With that part of the tournament done, they started moving towards their next destination—the Auction Island. Ray was curious to see what that would look like.
But for now, he had a little bit of time to assign all his Tier points. He raised Soulstrike and Lifeblood Graveyard to Tier 5 and 13, respectively. Another new slot in Lifeblood Graveyard would open up space for any new powers he found worth absorbing on the Third Floor.
Next, Ray raised both Origin Mana skills to Tier 7, and improved Goliath Eater to Tier 5. The latter would help, considering he ought to be facing opponents much stronger than him on this Floor. It was a little maddening how he couldn’t tell just how much stronger Sameer might have been.
Lastly, he added all his free stat points to Vitality. There, Ray was done using all his free points.
The Sylvans were good about separating everybody once the dungeon competition had fully ended. They didn’t want competitors who had built up a grudge while competing taking out their frustrations with the audience close enough to get hurt via collateral damage.
As the guest-of-honour, so to speak, Ray had a few Sylvan guards standing close enough that they’d probably even hear his whispers. They were eyeing him suspiciously too, like he was going to start trouble on his own if no trouble came to him. He resisted the urge to tut. Could the Sylvans not have a poor opinion of him for one second?
The constant guard didn’t stymie the reporter Sylvan, though. She came up to him after the floating island started moving towards its destination, all smiling and beaming.
Ray smiled back. “Thanks for back there. I’m guessing you set up the whole betting thing.”
“I merely facilitated it,” she said. “You, with your fantastic displays alongside your teammates, are the one who truly allowed that plan to come to fruition.”
Fair enough. If Ray hadn’t performed well, no one would bother betting on him. It made him feel a little smug, but he tried not to let it show uncouthly.
“What’s your angle though, lady?” Gritty asked.
“My… angle? Apologies, but sometimes, the System’s translation does not catch implications or connotations correctly.”
“What’s the catch? How do you benefit by helping us?”
“Ah, of course. Good question. First of all, my name is Sridayne. And this is Vyournel.”
The other Sylvan hanging back nodded at them in greeting. Ray and his teammates introduced themselves in turn as well, though they didn’t really need to. It wasn’t just Ray’s name Sridayne had found out. She was already aware of Gritty and Marcus as well.
Sridayne went on to explain how she was indeed a Broadcaster for her Omniversal channel. It turned out to basically be the same kind of situation as TV channels back on Earth, just stretched out across the whole universe. Or Omniverse, rather. Since one universe wasn’t enough, obviously.
Her channel was in competition with a bunch of others, and by helping a hot prospect like Ray, she was hoping to essentially secure some broadcasting rights when it came to him and his team.
“What sort of rights?” Ray asked.
“Nothing complicated,” Sridayne said in a reassuring tone. “You surrender nothing and are always in full control. All you need to do is grant us some interviews at opportune moments and allow us to carry out your media matters. But again, you will be in full control and have the right to veto or disregard any of our suggestions.”
“How will I be in full control if you’re handling them?” Ray wasn’t certain he wanted to handle whatever media matters might present themselves. It sounded like a headache. But he understood if he completely ignored it, he might get fucked somehow. “For all I know, you could lie to me or just hide things from me.”
Sridayne didn’t even blink at the rather blatant accusation. Maybe she had a lot of practice with more difficult negotiators. “But you see, that is what we mean by you being in full control. Every media matter comes to you first. You are in charge of passing on what you would like for us to handle.”
“So you’re essentially consultants,” Gritty said.
It took a few seconds for Sridayne to understand what that meant, but then she nodded. “Yes, essentially. We think those terms will benefit us. Now, it is up to you whether those seem reasonable.”
Ray figured he shouldn’t decide just then and there without thinking through properly, but he was also quite tempted to agree. The deal was good. He would be aware of everything going on, but he could pass it all on to Sridayne and her team to manage. It sounded ideal.
“How about I let you know after I’ve had some time to think about it?” Ray asked.
Sridayne smiled. “Yes, always good to think it over before setting it in stone. We shall await your response.”
Their chat took a lighter turn after that. One of the benefits Sridayne could provide was information about various other competitors in the Immortalizer Tournament. Ray wasn’t really interested in the ones he had already met in the dungeon back there. Thankfully, Sridayne knew of a lot more.
