The monte Auction house was packed and full of distinguished guests for this monumental occasion. The prince of the Bosque kingdom as a local could naturally not be left out.
Adelio Bosque II was sitting high up above the crowd having his own personal space in the theater-sized auction hall. He was looking forward to acquiring the aforementioned Mana Forge potion.
"Your Highness Adelio, I'm afraid this is a difficult request to fulfill" A court man addressed the prince from a seat of his own.
"Now, for our next item…"
"Huh? Did I hear that correctly?" The auction was still ongoing and the prince's attention was not with the man. He couldn't help but ask for confirmation after hearing that his demands might not be met.
"Your highness, the competition for that potion is bound to be fierce" The man hid the irritation in his heart and answered the question that hid an obvious intention.
Truthfully, the man was quite annoyed with the prince. But he had a task to perform and even though this auction was not within the plans, he still needed to make sure the prince did not end up dissatisfied.
"I understand that but who do you take me for? I'm the prince, I'll foot half the bill" The prince could not take the kingdom's finances for his own. Still, he did have a hefty allowance. His father had also provided and gifted him a couple of plantations from where he could draw money from.
"Sold, to the gentlemen up top for 25 Auction dollars" The auction housed had its own exchangeable currency that facilitated trade inside the auction. It also made it so none of the visitants could short change the auction and ensured the auction house took at least 100 gold worth of money.
"Your highness, we-" The man was cut off.
"WE? Your words definitely don't suggest that, think again before declining." The prince said some concluded without giving the man much choice.
"...I understand your highness" He reluctantly replied after a couple of seconds.
"It's good you understand, Judas. Don't worry so much, after I become king, this will be chump chan- Oh! That's interesting!" The prince suddenly stood up from his seat and exclaimed.
A resplendent sword with a curved blade was unveiled for all to see. It shone a blue hue, like the color of the sea.
"This item was one of the many relics excavated from the newly discovered dungeon off the coast of the Meadast Kingdom, the lunar islands."
The prince was captivated by the shine. The sword did seem like it would be worth quite a bit.
"Beautiful isn't it? The adventurers that retrieved it claim it looks even better under the moonlight. Anyway, here…." The auction host proceeded to explain some of the quirks of the sword as well as its benefits. Apparently, it could only show its true prowess underwater leaving the prince disappointed.
"Who knew such a pretty thing could be so useless…" The prince muttered not noticing the look Judas shot him. The prince was a handsome figure by all accounts, as expected of royalty. His ego was severely inflated as well, however, which at times hindered his ability to think clearly.
The auction continued to progress and eventually, things started to get really heated.
"80!" Someone yelled while holding up their bid.
"95!" Another counterbid.
The item for auction was a trident. By looks alone, one could find it to be rather useless. Apart from some faint rusted runes chiseled directly on its shaft, the trident did not display any special carvings or boast a clean figure. The item could not be any more extraordinary, however. The auction host barely even had to pad his words when describing its magnificent capabilities.
"I need to have this…!" The man who was bid against gritted his teeth. Similar to the previous sword, the trident's capabilities were greatly boosted underwater. It however also boosted skills near the shore and when raining. Those effects could even stack!
It was the Monte Auction house's original trump card. That only made everyone much more anticipant as it meant the auction would soon come to an end. Knowing this, the real big wigs did not even bat the trident an eye as every ounce of gold counted!
"Sold for 115 auction dollars, a magnificent score! Thank you very much for your patronage!" The host managed to sell the trident for 1,150 gold coins. Only a large business could afford to squander so much money.
The buyer was actually the ambassador from the Mrines archipelago. Needless to say, the seaside boost to mana conductivity would be present within the country's confines.
"Ladies… and gentlemen. Now, I know you've all been waiting for this. So! I won't delay it. Young lady, would you do me the honors of bringing the product?" The host said and addressed a sexy attendant. She nodded and disappeared behind the curtains of the large stage.
The lights suddenly went off. A spotlight then shone on a pedestal. The noise of the lady's heels landing on the wooden stage reverberated in the silent hall as the sound of everyone's breath abated in expectancy.
Her hands were put in the spotlight as she placed a metallic container on the pedestal.
"The mana forge potion! Crafted by the alchemists of the Flamewood estate, it boasts great effects. In fact, there have been many rumors around this particular product." The host began to talk about the rumored effects dispelling the doubts of many.
"The potion increases mana capacity and allows for easier travel of mana. Not only that, but it also forges one's bones improving the constitution." The host's short summary sounded rather unimpressive but it was anything but. Improving capacity and conductivity was a rather rigorous task that required constant training, a potion that cuts down on that time is worth a lot.
It was also very important for those that had reacher their peak. The more mana one had the harder it became as a living creature to further expand their mana capacity and conductivity.
"100!" Someone screamed before even hearing the starting bid. That was a starting bid of 1,000 gold, expected yet unprecedented. Without a doubt, things had just started to get heated.
"115!" Another offered without batting an eye.
"We'll wait for them to tire themselves out a bit and get the final bid" Adelio the second told Judas who sat next to him nonchalantly.
"136!" "137!" "140!" "145…!"
The bids had started to slow down in quantity and cash. For most this was their limit, any more and they would not be able to recover anytime soon.
"Hmm… Looks like we can butt in now, thank the Marquess later for me" The prince said before rising up to bid from his high up position.
"200" The young prince said with smugness.
The audience and bidders suddenly went silent.
"2- 200???" One of them said with astonishment. The jump from 145 to 200 was a grand total of 550 gold. That on its own was enough to last a lifetime but… 2,000 gold! With such a monumental amount, if one were to live with some level of comfort it would last until your death and the death of your grandchildren.
Nobody dared offer another bid. The prince was certain of his victory at that point.
"Hehehe, no one has the balls to bid again" With 2,000 gold a person could live in a luxurious mansion with a slew of personal professional chefs and expert caretakers. Who wanted to lose so much money? In fact, even the prince would have found it hard to pay such a sum. But by splitting the bill, he could boast a bit.
"S- Sold!" And he was right, no one did bid.
"Woah!" The low bidders were amazed and filled with intrigue.
"Hmph, let's go" Some however were more than a bit disgruntled with the results.
As the news of the mana forge potion began to spread, the auction became the talk of everyone in the Bosque Kingdom and even past the borders. This also brought up a question…
How could they make this potion for themselves? The curiosity had many digging just as Aden Flamewood had planned. It didn't take them very long to find out either.