Looking over the ten meals I had made, which all increased various Stat Ranks, I nodded with satisfaction. We could deliver these to the auction and have them sold off on our behalf, with the town taking 5% of the profit. With only a day left until this auction, I decided to relax thanks to being the only one home.
Tessa had taken to Alice very quickly, doting on her like a mother would. Alice at first was resilient, hiding behind me whenever Tessa was around, but very soon she started to open up to her, eventually not minding how Tessa spoiled her. Currently the two were out, exploring the town and shopping. I knew Tessa would be safe with Alice, that girl can have her moments but she’s reliable.
As I'm about to sit down, a knock comes from the door and getting up, I walk to the door and open it, expecting to see the Yin and Yang twins. However, who I saw surprised me.
"Yo, Alisha. It's been a while." Summer grinned while giving me a small wave. Xeno, who stood next to her, nodded a greeting. Turning my head, I saw the last person and smiled warmly.
"Alisha, are you okay?" Looking at me with concern, Aubrey approached me, raising both hands and cupping each side of my head, as if inspecting me carefully. Raising a hand, I grabbed one of hers.
"I'm fine, Aubrey. A lot happened, come in you guys, I just made some food."
"Haha! A long journey comes to an end with Alisha's cooking, don't mind if I do." Xeno, grinning widely, stepped into the room as I led them to the dining room. Serving the food I had just made, I sat down next to Aubrey.
"We heard the truth of what happened in Vale from Elise. Are you alright?" Summer looked at me with a bit of concern.
"Oh I'm fine. Can't say the same for those who raised their weapons at Alice."
“So, it’s to be a slaughter?” Xeno, who looked rather angry, grunted as he clutched an axe in one hand.
“Mm, once they’re exiled they’re free game. Anyway, enough about that, what are you three doing here? Where is Xia?”
“Xia is at the shops. She insisted that she saw you before dashing off. We decided it would be best to head here in case it wasn’t. There are a lot of people…tons that are beyond the path.” Summer, with a nervous frown, looked out the window. “I wonder if we can get anything from this auction?”
"Well we have money, so we'll easily get things." Saying this in a cheery tone, I saw Summer about to speak before Xeno patted her shoulder and shook his head. "Hm? What's wrong?"
"No, nothing. Rather, shall we go look for Xia? I fear she may have gotten lost."
Shaking my head, I looked in a certain direction. "No need. They're coming back now."
A few minutes later, the door opened showing Xia, Alice and Tessa all walking in, carrying dozens of bags of what I can only assume to be clothing.
“Welcome back, how’d it go?” Standing, I walked over to them as Xia looked at me then at Alice before looking at Summer and Xeno.
“I told you I had seen her.”
“Well I’d be damned, they look like twins, except Alice is younger.” Xeno’s eyes flick between Alice and I while Summer looks stunned.
“Well, a lot happened. But first, food!”
Getting a variety of snacks and drinks, I spread them on the table while I retell the story of what happened in the Tomb of Lilith. They stayed hooked on the story and finishing the story, while leaving out the part about the idiots outside of the Tomb, I watched as the others started talking happily.
“Well damn, there goes an easy supply of materials for Vale. Actually wouldn't that decrease the value Harrington holds for Vale?” Summer tilts her head while in thought while I shrug.
“Not really my problem anymore.” Standing, I stretch and look over everyone. “We should get some rest, the auction starts tomorrow. I also need to find the twins.”
“Good call. We booked the room down the hall. After the auction, we are heading to Mt Lunaria, right?” Summer looks at me expectantly.
“No, I'm going alon-.”
“Not with that freak and his army after you. We stick together, all of us here are at the Crossroads now. We would rather die at your side than let you wander off and die.” Xeno spoke up next, making me smile. I had truly made some great friends.
“Alright, we will do that then. But I do need to complete the dungeon alone.”
“Yea yea, but you can have companionship till then.” With Summer’s declaration, we headed to bed. Laying in bed, with no desire to sleep, I looked up at the ceiling while Alice soundly slept next to me.
“It's been a long journey, hasn't it?” Muttering to myself, I thought about every trial and tribulation I had gone through. Now I had two more steps to accomplish before I stepped onto my Path.
It felt unreal that I went from that scared little monster, afraid of those humans to one who could wipe out Crater dozens of times with a single spell.
Being lost in my thoughts, time passed by quickly and before I knew it the sun had risen and so had the others. Getting up gently so as to not wake Alice, I joined everyone else, those I considered lifelong friends and started making breakfast for everyone.
***
“Oh wow, when did this building appear?” Craning my neck side to side, I found a massive building had appeared at some point.
“Did you not leave your apartment? This is the auction house. Alright, let's get in and try to get good seats.”