She named several he ought to be wary of. Unsurprisingly, quite a few of them turned out to be Sylvans. There were several humans too, a few Ryous, a couple of Dolvans—the huge, boulderlike alien he had seen in the dungeon—and even a Holdstar who was apparently causing quite a stir.
Of course, Ray didn’t need her to just know their names. Those could be discovered in various public records. Interviews that had already occurred, recordings of other dungeons, and the various ranking lists for different metrics like the betting ones.
Where Sridayne helped was assigning the power of certain competitors to specific individuals. Now that was helpful information.
He also learned some neat titbits about the Sylvan civilization itself. After all, the fact that they had such advanced methods of telecommunications to have their own version of interplanetary TV channels was both incredible and incredulous.
“You say it’s all Mana,” Ray said, after Sridayne’s one-word answer to how. “But we have Mana too, and all we have are certain skills that do temporary things… unless you’re suggesting there are certain Classes that can create more permanent constructs using Mana, or that use Mana. Which I guess implies that we humans just haven’t discovered—well no.”
Ray had been about to suggest that maybe the Classes that could help create something as sophisticated as broadcasting channels wasn’t available to people. But that could be wrong. What if it was available and he just didn’t know it.
Almost everyone he interacted with had a Class that was geared towards fighting and combat. Very few people he knew had more slice-of-life Classes. But then, he didn’t know everybody.
Wasn’t there that one farmer guy who was basically operating the farming dungeon which supplied him with the occasional Mana fruit? Surely, if farmers existed, then so did other sorts of crafters and whatnot. Not everybody was a fighting maniac like Ray.
It made him realize that he really ought to get in touch with Maya at some point.
“Certain members of our civilization possess the ability to skill-craft items with a variety of applications,” Sridayne said.
“Skill-craft?” Marcus asked, airing Ray’s question.
“Yes. It is the ability to insert certain skills into certain items, which people possessing those skills can then utilize in lieu of the skills themselves.”
“…huh. That’s pretty neat.”
Ray had to agree. That definitely sounded like something any civilization using Mana to flourish would want. He wondered if Maya and the people on the First Floor possessed it.
Their conversation took another turn. Sridayne was happy to tell them about the various functions that the Tower Lord had set up to make the Immortalizer Tournament work properly when they had to host a live audience.
Ray learned that there were indeed hotels, or “residences” as the Sylvans referred to them. There were other entertainment options besides the tournament itself too, one of which was indeed restaurants. Or “public eateries”. The Tower Lord was basically simulating higher Sylvan society within the Tower of Forging’s Third Floor.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
It made Ray wonder what the Floor Lord’s purpose was, if the Tower Lord himself was taking care of so much on the Third Floor.
Picking fights with people like Ray, apparently.
About an hour later, they finally arrived at the island with the auction hall. Ray had a hard time telling just how far they had travelled from their original location. The island’s speed was deceptive, especially since all they’d had were occasional other islands passing them by to judge their relative motion with. It hadn’t felt like they were moving fast.
A bridge of floating stones connected the Tier 26 dungeon island with the auction island. Ray spotted several other islands moored in the same way.
“We can get in touch via the chat,” Sridayne said. “So for now, I will leave you. Do inform me when you have come to a decision, and even if you decline our offer, I do hope you will at least consider telling me which challenge you pick next.”
Ray nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”
With a parting smile, and a wave from Vyournel, the two Sylvans left along with all the spectators. The guards made sure none of the competitors raised any fuss until they had all passed across the bridge and onto the main island. Ray was a little concerned while walking along the bridge, since there were no guardrails.
“So, where we headed first?” Gritty asked. “Actually, I don’t think I care where we’re headed. I’m going to go explore!”
“Hold it,” Marcus said. “We need to stick together. It’s not safe on our own.”
“I’m not sticking with you guys forever. I need my privacy, damn it.”
Ray sympathized. He didn’t want to be stuck with others for overlong either. Some time apart would do them all good.
But Marcus had a great point as well. They were on uncertain ground here. It would be best for them to at least establish some base level of security before they decided on going their own temporary ways.
Kind of ironic, considering how easily they had been separated in the dungeon and had still come out victorious.
