The tension from the royal bidding war slowly faded as the elite guards carried the Blood-Wraith Sword off the stage. The Auctioneer took a deep breath, smoothing his white suit, and stepped back up to the podium.
"Moving on from the ancient curses, we return to the absolute necessities of our time," the Auctioneer announced, gesturing to a hostess who walked onto the stage carrying a silver tray. Resting on a velvet cushion was a single, intricately carved glass vial filled with a glowing, emerald-green liquid.
"As we all know, the Kingdom stands on the brink of war. Survival is the greatest luxury of all," the Auctioneer declared loudly. "I present to you a Rank D High-Vitality Healing Potion. But this is no ordinary mixture, ladies and gentlemen!"
The crowd on the main floor immediately leaned forward, murmurs of intense excitement rippling through the merchants and adventurers.
"This masterpiece was brewed personally by the prodigy of the capital, Lady Elara Valmont!"
The reaction was explosive. Even the nobles in the lower VIP boxes applauded politely. The Valmont family was not just wealthy; they were a terrifying political force. They held a near-absolute monopoly over the alchemy and potion trade in the Human Kingdom. To own a potion crafted directly by a core member of the Valmont family was a status symbol that guaranteed unparalleled quality.
High above, in the silent darkness of VIP Room Seven, Zero watched the glowing green vial through his mirrored window.
"Elara Valmont," Zero murmured, his heavy, Abyssal Steel gauntlets resting on the armrests. He remembered the Auctioneer mentioning an 'Elara' when selling the slime beauty lotion earlier, but adding the family name commanded a completely different level of respect from the crowd.
"System," Zero asked internally. "Why does the crowd react so strongly to her family name? And why do most of the commoners I've seen, like the slaver drivers or the gate guards, only use a single name?"
Ding!
[SYSTEM LORE: THE HUMAN KINGDOM]
[The Nobility Law: In this Kingdom, possessing a recognized family surname is an exclusive legal right granted only to the Nobility and highly decorated individuals.
The Class Divide: If an individual has a family name (e.g., Elara Valmont, Caspian... etc.), it signifies immense wealth, political backing, and noble blood. If an individual does not have a surname, it means they are a commoner, a peasant, or a slave]
"I see," Zero chuckled darkly behind his iron mask. "So, Kaelith's giant lineage commands no respect here, but a human with a fancy last name is treated like a god. A fragile, arrogant society."
[THE TRUE COST OF HEALING]
Down on the stage, the Auctioneer raised his gavel high.
"Because it bears the Valmont seal, and because healing items are in critically high demand, this Rank D Potion is classified as a Premium Luxury," the Auctioneer shouted.
"The starting bid is Forty Gold Coins!"
BANG.
"Forty-five!" a wealthy merchant immediately screamed from the front row.
"Fifty!" a knight yelled back, desperate to secure a life-saving tool for the upcoming war.
Zero leaned forward slightly, his crimson eyes narrowing as he watched the numbers climb. He was genuinely surprised.
"Forty gold as a starting bid for a mere Rank D consumable?" Zero calculated. "System, if a low-tier Rank D potion costs this much, what would a Rank A or Rank S potion cost?"
Ding!
[Market Valuation: A true Rank A potion in this economy would not be sold for gold. It would be traded for entire estates, castles, or high-tier artifacts]
Zero crossed his arms. "But why is this one so expensive? I checked the local merchant shops on the map earlier. Even their best potions don't cost forty gold"
Ding!
[Standard Shops: Potions sold in commercial shops are mass-produced using diluted, common ingredients (e.g., basic low-level herbs and diluted monster blood). They are effective, but slow]
Auction Items: Consumables sold at the Golden Scales use critically rare, concentrated ingredients that are incredibly difficult to harvest. The potion on stage is highly potent and works instantaneously, justifying the massive price difference.
A dark, menacing laugh escaped Zero's mask, vibrating through the quiet VIP room.
The Valmont family thought they ruled the alchemy world because they had access to slightly better herbs. But Zero had an infinite supply of pure, untouched magical ingredients from the System Shop]
"Go ahead and fight over your little green vial, humans," Zero whispered, his glowing red eyes locked on the stage as the bidding war for the Valmont potion reached seventy gold. "Because when my items hit the block, the Valmont family is going to realize their little monopoly is nothing but a fragile glass house"
Down on the main floor, the frantic bidding finally slowed down. The commoners had been completely priced out, leaving only the wealthy nobles and guild masters to fight over the life-saving elixir.
