As bidding for the first auction item began, the price soared rapidly.
It finally sold for 15 million Alliance Coins.
The atmosphere only grew hotter from there. One item after another was auctioned off in quick succession.
During the process, Jack spent 2 million on a Skill Disc for Trick—a move he intended for Haunter to learn. For a ghost-type focused on special attacks, Trick could become a powerful tactical tool.
Once Haunter mastered it, Jack could even pass it down to future ghost-types, saving himself countless Alliance Coins in the long run.
Other trainers might struggle to raise move proficiency to such a level, but Jack had his system. All he had to do was complete enough missions and level it up directly.
Outside of the Trick Skill Disc, Jack held off on bidding. He was waiting for the right ghost-type to appear.
Still, plenty of tempting items passed by—some that could immediately strengthen his team, others that would prove useful in the future. But none of them were critical, and Jack knew better than to spend impulsively.
Even with 70 million Alliance Coins in hand, Jack had to think carefully.
He was still being hunted by the Kusaka family, and once he resumed mercenary work, he'd likely be targeted again. That meant his income wouldn't be steady.
And ghost-types, while powerful, were notorious for being resource hogs.
Unless it was a must-have item, Jack refused to splurge.
Finally, the moment he had been waiting for arrived.
The next item up for bidding was the Duskull—a Pokémon Jack had seen listed earlier and had high hopes for.
Among ghost-types, Nightwatcher was rare and highly sought after—on par with some regional species like the Crocshade. Its starting price was set at 5 million.
As expected, the price blew past that almost instantly.
"Fifteen million!"
Jack called out without hesitation, immediately driving the price up and freezing the room.
"Sixteen million!"
Another voice quickly followed.
All eyes turned toward Jack, but his black cloak and masked face kept his identity hidden.
"Twenty-five million!"
Jack raised the bid again—this time by a staggering ten million—just to send a clear message: Back off.
It worked. The room went silent.
Still, one bidder in the center of the hall gritted his teeth and raised his hand.
"Twenty-five-point-five million!"
Under his mask, the man was already sweating bullets. He had just hit his absolute limit.
"Twenty-eight million."
Jack's voice rang out calmly, putting a swift end to the man's hopes.
The challenger fell silent and cast a bitter glance in Jack's direction, clearly not willing to let it go.
But no one else dared bid.
That was already the maximum value for a Duskull. Any more would be overpaying.
Even the usual auction trolls who liked to bait others into raising prices stayed quiet. At this point, if Jack stopped bidding, whoever tried to force the price up would be stuck paying for it.
No one wanted to gamble that Jack wouldn't follow through.
Despite the auctioneer's enthusiastic attempts to stir the crowd, no new bids came.
Soon, an attendant approached Jack and asked whether he wanted to inspect the item now and leave, or wait until the auction ended to collect it.
Jack chose to leave immediately. He had no interest in walking out with a crowd—and attracting even more danger.
As he stood and exited the hall, many others rose as well.
Their eyes weren't on the auction anymore.
They were locked on Jack—or rather, the masked figure who had just spent 30 million without flinching.
Outside the black market, Jack immediately noticed several tails following him.
Exactly as expected.
But Jack was ready. He led them away, toward a series of traps he had prepared in advance.
These people weren't reckless. They moved slowly, cautiously, knowing that someone who flees might not be weak—but prepared.
Ironically, those who fought back right away might just be bluffing.
Unfortunately for them, Jack's bombs and invisible monitors were already set.
When he saw on his handheld screen that the first group had entered his minefield—
BOOM!
A deafening blast tore through the night. Two of his pursuers were instantly shredded—limbs flung through the air in an arc of flame and blood.
Their bodies were dismembered before they even hit the ground, their blood evaporating midair from the sheer heat.
The remaining stalkers faltered, clearly shaken.
But Jack didn't wait for them to retreat.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three more explosions followed in quick succession, each one claiming more lives—humans and Pokémon alike.
By the end, most of the ambushers were dead, and those who survived realized far too late—
Jack had never meant to show off at the auction.
He hadn't baited them with wealth to "draw the snake from the hole."
He'd just seen a few too many greedy faces following him out.
And they looked like easy pickings.
After the final explosion faded, Jack emerged from the shadows and looted the bodies.
Those who could afford to attend a medium-sized auction like this weren't ordinary thugs. Even if their motives were shady, they had money.
Jack ran a quick tally of what he'd collected: around 30 million in total value.
In the end, Jack had walked away with:
One rare Pokémon: Duskull
One high-grade Skill Disc for Trick
Roughly 30 million Alliance Coins worth of loot
All at the cost of fourteen bombs from his system.
Not a bad haul… for a mercenary ghost.