Isaac couldn't find any similar gear on the official marketplace. He scratched his head—how the hell was he supposed to price this thing?
After thinking it over, he decided to test the waters on the forums.
To avoid triggering a massive frenzy, Isaac posted in his local city subforum.
[Quick Question: If I've got a Hyenaman Club with 4–7 attack, +2 STR, +2 CON, how much do you think it'd sell for?]
The forums were packed with stuck-in-town players, many of them refreshing threads out of sheer boredom. Isaac's post instantly drew a crowd of curious—and cynical—users.
"Dude, wake up. Don't dream. There hasn't been a single stat-boosting Hyenaman Club on the global server."
"What's the point of even discussing this? If you actually HAVE that kind of weapon, I'll pay $1,000, but let's be honest—you don't."
"OP's got way too much time. Probably doesn't even have a basic club, let alone a god-roll. I bet a penny this is bait."
Isaac had no idea whose nerves he touched, but the replies were dripping with sarcasm.
To be fair, when players couldn't even get basic gear, someone suddenly asking about a perfect item would definitely come across as trolling.
Still, not every reply was trash. Mixed in with the trolls were a few genuinely useful comments.
"I'll give a serious answer. If you really found something like that TODAY, I'd say $2,000 easy. My company would definitely consider it."
"Yeah right, $2K for a level 1 weapon? You're the same guy who listed a regular club for $2,000, aren't you?"
"No need to get salty, bro. I'm not bluffing. I'm not flexing either. I'm with a pro club. You've seen how hot Celestia: The Eternal Realms is right now—it's exploding. Tons of pro teams are diving in, and for us, every second counts. Level advantage is everything. This weapon would be a godsend for the early game. $2K isn't overpriced. If a whale sees it? Could go even higher."
"Honestly? Just throw it in the auction house. Set a starting bid at $1,000 and let the market decide."
Isaac read through the replies carefully, filtering out the noise.
He'd been on the internet long enough to know how to mine gold from trash. The pro club player's take seemed legit, and the auction suggestion made a lot of sense.
"Yeah… let them fight it out."
Isaac opened the auction tab and listed the Hyenaman Club.
He set the starting bid at $1,000, with a buyout price of $1,800.
The buyout wasn't too high—he didn't want buyers to hesitate and risk someone else pulling a better drop later. It was safer to cash in quickly.
He hit "List Item", then returned to the game.
"If it sells in half an hour, I'll be happy." Isaac took a deep breath. This wasn't just pocket change. He'd never bought anything this expensive in any game before.
If this sold, he'd have made over $3,000 today.
Just thinking about it made his blood pump.
"Stay calm… just play normally. Special mobs just respawned—let's grind."
At the very moment Isaac listed the god-tier club, dozens of trading board campers spotted the item at once.
"Leader! Someone listed a Hyenaman Club—$1,000 bid, $1,800 buyout!"
"Boss, someone put a club up. Price is crazy though—$1,000 start."
"Another idiot. No level 1 gear is worth $1,000. Whales aren't that dumb."
XSX Club HQ.
Assistant Olive was doing what most game assistants were doing—endlessly refreshing the trading board.
"Quincy, someone just listed a Hyenaman Club. $1,000 starting, $1,800 buyout."
Quincy, their team leader, was currently guiding a core squad through the early grind. Even as pros, they were struggling to find mobs.
"Ugh, there's way too many people… Olive, what'd you say?"
"Someone listed a Hyenaman Club. Seller is… LoneMadness."
That name rang a bell. Earlier, LoneMadness had offloaded five clubs in one go—completely unheard of.
Olive hadn't managed to grab any, but the name stuck with her.
"LoneMadness again? That guy? Didn't he price normally before? What's with the crazy price now?"
Quincy frowned. At that price, most people would skip it entirely. Was this guy trying to scam a whale?
Quincy had seen all kinds of players. Greedy opportunists weren't rare.
"Ignore him. All Hyenaman Clubs are the same. He's just fishing for a sucker."
But Olive was a thorough assistant.
She opened the auction listing.
[Worn Hyenaman Club (Gray – Exceptional)]
["The surface is worn, clearly used for a long time."]
[Attack: 4–7]
[+2 Strength | +2 Constitution]
Olive blinked.
"Quincy… you… you might want to look at this. It's… a god-tier drop."
"No way. There hasn't been a single stat-boosting club anywhere." Quincy pulled up the listing.
Then he froze.
"4–7 attack?! Plus STR and CON? No freakin' way… this is the real deal."
After a beat, Quincy snapped back to life.
$1,000 starting, $1,800 buyout.
Management had said to grab any club under $300—but this wasn't just any club. Anyone who saw those stats would know this thing was worth every penny.
Every second that passed was a risk.
"Olive, buy it! Now! Buyout price!"
"Shouldn't we check with management—"
"I'll take the heat. Do it. Right now!" Quincy was literally trembling.
This weapon was a game-changer.
Olive had never seen Quincy this intense. She hit the buyout button.
[Congratulations! You've successfully purchased "Worn Hyenaman Club."]
"We got it!"
Quincy let out a breath and pulled off his headset, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Finally… Olive, go tell Keith."
Moments later, Keith, the team manager, rushed out to see the item.
The group gathered around Olive's screen. She opened the mail and equipped the club for preview.
A thick wooden stick, wrapped crudely in metal. Underneath it, the stats glowed.
"Damn… this thing's a beast. Definitely a god-tier starter weapon."
"This'll boost attack, defense, and HP. Hell, we can probably start farming level 2 Hyenamen with this!"
Keith clapped Quincy on the back.
"Good work. Totally worth the price. If we'd missed it, that would've been a huge loss."
"Olive, send the club to Quincy's account. Quincy, take squads 2 through 5 and grind hard. Whether we get out of this newbie zone or not depends on you."
"Leave it to me! With this weapon, we'll dominate! Everyone, get online! Time to level!"
As everyone scrambled to log in, Keith turned to leave—until Olive spoke up.
"Boss, should I message LoneMadness? He's clearly sitting on more gear. Maybe we should establish contact?"
Keith smiled with calm confidence.
"No need. He's just a middleman. If he had better gear, he'd have listed it already. He's played his hand."
Olive was genuinely impressed. Keith's analysis seemed spot-on.
Yeah… LoneMadness must be a flipper. No way someone could get that much gear legit.