ALL NOVEL Chapter 54: The Auction Begins
Everyone had taken their seats when the main lights went down. The darkness lasted a moment before the main platform's lights went up. A man older man, probably in his late forties dressed like a military soldier stepped up. He cleared his throat and then tapped the microphone.
"Good evening. For those who do not know I am James Maximilian, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I stand before you today to give you bad news. As of two months ago, the white house has gone dark. The disappearance of the President, nearly all of Congress, and most of the leadership throughout the world coincided with the arrival of the being called the System. As you no doubt know most of the world was turned on its head that day. The crisis has forced the world to come together. The old world died in a sudden conflagration. From its ashes, the United World Government was born."
The news of the president's likely death passed through the crowd like a wave. Those of us in the front were the least affected. I couldn't speak to the others but I had assumed this was likely the case. If old America was around and capable of doing something they would have already. They also wouldn't have needed to form anything new. The fact that the chairman was still alive was more of a surprise.
"You all no doubt have many questions and that is to be expected. Throughout tonight's auction, we will be providing all of you with important information. Information is needed to reclaim our planet. You all are humanity's swords and it is time for you all to unite. For the good of the world."
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Keshaun who nodded. It wasn't hard to figure out the government's angle here. They wanted everyone to unite but it was clear they wanted us to unite under them. I glanced around and found the crowd's reaction mixed. Amahle and her grandfather looked impassive about the news as if they couldn't be bothered to care. The person next to her was a loner in an old Masquerade mask. The final person in our row stared at James like he was the most important person in the world. He was dressed like an ancient Roman cosplayer so it wasn't hard to figure out who he was. Where was the System's Herald? If we were assigned based on our level Romulus should have been behind me at the fifth spot.
"Now that the introductions are complete we shall begin with the auction." James gestured to his right where an Asian woman in a black and white suit joined him on stage. She shook his hand and then he departed.
"My name is Mei Zhao and I will be the auctioneer for the first half of the auction. I will now take the time to explain the rules. You may express your intent to bid by raising your hand and stating the bid. For the first half, all bids must increase in increments of five thousand or more. Each item has a buy-now price that will be stated before the bidding begins. If you wish to buy it then you must express your intent to do so before the bidding starts. There will be no violence during the process nor will tolerate theft. You may discuss things amongst yourselves but if you are disturbed you will be warned. After two warnings you will be asked to depart."
I leaned back in my seat and waited for the rules to be finished. Part of me wanted to see if they would really kick anyone in the front row out but I knew better. I wasn't going to be an asshole for no reason. Once Mei went over the proper etiquette for bidding though my patience had run out. My smile had faded into a slightly pained grimace.
"With the rules finished it is time for the auction to formally begin." Mei smiled as a man and woman carried a set of robes. They each held their open like they were on an awards show. The robes weren't anything too special. They reminded me of the ones I got during the tutorial. They weren't bad by any stretch and could make a decent backup pair.
"We will start the bidding on these at 10,000 credits. The buy it now price will be 50,000 credits." The woman had barely finished when someone in the back raised a hand. I couldn't see the person who bid nor did I really care. They were so far back that they weren't anywhere near the top ten. I wasn't even sure if they were top 25.
"Very good. We will have the robes delivered to you once the first half has concluded." Mei called out. "Next we have a set of middle quality healing pills. The set comes with ten pills in total and is capable of restoring most wounds in moments." As she was speaking the woman returned and held a medicinal pill bottle. The System's handiwork was clear which made me think that they had either forced people to give up quest rewards. Or they bought them for this purpose. I checked in with Azariah but we could get something similar at a slightly worse price so it wasn't worth bidding on.
From there the auction things didn't get better. There were a handful of basic items that were somewhat useful. Most of those were scooped up by other people though Azariah did get a few rings that would generate shields. The biggest surprise was the resources that were sold. There were metals, herbs, woods, and beast carcasses. Most of these items were gobbled up by Azariah though a few were collected by Amahle's group. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were good for crafting but I had no way of knowing what they were or what they were worth. I made a mental note to have Azariah provide a list of potential items to look out for. The auction shifted into a section of old-world things that prompted my interest. One was a car that had to have come from a mall's showcase as it was practically brand new. I decided to purchase it purely out of amusement.
