[Author]: Let's do this!
* * *
As the group was moving through the streets wondering what they were going to shop for next, one of the guards overheard a conversation between two hurried women.
"Let's hurry, or else we'll miss the auction..."
"We wouldn't have been late in the first place if it weren't for you!"
"How many times do I have to tell you, she fell on her own!!!"
"So you telling me, she fell down 2 separate flights of stairs on her own?!?! Do you think I'm an idiot?? Are you calling my grandmother a liar????"
"Well if the shoe fits!"
. . .
The guard hearing their conversation was dumbfounded as he thought, 'Wtf did I just listen to?'
But coming back to the point, he immediately said, "Miss Astrid, may you be interested in the auction that will be conducted today?",
As soon as he said that, the eyes of the teen quickly darted towards the guard as he said, "Auction? What auction?"
"Well, it seems like we forgot that Venus Corp. was holding an auction today..." When the guard said that, the group's eyes collectively opened wide, with the exception of Yuno and the teen at least. Why were they exceptions? Prior to this moment, they have never heard of this Venus Corp. before.
"How could we have possibly forgotten that today was the auction day?!"
Thinking about it though, it wasn't all too surprising as they had been doused in shock and enjoyment since leaving the mansion.
"Let's go to the auction venue, even if we don't buy anything, we can see what the auction house has on sale," Astrid made a good point but with the money the two had, it was least likely that they wouldn't be able to afford it.
"Let's go check it out then..." said the teen, almost acting like the main character.
. . .
After a while, the group arrived in front of a large and lavish pagoda. It had eight floors and was made from a brownish-red wood that was highlighted with bright red lanterns. It had an ancient and calming feel to it as it stood there unbothered. The teen was visibly impressed.
'Even though I'm the Primal God, I still pay credit where it's due. The design is pretty good...'
Of course, he had underballed his opinion due to his high status but the fact that he was willing to acknowledge it conveyed its grandeur.
After entering, an escort led them to the venue located on the topmost floor. The setup was simple as there was an elevated stage with around a hundred chairs in front of it. The chairs were filled with all types of people, conversing over the contents of the upcoming auction.
"I can't wait till it starts! I've saved up all that I could, to buy the Bronze Plate," hearing his words his friend couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Your wife's cooking is that bad huh"
"I kid you not, it's somehow getting worse by the day..."
At that point, the man was so devastated that he broke into tears.
Looking around one could see 7 balcony-like structures on the wall, reserved for high-status clients. The Price family being one such family had been assigned one.
After ascending a stairway and opening the door, the balcony came into full view. There were six chairs arranged in a straight line and between each chair were delicacies and complimentary provided for the guests to enjoy while the auction was conducted.
Surprisingly, on one of the chairs was an old gentleman. He was The father of Zachary, making him the grandfather of Astrid and Alice. Noticing the group's arrival he turned and gestured for them to take a seat. Excluding the multitudes of guards, the group took their seats their seat, ready for the upcoming auction.
"Grandfather, why have you come here? Could there be an item that has caught your eye?"
Her question was appropriate as he rarely went to functions like this. But today was an exception... Why?
The old man let out a smile as he said, "I did in fact see something interesting."
Curiosity filled the group's hearts as they wondered what item it could have been. Just as Astrid was about to ask that question, the auctioneer came up onto the stage and gestured for the crowd to quiet down.
"Beloved guests of the Venus Corp. thank you for showing up at our humble gathering today. If none of you don't mind, let's get to business. The first item in our catalog is a seventy-year-old grass spirit, from the nether region. It has both the dark element as well as the fire element. It can be used as a familiar, as an ingredient for medical dans, supplements for the astral sense, and so on. The bidding starts at 10,000 gold coins. Each increment will have to be a minimum of 500 gold coins. The bidding starts now."
As he was giving details, an illustrious woman in tight-fitted robes rolled out a table with a tray enclosed in a glass dome. Inside the dome was the grass spirit. It had a cute, childish, red appearance which made one want to hug it.
When the auctioneer called for the bidding to start, there was an influx of bids.
"10,500"
"11,500"
"12,000"
"15,000"
"15,800"
"16,300"
.
.
.
After a while, the bid had reached 34,200. There were only two bidders left and they could be seen seething with resolve. The resolve to win the grass spirit at all costs!
One of them turned to the other and said, "You bastard! You want a war?? I'll give you war! 40,000!!!"
Everyone looked at the man in awe as they waited for the other bidder to sound. The man simply sighed as he said, "I concede.."
Hearing him the auctioneer promptly shouted, "Sold for 40,000 gold coins!"
The winner held a smug look on his face as he sneered at his rival, but wt he heard next shocked him, "You've won the battle but you've lost the war! You've used up all your assets and now you have no money left to buy the other ingredients!"
Hearing this the man couldn't help but show a shocked expression, 'kidding!'
He smirked as he said, "That might be the case but I have still taken it as my own, so even if you buy up all the necessary ingredients, you will never be able to make the sixth layer blood purification dan!"
The other man was fuming with anger but he couldn't do anything... Right now at least...
"The second item on our roster is the legendary summoning handkerchief, *as he said that, another illustrious woman rolled out a table with a hanger on which a handkerchief was placed*, with a wave you will be able to summon a continental buffet containing the delicacies under the nine heavens, not only are they delicious they also temper the body making it stronger. Of course, you will have to supplement it with a large amount of energy first but the delicacies are truly worth it. The bid starts at 100,000 gold coins, each following bid having an increment of at least 500 gold coins. Let the bidding begin."
Immediately after bids started pouring in, before long it had already passed 200,000.
"380,000!" said a plump man with a corny mustache. He had already gone past the budget set by his clan and into his own pockets. He looked around nervously as he hoped no one challenged him. When there were no bids he slowly started to calm dow-
"500,000"
All the color in the fat man's face disappeared as he heard the bid.
'fuuuuuck!'
He turned to check just who made the bid but all his hope was drained away when he saw that it came from the private sections.
. . .
"Why did you bet so much?!" asked Yuno as she confronted the teen.
"That is a priceless treasure Yuno, trust me on this."
Hearing him, Yuno couldn't help but shake her head. 'I mean he hasn't been wrong in the past when it comes to things like this...'
One time he had used up all their money in return for a stone, Yuno had been furious but the teen simply said it was a treasure before going into a jewel shop claiming the stone had emeralds in it. The shop owner, curious, sliced the stone in two. Revealing a deep red emerald. They had been paid a hefty price for that emerald which they used to buy all sorts of food and such.
. . .
The auctioneer sensing the end of the bidding war promptly sold it to Yuno and the teen. "The third item, *as he said that the illustrious woman from the first bid rolled out a table that displayed a set of blue earrings. Its design was very sophisticated as it also had clip-on chains around it." are a set of earrings that enhance the flow of qi throughout the body. They also have a certain speed buff that increases the speed of the wearer for a period of time, I say certain as the buff increases and decreases with the amount of qi supplied to the earings. The bidding starts at 100,000 with each following bid having an increase of 10,000. Let the bidding commence."
Bids after bids were heard as the price quickly surpassed the 500,000 mark, slowly creeping its way up to a million.
"750,000"
That was the last and winning bid. Two hours had passed and in succession, items appeared and were sold for extravagant prices. Besides the legendary continental handkerchief, the duo had bought a set of defensive armor that could be easily worn under cloth without revealing its presence or hindering movement. The old man had also bought a mystic fire grapefruit. Although the effects were vague it seemed to be a body strengthening fruit.