"Next!" Martin's exquisitely mysterious voice rang out, calling forth the next candidate to show their newly discovered 'status screen' via the small red token on the raised circular podium.
The person in question, a meek-looking girl with hazel hair almost covering her face, jerked as she nervously moved forward.
This was a reaction Luke had already seen many times in the past two hours or so. The fear stemmed from the fact that they had been transported into a new world and that a person died right after they voiced their displeasure and anger at the situation.
I should just go ahead with it. Luke affirmed in his mind. He had been silently observing the situation for the past two hours and had gotten a rough grasp.
As weird and unrealistic as the situation was, their new reality was the new planet Eldoria, and it was uncertain if they would ever return to Earth.
Martin, who kept talking and showcasing us to the people in the 'higher' seats and the 'VIP' rooms, revealed much information through his talks alone.
First and foremost, they were 'products'. Although Martin used a fancy term such as 'candidate', they were being treated and shown like products to the people sitting on the higher seats of the stadium. In comparison, the people in the lower seats just whispered amongst themselves whenever a 'candidate' showed his status screen.
Until now, only 'two' of these candidates were 'pre-selected'.
Ram Rajput and Joshua Ambers.
Ram had managed to make a person in the VIP seats move, and Joshua was selected by a person sitting on a higher seat. These two were instantly sent out of the stadium to the people who had 'sponsored' them.
If I were in their seats, I'd have selected these guys too. Luke mused as he looked at the nervous hazel-haired girl before him. By now, he knew exactly what was needed to move the people's hearts on the higher seats.
The girl is definitely going to get selected. Luke had already seen her status window beforehand. There was no way she wasn't going to get selected.
Just then, the nervous girl put her trembling hands on the token, making it jerk as her information popped out for all to witness.
Jasmine Lakeshore Alignment: Good (Extreme) Title: None Class: None Specialty: Divine Halo (Passive) Strength- 8 (Normal) | Agility- 10 (Normal) | Intelligence- 14 (Epic) | Divinity- 20 (Legendary) | Luck- 1 (Epic) | Wisdom- 5 (Normal) Skills- None Overall rating- Absolute Genius [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/852793029303468083/1146474146872700938/062429b2-41c8-4dd8-bc1b-e9a2355422c8.png]
Jasmine Lakeshore
Alignment: Good (Extreme)
Title: None
Class: None
Specialty: Divine Halo (Passive)
Strength- 8 (Normal) | Agility- 10 (Normal) | Intelligence- 14 (Epic) | Divinity- 20 (Legendary) | Luck- 1 (Epic) | Wisdom- 7 (Normal)
Skills- Heal, To The Hurt (Passive)
Overall rating- Absolute Genius
"Oh my my," admiration couldn't help but slip out of the composed-so-far Martin.
Cough!
He cleared his throat, "Ahem, dear guests. I'm sure many of you would be willing to sponsor such a splendid candidate. Please take your time and decide," a fierce chattering followed from the audience seats as everyone gaped at Jasmine with various looks and countenances.
Some were wary, few were admiring, while many were eyes filled with greed. All in all, almost everyone was showing interest in the girl's stats, even the people in the VIP seats.
"20,000 Sils every academic year," someone from the VIP seats said authoritatively.
Although Luke didn't know the currency of this world, he could guess that the amount was pretty high, considering the audible gasps he heard from the lower audience seats.
Jasmine was about 20 times more worth than Raj was 'sold' for 1200 Sils a year and Joshua for 1000. It was worth mentioning that Raj had two Epic grade stats, and Joshua had Epic grade strength and Rare grade agility.
"Uhh…" Jasmine, who was already nervous, started quivering uncontrollably as she fidgeted.
"25,000 Sils."
"27,000 Sils!"
"29….."
"..."
"50,000 Sils!"
The intense bidding war closed on 50,000 Sils annually for Jasmine, bringing about a wave of exclamations from the people sitting in lower seats. The person who made the final bid Hmphed loudly as if to tell people how much better they were compared to others. This person was from the higher seats but not the VIP seats.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
===
It will soon be my turn. Trepidation gripped Luke's heart, but he dug his nails into his fists to calm himself down. I've done this many times and can do it again just as often, no matter if it's on Earth or some other planet.
More than half of the people had been evaluated so far, and the upcoming turn was his. After Jasmine, almost ten people were 'pre-selected,' one of them having even higher stat potential than Jasmine.
Good thing I'm after that fucker. Talented people were directly big assholes in Luke's life. He had lost count of the times he almost got fucked over for being the less talented party.
All the people behind Luke were still more talented than him, but he was relieved that the more talented ones had already been filtered out before him. The two people with lower growth potential than him had already gone and embarrassed themselves, garnering the audience's scorn.
My stats are even lower than theirs; I have a higher stat potential in the two most ignored stats. Great! Luke couldn't help but feel bitter, but there was no point in being sour about something that was pre-determined.
"Next!"
Ah, it's here.
Haah!
He felt a large amount of air entering his lungs as he took a huge breath. Straightening his backbone, he confidently walked towards the podium with a smile.
