

"Well..."

Lu Wei feigned hesitation, mentally calculating how to guide Furen into raising the proportion a little higher.

But before he could even open his mouth, Furen spoke again.

"Anyway, that’s my position! If you still insist on splitting it evenly, then let’s just vote on it!"

"All in favor of my proposal, raise your hand!"

Staring at Lu Wei with a firm expression that screamed, ’I won’t take no for an answer unless you take half,’ Furen raised his hand as he spoke.

Immediately after, Bai Ya hurriedly raised her hand too.

"I agree too!"

"..."

’Wait, is this really happening so fast??’

’Why does it feel like you guys are setting me up???’

It had already moved to a vote before he even had a chance to speak again. Lu Wei stared, slack-jawed, completely caught off guard.

After all, he had originally expected to get at least 60%.

’Oh well, half is half. It’s still better than an even split...’

Seeing that it would be difficult to change things now, Lu Wei reluctantly accepted the outcome after a moment.

At the same time, Furen and Bai Ya both turned to look at Mirana.

"Er..."

She was taken aback. "Do I have to vote too?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

Furen asked, puzzled, "Aren’t we teammates now?"

"I..."

Mirana hesitated, just as she was about to say something.

But Lu Wei cut her off. "While we may not be an Official team, we’re at least temporary teammates for now, right?"

"...Alright."

Mirana turned to look at him. After a moment, as if she understood his intention, she silently raised her hand. "Agreed."

"Alright! Then it’s three votes to one!"

Furen said excitedly, "Lu Wei, now you can’t argue, right!"

"Sigh. You guys really leave me no choice."

With his objective smoothly achieved, Lu Wei let out a sigh of feigned helplessness. "Since that’s the case, I suppose I have no choice but to reluctantly accept."

"So, for these three Gold Coins, I’ll take 1 gold and 5 silver, and the three of you will each get 5 silver. Is that correct?"

"Correct!"

"Right, here you go... And lastly, we have these few pieces of higher Value loot."

After giving Furen and the others their money, Lu Wei pulled a small pile of items in front of him and began to introduce them one by one.

"These two are Strong Acid Bottles, and this is a Diluted Healing Potion. We might need these later, so I think we should keep them as party supplies."

"This is a Fire Burning Magic Scroll. We can hang onto it for now. If we don’t use it on this quest, we can sell it when we get back to town and figure it out then."

"And finally, this Leather Armor..."

Picking up the black Leather Armor, Lu Wei’s expression was deeply conflicted.

But in the end, he still handed it over to Furen with great reluctance.

"This is a piece of High Level Equipment. It’s already been identified, and it has two affixes."

"And since it’s a piece of Equipment we can all use, let’s handle it the most common way: a party auction."

...

...

A "party auction" was indeed the method most Adventurer Squads used to handle High Level loot.

The Rule was simple: everyone takes turns bidding on the Equipment, and the highest bidder wins.

The proceeds from the auction would be considered part of the loot and distributed among the members according to their agreed-upon shares.

The advantage of this method was that it reduced the chances of infighting and allowed everyone to get what they wanted—

The person who wanted the Equipment could get it.

The others would get a share of the money, ensuring no one walked away empty-handed.

"Whoa, this [Tenacity] affix is so strong!"

"The Magic Power Consumption is a little high, but the effect is incredible!"

Soon, Furen’s exclamations of amazement echoed through the cave.

And this was one of the reasons Lu Wei was being so "forthright."

The Leather Armor had already been identified, so anyone could see its affixes. There was no way for him to use Precise Identification to snag an overlooked treasure.

Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate.

Because...

"I-I don’t need to look..."

A moment later, Bai Ya took the Leather Armor from Furen with an awkward expression and immediately passed it to Mirana.

Furen paused for a second before it dawned on him. "Oh, right. I forgot you only have 1 point of Perception."

"..."

’You really didn’t have to say that out loud!!’

