Path of the Slayer B3 9. War & Bids

I selected the yes option.

Other than Turak, a Ranker, the Pathwalkers in my squad jolted or shifted a little as they received the auction notifications, especially the juniors.

Grimmy, Syleth, Redfang, Noodles, and Brug cheered, albeit quietly. Kroker maintained his pious composure. Marnarka sat while trying to shrink into herself and be smaller than she truly was. And Velira kept casually flirting with Weaver.

Merlin leaned forward from his seat to look at me and Thumper questioningly. We exchanged some words using gestures we’d developed down at the bottom of the chasm.

I had no idea that the Auctioneer Veteran would conduct the bid silently. It was an option on the contract, but so far, everything else had been out in the open.

Thumper wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it might make the sale of the prototype even more dramatic. Merlin shared he was nervous as hell and wanted to get out of here.

I was more excited than anything as the Auctioneer Veteran stepped onto the stage.

With a flourish of his hand, the prototype armor appeared on a sturdy and diamond-coated block. With another wave of his hand, a public notification appeared filled with the identification details of the prototype armor.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else, I present you something crude. Something that goes against aesthetics. Something that seems too brutal for the likes of us enlightened folks. I present to you … a war machine.”

The Auctioneer Veteran growled that last part out, his voice resounding across the entire atrium.

“Yes! That’s what this set of armor is. War incarnate. Its Rank matters not. Its Quality matters not. What matters is what it represents for our future! We all know there have been plenty of unique weapons that have been crafted, found, used to their fullest extent, and lost to the changing of the Cycles. And I think before a new Cycle arrives, this is one of those latest weapons of profound proportions!”

He stopped and scanned all of us as the spotlights shone more intensely on him. “Especially when such an item has been made for the likes of the infamous and powerful Dragon Princess! Now, shall we get started at 50 billion credits? Please use the auction orbs that come with your seats to conduct the silent bids.”

[Congrats! The starting bid has been posted for the Emerald Prototype Fighter Power Armor: Rank 4 (Rare)! 50 billion credits!]

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 52 billion credits!]

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 55 billion credits!]

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 60 billion credits!]

My breath was coming out short. My muscles were tense, and my mind was abuzz.

I did all I could to compose myself without using my warrior nomad skill. The intense sensations of watching my auctioned creation go up and up was an experience I wanted to ride personally all the way.

That and I could relate even further to the others as they reacted to the rising credits. Hells, Velira had even stopped her single-minded mission to court Weaver as the bid kept updating.

Everyone was sucked into the monetary drama.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 101 billion credits!]

“What just happened?” Merlin asked. “I blinked and we’re already in the hundred billions.”

“My dear elder, it has only started.” Syleth patted the dwelf wizard on the arm.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 150 billion credits!]

“Wow, that’s more than the last bid. And that one was a lot.” Grimmy bounced in her seat. “Maybe we’ll make two hundred billion?”

Redfang gasped. “Whoa, really?”

“No, way more,” Thumper murmured.

“We’re still accelerating,” Velira said.

“The detail about it storing extra energy,” Weaver said, “that’s immensely desirable. And the secrecy being used to bid on it is intensifying the auction.”

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 300 billion credits!]

Marnarka looked over multiple heads to peek at me. “It’s because of you, sir. You’re making the nobles go mad.”

She wasn’t the only one taking glimpses at me.

I wasn’t sure what she was seeing as I sat with my heart trying to hammer its way out of my chest. The temptation to use my warrior nomad skill kept nagging at me.

This was a big enough event for it, too.

Consequently, I activated the skill to calm myself down and to check for outside influences.

There were a few sweeping over us, but nothing overt. Still, I extended Doomie’s influence, allowing her to transform further by expanding her dark wings around the seats of my squad.

It was through Doomie I could extend a bit of cursed interference, unnerving many other auction-goers sitting around us. More importantly, that disturbed anyone trying to mess with my squad.