On top of that, there were various alcohols that we ignored. As our Constitution attributes increased alcohol would become useless unless it was made with stronger stuff. Since mine was already well past a hundred most of the sweet-tasting stuff was useless for me and even the strongest would require me to toss back crates to get more than a buzz. Azariah purchased a couple of bottles to see if they would be popular as a novelty but that was it. This trend continued and my interest began to fade. The last few items were various all-terrain vehicles that only needed gas to run. They weren't bad ideas but they weren't great either. I was faster than nearly all of them and I could just open a portal. I picked up a couple to help our guards move around better. I was about to suggest we step out for some air when a man stepped up with a metallic briefcase.
"These are a set of ten 2nd-Realm Spirit stones. They are a valuable trading resource for cultivators and non-cultivators but their most significant use comes from cultivation. Our scientists believe that they are spiritual energy in physical form. We will start bidding at two hundred thousand with a buy now price of 350—" My hand was up before she could finish the price. The money was still insignificant to me but the stones were. They were a different matter altogether. I could use them for myself or save a couple for Trey. Hell, I could even give some to Aaliyah to boost her level. "Ah right we will bring them to you later." A murmur passed through the crowd behind me but I hardly cared. I had already outed myself as the strongest person here so flashing some wealth was obvious.
"With that finished we will have a short intermission. After which we will begin with the special items." Mei smiled at us all and then left the stage. The lights came up and people started to get up. I let out a groan and stretched. I couldn't say I was tired per se but the auction had been dragging. "I am going to get some air. You coming?"
"Yeah, If I have to listen to another person tell me why wine is important at the end of the world I am going to stab someone," Aaliyah added.
"I am going to see if I can make some sales. Do you know if they will provide the items here or once we leave?"
"I guess that they will keep them until the very end. As long as they have your purchases you can't leave." Keshaun added as he got to his feet. "In a way, it's like having hostages only they are willing."
I shrugged and made my way back out into the main atrium. Amahle and her group had taken a corner and were discussing things amongst themselves. The wealth standings hadn't changed so none of the big spenders had made major moves. "Stick close together. I want to see what the mood is in the rest of the world and if there are any powerful monsters." Before I could leave a squad of waiters and waitresses dressed to the nines entered the atrium with serving trays held in their hands. They moved with such fluidity that it was like watching a dance. It was like they had predetermined where they would walk so that they flowed around each person while bringing attention to what was on their trays.
What they held on those trays was just about every fancy food possible. Various sea creatures, finger sandwiches, and glasses of wine. All of it smelled delicious. My mouth practically watered at every single thing to the point that I considered ignoring the warning about poison. The feeling deadened a bit when I was handed a glass of wine. The wine itself looked fine but it gave off a smell I could only describe as being hollow. It wasn't so much that it smelled bad or wrong, it was more like the ingredients weren't quite fresh. I handed it to the other people in my group and only Aaliyah understood what I meant.
My first thought was that it was a poison for cultivators but that didn't make a lot of sense. One how would they have that? Even if they had ordered a shop that sold poisons and got them to give them a poison that would only affect cultivators why poison us now? They could try to hold us hostage now but they hadn't even offered us anything. The second thought was the more likely. My body should require a good amount of spiritual energy to keep going and so should Aaliyah's. The alcohol was likely just weak for us. The fact that none of the top ten members I could see were eating or drinking further supported that idea. "We got to get proper wine and other beverages. A man can only drink water for so long."
I went around and introduced myself to everyone until I found an older man surrounded by a trio of cultivators. The trio were probably around level 10 or so. They lacked the aura to make the top 100 but they weren't bad. That wasn't what drew them to me.
"I am telling you we need to aggressively recruit before people start leaving. We have less than a month before the next wave hits." The first cultivator said.
