Everyone looked excited at the news of a ‘special’ item appearing in today’s auction. Aurora had noticed that there were more people in attendance today than there was any other time she had been in an auction.
“Wow, people look excited. Do you think we will be able to get something good today? Since we don’t have a lot of money.”
Rita sounded excited but scared at the same time. She must be thinking of stealing something if they were not able to buy it outright.
Not that it was a problem for Aurora. After all, the main currency of this abyss was not coins or money. It was magic and energy.
Aurora was sure that she could outclass everyone in this auction if she wanted to do so. She did not even have to try very hard to win everything.
But she did not want to stand out and make herself a target of these jealous people.
“Rita, tell me if anything catches your fancy. I will surely get it for you. But only one thing since I don’t want to stand out.”
“Alright. Then I’ll choose something inexpensive since we need to conserve our funds.”
Rita decided up on her one that she needed to save money. Maybe she felt conflicted after paying for the night hotel at an outrageous price.
Aurora did not correct her misconception. She would just buy more things if she did not like what Rita had picked out.
A few items like the ‘king’s cross’ were something Aurora could have bought but she was not trying to show off her energy..
She also needed to consider the other people in the auction house as her future allies and stealing from the allies was a big no-no in their field. It would breach the trust of the partners.
Not to mention, all kinds of people would get involved in these deals and make it much more difficult to do things in the future.
(As for our next item, it’s a rare ingredient called ‘sphinx core.’ It can be used as a stimulus for the magical beasts, so kindly palace your bets on this material.)
Aurora wanted to buy this item for Rita but Rita seemed uninterested in the core. However, Aurora could see many people other than Rita wanting to buy this item.
Still, Aurora decided to invest in the core for now. Even if Rita did not want the core, Aurora could use it for study purposes. She could even use it as a bargaining chip to get extra information during the after-party.
“You did not have to buy that. I could have found a better core for my summons.”
Rita sounded put out to see Aurora buy such an ugly item but there was just a tiny hint of pleasure in her aura.
Maybe Rita did want this item but had convinced herself that she did not need it. It would be something Rita would think of doing so Aurora was not holding her breath.
“Just keep it as a gift from me. Who knows when you might need to use this since you don’t even have your powers with you right now.”
Rita fell silent at Aurora’s teasing. Aurora felt bad for saying those words but she also knew that it was the only way to get Rita to agree with her and take the core.
Aurora wanted to add more words to her talk but before she could do that, the announcer changed the subject.
His next words were ones everyone was eagerly waiting for so everyone instantly turned to him as one in body and mind.
Even Aurora, who had not paid any attention to the auction till now decided to turn her attention toward the announcer when he whistled.
(Let’s start with our first item for today. It is a special-grade necklace laced with Beatrix’s tears. It will make you invulnerable to its attacks for a few minutes after usage.
Kindly place your energy bids for this artifact.)
“Wow, it could turn out to be useful. Should we buy it for the boss room?”
Rita seemed impressed by the first item but Aurora knew it was going to be a waste of her resources. Beatrix was only a swarm-level opponent and it was not something that could hurt her.
But maybe buying it for Rita would not be a bad idea.
Still, waiting for more expensive items to appear would be the better deal out of everything.
“I can get it for you if you want to. But it will only be useful on this floor and nowhere else. Others know it as well so they are not placing any bets on it.”
True to her words, not a lot of people looked interested. Actually, more than half the population looked like they had no interest in this item.
In the end, it did not sell very well.
And neither did the other few items that were taken out after the necklace. They were all of the superior quality but very limited in their usage.
The only thing that was of any universal usage was a highest-grade healing potion but even that was useless for Aurora.
She had thought that she had made a mistake coming here tonight. Without anything worth buying, it was impossible to integrate herself into the real information network of the underworld.
Aurora was about to call it quits and buy the next expensive but useless thing when she realized that everyone had gone quiet.
Something major must be happening for this to have happened.
(And as promised, we will be bringing our hidden item early this session. This is what you all were waiting for – a phoenix’s feather.
It does not belong to a monster but a real-life phoenix. The very beast that gave rise to one of the current supreme goddesses. And legends have it that this feather can cure one of every imaginable ailment.
Now, please place your starting price for this item.)
“Aurora, that is…”
“Yes. It is a genuine feather of a phoenix. I can feel its power even from here and it is uncontaminated from the abyss.”
A phoenix feather? What a rare treat this auction turned out to be.
Unlike certain curses and ailments that could not be cured even with divine powers and potions, the phoenix feather could purify.
In a way, it was the ultimate panacea one could avail. If Aurora had it then she could even break her curse this instant.
This will be a difficult bid to take home. A lot of people had their eyes on this item but Aurora was assured of her victory.
Her meter blinked to the limit when Aurora passed its energy. She was depositing the initial energy needed for the auction but the device had a limit it could take.
It was made for the people using these low levels so it could not afford to take in such high-intensity energy Aurora was giving out. Not to mention, the boosted abyssal energy Aurora now possessed.
(We received all your prices and we will be sending this item with a letter of meeting to the winner of this bid.
With that said, let us continue this auction further.)
Aurora felt cheated when she was not announced as the winner. She could already see the ‘congratulations’ message being displayed on the screen.
This lack of acknowledgment sent a dent in Aurora’s plans. And she was forced to buy a few more useless but specific things to show her energy’s wealth.
When the auction finally, Aurora could see a few interested glances people were giving her but nothing out of the ordinary.
It was not until she left the hall did someone from the auction house came to collect her. But for some reason, his aura looked haggard and his complexion looked much worse than Aurora had ever seen before in a person.
“Are you alright?”
Aurora tried to reach out to the man but he stepped back with a flinch. He looked far too pale to be alright but he was pushing himself a little too hard.
“I am alright. Please do not touch me and follow behind me to the back of the auction hall. The auction master wants to ask you a few questions before handing over your prize to you.”
The man was a good actor. A normal person would not have been able to see through his deception but to Aurora, his lies stood out vividly. His aura was uncomfortable and filled with his lie.
Still, Aurora did not call out to him and chose to follow behind him instead. Someone had put in considerable effort in trying to lure her out so she was going to give him as good as she got.
She signaled to Rita to be ready to get attacked and walked ahead with confidence. She could feel people following behind her but Aurora showed as if she had not noticed anything until she stepped into the dark alley.
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