He paced across the stage, making sure every single person in the massive hall was hanging on his every word.
"Think back to the item we just sold," the Auctioneer reminded them, holding up a single finger. "The Rank D Healing Potion that fetched seventy-five gold coins. Why do you think a mere Rank D consumable was so impossibly expensive? Because the raw ingredient used to brew that specific potion was also a fruit of one hundred percent purity!"
The crowd murmured in realization. The math was finally making sense to them.
The Auctioneer looked out over the sea of people, his voice echoing with absolute, undeniable reverence.
"Our world is unimaginably vast. There are many Human Kingdoms spread across this continent, and our combined population numbers in the countless millions," he declared proudly. "Yet, out of all those millions of souls, only a tiny fraction can truly utilize such flawless magical ingredients without destroying them"
He bowed his head slightly, placing a hand over his heart.
"That is exactly why the esteemed Lady Elara Valmont is universally recognized as one of the absolute top alchemists in all the human realms. She possesses the rare, once-in-a-generation genius required to take a one hundred percent pure ingredient and forge it into a flawless, life-saving elixir."
He turned his back to the audience, throwing both of his arms out toward the ten pulsing Velkora Fruits resting on the black velvet table.
"Lady Valmont's masterpiece was crafted from just a single, pure ingredient," the Auctioneer shouted, his charisma reaching its peak. "But tonight, the Golden Scales does not offer you one! We offer you ten! Ten chances to forge your own legends! Ten chances to secure your survival in the coming war!"
Up in VIP Room Seven, Zero simply watched, his glowing red eyes unblinking as the human crowd was whipped into an absolute frenzy of greed.
Next Step: Would you like the bidding war for the Velkora Fruits to officially begin, or is there another detail you want to add before the prices skyrocket?
Inside VIP Room Three, the lazy, mocking atmosphere instantly vanished.
Crown Prince Kaelen Aurelius of the Solarian Kingdom dropped his arrogant smirk. He pushed himself out of his chair and walked slowly toward the mirrored glass, his eyes locked on the ten glowing blue fruits on the stage. The cold, crisp mana radiating from the Velkora Fruits was so potent it practically seeped through the crystal window.
"One hundred percent purity..." Prince Kaelen muttered, his breath hitching. The playful rivalry with Oakhaven's prince was entirely forgotten. This was no longer a game of egos; this was a matter of national power. "I must acquire these. Whatever the cost. If I can bring these back to our High Mages, our vanguards will be completely unstoppable in the coming war"
Directly across the hall, in VIP Room One, the royal siblings of Oakhaven were equally stunned.
Princess Seraphina Aldric stepped forward, her elegant silver gown trailing behind her. She pressed her hands against the glass, staring down at the frosty stage.
"By the Gods, Caspian," Seraphina breathed in genuine awe, her sharp eyes wide. "Look at the absolute perfection of that mana density. When you invited me to accompany you to this auction, I expected you to just waste gold on mindless trinkets and cursed swords. But this... this is world-changing"
Beside her, Crown Prince Caspian Aldric was trembling. But it wasn't from the cold mana—it was from raw, unfiltered greed.
He gripped the hilt of his jeweled rapier, his mind racing a mile a minute. The humiliation he had just suffered at the hands of VIP Room Seven and the Solarian Prince evaporated, replaced by a burning ambition.
'If I secure these and present them to the Royal Palace,' Caspian thought frantically, his eyes gleaming with madness. 'Father will be ecstatic! The King will finally see me as his true, undisputed heir, completely overshadowing my pathetic second brother. The military will owe me their lives. No one will be able to block my path to the throne. I must have them!'
Down in VIP Room Two, a box reserved exclusively for the most elite guild masters, the revelation had caused an entirely different kind of shock.
Lady Elara Valmont stood frozen, completely speechless. As the top alchemist of the Kingdom, she knew the brutal, bloody truth behind harvesting magical ingredients better than anyone in the building.
"How is this even possible?" Elara whispered, gripping the edge of her balcony rail. "When my elite gatherers venture deep into the corrupted monster forests, they bleed and die just to bring back fruits with eighty or ninety percent purity! And even those imperfect fruits are incredibly rare. Who on earth could possibly harvest ten flawless, untouched specimens without damaging them?"
Standing right behind her was a tall, athletic woman clad in high-grade silver armor. This was Brielle Ironheart, a descendant of a prestigious knight family and Elara's sworn protector since childhood.
