With that, the next stage of the auction got underway. The man and woman pair from before came out with a strange-looking piece of wood on a silver tray. The piece of food was about the same size as a two-by-four and was ashen grey as if it had been fossilized. The strangest part of it was the passive aura it gave off. The man and the woman had to wear thick fire-resistant clothing and the metal beneath it was being burned at a visible rate.

"Here we have a strange plank of food. Our scientists have no idea exactly what it is, but their best guesses are that it comes from an area infused with fire spirit energy or volcanic. The object was found underground near a volcanic area before things changed. We will be starting the bidding at 150,000 credits. "Mei declared.

Mei's declaration was met with a wave of murmurs. It wasn't hard to figure out why. The item was probably a strong crafting material for fire or a nature-based object, but did anyone know how to work it? I wished Desbera were if the academy could make use of it I would buy it without a second thought. Hell if Trey could use it would do the same. Everyone wasn't willing to hesitate.

"200,000" Romulus called out. His spear moved in a small arc above his head.

"We have 200,000. What about 250,000?" Mei smiled as Romulus put his spear down. She called out the total two more times before someone in the back responded.

"350,000." I spun around but couldn't see anything besides the person's hand. Despite whoever it was not being in the top ten no one questioned his ability to pay for it. I wasn't sure if that was due to faith in the System or if the government had some way of verifying. All eyes went back to Romulus and stayed there until Mei closed out the item. No sooner did the plank of wood leave did a new and even stranger item appear. This one looked like a bundle of bamboo tied together by a white string. Only the bamboo looked like it was fading in and out of focus. I even blinked a few times to make sure that it wasn't my eyes playing a trick on me.

"Elysia Stalks," Azariah said under her breath.

"This is a stalk of bamboo that our explorers discovered in a forest. The stalks have no known purpose but our researchers believe that they will make a key ingredient in a pill. Which of you is willing to be a pioneer of the future." Mei's smile didn't do much to lift the mood surrounding the item. "We will start the bidding at 100,000 credits."

This time there wasn't a rush to bid. The only person who seemed remotely interested in the item was Azariah. Still, she waited until Mei called out the price for the third time before she acted. "100,000" All eyes in the room focused on her which only made the half-draconic woman's back stiffen.

"100,000 going once? Going twice?" Mei's eyes searched the room for any signs that someone would be big against her but when no one did she ended the contest.

"What was that?" I whispered.

"Elysia Stalks are amongst the more popular species evolving ingredients. You use them in a bath though not a pill. They are popular due to the lack of pain when using them. It is said that they feel like they have taken a bath in the Elysian fields. Hence the name."

I blinked in surprise before smiling at her. "How many do you need to make a bath that would take someone from 1st Realm to second in one shot?"

She flashed me a smile that felt like staring down a savage serpent. "Only one stalk if it is prepared well."

I chuckled and realized I was going to lose quite a bit of money but it wasn't too big a deal. It would ultimately help me and my people. I turned my attention back to Mei just as a new person entered the room. The thing the man was carrying stole my breath away. It was an orb about the size of a bowling ball and looked like it was made out of amber with a shadowy object inside. The moment I laid my eyes on it my heart felt like it was going to explode. I became aware of every one of my heartbeats beats and I could have sworn the orb beat in response. I didn't hear whatever description Mei gave the object nor did I hear the price.

"One Million Credits." I felt the eyes of everyone in the room fall on me but they felt distant. As if only I and the orb existed. It took every ounce of willpower I had to stop from launching myself from my seat and claiming the orb. It wasn't until they took the orb away that the rest of the world returned. The murmurs of the crowd sounded like screams when compared to the previous silence. I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart.

"Young Master, Please sit down. You are drawing attention to us." Azariah said as she tugged on my robes.

"Right, right." I sat down and removed a towel from my bag to wipe away the sweat on my face.

"You want to explain what that was about?" Keshaun asked as he looked back and forth between me and the spot where the orb had been.

