"Thirty-five million!"
"Thirty-six!"
"Thirty-eight!"
The numbers climbed quickly. Even the nobles who didn't need armor were tempted by the set's sheer value.
Mike smirked under his mask.
"Come on… keep going. Daddy needs money."
The attendant behind him chuckled again, covering her mouth politely.
Then—
"Forty million!"
A loud, confident bid echoed from the left-side VIP row.
Emma nodded. "Forty million! Do we have forty-one?"
Silence for a moment… then:
"Forty-one million!"
"Forty-two!"
"Forty-three!"
The bidding slowed, but it didn't stop. People were pushing as far as they could.
Mike sighed.
"Expected. Epic set… they'll fight for it."
Finally, another voice cut through the crowd:
"Forty-eight million!"
The room quieted again.
Emma looked around with a bright smile. "Forty-eight million! Any advance?"
A few seconds passed.
"Going once… going twice—"
But before she could finish:
"Fifty-five million."
A deep voice from VIP Booth 3 again.
The same booth that bought the beast egg and the necromancy skill.
The entire hall froze for a moment.
"That guy again…"
"He's buying everything!"
"Is he building an army or a museum?"
Mike whistled softly.
"What a whale…"
Emma raised her hand, waiting.
"Fifty-five million! Do we have fifty-six?"
Absolute silence.
Then she tapped the gong lightly.
"Sold! To VIP Booth 3!"
The guards began taking the chest off the stage.
Mike leaned back, satisfied.
"Good. Very good."
The attendant behind him smiled warmly. "Congratulations, sir. That was a very successful sale."
Mike shrugged modestly.
"Well… can't complain."
Emma clapped her hands lightly.
"Now then, let us proceed to our ninth lot!"
The stage lights shifted again, ready for the next item.
Mike rolled his shoulders.
"Alright… show me what's next."
"I'm rich—come on, impress me," he said with a wide grin.
A few moments later…
"I'm poor…"
Mike slumped back into his seat as the bids shot past 70 million and kept climbing.
It was for a Legendary-grade skill book, the kind people would sell their houses for.
He let out a long sigh.
"Yeah… nope. That's above my pay grade."
The attendant behind him tried not to laugh.
The auction hall buzzed like a disturbed beehive.
"Seventy-five million!"
"Seventy-seven!"
"Eighty million!"
Emma stepped forward again, her voice perfectly clear.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Legendary Combat Art – Radiant Starfall.
A movement-and-strike hybrid technique favored by Radiant Star Guild members. One of the rarest finds this year."
The bidding didn't slow.
"Eighty-three!"
"Eighty-five!"
"Ninety million!"
Mike covered his face with both hands.
"Bro… I can't even imagine spending that much money"
"not yet atleast" he mumbled.
The attendant softly patted his shoulder.
"It's alright, sir. You've already made a huge profit today."
He peeked through his fingers.
"Yeah… and I just watched someone spend my entire net worth in ten seconds."
The numbers finally dragged to a stop as a calm, steady voice echoed:
"One hundred million."
Silence washed over the hall.
Emma smiled brightly.
"One hundred million! Any advance?"
No one answered.
"Sold! To VIP Booth 7!"
A round of applause followed.
Mike shook his head.
"Whoever's in Booth 7… remind me never to fight them."
Emma raised her hand again.
"Now, let us move on to the tenth item of the evening!"
Mike sat up straighter.
"Alright. Maybe this one won't destroy my wallet."
Emma clapped her hands once, and the staff brought out another heavily sealed case.
The protective runes on it glowed a faint purple.
Mike blinked.
"…That's a lot of security for something small."
Emma smiled as the case settled on the pedestal.
"For our tenth item, we present another Legendary-grade skill book."
A ripple of excitement moved through the hall.
She opened the case slowly.
Inside was a dark-purple book wrapped in chains, cold mist leaking out from the edges.
"This," she announced, "is the Lich Summoning Grimoire—a forbidden-type necromancy skill book.
Rare, dangerous, and one of the most sought-after items by high-level summoners."
Mike raised a brow.
"…A lich? Seriously?"
It wasn't something meant for beginners.
But it was insanely valuable.
He started doing the math in his head.
"If one of my armors sold for forty million… and then after fees I still got most of it…
Yeah, if this keeps going, I can walk out of here with hundreds of millions—maybe even hit a billion."
Mike nodded to himself and decided to join the bidding war for the Lich Summoning book.
There was a very simple reason:
This was his third week, and he had just received his next talent.
On top of the Reverse Engine talent he already had from his Infinite Gacha, his new talent was even crazier.
It was called Midas Touch.
A talent that could increase the rank of any item he used it on by one full grade.
Meaning:
If he got this Legendary Lich Summoning skill book…
He could upgrade it to Mythical-grade Summoning.
And in summoning systems, there was one important rule:
Summoning scales with rank more than anything else.
A mythical summoning technique wasn't just stronger—it was in a completely different league.
A normal lich was already terrifying.
A mythical-grade lich?
"I have to get it," Mike whispered, leaning forward.
"I'm getting it."
He tapped the crystal pad, ready.
Emma lifted the book off the pedestal, purple mist swirling softly around it.
"The starting price is 25 million Credits, with minimum increases of 2 million," she announced.
Instantly—
"Twenty-seven million!"
"Thirty!"
"Thirty-two!"
"Thirty-five!"
Mike exhaled slowly. "Alright… warm-up round."
More voices joined in.
"Thirty-eight!"
"Forty!"
"Forty-three!"
Then a calm voice from a mid-tier VIP room:
"Fifty million."
The crowd murmured.
Mike raised an eyebrow. "Oh, we're starting strong."
Emma smiled professionally.
"Fifty million going once—"
Another bid cut in:
"Fifty-five!"
Mike nodded. "Okay. My turn."
He pressed his crystal pad.
"Sixty million!"
The hall went quiet for a moment.
People turned toward Mike's booth.
"Who's that?"
"Is he new?"
"No idea, but he's loaded."
Emma raised her hand.
"Sixty million!"
The calm voice from before responded smoothly:
"Sixty-five."
Mike smirked.
"So you want a fight? Fine."
He tapped the pad again.
"Seventy million!"
Emma smiled brightly.
"Seventy million! Any advance?"
A calm, confident voice echoed from VIP Booth 3:
"Ninety million."