Imri waited in anticipation as the timer hit zero. A moment later, the first item was up for bidding. He had mixed feelings as he read over the description that the system helpfully provided. It was a set of leather made from a high-rank tier-two beast. While the quality of the materials was slightly higher than something they had produced from Drake hides, it wasn’t anything special. Likewise, the enhancement was marginally higher, making it all around the best piece of light armor money could buy. However, several noteworthy properties set it apart from something crafters could produce: the armor could repair itself after being damaged using only ambient mana. He had Zhaire complaining that he was already on his third armor set, so something like this would be invaluable. The second was the ability for the armor to adjust its shape and size to fit the user perfectly. This would be essential, considering the armor wasn’t just being sold to humans but to a myriad of different races.
The bidding started at two million credits, only slightly higher than the amount some of the armors in the previous phase sold for. Imri considered placing a bid at that price; it was utilitarian but lacked a unique quality that excited him. However, a flurry of activity pushed it over three million, making the decision easy. The names flew by too fast for even Imri to take note of them. The bidding continued, though at a slower pace. The timer started getting low as it neared four million before another bid was entered. It went back and forth a few times, with the bidders having names Imri didn’t think were human. Eventually, it sold for four and a half million credits.
That single item had taken around five minutes before the final bidder was decided. What followed were several similar pieces of armor. Each was slightly different: some were made from thicker hides or had a specific resistance, such as fire or cold. However, none were overly unique, and they sold for prices similar to what the first had fetched.
The following items were various weapons, from knives to a massive two-handed axe. They had simple special properties like the armor, including self-repair and size adjustment. A few had elemental effects that could be turned on and off with a thought. Those elicited the largest bidding war yet, with the final bid closing in on ten million.
The next cycle of items was potions. They were similar in that they didn’t do anything overly special; they were just slightly improved versions of what Caroline could create. Still, they sold for nearly the same price as the armor and weapons despite being a set of single-use items. Imri was thankful the system hadn’t broken them into single-item lots but instead sold them in sets of five. However, it was still mind-boggling that they sold for nearly a million a pop. While he would have loved to purchase these items, the vast markup for the slight quality improvement wasn’t worth it.
The next item caught Imri’s attention. It was an elixir made from the attribute-increasing foods similar to the ones he and Emelia had consumed. Caroline was working to produce this from the golden plums but hadn’t succeeded. The first one increased base strength by two permanently while also increasing the maximum potential base value that could be achieved. While he had no interest in purchasing it, he was curious about where the price would land since he expected the other attributes to have a similar price range. He was surprised when the bids started slowing around the same point as the other items. It eventually sold for just under five million credits, a steal in Imri’s opinion.
On a per attribute point basis, this was cheaper than the items he purchased earlier by more than a twenty percent discount. There were some rational explanations for this: there were more potential buyers for the single attribute point items, and the auction was deflationary as the system extracted currency in taxes and fees. However, Imri didn’t think that accounted for the entirety of the price difference. While the auction was deflationary at a macro level, on a micro level, it consolidated wealth into those who had been sellers during the first phase. Imri was an example of this, as his purchasing power had tripled. He also had difficulty believing that the basic items and the elixir were equivalent in value. The armor and weapons were nice items but only marginally better than what Celestia’s crafters could produce. Imri quickly reconciled that disconnect: the armor, weapons, and potions would be essential for factions that didn’t have crafters near that level. For them, it wouldn’t be a marginal improvement but a massive step up. Imri could draw only one conclusion: most individuals couldn’t afford these prices, and most factions had been more concerned with essentials for large groups.
Imri smiled as he monitored the bids on the agility elixir. It looked like it would sell for a similar price to the strength one. He briefly considered buying it to shore up his lowest attribute. He eventually decided against it, wanting to buy only a few elixirs. When the intelligence elixir came out, he was ready to bid. The price rose until it was near a level similar to the previous three. Eventually, Imri was the final bidder, receiving his prize the moment the final bid was accepted.
Raucous cheering erupted a moment later. A massive crowd had formed, with a section roped off near the nexus for participants. Eager spectators followed the auction like a sporting event, with a projection displaying the action and color commentators analyzing the items and bidders. That reminded Imri that the bidders were known to the entire world, and there could be hundreds of similar events throughout the various cities. He was immediately thankful that he hadn’t purchased every one of the attribute-increasing items, as that definitely would have gotten the notice of every faction. Unfortunately, what little anonymity he had left was probably only temporary, as he intended to buy items until he was almost out of credits or the auction ended. He couldn’t let notoriety deter him from gaining something vital for the war, even though the attention was mortifying.Stolen novel; please report.
