When Raj said that they needed to talk, Mike had been expecting terrible news. You don’t just start an interaction with “we need to talk” and give somebody good news. Mike turned in his chair to face Raj as the first item in the auction went up for bidding. It was some sword that Mike didn't bother to identify, as his attention had been wholly captured by the leader of Dune.
“Do we need to go somewhere else to discuss this?” Mike asked.
“No, it is not something that can really be kept a secret.” Raj said, glancing at everyone else in the booth. “This is going to be relevant to all of you, so feel free to listen.” Now the man had everyone's attention. Even Lucas didn't start wandering his gaze despite his short attention span. “This ritual is taking longer to design than I had anticipated.”
“Ritual?” Mike asked. He had thought that the man was working on an enchantment.
“Yes, a ritual. A simple enchantment would be too simple for this task. The key difference between the two is that a ritual consists of several enchantments working in tandem, and that is something I have yet to get skilled in. I have run into three main drawbacks with this project. The first is the mana cost that it would take to power more than one powerful enchantment.”
“Could you not use the same source you use to power your other two heroic enchantments?”
“No, that is a source that I couldn't bring with the ritual into Dune.”
“Why not?”
Raj looked around at the room, then back at Mike. “That is a topic best discussed in private. Not just out of the public eye, but between just you and me.”
“Understood. Why can’t you just store the mana that you are going to use?”
“Because this ritual will likely require hundreds of thousands of mana points. Anybody with any skill in mana manipulation will sense that quantity of magic from miles away.”
The sword being sold at auction finally reached its highest bid, selling for 30 silver. The next item was a set of armor that looked like it was made from night stalker hide. “Could you not just get a lot of people to power it through their mana pools?”
“That would work, but it would also require having dozens of people involved, which would raise far more red flags than we can afford. That is something that we will need to figure out a solution for later. The next pressing issue is one I have already mentioned, which is my lack of experience creating rituals.”
“Is it really that different from enchantments?” Lucas asked.
“It is.” Raj said, shaking his head solemnly. “I need to make an entire enchantment dedicated to controlling the other ones, and designing something like that from the ground up has proved difficult. I also need to create connections between each of them without messing up the effects of the enchantments. I have done a lot of trial and error, and I am about half way done with making those connections, but designing the control enchantment may take me even longer.”
“What is the third issue?” Mike asked, getting worried.
“I don’t know how long I can keep this up.” Raj said, a look of shame crossing his face. “I spent two weeks straight down in my bunker working on this enchantment, and it is just getting harder and harder to keep going. Every time I make a slip or a mistake, it just gets more frustrating than the last time. I know that this is something important that needs to get done, but it is just really starting to take its toll on me. I can’t talk with people or run my village, because it is just too much to focus on while I am working.” The man poured his heart out, releasing the stress that had been building within him. “I constantly have this voice whispering into my ear pointing out my mistakes, and it's just getting to be too much. I swear I will get this ritual done, but I don't know if I will still be the same after all of this. I have put so much time and effort into this that even if I wanted to, I couldn't stop.”
Mike placed a hand on the man's shoulder, stopping him from spiraling any further. A tear was now running down the man's face, a sign of just how bad things had been getting for him. “Listen, I know that you feel all the pressure of so many lives on your shoulders, but the burden is not just yours to carry here. We are here with you, and even if you can’t finish the ritual, we will find some other way to save those people. Follow the advice you gave me. Don’t get yourself killed over this.” Mike meant the last part in both a metaphorical and literal way. Physical because of the massive amounts of mana the man was working with, and metaphorical because of how much emotion the man was showing. Raj had not been one who showed his emotions often, and seeing him so vulnerable put things into perspective for everyone who knew him. “Whatever voice is in your head is just you bringing yourself down. You need to feel pride in what you have done and what you can do.”
Raj wiped the tear away from his eye, looking at Mike. “Thanks. Maybe you are right, and maybe those lives don't depend on me. In that case, what I am doing isn’t as important to their survival, but it is still important to me. I want to give those people the best chance at living that I can. Also, that voice isn’t just in my head. We can discuss that later though.” He stood up and began walking out of the booth, turning back to Mike before he left. “Seriously, thank you. I think I can finish this now without losing myself as much now.”
