Akash stepped back into the Manor, the weight of his inventory settling into a digital tally. The afternoon's grueling labor had paid off; Arjun and Bala had pushed themselves to the limit.
He opened the Store interface, the blue light illuminating his determined face. It was time to convert raw sweat into strategic capital.
[Notification]: 250 Wood has been sold for 25 SC.
[Notification]: 80 Stones have been sold for 12 SC.
[Spirit Coins]: 46
He looked at the shimmering number. In the brutal economy of the Trail Realm, he was no longer a pauper. He had enough to bypass the smaller utility buildings and go straight for the most critical piece of his grand design.
Without hesitation, Akash navigated to the Blueprints tab and selected the one item that would break his isolation.
The [Auction House Building]—a Special Grade structure that functions as a sub-core of the territory and establishes a localized connection to the Realm Trade Network. Allows the Lord to list items for sale, bid on materials of other Lords. It was a "Direct Build" item, the system would manifest it using its own stored energy.
The 35 coins vanished instantly, leaving him with a remaining balance of 11 Spirit Coins."Back to being a pauper Lord," Akash muttered, the irony of his situation settling in like the evening chill.
Akash stepped out of the Manor into the biting afternoon air. He stood in the open space directly opposite the Covenant Hall. The two buildings are destined to become the twin pillars of his authority. One is Power, the other is Profit.
With a thought, he activated the [Auction House Building].
The world seemed to hold its breath as the system began its work. Particles of light surged from the ground, weaving together like a digital loom. Unlike the rugged, rustic wood of the Manor or the grey granite of the mountain, the structure that materialized was striking. It was a pristine, bone-white pavilion, crafted from a smooth, obsidian-hard material that looked more like polished ivory than stone.
"White Jade?" he wondered aloud, stepping toward the shimmering entrance. As Akash stepped through the ivory archway, he felt a strange shift in the air. The interior was an architectural paradox; it was vastly more spacious than its exterior dimensions should have allowed—a feat of Spatial Folding that made his Architect heart skip a beat.
The hall was lined with sleek, white-jade counters, each providing a station for trade. He took a seat at one, and a dual-layered transparent screen shimmered into existence before him.
The Trading Interface was divided into two distinct, high-fidelity panels. The Listing panel featured a holographic Deposit Slot. He could place an item or set of items from his inventory into the slot for an "Appraisal" by the system.
He could manually set the Starting Bid, the Buyout Price (for instant purchase), and the Auction Duration (ranging from 1 to 24 hours). For each listing, a fee of 2% or 1 SC needs to be paid upfront. There is also a place to add sellers' note and target a specific Lord.
The Acquisition panel is a scrolling marketplace of desperation and greed. He could sort by Grade , Item Type, or Time Remaining. Every listing gave him two choices: Place Bid (engaging in a price war) or Buyout (securing the item immediately at a premium). Because the Auction House bypassed the Store's predatory 50% buy-back rates, it was the only way for Lords to get true value for their finds. There are no transaction fees for buyers. He pays the exact amount the seller listed.
He casually checked the prices for wood to understand the difference between store and auction house. The math of the market was simple, yet brutal.
The System Store sold Wood for 0.2 SC per unit but only offered a 50% buyback (0.1 SC). This created a massive "dead zone." Meanwhile, the AH charged a flat 1 SC listing fee. This meant anyone selling small quantities was losing money to the system.
Akash leaned into the holographic glow of the trading panel, his eyes narrowing as he decoded the desperation of the masses. The market was a battlefield of margins.
Most Lords were listing 100-unit stacks for 18–19 SC. It was a logical move: by pricing just 1 SC under the System Store's 20 SC ceiling, they hoped to tempt buyers while maximizing their own haul. For them, the math was a dream—sell to the Store and walk away with a measly 10 SC, or sell on the AH and pocket 18 SC after the listing fee. But there was a catch: these listings moved with the speed of a glacier.
Then, his gaze caught the flickering shadows of the market—the "Flippers."
Every few seconds, a stack would appear for 16–17 SC and vanish instantly, snapped up by predatory traders. These sellers weren't greedy; they were desperate for liquidation. They sacrificed 2 SC of potential profit to bypass the wait, trading value for the immediate liquidity needed to survive another night.
"The patient ones wait for 18, the desperate ones take 16, and the predators live in the gap," Akash whispered.
Akash continued to sift through the lower-tier listings, sorting by price from low to high. He saw several [Crude Stone Axe],[Crude Stone Pickaxe], and even a [Rusty Iron Short Sword] listed for a flat 2 SC.
He narrowed his eyes, sensing the desperation radiating from the listings. These were the discarded husks of survival—worn-out tools and tattered gear sold by Lords who were likely trying to squeeze the last drop of utility out of them.
He reached out to appraise the listings, but the interface remained cold. The Auction House only provided a digital facade; his talent demanded physical objects to peel back the essence. Taking a calculated risk, he spent 4 SC of his dwindling capital on two items.
[Notification]: You have lost 4 SC and received[Dire Wolf's Canine]x1, [Rusty Iron Short Sword]x1.