“Well, what’s our priority here?” Ray asked. He looked down at the flesh-studded crystal. “We have to keep this thing safe. So maybe we can find a safe spot for it first, then figure out where we go from there.”
“I’m curious about the auction,” Marcus said. “If we get some money, there’s a lot of little goodies that can really help.”
Gritty was looking around. “They said there were hotels here, right? Maybe we can find a secluded one.”
“Yeah,” Ray said. “Let’s go take a look.”
They headed deeper in. The island was basically like the bustling entertainment district of a small city. Interestingly, the architectural blueprint was very familiar to Ray.
Streets lined with magical streetlamps, buildings designed to look very individual and often hinting at what they were for, trees providing shade everywhere, benches and fountains and statues placed at strategic locations. The works.
“You think they really built all this as soon as the Tower was up and running?” Ray asked. “Or everything was prefabricated, and they just teleported it all here from someplace else?”
“I figure it’s a mix of both,” Gritty said.
Marcus was too busy drinking in the sights to bother responding. Ray could see why. It wasn’t just the various structures and what they offered that had locked in Marcus’s attention.
It was the people too.
A part of Ray had been a little afraid they’d stand out here, but his fears didn’t materialize. There was a healthy mix of various races walking the streets of Auction Island, not just Sylvans as Ray had originally thought. He spotted familiar races like humans, Ryous, Holdstars, and Halftyrs, but there were those he wasn’t familiar with too.
One man looked like he was made of purple slime, then another who was literally just a mechanical automaton. Ray was really struck by the bipedal dragon he spotted too.
It made him realize the Omniverse the System had talked about oh so long ago had a lot more races than just humans. There were probably many more he wasn’t seeing here too. The universe was huge. The Omniverse was even larger.
“That looks like a hotel to me,” Gritty said after a while, pointing to an out of the way building with the sign of a house. “Or a residence, rather.”
“Let’s go check it out,” Ray said.
The hotel turned out to be a smaller establishment for more out-of-the-way residents. People who were less concerned about ostentatious luxury and cared more about just having a small place they could stay safely at without being bothered by anyone.
Just the thing Ray and co were looking for.
Unfortunately, being small meant they didn’t have a ton of rooms to spare. Ray and Marcus decided to share one room, while Gritty took one for herself.
“If you truly wish to safeguard your treasure,” the receptionist, the smallest Sylvan Ray had seen yet, said. “Then I suggest you use the Treasure Bank. They have a booth at the Auction Hall, where you can register your treasure.”
“But you can’t guarantee its safety so long as it’s here?” Ray asked.
The Sylvan shook her head a little apologetically. “Unfortunately, we cannot. We provide shelter, nothing more.”
Ray couldn’t really blame them for that. But at least there was some sort of measure to protect their treasures instead of just jealously guarding it every waking moment.
“Time to head to the Auction Hall then!” Marcus said with no small amount of glee.
Ray was starting to get the fact Marcus had been a bit of a gambler before the System and the Towers had arrived. The idea clashed wildly with his paladin-like powers he had shown so far. Ray was once again tempted to take a look at just what kind of Class Marcus had with Primordial Gauge, but that wasn’t going to work.
Marcus had already given both Ray and Gritty a basic overview of the kind of abilities he possessed, which was what Ray was going off of when judging him as a paladin.
The Auction Hall wasn’t far from their hotel. Though, that was partly because the receptionist’s directions were really good. They navigated using some clear landmarks and specific directions, and within twenty minutes, they had arrived at their destination.
“Wow.” Gritty whistled. “It’s big. Almost as big as that palace from the First Floor.”
Marcus didn’t have that frame of reference, but he expressed his amazement at the Auction Hall’s size all the same.
They entered the giant, circular building, stepping past the columns to enter through huge, open doors. Above, the ceiling was a latticework of large glass panes that let in the light from outside. Despite the natural lighting, there were still little braziers illuminating the walls, rooms, and hallways of the Auction Hall’s interior.
Like with their hotel, receptionists stood at attention here too, though the ones here were more polished. Not just Sylvan either. Some Ryous were employed too.
That bit surprised Ray. Could a human find employment with Sylvans in a situation like this? Assuming said human wasn’t interested in climbing the Tower, of course.