When he left, the silence within the booth was almost deafening, despite the voice of Mateo reaching them all the way from the stage at the bottom of the auction house.
“He really does care about those people.” Lila said, breaking the tense silence.
“It is almost dangerous how much he is putting himself through just to help them.” Mike said. He was worried for his friend. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just tell the man to stop trying to save so many lives.
“I will send some of our enchanters to help him.” Devin said. “They aren’t nearly at the level of Raj, but they can still help to some degree I bet. Plus they can keep him company.”
The tense atmosphere had thinned a bit now, and they had begun paying attention to the auction again. Several items had been sold while they weren’t watching, and finally one of Mike's items was brought out for sale. It was the worst one he had made, being a bow in the lower end of epic rarity. It was still the best item that had been displayed so far, and people were calling out prices as the price climbed higher.
Mike couldn't keep a smile from tugging at the corners of his mouth when the bid ended at 2 gold and 5 silver. Just one of several dozen items he had made, and he was already over 6 percent of the way to recouping the costs of the materials.
In reality, it was probably less than that due to him buying the materials before the value of the coin dropped, but he was sure he would still make substantial profit from his efforts. The next several items sold for less than the bow had, but Mike knew from conversations he’d had with Mateo that he was going to sprinkle high value items among the lower valued ones to keep excitement up throughout the auction.
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Mike and his group sat in the booth for an hour, watching item after item get sold, with the total amount of gold spent on items nearing 100. At least 20 gold was from Mike's items, but only 7 had been sold so far, and there was still plenty to go. After the first hour, a set of armor that Mike had made specifically for a mage to wear was put up on stage.
Conductive Vulture Armor (Epic) (Synergy)
A full set of armor crafted from the feathers and talons of a vulture. The materials used have been refined and altered to increase mana conductivity. For a significant cost of mana, the wearer may send out a cutting edge of mana from the talons of the armor. The feathers pull in ambient mana to create lift, lowering the falling speed of the wearer. Due to being a complete set, this armor has enhanced mana conductivity and durability.
Mike had made the set with mages in mind because he knew just how important mana conductivity was in armor. He could only use skills like blast step through his boots because they already flowed with his mana due to him being the one who made them. If somebody like John wore this set, then he wouldn't need to sacrifice his protections in order to cast spells anywhere other than his hands. Of course, John had seen the advantage in this too, and was eager to get the winning bid on it.
“2 gold!” He called out.
“2 gold and 50 silver!” another voice called out, presumably also a mage.
The price rose and rose, with Mike's greed showing a bit every time. It didn't take long for it to get to a price that John either couldn't afford or wasn't willing to pay. That price had turned out to be 10 gold and 35 silver, which was by far the most expensive bid yet. It was to be expected, as it wasn't just one item, but an entire set of armor. John had a defeated look on his face, but the captain of the guard called out a price.
“11 Gold!” She shouted, with everyone in the booth looking at her with surprise.
“Phara, you don't need to do this.” John said, but the smile on his face showed how happy he was. She just put a finger on his lips, silencing him.
“Dont worry about it, you can pay me back later.” She said with a wink.
“Get a room or something.” Lucas muttered under his breath, breaking the moment the two were having. Everyone in the booth had superhuman perception, and could all hear his poorly whispered words. No higher bid was placed on the armor, and it was sold to the woman for 11 gold.
The night continued with more and more of Mike's items being sold. An hour later, drinks began getting brought out to all of the attending guests, and food was also being provided by Otto and several other servers. It was all being paid for by Mateo, and when he leaned over Otto and asked just how much the catering cost was, he nearly choked on the food he had been eating.
“80 gold for food! Doesn’t that seem a bit excessive?” Mike asked Mateo during the intermission an hour later.
“We are feeding 20000 people, that doesn't come cheap.” The auctioneer had responded, sipping on a red wine. “Besides, it's only an average of 40 copper spent on each guest. You might not have noticed since you and your group are all in the higher ends of the village, but most people had to pay a 50 copper fee to even enter.”
“Why such a high fee?”