“Oh Summer, tell the receptionist the group has a networth of at least 5 Diamond Coins, they'll give you a VIP room. Of course, you'll need to produce that amount.”
“Good idea, Tessa. Let's do that, at least we won't be squeezed in on the general floor.”
After entering and speaking with the receptionist, she left us up a flight of stairs and showed us to a large room. After introducing us to the maid in the room, she left, appearing very happy.
On the opposite wall of where we entered is glass instead of a wall, and walking towards it I gasped in surprise. Thousands of people sat facing a podium, which had two people standing on it, obviously well above the Crossroads. People kept spilling into the place, it felt like it would never fill. Looking up, on the same level as us were more of the private booths, the glass all darkened. Figuring that ours would be similar, I knew it would be a way to hide the identity of the VIPs, though I didn’t know why.
“Quite a small auction but they'll have some good stuff.” Hearing Tessa's words, I raised a brow and glanced at her. How is this ‘small’? “Don't look at me like that, Alisha. Come and sit, they will be starting soon.”
Scanning the crowd again, I tried to find the twins but unable to see them amongst this massive crowd, I sat alongside Tessa and asked her what an auction is, and to her amusement she started explaining how a person would show off an item on the stage, everyone would ‘bid’ an amount and the highest would win.
“It'll be best to see it in action yourself…oh, they're starting everyone.” Tessa calls out as the others join us on various seats around the room. Turning my sight to the podium, I could see a young lady in a one piece dress walking down the podium.
“Welcome to the 617th Merchants Guild Auction, this time held in the lovely town of Hiems! I hope all of you aspiring buyers have a full wallet, because they will be empty by tonight! Let the auction begin! Our first item here is one of our biggest by far.
“Discovered by an adventurer who braved the depths of the forbidden zone out to the east, this item caught their attention. It's a good thing it did, because it is a pair of Hermes Sandals! All of those that want extra speed in battle, these are for you!”
Behind the lady, a pair of men brought out a table with a cloth on it. Removing the cloth revealed a pair of sandals that had a pair of wings on top. Instantly the crowd started yelling, overwhelming my hearing with ease. All I could hear were the voices of numbers and coin types. The lady on the stage didn’t seem bothered, in fact she was keeping up with everyone, pointing and shouting numbers too.
Eventually the noise slowed down until only a few spoke. 10 Mithril Coins, 10 Mithril Coins and 2 Golds. It steadily kept going up but as it did less people spoke up. I turned my head to Tessa who quickly shook her head.
“No. Those sandals are useless for you, your natural speed is too high for them as it is.”
“A-ah, no I’m wondering what just happened.”
“Oh, sorry. So everyone who wanted those sandals shouted their bid, the hostess’s job is to keep track of who bids the highest.”
“Why doesn’t someone just…take them?”
“I was wondering when you’d ask me that. The answer is simple. Firstly, you’d be very quickly exiled from many countries. This Auction is run by the United Merchants Guild, who like the Adventurers Guild, is in every town and city. If you attacked this place, you’d be blacklisted from every location with a population. Not only that, but those two there.” Tessa nodded at the guards. “I can’t sense their strength anymore, but I wouldn’t put it past the Guild to have hired Eclipse class, hell even Omega class, to protect the place.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Realising the fruitlessness of trying to steal, for all that amounted to a pair of sandals, I shrugged it off and continued to watch the auction. While nothing appeared that interested us, we did have a great time watching. Xeno and Summer would occasionally laugh as they watched someone get ‘ripped off’ and Tessa would also woo an item that came up. When asked if she wanted me to buy it for her, she waved her hand and said she just found it pretty.
“And now we’ve reached quarter way into today’s Auction! Remember, today is only the beginning. We have the nightly Auction followed by tomorrows! Hopefully the town survives! This next item suits all of those who wander to themselves if they ever have enough time! Or that things just move a bit too quickly around you. Introducing this next item, an ancient tome containing the ever elusive Time Magic. The spell? Time Warp! Bidding starts a-”
“5 DIAMOND COINS!” Tessa nearly leaps from her seats as she yells out. Not even half a second passed and more voices from the other VIP boxes rang out. Tessa too kept yelling, an action I’d never expected from the otherwise elegant figure. The numbers kept going up, until Tessa called out 45 Diamond coins, where people slowly stopped bidding. Eventually Tessa won the spell book for 50 Diamond coins.
“Thank the Gods. That’ll be extremely helpful in my quest for Time Magic.” As Tessa spoke, a new person dressed in merchant-like clothing entered.
“Payment, please.” Tessa bounced up and handed the person 50 Diamond coins easily. The person just accepted it like it was nothing before handing over a ring and leaving.
Tessa sat down while putting the ring on, grinning while looking at it. “Where’s the spellbook, Tess?”