Before putting his hands on the small token, Luke surveyed his surroundings one last time as he swung his head left and right as elegantly as he could. And then–
"My name is Luke Raynott. I promise to work hard and make up for everything I lack, and I can guarantee that I'll become a huge asset to whoever sponsors me. I'll be in your care, dear future sponsor," Luke slightly bent his back while putting his right arm over his chest, his eyes faintly closed.
He looked like the embodiment of a sincere butler; if only he were wearing one of those black vests, he'd perfectly fit the role.
If charisma were a stat, I'd have ranked the highest. Tch. Luke couldn't help but click his tongue, feeling a bit at a loss. The only thing he was talented at was being a handsome sycophant. His eloquence and decision-making skills were so polished that he became the leader of every group he had ever been a part of back on Earth.
Surprise and curiosity flashed in the eyes of the spectators. Even his peers who had accompanied him from Earth were baffled by his actions. Until now, everyone was nervously following the orders, praying not to get ripped apart like the blonde-haired guy.
Never in their dreams did they imagine someone bold enough amongst themselves to start spouting introductions in such a situation.
The corners of Martin's mouth curved upward, pleased at the thought of having such a fine 'good' in his batch. People who could analyze the atmosphere and knew where to speak were highly valued anywhere, as they had the cunning to survive through their wits.
"Hmm, now place your hand on the token," Martin cleared his throat and said, pushing his monocle up in expectation. "Gladly," replied Luke, trying to maintain his proud poker face.
By now, many in the crowd were convinced that Luke would be a genius, maybe someone better than Jasmine or even Roy, who had two legendary stats.
Soon enough, a huge holographic screen appeared above Luke's head, and all his stats were bare in front of everyone's eyes.
"........."
Silence.
The expressions on the audience watching the status screen were worth a million Sils.
Come on, you don't have to be so blatant about it. The corners of Luke's mouth kept twitching, his eyes squinted, and a drop of sweat formed on his forehead. He was trying his best to maintain his charismatic smile in front of thousands of eyes staring at him with disbelief and bafflement.
"Pfft—"
Finally, after a minute of silence, someone from the lower seats couldn't help but burst out laughing. Following him, most people in the stadium started snickering and laughing, amused by this unprecedented situation.
"The dragon turned out to be a worm; he's not even a snake. My god, ahahaha."
"The way he was acting, I thought he'd be out to conquer the world tomorrow."
Puahahah!"
A feeling of embarrassment washed over Luke. His embarrassment could be compared to one's shorts falling during a basketball match when the world was watching. However, it didn't take him long to hide his displeasure from his face, a bright smile replacing it.
He wasn't foolish enough to think that someone would sponsor him immediately, much less a sponsorship as good as Ram or Joshua. But he was 'setting up the stage' for the future. His gut feeling was telling him that this wasn't the end. So he wanted to leave an impression on everyone present here, even if he had to resort to gaining infamy instead of fame.
Fame is fame, be it negative or positive. I'll work my way through it anyway. This wasn't the first time Luke was faced with such a situation. Sure, his life wasn't on the line on Earth, but losing hope meant being the same as dead, at least to Luke. Even when he figured out he had nothing particular in him, he had his brain and his tongue that could make or break a situation for him.
Most people are born with tongues, but not everyone knows how and where to use them. This was a quote Luke fanatically believed in.
"Ah, well. Let us proceed. You can step back. Next!" Martin, an experienced host, didn't let this small disturbance bother him and swiftly moved to continue with the showcase.
Well, I sure hope that did what I wanted it to do. Luke said as he slowly walked back towards the crowd of people who had already been judged.
Just then—
"50,000 Sils per academic year," a clear, vibrant feminine voice sounded out from one of the VIP rooms.
"Huh?"
"'HUH?"'
Huh? Luke was equally surprised, just like everyone else. His poker face broke, and it didn't fix itself this time. The same was true for the composed Martin.
"Uh, esteemed guest. I'm extremely sorry, but can you repeat your words?" Martin asked cautiously. No matter how shocked he was, he couldn't afford to tread carelessly against people from the VIP rooms.
"I said 50,000 Sils per year for Luke Raynott. Do not make me repeat myself," This time, the voice sounded a bit annoyed, expressing displeasure.
"Ah, yes. Yes. Escort Luke Raynott to the pre-selected gate," Martin didn't dare to doubt that person's words again and immediately gave out his orders to his subordinates.
"Since when did you start being so clumsy as to forget basic rules? The final bid is only considered the final bid if no–one bids for a minute. Why are you trying to end his bidding right after you received a bid?" a charismatic, old, yet powerful male voice resounded from one of the VIP rooms. This time, no matter how much he tried to wrap his head around the situation, Martin couldn't understand what was going on, so he ended up blurting, "Pardon?".
"60,000 Sils per academic year for Luke Raynott," the aged voice continued provocatively, "That's my bid."
Huh, what the fuck is going on here? Now, Luke couldn't tell left from right as an infinite amount of confusion shrouded him. The same was true for the other people in the audience.