A similar chain of events occurred for the willpower elixir, with Imri eventually claiming the item when all other parties had given up. He was surprised when the crowd cheered even more enthusiastically. Some even started chanting his name.
Imri put his considerable mental focus to work, tuning out the crowd as best he could. He was about to place a bid on the charisma elixir when a glare from Emelia made him reconsider. He acceded to her wishes, not wanting to have that fight again. He expected that to end the elixirs but was pleasantly surprised when another one was up next. This one was called ‘Perfected Body’ and increased each physical attribute by one. He expected this one to sell for slightly more than any of the two-point versions but at a somewhat cheaper per-attribute cost since it was spread over three different stats.
His prediction was spot on, and the buyer was also from Celestia. Zhaire bellowed in triumph, raising his hands and hyping up the crowd. He basked in the attention, and Imri cynically thought he had purchased out of some misplaced sense of competition. His theory was nearly confirmed as Zhaire stared him down and grinned. Imri sighed; at least it hadn’t been a dumb purchase. The announcer even leaned into Zhaire’s antics, playing up the rivalry between ‘the two most powerful people in the world.’
The pattern of items continued with an elixir called ‘Perfected Mind.’ Imri considered buying it but eventually decided against it, mainly because he wasn’t interested in the point of charisma. Once again, he assumed this was the final attribute elixir, and, once again, his assumption was wrong. An elixir titled ‘Perfected Self’ was up for sale, giving a single point to each of the six attributes. Imri followed along as the price shot up and then quickly slowed around the eight million mark, causing Imri to do a double take. He hadn’t planned on buying it, but this was too good of a value to pass up. He eventually won the Perfect Self Elixir for just over nine million credits.
The crowd stood stunned as if they couldn’t believe what had happened. A moment later, they burst into cheers that seemed to last far longer than they should. Imri wanted to go somewhere private, or at least more private than the small area blocked off for those participating in the auction. Even some of the other auction participants glanced at him with a mix of adoration and envy. To make matters worse, Christoph approached him with a sly grin.
“The commentators would love it if they could interview you. They’re willing to wait until the next item you aren’t planning on buying comes up,” Christoph explained.
“Pick up another job as a production assistant?” Emelia asked, coming to Imri’s defense as she knew how mortified he was through their bond.
“I’m just a humble sponsor of this little event. So Imri, what do you say?”
Imri was about to tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn’t interested in doing an interview. Unfortunately, a realization struck him before he could. He was a celebrity now; hiding or running away wouldn’t change that. However, what convinced him was the crowd. People had something to cheer for the first time in a while, and maybe the last before things got worse. Besides, it felt silly to fear public speaking when he was a supernatural being who could bend space and time. He checked the auction, noticing the next item was an elixir that reduced the effects of aging by ten percent. He had no interest in that, at least not at the outrageous price it was going for.
“Alright, let''s get this over with,” Imri sighed.
“Follow me,” Christoph said with a smug grin.
Imri stepped out of the sectioned-off area and was immediately greeted with thunderous applause. When Imri saw the section with the commentators and the empty chair, he decided to play things up a bit. Instead of walking with Christoph, he teleported to the empty chair. It took a moment for everyone to figure out what had happened, but as they did, a renewed excitement enveloped the audience.
“So, Imri, you appear to be coveting the attribute elixirs. Can you tell the crowd why? Was this a deliberate strategy?” the interviewer asked in a clipped tone, knowing the interview would be brief, like a reporter catching up with a coach before halftime.
“No one knows what the auction contains, so we can’t really prepare any strategies ahead of time. I just thought they were a good value at that price,” he explained.
“You’ve gained ten base attribute points tonight, an unimaginable haul for us mere mortals. Do you think that will be enough to prevail over the Azala?” a second man asked.
Imri knew it wasn’t enough. Ten attribute points were nice, but it wouldn’t turn the tide of oncoming bio-engineered horrors. He needed to keep getting stronger. However, that wasn’t what the people, who barely held any hope, needed to hear.
“It’s a great improvement. It will exponentially improve my spell-casting while shoring up my physical body. I have every confidence that we can prevail against the Azala,” Imri said with as much bravado as he could fake without seeming over the top. It must have worked because the crowd erupted into applause.
“By my count, you spent over twenty million credits. Is your day over, or can we expect you to compete for more items?” the first man asked after the cheering had subsided.
“I’m just getting started.”