"I" I started but I had no idea what to say. I had no idea what the hell had happened. That feeling was so much more intense than the lotus that it couldn't be compared. "I am not sure. I needed whatever that was."

"You mean you don't even know what you paid damn near five times more for?" Aaliyah said exasperatedly.

I smiled ruefully and nodded my head. "Wait it was 250,000?" I grimaced and shook my head.

"Well, all we know is that it started with a two. You declared a million before the woman could explain and she saw no reason to stop you. Not that you would have noticed." Azariah added placatingly.

"Do you know what that was?" Aaliyah asked her.

She stammered for a moment and then shook her head. "No, I have never seen it before. I could ask around if you like?"

"I would appreciate that. Did they say where they found it or what it was made out of or anything useful?"

"They said it was found on a beach and that they thought it was some sort of pearl though none of their tests could discover anything else. They also couldn't crack or break it."

I nodded and made a mental note to find out where that beach was. I needed to know what it was and why I cared so much about it. I was forced to push the orb out of my mind when the next object came out. It was a pair of obsidian daggers with an ivory handle. The blades were beautiful and well made at least by the standards of everything else the System had given out. The daggers were placed next to twin white and black sheathes that were opposites of the blades. The whole set looked amazing.

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"Here we have **Sable's Kiss** a pair of relic daggers that were awarded during the tutorial. The blades have been offered to the auction and are in search of a new home. Both blades are a single item despite being two blades. Both blades are incredibly sharp and resistant to damage. We will be starting the bidding at one million credits."

The bidding this time was furious. The price hit one point five million in less than five minutes and didn't start to slow until it was at two million. I glanced over at Aaliyah who had given up and folded her arms in silent protest. I couldn't a dry chuckle at her. I raised my hand. "Two point five million credits."

I flashed the crowd a grin and did my best to be the rich socialite and no one else decided to go for the blades. They joined the rest of the items coming to my group and I couldn't help but feel pretty satisfied. "If you want them you just have to ask." I prodded at her cheekily.

She rolled her eyes and refused to look in my direction. "I will buy them from you later."

I chucked and nodded my agreement. Unfortunately, that was the last of my wins for nearly two hours. The following items were a Strength and Agility attribute fruit that went to Romulus and a spell crystal for Lightning Bolt. The price of the last one went to nearly ten million before I gave up. I could probably buy a slightly worse version of the same spell through the hub so it wasn't a big loss. The item after that was much less interesting. They sold a bottle of healing pills that were the same quality as the stuff I had been using. I was just about ready to go when they brought a familiar item.

The man and woman pair walked back onto the stage with a brown shoulder bag covered in sigils. The bag was about the same size as the one I was currently wearing but it was of a lesser quality. The bag's simple appearance caused a series of hushed murmurs to pass through the crowd. "This is a magic spatial bag that we received as a quest reward in the earlier days of the cataclysm. The bag is capable of holding far more on the inside than what it shows." Mei placed a hand on the bag. In the next moment, she opened it and placed a wood plank inside. She then smiled and pulled the plank back out. She repeated this process three more times as if trying to prove the validity of her statement. "We will start the bidding at ten million credits."

The bidding shot above twelve million in an instant as just about everyone tripped over themselves to bid higher. I stared at the bag and considered going after it but it would take everything I had and it might not be enough. Instead, I turned my attention to Azariah who hadn't bid at all.

"Do you think you can get any of those?" I asked.

"Most likely. The bags are amongst the lowest kind of storage items. They tend to be very popular on planets like this but over time only the poor use them."

"So I should swap out mine?"

She shook her head. "It's perfectly fine for now but they tend to erode quickly. I would recommend you search for a replacement once you leave this planet."

I nodded and relaxed back into my seat. If it was a problem for tomorrow then it was a problem for tomorrow. No point in worrying about it now. The auction ended at 16 million and I couldn't resist checking the wealth standings. The fourth and fifth places had switched which didn't help me but it was nice to see. My spot was secure and I got all the items I needed. All in all, it was a damn good day for me.

