Chapter 542: Starting Bid Of 1,000,000 Gold Coins
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
However, everything would take place in a mystical and bizarre dream through the use of the Origin Potion. Everything would remain a hallucination, though it could happen in real life too. It aligned with the Rule Power.
“1,200,000!”
The person who vied with Tedya was once again Hilary, the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, who was out to provoke Tedya.
However, another guest from one of the VIP rooms immediately placed a bid of 1,500,000 gold coins before Tedya could even place a new bid.
The guests below the stage were all dumbfounded. In the blink of an eye, the current bid had surged from the minimum of 500,000 to 1,500,000 gold coins. Even though they came from formidable forces in the Breezy Plains, 1,500,000 gold coins was still not a small sum. Besides, 1,500,000 gold coins was not the final price. There was still a higher bid that was offered.
“2,000,000!”
To everyone’s surprise, the person who had placed the bid was not one of the VIP guests. Everyone turned to see that the last two rows of seats were empty, and the bidder was the only one who was seated alone in the middle of the last row. He was wearing a hood which hid all of his features.
William was seated in the VIP room together with Lin Li, which was right above the last row. Hence, he, too, had no idea who the bidder was.
The bidding price of 2,000,000 gold coins was unlikely to shock everyone. What was surprising and peculiar was where the bidder was seated. The seating arrangements were made according to the strength and status of each of the guests. Those who were allowed to sit in the VIP rooms were all extraordinary representatives of the various forces. For example, the Dark Blade was known to be the top bandit organization of the Breezy Plains which had three Legendary figures and the support of the Darkness Shrine. Another was the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, Hilary, followed by the representative of the Glittergold Trade Union and the castellan of Roland City, Arathor.
Due to the fact that it was an auction, those like Sienna who enjoyed high status in Roland City and the Wolf Brothers who were influential in the Breezy Plains sat in the front rows, and were relatively higher in power and status compared to the rest. The further behind they were seated, the weaker they were. Hence, the bearded leader of Angla Mercenary Regiment was worlds apart from the Wolf Brothers’ Association, whom he could not vie with.
In that case, how could the person seated in the last row be powerful or formidable?
“2,100,000!” Tedya hollered while gritting his teeth angrily and staring at the man below.
Tedya was a necromancer who had a stronger thirst for advancing in magic compared to the average mage. Although the Dark Blade had the support of the Darkness Shrine, which provided a place for him to learn necromagic, it was 10 to 100 times more dangerous to advance in necromagic compared to other magic. Undead spells were damaging to the soul, which was much more agonizing than the side effects of normal magic.
“2,400,000!” the mysterious man yelled again calmly without emotion.
Thud.
Tedya slammed his hand against the barrier and stood up in exasperation. “Mr. William, you’re the host of the auction. Shouldn’t you be verifying if this bidder has the means to purchase the item?”
Tedya’s request was not overboard. If any random person was allowed to place their bids nonsensically, the auction wouldn’t be fair at all. It was common for a penniless person to raise the bids to a ridiculously high price and make the last bidder pay an absurd price for no reason.
William chuckled wryly and stood up in resignation, after which he apologized to Lin Li. “President Felic, I’m really sorry, but I have to excuse myself.” Not everyone had the ability to pay millions for an item to be auctioned. Hence, he felt the need to personally verify if the bidder could afford it.
William did not cause any delay. Not long after he left, he proceeded to make his way onto the stage before announcing to everyone that the auction would proceed because he had already verified the purchasing power of the mysterious bidder.
Tedya had a sullen expression on his face. Since William said that the bidder definitely had the ability to purchase the item, it had to be the truth. Although Tedya was the most likely to be the new successor of the Dark Blade, he was well aware of his own financial abilities. 2,000,000 gold coins was actually already beyond his limits. Not to mention, he had already spent 850,000 gold coins on the Sparks Blue Stone ring earlier on.
The auctioneer had already called twice, and was about to knock the gravel anytime soon.
“2,600,000!” Tedya yelled in exasperation while being filled with a mix of complicated emotions. He could not bring himself to be happy at all, regardless of whether the bid was successful or not. If the bid was successful, he would have to pay an exorbitant amount of 2,600,000 gold coins. However, if it wasn’t, he would lose the opportunity to advance rapidly.
“3,000,000!” the mysterious bidder exclaimed once again.
Everyone fell silent, while Tedya moved back to his seat. 3,000,000 was far beyond what he could afford.
The auctioneer slammed the gravel down heavily, and Wilkinson’s Origin Potion was finally sold at a sky-high price of 3,000,000 gold coins. The absurd reality shocked everyone. To their knowledge, there had never been such an expensive potion before. The price was truly record-breaking.
Wilkinson’s name was all that was on their mind, and from now on, it would definitely spread around the entire Breezy Plains too. 3,000,000 gold coins for a single bottle of potion was an unprecedented price in the Breezy Plains.
After a long silence, everyone seemed to have burst into boisterous chatter again. They clapped and gave a standing ovation to William, the Time Consignment Store’s owner, and to the senior pharmacist, Wilkinson, after witnessing such a noble record-breaking transaction.
However, William remained extremely calm on the stage, for he didn’t seem too happy about breaking the record. After a long round of applause from the audience, William extended his hands and pressed them down to gesture for them to quiet down. “Thank you for your support, thank you! But the auction is still going on, and the item that we will be showcasing next is definitely going to be more exciting.”
After hearing this, everyone had no choice but to stop and return to their seats, after which they casually glanced at William who was on the stage. They tried to guess what he was referring to, and what the next item that was up for auction would be. What would be more exciting than the 3,000,000-gold-coin Origin Potion? Everyone knew that there would be a mysterious auction item from the Elven Kingdom. However, they doubted that the item would break the record price of 3,000,000 gold coins even if it were the crown of the Elven Queen.
William raised his head and glanced at the VIP room on the second floor. Before his subordinate even made his way onto the stage with the item, William whipped out a blue-colored potion and carefully placed it on the display.
Upon catching sight of William’s actions, all of the guests, including the VIPs on the second floor, began to get confused. It seemed to be another bottle of potion, but what potion could be so formidable that it would garner William’s attention like that? Everyone’s curiosity was piqued, and they waited quietly for William to introduce the item.
“This potion was concocted by President Felic. Bidding starts at a minimum of 1,000,000 gold coins!”
They were all surprised that William did not make any further introduction of the name and effects of the potion apart from mentioning that it was made by Mage Felic of the Tower of Dusk.
All the guests below the stage looked at each other in shock and dismay. They could not believe it at all. Could it be that William had forgotten how to be an auctioneer after not being one for a long time!?
“Well… is Mr. William cracking a joke with us?” someone asked impatiently.
As everyone began gossiping amongst themselves, the sounds of chattering filled the entire hall.
“Hey, did you hear that? Mr. William said that it’s a potion that was concocted by a mage, yet the potion doesn’t have a name at all. What a joke.”
“Who’s this Mage Felic? I’ve never heard of him before!”
There were plenty of pharmacists who were also mages because the preparation of potions itself required the acquirement of the magic elements in the herbs. Sensitivity to magical elements would aid one in preparing potions. The social status of a pharmacist was higher than that of a mage, a fact that was recognized by almost everyone. Hence, when a mage was good at preparing potions, they would definitely be more willing to be known as a pharmacist. All humans were vain creatures who liked showing their most glorious side.
However, William had made it very clear during his introduction that the potion had been made by Mage Felic. Putting the source of the potion aside, everyone was shocked to hear that it was made by a mage, and not a pharmacist! Mages were not all pharmacists. Hence, it was very likely that this Mage Felic person had nothing to do with pharmaceutics.