“This is a storage ring, it can hold about three books worth of stuff in it. Not very popular because of the small size, so the Merchants use it during Auctions to safely hand things over. Oh, they’re starting again.” And so they did, bidding once again resuming on the newest item.
Eventually powerful items started showing up. Xeno won a very big shield, elegant in size, while Summer won a pair of daggers that seeped their own deadly poison. Soon another item came out, this time one that caught my eye.
“Our next item is pretty awesome! In fact, it’s three items!” The men removed the cloth to reveal three small boxes and opening them showed three small crystals, one purple, another green and the last black, but it had swirls of silver in it. “Mana Spirit Crystals! Arcane, Nature and Lunar! Bidding starts at 10 Mithril Coins!”
Everyone in the hall once again erupted into noise. I stood to bid, but Tessa grabbed my shoulder and shook her head.
“Not yet, wait till they quieten down a bit.”
So I did, waiting for most of the voices to die down. When the total reached 2 Diamond coins, I yelled out 3, joining the few remaining as the price slowly climbed. Soon it reached 12 Diamond coins and with no one else bidding, I won the three spirits.
Exchanging 12 Diamond Coins for three rings, I sat down and looked at the rings, a question coming to mind.
“Tess, how do I get things out?”
“I'll show you later. It's best to not open things right now.”
Wondering why it shouldn’t open them, I followed her instructions. We kept watching and even participating in some. I had about 5 Jade coins on me so I wasn't concerned about cost and with a few more pickups, I got things like a bag of fruit seeds which were rare for 10 Mithril Coins, a dimensional bag with a castles worth of space for 10 Diamond Coins and a pair of what Tessa called glasses which would allow me to see the flow of magic for 5 Gold Coins.
I noticed that the more we won, the more stares our VIP room got. They weren't annoyed looks but looks of greed. I wondered why and asking Tessa she simply chuckled, not giving me a response.
“And now for the main event, and the last Auction before the night one begins! A lucky adventurer stumbled upon this and then died trying to absorb it. Not for the faint of heart, this item is from several eras ago.”
The men brought out a small palm sized item, covered with cloth that surged with mana, as if sealing the item. But my eyes locked onto it and refused to look away. I felt a calling from whatever it is and standing, I walked over to the window, my hand on the glass.
“This item is the Blood Core, the very life essence, of an ancient Demonic Fox. It’s said if one can absorb it, they will attain pure youth for the rest of their lives as well as the powers of this ancient Demonic Fox. Be warned however, its presence is still very much alive, and it will consume you if you fail to assimilate it. Starting bid is 10 Diamond coins!”
The bids came flying, the count quickly hit 60 Diamond coins. A lot of people dropped off, but those in the VIP rooms kept bidding and soon dropped off as it hit 80 Diamond coins. At that point, I raised my voice.
“1 Jade Coin!”
The hall goes silent as looks of astonishment glanced our way. Ignoring them, I held onto hope that no one else would bid, but alas that wouldn’t be the case.
“2 Jade Coins.”
That same voice that bid against Tessa sounded out. I found it familiar but I couldn’t place it at all. It’s like it’s muffled and slightly distorted. Feeling desperate, I raised my voice again.
“3 Jade Coins!”
“10 Jade Coins.”
The voice sounded out once more, and feeling dizzy I shot a look over at the VIP room the voice came from. I couldn’t see into the room, similar to most VIP rooms, but that didn’t stop me from thinking if I killed this person, then they wouldn’t get it…
“15 Jade Coins.”
Next to me, Tessa stood and called out. Looking at her, she gave me a wink as she looked at the room as well.
“20 Jade Coins.”
“30.”
“50.” The voice countered and as soon as it did, Tessa glanced at the lady on the podium.
“Wealth check please.” Tessa called out. The lady nodded, the building going completely silent for a while. Soon another voice came from the same room.
“Cleared, bidding can continue.”
“Tsk. 60 Jade Coins.”
“Wealth Check.” The voice called out. Tessa shook her head, amused as the door to the room opened. Tessa met with them quickly and after a quick exchange, with Tessa showing them something that shocked them, they too called out.
“Cleared, bidding can continue.” The person then stood to the side, as if waiting.
“70 Jade Coins.” “Cleared”
Tessa remained silent for a moment, as if deep in thought, looking at the other booth before sighing and shaking her head.
“1 Rainbow Coin.”
This time the hall went completely silent, the announcer now staring wide eyed at our room.
“Cleared.” The person who came in earlier shouted out. Before anything else could be said, the voice from the other side sounded out once more.
“2 Rainbow Coins.”
“Cleared.”
Tessa blinked, looking at the other room, speechless. “Who the hell spends so much on an ancient core?” She mutters before shaking her head towards the person in the room. Turning to me, she gives me a small smile. “Sorry, Alisha. I tried.”
