Ed woke up in the morning and immediately headed out to leave the academy. He had gathered enough information on the auction. The auction lasts for one day and a half, so Ed had the morning for himself, but didn't want to waste it. He left the academy and met up with Eri and the children. He had told them that he would be busy and only have time this morning.
They all had breakfast together and played. Eri told him that they still visit the people of the slums who helped them, as well as some acquaintances. "Just be careful." Ed didn't want to stop them or limit their freedom. If they were careful enough, nothing should happen. They spend enough time together and Ed finally left after giving them more money. They still had enough left from before but he still insisted on it.
Ed left the capital. When he was far enough, he changed to his disguise. This time it was the white version. He then got back and headed to the main guild. The auction happens only in the capital, and since it isn't regular, it doesn't have a hall on its own. So, the guild switches its job when its auction time.
Anyone has the right to participate in the auction. When someone enters the auction they are given a ticket and a bidding stick. The ticket serves as their identification, so even people who want to disguise themselves, like Ed, can participate without any issues. When someone makes a bid, they need to use special hand signs to shows how much the increase will be. Ed learned by heart before joining. It was simply some signs they make with their fingers.
In case someone wins an item, they can choose to take it away immediately or wait to bid for more items. If someone doesn't have the money on them, they a have week to prepare it. If they don't, they are turned into slaves for the auction. Ed knew about slavery in this world but was still annoyed by it. If someone wanted to auction their own items, they would have to do it before the auction begins so they can be appraised. Other than this, there was nothing worth mentioning about the auction.
Ed entered the auction and a receptionist welcomed him. There were over one hundred receptionists prepared by the guild to host this auction. It showed the sheer number of people who participate in this event.
"Hello, sir. Will you be participating in the auction or bidding?" The receptionist spoke professionally.
"I'll be doing both."
"In that case please follow me, sir." The receptionist turned around and went inside a room. Ed guessed the items would be appraised in this place.
"What will you be auctioning sir?" This time another person spoke, seemingly the appraiser.
"Some potions and monster carcasses."
"In that case please show me so I can appraise them." The appraiser waved with his hand, indicating that Ed can simply put the items on the floor. The room was big enough so there weren't any issues. This was the main guild of the country, so it was prepared with rooms for appraisal.
"Stand back," Ed told them while he started withdrawing the monster bodies. There were ant queens, leopards, mammoths, lizard and many monsters. They were all over Earth Establishment making them precious items.
The appraiser seemed a little surprised by Ed's Inventory, and his hunting ability. It was rare to see so many Earth Establishment monsters in one place, there were almost 15 bodies. Next, Ed withdrew about 10 potions that he personally made. He was most confident that these potions would generate the most income. He had tested them himself, and the effects were better than most potions sold by the pharmacists in the capital.
"These are?!" The appraiser seemed to lose his cool when Ed withdrew the potions. He quickly regained his calm and continued his appraisal.
"There are 8 Earth Establishment level 1 monsters, 4 level 2, 2 level 3 and 1 level 5. As well as 10 high-grade potions. The items will be further appraised to choose a starting price, as for joining the auction, we give a special ID for those who also put their items to auction. This will reduce 5% of any items you buy. In case of multiple items, you will have an 8% reduction of the total." The appraiser explained as he told the receptionist from before to prepare the special card.
"Please use our auction next time as well." The receptionist smiled as Ed was heading to find a seat. His ID would only be needed when he was paying for his items, while his bidding stick was the same as the others.
Ed entered the hall and was stunned. It was much bigger than he had expected. It could easily handle 1000 people. 'I wonder how the host can see all of the people. Maybe there would be people helping him?' Ed thought while looking for a seat. It was still early so most seats were open. He chose one near the front where he could look directly at the items that would be displayed.
The auction begins with monster corpses. This was good for Ed since he would get a general idea for how much his income would be. This would allow him not to go overboard with buying and end up finding trouble with the auction.
The second phase of the auction would be weapons and metals. The third phase would be potions and healing items. The last phase would be special items that range from cultivation techniques to spatial rings that belonged to bodies that the auction found.
These rings would usually belong to Transcendent Establishment people who died somehow and their bodies were recovered. In some cases, even the body would be sold to those who are interested.
As Ed was thinking, more and more people started filling the seats. Ed was surrounded by fat noble-looking men, which he found uncomfortable. He activated his Map and noticed one red dot. He immediately checked it and found that it was Norris. Ed frowned and felt that at some point this auction would become noisy.
Soon enough, it was time to begin the auction and the host took the spotlight. Ed scanned the host and found that he was at Earth Establishment level 5. 'Quite strong.For someone who's only hosting'. Ed thought.
"Ladies and gentlemen welcome." The host's voice could be heard clearly in the large hall without needing any voice enhancers. "For our regular guests welcome back. For the new guests, we hope you'll be back another time. Now, let the auction begin!".
Hello everyone! The auction will start next chapter. Hope you enjoy and if you notice any mistakes please point them out.