Brug blinked and shook his head. “Huh, weird, Doomie’s being even more creepy, but I feel better.”

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 750 billion credits!]

Merlin groaned. “Dude, if it goes above one trillion, I might lose it.”

“Waste not, Elder Merlin. That’s what my mouth is for,” Syleth slid in.

The wizard ripped his gaze away from his System Logs and looked up at the half-naga Charmer bundled on top of a seat next to him. A light clicked inside of Merlin’s head, and like a dummy, he spoke before he thought.

“Are you actually flirting with me?”

The Charmer giggled. “Yes, dear elder, I am.”

“Why?”

Me, Thumper, Weaver, Velira, and even Noodles smacked our own faces. It was safe to say Noodles’ interest in Merlin had faded for sure.

With unparalleled grace, Syleth giggled past Merlin’s virgin idiocy. Merlin kept gawking up at the tall and beautiful half-naga with all the smoothness of a cactus.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 1 trillion credits!]

Great Skill activated: Warrior Nomad Mentality!

I had to refresh the skill. The event was becoming more electrically charged.

Nobles were groaning, shouting, and speaking vehemently with each other despite this being a silent auction. The Auctioneer Veteran kept smiling up at the audience as the number went up and up and up.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 1 trillion 300 billion credits!]

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 1 trillion 700 billion credits!]

“No way,” Merlin squeaked.

“Yes way.” Syleth leaned further against Merlin, taking his hand into her own.

He gripped her hand in return.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 2 trillion credits!]

I felt like I was going to lose my cool along with Merlin. This was my first auction at an actual Auction House.

It made me wonder if the Auction House itself was influencing everyone to spend more regardless of the credits. It was certainly a special place for those on Path of the Auctioneer. Maybe the fault really lied with the Auctioneer Veteran himself.

In his house, the half-devil was in the details and performance.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 2 trillion 500 billion credits!]

Or maybe this was the nature of folks with too much money. And for once, I got to prey on them.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 3 trillion credits!]

If things were to end here, I would’ve been happy. Yet, the Auctioneer Veteran did something that really tested my warrior nomad skill.

“Boring,” said the half-devil. “Is this all we can amount to? Maybe the Final Rose Auction House should buy it ourselves. It would make for a marvellous piece of art on display. Let’s push it, shall we? Five trillion credits.”

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 5 trillion credits!]

Merlin clenched his jaw and screamed internally. Even Syleth lost her cool as she gripped onto Merlin’s side hard.

The others reacted with shock, anger, wonder, and ignorance.

“What happens when the Auction House raises the bid?” Grimmy asked.

Thumper was the one to explain. “If nobody ups the ante, then the Auction House has to shell out the credits to Arden. The problem is making a jump like that can psychologically hurt the end results.”

Thumper sighed. “With the rate we were going before that jump, we could’ve gone for six trillion. Maybe seven trillion. But if it ends here, we lose out on potentially more credits.”

“All will be well, my friends. Do not fret,” Kroker said. “Simply have faith.”

Most of the squad had their doubts about the Cleric’s words.

The Veteran Auctioneer shrugged. “Going once. Going twice…”

Losing out on a potential trillion or two trillion made me hurt deep down in my core. I refreshed my warrior nomad skill and prepared to take a kick to the gut.

Hells, I even prayed. “System, please help us keep going.”

Just before it all ended, a new notification arrived.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 6 trillion credits!]

Then another impossible notification came in after the last.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 7 trillion credits!]

“Make out with me,” Syleth demanded of Merlin. “All these credits are driving me wild.”

“Huh, what?” That was all the wizard got out before he received a mouthful of Syleth and something extra.

Grimmy ended up crawling into Marnarka’s lap, the half-goblin getting lost in a large embrace by the half-minotaur. The others reacted in their own unique way as the bid kept rising.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 8 trillion credits!]

“What’s happening?” Turak asked.

