Chapter 190: The Battle of Wealth [Part-1]

Alen slumped back in his seat in disappointment as a sudden headache struck him. Whatever money he had brought was already exhausted; only a few gold coins were left, which he also needed to pay for his stay in the hotel.

"Sigh... What am I going to do then..."

"Hmm... Wait a second. I didn’t give the storage ring containing the gold coins back to Lyris! I still have it with me. Should I use it? But... it is hers. How can I use it? She didn’t ask for it when we were together. Did she forget to ask? Or was she feeling awkward?... Well, I will use that money for now. I will replace the coins after earning them back."

He shook his head in disappointment. He couldn’t help but feel he was quite indebted to her, but regardless, he had to depend on it for now.

’Well, if I find anything useful, I will buy it for her too. She might like it...’

After waiting for a few more minutes, a man stepped onto the main stage and bowed politely to the audience as he began to introduce himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Grand Auction House of Verrant City. Today marks the 150th grand auction for our city. Tonight, on this special occasion, we have gathered treasures that even the most powerful families would struggle to obtain. Prepare your wealth... because once the bidding begins, there will be no turning back."

"And now, without further delay, let us begin! Our first item is about to enter the stage."

The loud sound of clapping echoed through the surroundings. The man stepped back, and with a flick of his finger, the stage floor opened. A pedestal rose up holding a floating sphere, emitting a massive amount of mana that attracted everyone’s attention.

"Our first item is none other than the Mana Core of an S-Rank Wyvern!"

Cheers spread through the crowd as everyone fell into surprise, their staring eyes fixed on the item.

"As everyone knows, Wyverns are extremely rare creatures, and their mana cores are even rarer! Since these beasts are counted as an endangered species, this core is an invaluable treasure for cultivators. Anyone who cultivates with the help of this core will get a three-times boosted speed in their cultivation. Let’s name its price... The bidding will start at 50 million gold coins!"

Alen slumped back in his seat in disappointment. It was way out of his budget. He had thought of bidding on it, as it would boost his cultivation speed, but the amount was far too high. He only had 100 million gold coins with him, and the price was still increasing rapidly.

"150 million gold coins, once! 150 million gold coins, twice!"

"200 million gold coins!"

"Ha! The bids go up. 200 million gold coins, once! 200 million—"

"300 million gold coins!"

"Oh! A new bidder has entered! 300 million, once! 300 million—"

"500 million."

"Awesome bidding. 500 million, once! 500 million—"

"1,000 million gold coins!"

"...."

The screen on the stage changed to the massive bid of 1,000 million. Everyone remained stunned. Their eyes flicked toward one of the VIP sections, where a young man of twenties sat calmly, wearing a luxurious suit and an indifferent face.

Alen couldn’t help but marvel at that guy’s bidding style. He directly jumped to a twice the amount, silencing the others. He was either some rich young master or a spoiled noble.

"Does anyone dare to challenge with more bids?"

As no replies came, the man on the stage coughed and counted again to check if anyone was ready. As the count finished in silence, the item was sold.

"The Magic Core of the Wyvern is sold!"

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we shall proceed to our second item!"

The previous item was pulled back beneath the stage as the next treasure started to rise up.

"This next treasure is something every blacksmith and artifact master dreams of obtaining! Behold... A Dragon Scale! As everybody knows, Dragon Scales are the hardest materials in the world, second only to Adamantium, which is used to form mythical-grade weapons. It is extremely rare and near impossible to find. The bidding will start at 300 million gold coins!"

Alen sighed again in disappointment. This item was way out of his budget; even if he wanted to, he couldn’t buy it on a whim. Besides, he already had an annoying weapon alongside him, so he didn’t need to buy such a thing. If he did have it, he could have made armor or another artifact, but since he was penniless, he gave up on it.

"600 million... Anyone else?"

"1,000 million."

"Such a great amount! 1,000 million, once! 1,000 million, twice—"

"1,200 million."