“A-ah, it’s okay…” I felt disappointed and seeing the item leave the stage, I shrugged slightly. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to chase it down and get it. I knew it would be impossible and thus I sat down next to Tessa.
All of the motivation had disappeared from me, nothing else they showed held any interest to me. I had wanted to ask Tess what a Rainbow coin is but I just didn’t want to. Soon, the announcer yelled about the end of the Auction.
“Alright, make sure you're all ready. I reckon we'll have a lot of trouble getting home. Alisha, I'm depending on you.” Tessa gave me a wink as I looked at her questioningly.
“Did I forget to tell you? Well, there is a certain rule with these auctions.” Tessa, looking at me with amusement, then explained everything. “See, once you leave this building, and until you either make it back to your room or the sun rises, it's a free for all. People can attack and rob you all they want. The only rule is to avoid killing where possible.”
“Then…” I glance over my shoulder, at the room that voice came from, outbidding us for that ancient core.
“No. Anyone but them. If they have 2 Rainbow coins then they're powerful, far more powerful than anyone here.” Tessa shook her head at me. Disappointed, I gave up on the idea. Summoning my Chakrams, I equipped them with my belt, tied my hair back and cracked my knuckles.
We were escorted from our room out to a side entrance, a privilege of those in the VIP rooms, but also a well known fact by everyone in attendance. Trading off being a part of the swarm exiting the building, we got space but everyone would know where we were exiting from. Once more I looked around for whoever had outbidded us for the ancient Demonic Fox Blood Core, hoping that maybe they were just some frail old man and failing to see anyone, I followed Xeno as we burst through the doors.
Within seconds dozens of spells spring up all around us. Stomping my foot down, I unleashed raw, pure darkness that surrounded our group as cries came out.
“DELTA LEVEL! DO NOT ENGAGE!”
I heard the yell giving me pause for confusion but remembered that Aubrey said that my Primordial Darkness magic was said to feel like Delta-level. I didn’t mind this at all and strangely it also meant safe passage back to our residence…
“Huh, that never happens to us. I’d thought a Delta-level would’ve come along.”
“Except for my time book, everything you guys have isn't really desirable above the Crossroads. Only Alisha’s Mana Spirits are, but even then you’d need to be the right element for them.”
“That reminds me!” I took off two of the many rings on my hand and passed one to Xia and one to Audrey. “Here, I got them for you two.” Giving them a smile, Xia and Aubrey glanced at the rings and looked at me a bit stunned.
“I-I can’t accept this, I thought you wanted to collect more?” Aubrey hesitated a bit while Xia nodded along. Before I could say anything, Tess giggled, drawing our attention.
“Alisha already has three; A pure Mana Spirit, Astral Ice Spirit and a Primordial Darkness Spirit. With the addition of the Lunar Spirit there, she’ll be at maximum capacity. In fact, most don’t even have more than one or two. Now, to extract from these rings, you simply send a bit of mana to the ring and request the item to come out. Fairly simple.”
With a bit of practice, we got the items out of the rings. Tessa then explained we should hold onto the rings then trade them back in at the auction as they can reuse them before telling me I should cook more food for the auction. Tomorrow there would be a section where we can provide our own items for auction and considering the sheer amount that was spent today, there would be more spent.
“Why would more be spent tomorrow?”
“It’s the nature of auctions. And tomorrow is when all the big items come out, the section where they sell adventurer turned in items usually has a lot of hidden gems.”
“I see…what’s a Rainbow coin?” I asked Tessa who nodded.
“Figured you’d ask. A Rainbow coin is worth five hundred of every coin. To obtain one, you must exchange 500 Jade, Diamond, Mithril, Gold, Silver and Bronze coins at a large country's treasury where they will then give you one Rainbow coin. It sounds simple enough, but the downside is that your entire net worth is reduced to a singular coin that if you lose…well, good luck. Plus you don’t exactly use Rainbow coins unless for unbelievably huge purchases.”
“So that Blood Core was worth that much?” Summer, who looked interested, joined our conversation. Tess shook her head and sighed.
“No. That Blood Core is barely worth one Jade coin. I knew that if we kept bidding we’d reach several hundred Jade coins so I decided to just use my Rainbow coin. I’ve never had the chance to use it before, so I thought now would be a perfect chance to do so. Alas, I was wrong…whoever that other person is, really wanted it…to think they had two Rainbow coins.”
Tessa sighed before clapping. “Alright, let’s get ourselves washed up and ready for tomorrow. Once tomorrow is over, we’ll hunt for those twins that Alisha is seeking out, then once we help them we’ll head off to Mt Lunaria.”
With those words, we parted to wash up, cook and rest, eagerly awaiting the next day.