"The first item we have is a favorite of the restaurants, it's the cockatrice!" The very first item that was brought out was the reason Ed came to this auction. 'Well, this is sudden…' If anyone could see under Ed's mask they would see a wry smile.
"The cockatrice is a King Establishment monster, however hunting it is very difficult. It lives in packs and can petrify you if you're not careful. Its meat is regarded as a delicacy by all food lovers." The host was explaining everything about the cockatrice. 'I hope not all items go through the same procedure.' Ed thought.
"The starting price is 2000 gold coins, you can start bidding now!" Many people started bidding frantically to get the monster, however, Ed remained calm. There was no way an item almost specific to the auction, would be the only one. There was bound to be more cockatrice bodies that would be sold separately.
"The first cockatrice body has been sold for 5000 gold coins!" Indeed the host confirmed Ed's theory right now. More and more bodies were brought out. Ed theorized there would be at least a dozen of them. The ones after the first were only sold for 3000 gold coins. It was still quite high for a King Establishment monster.
Ed finally started to bid on the 6th cockatrice that was brought out. There was another man who kept challenging him for it, but Ed finally shut him off after doubling the price. He got the body for 4000 gold coins. It was more than some others, but Ed was satisfied after beating the other man. There were ten cockatrice bodies in total that were sold. Ed wondered how the shop he ate at had gotten the cockatrice if only ten would be sold every time. 'I guess some people resell them at a higher price.'
"Now for the next item!" The host moved on and brought out one monster after the other. Soon enough, Ed's monsters started appearing. Apparently, they were showing them according to their cultivation level. The first monster was sold for 6000 gold coins. 'Quite high'. The price was more than what he got from the guild. 'As expected from an auction' Ed thought.
Soon enough, all of the monsters he got were sold. The highest leveled monster was sold for 20.000 gold coins. This alone covered the expenses of Ed and more. In total, Ed made 115.000 gold coins. He was very satisfied with this result. Ed could now simply walk out and he would have finished his business in the auction, but he decided to continue participating. There might be an item that would benefit him greatly.
More and more monsters were brought out. Heavenly establishment monsters were sold for up to 100.000 gold coins. It was obvious that the stronger the cultivator, the stronger the monsters he could hunt, so strength really did rule. Even in making money.
"Now everyone may I have your attention. Today we have a special item. It's the body of a transcendent Establishment monster. These types of carcasses don't appear so easily, it took almost 50 men to bring it down." Behind the host, some helpers brought out the body.
It looked as if it was at least 30 meters long. It was a snake that had some wings on it. 'Could it be a Quetzalcoatl?!' Ed was surprised by the monster. It appeared in legends back in Earth but he never expected to see it directly. 'As expected from a cultivation world!' Even Ed was excited at this.
"The starting price is 500.000 gold coins!" The price was high but not too high. However, Ed expected that it would probably go for more than 1 million, and it did. It was now 1.5 million and still increasing. This was the result of two old men who seemed like they were royalty of some sorts. In the end, the oldest looking one bought it at 2.5 million gold coins. Such a price was beyond anyone's imagination. 'I wonder how he'll pay for it' Ed thought.
"Now let move to the second phase!" The host didn't seem to delay anything and moved on after finishing with the transcendent monster. "First off we have an assortment of precious metals. From Mythril to Adamantite. These metals will not be sold separately and the price starts at 20.000 gold coins." The metals shown were all eye-catching.
'System, shouldn't they be worth more since they're so precious?' Ed found it weird that all these metals would be sold together at such a low price. Making weapons from these metals would definitely produce rare weapons, so the price should also be high.
[Most of the people in the auction are royalty or cultivators. They already have their own weapons. Plus it would be wasteful to buy the metals since they would still have to forge them, so the price of the Blacksmith would have to be added.]
'I see' Ed took this chance to buy the metals. He was planning to craft some weapons for his monsters, and now he found the materials.
The system was right. Almost no one had bid for the metals. Even when people did, they quickly gave up when they saw Ed pushing, so he got it for 35.000 gold coins.
"Now we'll move for the weapons!" Weapons of all sorts were brought up. Axes, spears, sword…Even bows were brought up. Ed didn't care about these weapons. He scanned them and found that most of them were of rare quality, with the exception of an Epic quality sword. The weapons were sold one by one, and when it was the sword's turn, Ed noticed that Norris finally bid on something. 'I see, so he came for a new weapon.' Ed guessed it was probably for the upcoming tournament.
'Let's mess with him' Ed also bid for the weapon. He didn't want it or need it, but he simply wanted to bug the obnoxious Norris. He even went as far as to activate the Sharingan, so he could have a good look at him. This way he could notice even the slightest chance in his QI, making him able to predict when he would stop bidding. In the end, Norris bought the sword for 75.000 gold coins, when its price should not have exceeded 30.000. He looked like he held a grudge now against Ed's disguise.
"Now then everyone, the first day of the auction is done. We ask for you to join us tomorrow as we have even more exciting items!" And so, the first day of the auction had finished.
Hello everyone! Enjoy the chapter and if you notice any mistakes please point them out.
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