"Seventy-five gold from the Baron in the front row!" the Auctioneer shouted, his gavel raised high. "Do I hear eighty? No? Going once! Going twice!"
BANG.
"Sold! To the Baron for seventy-five gold coins!"
The crowd applauded as the Baron, a fat man with a ridiculous mustache, wiped his sweating forehead in relief. The hostess carefully handed over the Valmont potion and escorted him to complete his payment.
The Auctioneer took a deep breath. He pulled out a silk handkerchief, dabbed the sweat from his neck, and then looked out over the massive crowd. The playful, energetic salesman persona vanished completely, replaced by a look of profound, almost religious reverence.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the Auctioneer began, his voice dropping into a serious, hushed tone that made the entire hall lean forward. "Normally, a potion crafted by the esteemed Valmont family is the absolute pinnacle of our healing and alchemy
catalog. It is the highlight of the night."
He paused, letting the silence stretch until the tension in the room was palpable.
"But tonight... tonight is a historic anomaly"
The main chandeliers went completely dark. Four elite guards, heavily armored and carrying enchanted halberds, marched onto the stage. Between them, they carried a massive, rune-carved display table covered entirely by a heavy black velvet cloth.
They placed it gently in the center of the spotlight.
Even the arrogant royals in VIP Room One and the rival Prince in VIP Room Three stepped up to their one-way windows, sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere. The sheer mana leaking through the velvet cloth was making the air in the auction house feel thick and cold.
"Alchemists, Mages, and Royal Knights, I ask you all a simple question," the Auctioneer projected, his voice trembling slightly with genuine excitement. "What is better than a master-crafted potion?"
No one answered. The hall was dead silent.
"The answer," the Auctioneer whispered into the magical amplifier, grabbing the edge of the black velvet cloth. "Is the pure, uncorrupted, ancient ingredients used to make them"
With a dramatic flourish, he ripped the velvet cloth away.
WHOOSH.
A wave of pure, crisp, intoxicating mana exploded across the auction hall. It felt like a sudden winter breeze carrying the scent of a deep, untouched magical forest.
Resting on ten individual silver pedestals were ten flawless, star-shaped blue fruits. They glowed with a mesmerizing inner light, pulsing in perfect unison like ten beating hearts. The cold energy radiating from them actually caused a thin layer of frost to form on the edges of the wooden stage.
"I present to you..." the Auctioneer roared, his voice booming like thunder. "Ten perfectly preserved, freshly harvested Velkora Fruits! The legendary Dragon-Blood Fruits!"
Absolute chaos erupted.
Mages in the audience literally shot up from their seats, knocking their chairs over. High-ranking alchemists pushed their way toward the stage, their eyes wide with manic obsession, only to be held back by the elite guards.
"Impossible!" an elderly mage screamed, pointing a shaking finger at the stage. "Ten of them?! The Spirit Forest has been sealed by toxic miasma for decades! Where did the Golden Scales acquire such pristine specimens?!"
"The mana density!" another alchemist gasped, clutching his chest as if he were having a heart attack. "It's completely intact! One of those fruits could brew enough High-Tier elixirs to save an entire battalion!"
Up in VIP Room Seven, Zero sat back in his plush velvet armchair, his heavy Abyssal Steel boots resting casually on the floor. A dark, terrifying smile spread beneath his iron mask as he watched the human elite completely lose their minds over items he had bought with pocket change from his System.
"That's right," Zero murmured softly, his voice drowning in the screams of the crowd below. "Beg for it."
The Auctioneer raised his gavel, striking the obsidian podium repeatedly to quiet the chaotic hall.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Order! I demand order in the hall!" the Auctioneer's voice boomed through the magical amplifier, slowly forcing the frantic mages and nobles to settle back into their seats.
He gestured grandly toward the ten glowing blue fruits, the frosty mana still swirling around the stage.
"I understand your shock, my esteemed guests," the Auctioneer continued, his tone turning deadly serious. "Finding elixir fruits in the wild is difficult enough, as the forests are swarming with monsters. But finding them with absolutely one hundred percent purity? It is considered a miracle!"