"That concludes our auction. Please standby for the former Chief to say a few words." Mei gave a polite bow and exited the stage. She was gone less than a minute when Maximillian returned to the stage. A large screen slowly slid down from the ceiling as he walked.

"Good Evening. I hope you enjoyed the auction and that you all have found something that will be of use. Now we turn to a matter of grave importance." The screen clicked to live and an image of a map appeared. It took me a second to realize it was the earth or rather it was what the earth had been turned into. The seven familiar continents were gone, replaced with three massive land masses. It was like the world was split into three, where the Northern and Southern Hemispheres were two large continents and the space between them was the last. There was an ocean that separated each of the continents from one another and then one massive continuous body of water that surrounded the whole thing. The image wasn't realistic so it was hard to determine what the land masses looked like. Instead, they were color-coded and labeled Continents 1,2 and 3."

"As you all can see our new world has undergone a radical transformation. We have painstakingly put together this image with the help of the few drones we still have access to. The image before you does not do enough to clarify what the event now known as the Cataclysm has done to us. The world's three continents are much larger than expected. Excess mass and creatures came from surrounding planets as you have no doubt heard. The System failed to explain to us that we lost most of our advanced technology."

That declaration stunned the crowd. Those of us who had been waiting for the government to step in and solve were hit the hardest. A group toward the back of the room got to their feet. "Are you trying to tell us that whatever this here System is has sent us back to the stone age?"

"Not quite. Simpler electronics still work if you can shift their power sources to run on spiritual energy. Things like computers, TV screens, lights, and likely other things. Cars are functional under those same parameters. Cars that are old enough to run on fossil fuels are mostly unaffected. Our weaponry has not been so fortunate. Anything more advanced than guns has disappeared. Nuclear weapons have not only disappeared but all knowledge related to their construction is gone. Furthermore, the last two attempts we have made at constructing one have simply disappeared."

Now that was interesting. I wasn't sure if nukes would be good at getting rid of the monsters but to not have them as an option was a blow. Especially if the System could so thoroughly eliminate them. Could it remove any information it didn't want us to have? What about our history?

"We have also lost access to all airplanes, helicopters, and other flying vehicles. Furthermore, the world's naval fleets have completely disappeared. We aren't sure if the System has removed them or if they have been sunk. We have attempted to make contact with people on the other two continents but have only succeeded with the third. As a result, we have both a declaration and a request. The people in this room represent the greatest weapons humanity has as of this moment." He paused at that and let his gaze pass over all of this. He spent a second longer when he got to those of us in the first row.

"It is time for you all to unite and become humanity's shields and swords. We once dominated this planet. We took it from the beasts of old with sword and spear. Now we must take it again. Our scientists believe that the monsters are stronger than us on an individual basis but they lack the human spirit. They lack the will to conquer and restore what is ours. With that in mind, we have designated the middlemost continent as the "Lost Continent" We want all of you to work towards reaching it and saving whomever is there. We are formally offering each of you the chance to join the United World Government. Humanity has spent two months as prey now it is time for us to become the predator."

His declaration was met with a raucous applause. The moment was so picturesque that I couldn't help but wonder if it was planned. I scanned the crowd, both Amahle and Romulus were quiet. The third-highest member still hadn't arrived which made me think they hadn't found him. The rest of the crowd was a mix of people enthusiastically applauding and those awkwardly nodding. The government had intended to pressure and divide us which wasn't a bad tactic. I couldn't help but chuckle at it though. They were still operating through democracy which wasn't bad but it didn't matter. Not if the government lacked the power to back it up. Which meant that they needed at least one member of the top five. A new era of world history was about to begin.

"The game of politics has begun," Keshaun added under his breath. "Are you ready to play?"

A giddy happiness swelled inside me as I locked eyes with Amahle and then Romulus. Both of them kept my gaze, a silent agreement and declaration. None of us would back down. This had all the potential to be a lot of fun.