Alen leaned his arm on the armrest, feeling dazed as he looked at the increasing bids on the screen. At the beginning of the auction, he felt hope that some items would be present within his budget. But after just the second item’s cost rose above 3,000 million gold coins, he finally realized how rich the people in this world could be. Compared to them, he was nothing.

"Are these people actually competing, or are they just throwing money at each other?"

He shook his head, focusing on the auction for a moment, wanting to see who would take the item.

"4,100 million gold coins. Anyone else interested?"

As silence was maintained, the crowd became tense, deciding whether to bid higher or not. Suddenly, the bid increased again from the same man who had purchased the previous item at a massive cost.

"5 million platinum coins."

As the number appeared on the screen, everyone looked up at the VIP booth, shocked at the man’s outrageous bid. No one dared to raise another bid against him. They knew that if someone could increase the bid by that kind of gap, competing with him was a waste of time. (A/N: 1 Platinum-Coin = 1000 Gold-coin)

"5 million platinum coins! A truly astonishing bid! Does anyone dare to challenge it? 5 million, once! 5 million, twice! Sold!"

The hammer struck the table loudly.

"Congratulations to our esteemed guest. The Dragon Scale has been purchased. Let’s head to our next item.... A-rank Fire Spirit Stone, the bids start at 10 million gold coins!"

"..."

"..."

"Sold! Next is..."

...

Time passed in a blur as the legendary items continued to sell out. No one but that rich guy was buying every single product that came up. The audience just sat there slumping in their seats, as no one dared to challenge him.

Alen sat quietly, looking at the boring auction where only one person was throwing money while the others just looked around. He listened to the frustrated voices from the audience below.

"This is ridiculous!"

"How are we supposed to compete with someone like that?"

"I brought nearly four billion gold coins tonight, and that man is spending it like pocket change!"

"We should simply stop bidding."

Alen continued listening to the people’s frustrated voices as his eyes were attracted to the new item arriving on the dais.

"Okay, take a long breath, as a new, rare item is coming... Our next item is a Red Ribbon!"

A red ribbon appeared on the pedestal. It was an unnatural-looking ribbon with nothing seemingly special about it. Everyone frowned, looking at the item and then at the announcer, suspicious that he really had a screw loose.

The announcer moved closer to the pedestal, his voice rising and echoing through the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you may be laughing now, but you won’t after you get to know about this ribbon. It is not just a ribbon; it is a form of artifact imprinted with a rune to boost any weapon or artifact’s power to twice its actual strength! Not just that, it also holds a trace of the power of the ’Law’ of ’Growth’. This means, if you tie the ribbon to an artifact and use it, the power of your artifact will continue to grow!"

"..."

The audience fell into silence. No one was able to speak, as if a bomb had dropped. Then, cheers spread out instantly as everyone waited for the bidding to start, ready to spend their treasures on it. The artifact was broken with raw power.

"The starting price will begin at... 1 million platinum coins!"

"1.5 million platinum coins!"

"Awesome increase! Anyone else interested?"

"2 million platinum coins!"

"2 million platinum coins, great! Anyone else?"

"5 million platinum coins!"

"..."

Everyone fell silent. No one was able to raise the bid. The rich man had already placed the highest possible bid they could muster, and no one dared to challenge him.

"Oh, our esteemed guest has entered the stage again! Does anyone dare to compete with the guest? I will announce again: 5 million platinum coins, once! 5 million platinum coins, twice! 5 million plati—"

"6 million platinum coins."

Suddenly, a new bid appeared on the screen from another mysterious person in the VIP section. The wing number and VIP insignia flashed on the monitor. Everyone looked at the different VIP section, where a person wearing a cloak sat calmly. His face was hidden under the hood. He was none other than Alen. Looking at the crowd’s shocked expressions, even the man in the other VIP section turned to try and see him through the glass.

"Tchh! Let’s just use that old man’s money. I will pay him back later."

Alen smiled slightly under the hood as his eyes remained fixed on the item.

"Hehe... It will suit my weapon well..."