章節 164: The Auction , Part 2

"Two hundred and thirty-seven!"

"Two hundred and…"

The price of the armor skyrocketed almost immediately, with people shouting prices over each other without end. Gerald watched with amusement as the price quadrupled in no time at all before finally slowing down slightly.

The auctioneer didn't even have time to speak his part at the beginning. His presence was completely ignored.

But he didn't mind it at all! The higher the price went, the happier he became. He was getting a small cut of the final price, so of course, he would let people bid as much as they could.

Eventually, after reaching the staggering price of five hundred gold coins, the bidding slowed down to a crawl. Only three people remained, determined to get the armor.

One of them was a minor noble with deep pockets, the other was a rich merchant and the last one was an outsider, an old man who appeared to be a mage.

"Five hundred and fifty! That's my final offer!" the old mage shouted. He had a pained expression on his face, clearly, this was the limit of his wealth.

"Five hundred and sixty!" the noble immediately raised the price.

The old mage cursed under his breath and sat down in a bad mood.

Although this was only just the prototype and the first armor of its kind, the price was already too high for him. But considering how slowly good-quality armor was made, it was unlikely that the price would be much lower for the next few years.

Also, not just anyone could order a masterpiece like this. It would probably take at least a decade before the armor would become widely sold.

Missing this chance meant that the old mage would probably never get his hands on such armor in his lifetime… Not unless he joined an organization with greater influence. Too bad he despised being ordered around.

"Five hundred and eighty! I said it's mine and I'll get it no matter what!" The merchant flashed his gold jewelry around his neck and precious-stone rings, clearly taunting his last opponent.

The noble gritted his teeth and frowned. Although he was rich, this was already a big chunk of his wealth.

"Gentlemen! Your attention please!"

The auctioneer called and patted the armor, "Look at this masterpiece! Look at these gems! They are all low-grade Earth and Water Crystals, together holding enough Mana for more than two hundred low-grade spells! For an average person, it is almost impossible to ever exhaust its energy reserves!"

He appeared more excited than a kid on Christmas, talking and praising the armor with a thousand words.

"More than two hundred spells?" The noble bit his lip and his eyes darted across the room as he contemplated if he should bid again.

"Ah, screw it! Six hundred gold coins!"

The auctioneer's smile widened and he secretly rubbed his hands. "Is there anyone that is willing to bid more? If not, this beauty will go to mister…"

"Six hundred and fifty!"

The shout came from the rich merchant once again. People around him gasped loudly, while the heart of the nobleman felt like splitting apart. He really couldn't afford to spend so much.

Sandor was all smiles. 'More than six hundred! It's more than double what we expected. Nephew Arthur will probably give me a bonus when he hears this! Our profit this time will be huge, I can feel it!'

As the public slowly quieted down, Sandor cleared his throat and shouted, "Only six hundred and fifty? Is there nobody willing to pay more? Let me remind you, it is one-off-a-kind armor that requires weeks of master's time to make!"

Unfortunately, even after a minute, nobody bid more. Sandor sighed and counted, "Six hundred and fifty gold coins, going once… Going twice… Sold to this sir over there!"

A servant immediately ran to the rich merchant to collect the money and handed him a document in return.

After the auction was finished he could go and collect his stuff.

"Hehe, my son deserves only the best!" the merchant laughed and handed over a heavy money bag to the servant.

It was now time for the second item. A servant quickly removed the armor stand and brought out a table and covered it with a white tablecloth with golden edges.

A young lady then walked out, smiling and carrying a silver tray with many small, and delicate vials.

"Here it is! Our second item for today!" Sandor introduced, beaming happiness. "We received this potion by chance from a mysterious master alchemist!"

"Gentlemen, you might want to pay close attention to this! The name of this miracle drug is Stamina Potion! And just like the name suggests, the potion keeps your stamina at the peak for the entire duration!" the auctioneer Sandor shouted loudly, telling of the amazing potion's capabilities.

Meanwhile, the lady on the stage held a potion in her hands and displayed it on her gentle palms, while giving the most beautiful smile.

"Be it fighting, running, swimming, climbing…. With this Stamina Potion, you can do it at your best for the entire thirty-something minutes!"

The crowd started to discuss the interesting potion. It could be used to escape from an enemy, or to turn around a fight after your opponent was already exhausted… In big quantities it could be given to an army, making them unbeatable in a fight.

"Too bad this doesn't seem to be the case… The amount they have in reserve is probably not that high," one of the warriors lamented.

Although the effects sounded good, it didn't attract too much attention from the people. It was just an interesting gimmick, nothing more.

"Let me finish, gentlemen! This stamina envelops all exercises! That means, if you drink this potion, you will have the stamina of a raging bull...even in bed! This is why we call it divine medicine! It restores temporary youth to those past their prime and gives godly abilities to those young! Do not underestimate the value of this product! Give your old wives the best present in their lives!"

Gerald almost couldn't look anymore. He covered his face so he couldn't see the shamelessness of the auctioneer. 'This guy is too much! He is even more shameless than me! He could probably sell a common pebble for the price of a diamond!'

His ability to hype up a product was quite amazing and indeed, many men sucked in a mouthful of cold air and their blood pressure skyrocketed. A few old men already jumped up and wanted to shout with excitement, but then they gathered their composure and sat back down.

"Hmm, yes… It's an interesting effect this…how do you call it...Stamina Potion? What do you think my dear friend?" an old man calmly asked his neighbor.

"Indeed, it's not bad… I might buy a vial to give it a try if it's cheap…" the man answered.

A calm discussion slowly unfolded, everybody spoke words articulately and with class, completely unlike the brawl that almost erupted for the Minecrawler Armor.

Both Sandor's and Gerald's eyes twitched at the same time. 'Who are you guys trying to fool?! You are clearly super interested, what's with these holier-than-thou expressions?!'

Sandor snorted loudly, expressing his displeasure. 'You want it cheap eh?! I know how to light a fire under you!'

He took a deep breath and made a smile, "Gentlemen, I'm sure you would all like to see the effects with your own eyes, but you have our guarantee, it is exactly as I explained! Unfortunately, we don't have that many on sale…"

He stepped closer and divided the vials into two groups. "This is all we have and it is unlikely we will get any more any time soon! We will be doing two rounds of bidding, five vials at a time! That means only two of you will walk away with these miraculous potions in the end!"