Bai Ya wasn’t as dejected as she had been earlier, but her face immediately flushed red at his words, and she glared at Furen with puffed-up cheeks.

"Then why don’t you just tell me what the affix is!"

"Oh, right! It consumes Magic Power to increase your Physical Resistance by 50%..."

Furen hurriedly explained it to her. Meanwhile, Mirana handed the Leather Armor back to Lu Wei and asked in a serious tone,

"As a temporary member, am I allowed to participate in the auction?"

’Huh?’

Lu Wei was taken aback. "You want it too?"

Mirana admitted frankly, "Yes."

"Then may the highest bidder win."

Lu Wei shot her a glance before looking away and clearing his throat officiously.

"Ahem. Since everyone has had a look, let’s begin the auction. I’ll start the bidding at 1 Gold Coin."

"I’m out."

Bai Ya was the first to drop out, stealing a quick glance at Lu Wei as she spoke.

This immediately displeased Furen. "Bidding on Equipment is perfectly normal. Don’t feel awkward just because we’re teammates."

"If everyone does that, then there’s no point in having an auction."

"I-I’m not feeling awkward!"

Bai Ya retorted, her face red, "I just really don’t want this Leather Armor. It looks ugly."

"Fine... then I’m out too."

"Hey, you’re doing the same thing, and you have the nerve to lecture me!"

"I’m different..."

"Oh, that’s right. I forgot you’re a Magic Dullard. You can’t even use Skills that consume Magic Power~"

Finally finding a chance to get even, Bai Ya looked smug, feeling as if she’d suddenly become much smarter.

It seemed her [Perception] stat would mysteriously get a small boost whenever she argued.

In any case, the two of them dropped out of the auction.

However, Mirana, who had already made her intentions clear, obviously wasn’t going to back down. She immediately spoke up.

"I bid 4 gold coins."

"5 gold coins," Lu Wei countered without hesitation.

"Then I bid 6 gold coins."

"7 gold coins!"

"8 gold coins."

"9 gold coins!"

"10 gold coins."

"..."

The price shot up to 10 gold coins in just a few bids. This unexpected development left Lu Wei frozen in an awkward position.

He knew Furen wouldn’t bid, and that Bai Ya would only offer a few Silver Coins at most. That’s why he started at 1 Gold Coin, planning to snag the Leather Armor right away.

He never expected Mirana to get involved!

’I knew I shouldn’t have let her join the auction!’

Lu Wei stared resentfully at Mirana, filled with regret.

But it was obviously too late for regrets.

Besides, 10 gold coins had already reached the "reference price" given by his Precise Identification.

’Forget it.’

After glaring at Mirana through gritted teeth, Lu Wei was about to admit defeat.

But in the next moment, he suddenly noticed that her expression was exceptionally Firm.

She seemed determined to get this Leather Armor.

’In that case...’

"11 gold coins."

Operating on the principle of recouping his losses as much as possible, Lu Wei hesitated for a moment before tentatively calling out another bid.

And just as he’d expected, Mirana immediately matched it. "12 gold coins."

"13 gold coins?"

"14 gold coins."

"15 gold coins!"

"16 gold coins."

"17 gold coins!"

"..."

Mirana suddenly went silent.

Lu Wei had a bad feeling and quickly prompted her, "Hey, your bid."

Mirana shook her head. "I only have 16 gold coins. I don’t have any more."

"Uh..."

’Holy shit, you should have said you were out of money sooner!’

’Who would pay 17 gold coins for this thing?!’

’Even if I get half of it back... it still feels like a huge loss!’

’After all, it’s not a Skill you can use all the time!’

The corner of his mouth twitched. After a moment, Lu Wei’s expression suddenly changed, and he made a very "magnanimous" decision.

"I feel like you need this piece of Equipment more than I do."

"How about this. I’ll withdraw my last bid. For 16 gold coins, the Leather Armor is yours."

"Don’t thank me. After all, we’re teammates."