The helpful receptionists guided the three of them to the Treasure Bank booth, where a Halftyr was seated upon a very high seat. He looked down at them through bright spectacles with an assessing glance, his keen eyes resting on their garb and other details of their appearance.
“Welcome to the Treasure Bank, competitors,” the Halftyr said. “I am Skent. You must be Raymond, Gritty, and Marcus.”
They all stared at the Halftyr. Ray supposed it wasn’t that surprising. Someone associated with a Treasure Bank would no doubt keep track of who won what treasures.
“You have us at an advantage,” Ray said. “Although, I guess you did just state your name.”
The Halftyr smiled, though it was more predatory than welcoming. “Come. You want to keep your treasure safe, yes? How about I tell you the terms of the Treasure Bank and you can decide if our services are something you’d like to avail yourself of.”
“Hmm, that’s not much of a sales pitch,” Gritty said. “But I guess us competitors need you more than you need us.”
“Quite.”
The Halftyr went on to explain that they physically retained any treasure that a competitor wished to store. In return, they exacted a ten percent cut from all of the competitor’s earnings from the tournament. This included both the tournament prize money and anything earned from the auctions.
That last bit went a stretch too far in Ray’s opinion. After all, a competitor could put up for auction things that weren’t related to the tournament. For instance, Ray could sell some of his Tower Nodes. The Bank was doing nothing to protect those.
Unfortunately, those were the ironclad terms Ray would need to agree to. That all of them would need to agree to. Just as all the other competitors, which amounted to the majority of tournament participants, had.
“Are you even going to actually use the money for anything, wingman?” Gritty asked when Ray had mentioned his misgivings after stepping away from the Halftyr to discuss among themselves.
“Well… I’m not sure,” Ray said. “But the more money I have, the more I can control things, so giving some of it up means I give up some of my control too.”
“Well, you ready to strap that treasure to your chest like a kid in a baby carrier?”
He glared at her. She just stared back.
“There’s a way we can bypass that,” Marcus said.
“How?” Ray asked. He squinted. “Also, how do you know?”
Marcus scratched his neck, looking away for a second. “I… uh, got some expertise. Anyway, the point is that one of us just needs to be delisted from the main team registration. Then the delisted person can just go about doing auction things without suffering the penalty.”
“But if you’re delisted, doesn’t that mean you won’t get the prize money as a winner at the end?”
“Well… we just register back together into one team at the end just before we win.”
“And they won’t take a cut of all the auction winnings in between?”
“Of course not. It’s not retroactive. They can’t enforce that. They might try to sue, but we’ll worry about that if it ever gets to that point.” Marcus frowned at the bank booth. “I’ve got no clue what the legal system here looks like.”
Ray and Gritty both stared at Marcus.
“Wingman is right, knight guy,” Gritty said with a small smile. “You’re way too crooked to be a paladin.”
Ray scowled at her. “I did not say that.”
“Yeah, but you were thinking it!”
Ray groaned. “Alright, I think that might be worth a shot. So, who’s going to—”
Marcus raised his hand high. “Me! Me!” Ray and Gritty stared at him again. “I mean, uh, I’m good at auctioning stuff. So unless you guys have experience, I think I should be the one to stay apart officially and handle all our auctions.”
“Alright.” Ray figured he still didn’t know Marcus as well as he ought to, but then, he remembered how Marcus had basically sacrificed his arm for the team. “You got it.”
They returned to Treasure Bank and signed up. Skent was a little surprised Marcus wasn’t a part of their team. Well, less surprised and more suspicious. But Marcus’s assumption that the bank wasn’t directly aligned with the tournament organizers proved correct as Skent couldn’t ask them to prove their affiliation or otherwise.
Not that they were fooling anybody. Skent had probably seen them all working together in a recording or broadcast or something. But, as Marcus stated, it was the legal principles that mattered.
So, they walked away from the Treasure Bank with only Ray and Gritty registering with the bank and dropping off their treasure. They headed towards the main auction room next.
“So, anything specific you guys are looking for?” Marcus asked.
Ray took a deep breath. “Oh yeah, I’ve been looking for something. I want to see if there’s anything at the auction that can help us level up.”
They reached the main open doors leading into the auction room and entered a little world of buying and selling.