“Eight trillion credits,” I answered.

Turak replied with a strangled cry. “How can this be possible? All the other bids before didn’t go any further than a couple hundred billion.”

The roots stirred inside of me. “Maybe it’s because the ancestors are with me.”

I turned to look at my nomad brother. “They want you to see that our spirit is still with you. Or you wouldn’t be here, seeing this, would you?”

Turak gasped like a fish out of water, an apt simile. Other than Thumper, none of us were acclimated to an eventful place like this.

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 9 trillion credits!]

“ENOUGH!” roared a familiar voice from above. It came from the private booth where the representatives for the Chosen Prince sat. The older Crusader made a show of himself. “The power armor should belong to us! It was made by a human and should belong to us humans, us servants of the Forever Crusaders and the Chosen Prince!”

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 12 trillion credits!]

“Humans this. Humans that. You’re all puny creatures who think your aggressive averageness should be the cream of the crop. It isn’t. Not when you live in our shadows.” The half-giant woman from earlier stood at the front of another private booth elevated above the rest of the masses. “Know your place beneath the First Heir of the Gigantomachy!”

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 15 trillion credits!]

“Crusaders. Giants. You are all filth. You will all be cleansed. The virtue of the Purest Child will ensure this.” An elven man in brown robes stood from a third private booth. “The same goes for the rest of you … especially you, Arden the Nomad. Ye of no allegiance but your own. You are the greatest sinner here. The hell you will face will only be the beginning of your punishment.”

“Hm. Sounds like a fun time. But no bid?” The Auctioneer Veteran chuckled. “I guess that’s how it is with purity elves. All talk, no bark. So, going once, going twice…”

“Wait, wait, wait. Let this last bid go through.” A dwarf-like man with horns on his head stood for the Dragon Supremacy’s private booth. He was an extremely unique type of half-dragon, and he didn’t seem to care about the stares he received for being himself. “It is despicable that an item that should belong to the Dragon Princess is being auctioned off like this. You will pay for that, Arden.”

[Congrats! The bid has been raised! 25 trillion credits!]

“Well … now I must admit, that’s quite the offer.” The Veteran Auctioneer looked around at the silent crowd. “Going once? Twenty-five trillion big ones. Going twice? Can anyone else beat it?”

He paused, as if to search for a worthy challenger who could outbid the Dragon Supremacy. Nobody offered to raise the bid again.

The Auctioneer Veteran summoned a massive hammer and slammed it into the stage. “SOLD TO THE DWARGON MAN OF THE DRAGON SUPREMACY!”

[Congratulations! Your Emerald Prototype Fighter Power Armor: Rank 4 (Rare) has been auctioned for a grand total of 25 trillion credits!]

[For the services of the Final Rose Auction House: 2 trillion credits have been paid.]

[For the three charitable causes you’ve chosen on your contract: 2 trillion 250 billion credits have been donated.]

[The remaining 20 trillion and 750 billion credits have been deposited into your Realm Verse Bank Account!]

[Congratulations! Your item has sold for the greatest amount in the history of the Final Rose Auction House! An extra reward of 5 billion credits from the Auction House has been deposited into your Realm Verse Bank Account! Bravo!]

“Why is everyone so silent?” Turak asked.

Brug leaned over and whispered the amount.

Turak turned to me, jaw hanging open. It slowly closed as he blinked his eyes rapidly. “The ancestors truly are with you.”

As my roots stirred inside me, I clapped him on the shoulder. “You are forgiven, brother. You are not abandoned. Now stop being an idiot and accept the way of us nomads. All you must do is hear the roots again, and things will work out.”

Turak burst into full sobs and hugged me. I didn’t mind having his tears on my armored shoulder. I was doing everything I could not to burst into tears as well.

I had over twenty trillion credits.

That was the equivalent of two trillion years of living a good and happy Rank 1 life. A Rank 0 with all of that money wouldn’t know what to do with himself.