"Master," Brielle urged urgently, stepping up beside the alchemist and resting a hand on the hilt of her broadsword. "You must purchase these at any price. If you use fruits of absolute purity, the elixirs and potions you brew will sell for double, perhaps even triple the market value! The Valmont family cannot let these slip away"
Elara turned around, her intense, obsessive expression suddenly softening into a warm, affectionate smile. She gently reached out and tapped the heavy silver breastplate of her guardian.
"Brielle, how many times must I tell you?" Elara sighed softly, shaking her head. "Stop calling me 'Master' "
Brielle blinked, standing strictly at attention. "But... it is my duty to serve—"
"We are the exact same age, and we grew up playing in the exact same courtyard,"
Elara interrupted gently, taking Brielle's armored hands into her own. "You are an Ironheart. To me, you are not a servant. You are my own sister. I have always treated you as family, so please... just call me El"
Brielle blushed slightly, her strict knightly posture relaxing just a fraction as a small smile touched her lips. "Understood... El. But my point still stands. The auction house is about to turn into a battlefield over those fruits"
Elara let go of Brielle's hands and looked back at the glowing stage, her eyes gleaming with a terrifying mix of scientific obsession and fierce determination.
"You are absolutely right, Brielle," Elara declared. "We will buy them. And more importantly... I must find out exactly who brought them to this city"
High above them all, in the darkness of VIP Room Seven, Zero sat comfortably in his chair. He watched the absolute chaos brewing in the VIP boxes below, a dark, metallic chuckle vibrating within his helmet.
The Kingdom's elite were exactly where he wanted them.
Down on the main stage, the Auctioneer let the crowd stare at the ten glowing Velkora Fruits for a few moments longer, letting the intoxicating mana whip them into a frenzy before he finally raised his gavel.
BANG.
"As you all know, the Kingdom is mobilizing for war!" the Auctioneer shouted, his voice echoing over the frantic whispers. "Because of the military draft, elixir fruits and raw materials have already become excruciatingly rare. But finding ten specimens with one hundred percent purity? That elevates this from a mere trade to a matter of national security!"
He pointed his gavel directly at the VIP boxes.
"Because of their flawless nature, we are bypassing the standard currency for this lot," the Auctioneer declared. "The starting bid for the complete set of ten Velkora Fruits is... Two Platinum Coins!"
GASP.
The merchants and adventurers on the main floor practically fell out of their chairs.
In the Human Kingdom's economy, the conversion rate was brutal: One Platinum Coin was equal to One Hundred Gold Coins. A normal Velkora Fruit during peacetime was worth ten gold. Even with wartime inflation, it might reach twenty. But the sheer perfection and one hundred percent purity of these specific fruits had instantly multiplied their value to an astronomical level. The starting bid alone was equivalent to two hundred gold coins!
Up in VIP Room Seven, Zero leaned forward, his glowing red eyes widening slightly behind his mask. He had bought these ten fruits from the System for a grand total of 90 System Points. He was about to make a literal fortune.
The commoners and minor nobles were instantly priced out of the game. The auction hall fell completely silent, leaving the battlefield open exclusively to the titans in the VIP balconies above.
The magically amplified dial in VIP Room One lit up instantly.
"Three Platinum Coins!" Crown Prince Caspian Aldric roared, eager to secure the ultimate prize for his father.
But his rival was not going to let him win that easily. From VIP Room Three, the lazy, arrogant voice of the Solarian Prince echoed through the hall.
"Four Platinum," Crown Prince Kaelen Aurelius mocked. "Don't strain your treasury, Caspian. These belong in Solaria"
Caspian's face flushed red with absolute fury. "Five Platinum!"
"Six Platinum," Kaelen countered smoothly, without missing a beat.
The crowd below watched in absolute terror and awe as the two future Kings threw around enough wealth to purchase an entire city.
Inside VIP Room Three, Prince Kaelen Aurelius smirked, swirling a glass of wine. Six Platinum six hundred gold coins was a massive blow to his personal funds, but it was worth it. He listened to the silence from Room One. Caspian had hesitated.
"Going once for Six Platinum to VIP Room Three!" the Auctioneer shouted, his hands trembling with excitement. "Going twice!"
Kaelen's smirk widened. The pristine Velkora Fruits were his.