"I know but I can't just stand up in front of everyone and say 'Excuse me we need cultivators willing to risk their lives and save our asses.' Now can I?" The second cultivator replied.
I listened to the trio go back and forth with each other for a few minutes before I stepped up to them. "I couldn't help but overhear that you all have a problem?"
The older man turned and smiled at me while his companions looked me up and down. "I didn't intend to disturb you. I assure you that we have our situation—"
"The name's Tony and this here is our father Antonio. We have started our Governor quest and need cultivators willing to help us fight." The rest of his group stared daggers at the tall Italian man but he didn't back down.
"Right, would you mind starting at the beginning?"
The older man sighed and took over. "Some of our youth gained a System Hub from the tutorial and founded a city. This triggered the Governorship quest. Our quest is a wide-scale battle with hordes of monsters. I think the Hub releases a sound that causes them to rush us and go berserk. We dealt with it the first few times but it's become too large a problem. We are searching for people willing to help us fight." I stared at the trio for several minutes before I grinned. This was exactly what I needed. I could grab some levels, my people could get some levels and if there were monsters we couldn't deal with it wouldn't technically be our problem.
"There is a merit system that provides rewards as well," Antonio added like a salesman who sensed a deal. "It requires you to kill a lot if you want to make any of the major purchases but everything is at least of the same quality as what the auction has shown so far."
"Can other governors go?" I asked doing my best to temper my excitement.
"Yes, as long as you have the permission of our candidate though if you or your leader were to attack it would mark you as an enemy of both us and the monsters."
"I assume you don't have your merit rewards here with you?" He shook his head and I continued. "How many people are you looking for? Do we need a teleporter to get to your city or is it within running distance?"
"Uh no you would need to have access to a teleporter to get there. The settlement is called Brent Wood after our old neighborhood. We would appreciate any help you can provide us. We will grant you access to our teleporter the day after the auction. You won't be able to teleport in without permission."
I nodded. "Sounds good do you need me to do anything before then? I will gather a group and head over around midday."
The man's eyes went wide and you would have thought I had personally saved his life with the way he looked at me. "No, no I just need your name. Once you have access you will be able to bring over as many people as you can."
"Amari Jackson." I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face as their excitement shifted into concern and confusion. I pulled up my status screen and shared the name with them just to remove any lingering doubt.
"You are really him? Don't get me wrong I want the help in all but why do you care? Most of us aren't in the Standings at all. Let alone the first spot." Tony stated. I could practically see the daggers his friends were staring into his back but they didn't say anything.
I considered how I should answer that question but I decided that the simple route was the best. "I am looking for monsters to fight to get my level as high as I can. I want to be the first to fifty."
"You mean you want to go to the next realm? Right? That's what the tutorial fairy said."
I nodded. "I am aiming for the top. I could bring a group with me to your settlement but if you need more resources that would take a bit more effort. We can discuss that later."
"Of course, we would be honored to have you help us out. If there is anything else you need please just let us know" Antonio stepped up, took my hand, and shook it like I had just given him the key to the city. The relief in his eyes was a bit disconcerting but I ignored that. Before I could do anything else another man in a suit stepped into the atrium.
"The auction is set to begin again. Please take your seats." The man spoke calmly with a certain authority in his voice.
"We can discuss it during the gala if you are staying for that. I hope you all find something that can help you." I gave them a final smile before making my way over to the door. It only took a moment for the others to gather up. I noted that Amahle's group had already made the way back to their seat.
"We have something to discuss once this is finished. I think I just found an opportunity to increase all our levels." We quickly took our seats as the lights went down and Mei returned to the stage.
"Greetings for the second half of our auction we will proceed with higher-quality items. As a result, the rules will be slightly modified. The minimum bid has been increased to fifty thousand credits or comparable resources. We have people with appraisal skills ready to look over anything you have for trade. Lastly please be sure to stay for the post-auction update and the gala later tonight. Both will be opportunities to get to know your fellow cultivators and the representatives of the United World Government. Please sit back and enjoy."