“Because, we needed to be able to hold everyone that wanted to attend. Even with the cost of entry, 20000 people showed up to get a look at the items being sold here at the auction. While most people won't get the chance to buy anything, this is the first village-wide event we have had since Martin first arrived and helped secure the walls of our little settlement.”
“How much are you planning on earning today if you are spending such a ridiculous amount on this building, catering, sponsoring smiths, and presumably more things I haven't even heard the costs of yet?”
Mateo wobbled his hand back and forth, looking a bit unsure. “Originally I was planning on only making about 400 or 500 gold, but since the value of coins has dropped, I am earning quite a few more than I anticipated. The auction is an absolutely perfect opportunity to make money off of the still mostly unstable value of the coin, as the items being sold aren’t fluctuating in value as much as the coins themselves. All in all, I am expecting to make somewhere between one thousand to one and a half thousand gold by the time this event is done.” Mike gaped at him. There were about 20000 gold coins in circulation right now, with more still being added, which would mean this one man would be holding a very significant portion of the villages wealth.
“That sounds like it would be absolutely terrific for your profession levels.”
“Oh it most definitely is, though my profession is still kind of difficult to level up as it is quite a good one. Similar to your class, with which you need to fight enemies that either match you in strength or are stronger than you in order to level.”
Mike identified Mateo, wanting to know just how good for levels it was.
Human (level 46)
“Hard to level my ass! You got four entire levels on me!”
“I do, but levels don't matter as much to me as they do to you. For example, even if I was twice your level you could likely still kick my ass thanks to having both a class and a profession, as well as the fact that I am in no way combat focused.”
“Still, I remember when people were having trouble leveling up in their specialized professions.”
Mateo chuckled a bit. “I never really had that problem. Money moves, and nothing can ever stop that.”
The intermission had ended after Mike and Mateo had a few drinks together, and it was back to watching the profits come rolling in. Mike had realized the true purpose for the catering soon after the next couple of items were sold.
“5 Gold!” A drunken voice shouted out, and Mateo pointed a finger at where the voice had come from in the crowd.
“I know you don't have that kind of coin Matt.”
A slight pause preceded Matt's response. “...6 Gold!”
For the rest of the cheaper items, similar scenes played out. People who had gotten a little too tipsy off of the fine drinks that Otto’s servers had provided paid more than the items were actually worth. Devin estimated that items were getting sold for about 20-30 percent higher of a price than people would ordinarily pay. As the highest earner of the event, aside from Mateo, Mike had absolutely no objections to letting the inebriated crowd spend their money.
It was best for them to turn their money into items anyways. As Mateo had said, the items won’t lose their value like the coins would over the coming weeks, so Mike didn't feel too bad about the people who were spending so much. The people in the booth had also bought several items, mostly Mike’s. Lucas had gotten a better set of stealth armor, Lila had bought the scythe that Mike had made, and Phara had gone all out, buying both a new set of armor and a new sword and shield.
At the end of the night, the last item went up for auction. It was the best item that had gone up there, and Mike was thoroughly excited to see how much it would sell for. It was the dune glass blade, the only heroic item in the auction. Mateo had some excitement dripping into his voice as well. Several voices called out, with the price very quickly surpassing any of the previous items by a mile. The price stopped rising at 45 gold, and just before it was finalized, Raj’s voice came from the lower parts of the auction house.
“46 Gold!” He shouted. The price was contested for a short time longer, with it stopping at Raj’s bid of 51 Gold.
“Sold for 51 Gold!” Mateo shouted to the crowd. “That is a wrap for tonight folks. Anyone who won a bid for an item can pick them up anytime in the next 5 days, here in the auction house. Coins must be provided before the item will be handed over.”
The massive crowd took a long time to shuffle out, and after a while it was just Mike, Raj, and Mateo still in the building.
“So, how much did I make?” Mike asked.
“Assuming all of the buyers retrieve their items, you have made roughly 500 Gold tonight. I will let the banker know to add the funds to your account directly from mine as the coins come in.”
“Thanks.” Mike said. Mateo left the building after that, going to talk with a few other of his sponsored smiths. He turned to Raj. “Are you ready to have that private talk now?”
“No, not yet.” Raj said. “Meet me in Dune in two days. By then I will have had time to get ready.”