Limitless Path

The auction was not done, however, far from it, as Beth's lot of rubies, despite their value and the obvious, over-inflated demand, were not the real stars of the show. That had simply been the final warm-up before the auction went all-out, and the next item not only elicited stunned cries, but had people on their feet on the floor and balconies. Beth was a bit confused by all the hubbub, as the item on the black cloth on the stage was a gem about the size of one of her fists and a deep blue color, with a yellow-white light that glowed internally. The name, Gem of True Manifestation, didn't really tell her anything either, other than the item was at artifact grade, which was the equivalent of Orichalcum level for skills.

"I cannot believe them," Val growled. "Are they trying to start a war?"

"Why? What the hell is that?" Beth asked, face scrunched in confusion as she looked over at Val.

"How do you not know…are you from a newly integrate world?!" Val cried, shock deeply stamped across her face.

"Hey, what's that look for?" Beth grumbled at her.

"This is a nightmare," Val groaned, putting her head in her hands. "Not only were we beaten by not one but two extraordinary talents in one day, one of them is a fucking NOOB!"

"Hey, I'm right here," Beth said, gesturing at the center of her chest with her thumb.

"Damn you," Val snapped before straightening and reasserting control of herself. "To bring you up to speed, just about any natural treasure or special item that talks about manifestation in any way can modify your Presence. That gem is likely more valuable than everything else they sold today combined."

"Oh, so it's like an Entombed Heart?" Beth asked with a small frown. Val turned and stared at her with a look on her face like someone had just hit her on the head with a hammer. A sledgehammer.

"Please, don’t tell me…" Val groaned out.

"Like this, right?" Beth asked, pulling out the Entombed Heart of a Void Wyrm Kingand showing it to Val.

"Put that away! Are you nuts?!" Val hissed at her, scrabbling at her to try to force her to put the heart away. Beth complied, making the heart disappear before looking at Val with a frown, to which the tall girl explained, "There are people, likely even people here at this auction, that would kill you for that. Don't just take stuff like that out in random places!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Beth grunted, waving away Val's concern.

"I don't think you do, but just trust me when I say you need to be more careful," Val replied with a weary sigh.

In the meantime, the gem's bidding war had not slowed one bit but picked up as crazy bids started being thrown out, the price having broken through one orichalcum coin in less than a minute. It continued to climb from there, accelerating for a time until it smashed through four orichalcum coins, at which point it finally got to be too much for most of the guests, even many of the VIPs. At this point it was just a few fourth-floor guests warring over it, throwing out bids of five or ten mithril coins at intervals to try to just barely bring the price past their competitors' limit. The bidding went on like this for a time before a shocking bid appeared on the screen, kept anonymous this time, but stating a willingness to pay fifteen orichalcum coins for the gem. That caused an uproar from the fourth-floor visitors, which made Megahn pause the auction to reprimand them. Even Selene made an appearance, though all she did was show up on the side of the stage and glare up to where the fourth floor presumably could look out over the venue. Even still, that was enough to get everyone to calm down and act properly, which was quite impressive.

Somebody on the fourth floor wasn't content to let it rest, and threw out a bid of sixteen orichalcum coins, possibly testing that person's bottom line. It was futile, however, as the person on the third floor responded by directly raising the price to a shocking twenty orichalcum coins. The VIP raised to twenty-one, but the person on the third floor instantly input a simply staggering price of thirty orichalcum into their tablet. After that price was posted, nobody else dared throw out any bids, and it was only a few moments later when Megahn made the calls for closing the bid. She didn't bother dragging it out, as it was clear that no one else was going to get in on the action at that point, and the mystery person on the third floor won the gem for thirty full orichalcum coins.

"Well, that was riveting, wasn't it, everyone?" Megahn asked with a huge smile. "Good thing that every item in the finale, while valuable, isn't quite so eye-catching. Speaking of just such an item, we have the next item of the finale series up right now. You'll forgive us for displaying it in its compact form, as we cannot display it fully unfolded right now."

Megahn gestured to a cube about nine feet per side, the massive block of metal sitting on specialized roller frames that several attendants used to wheel it out onto the stage. She spoke while they got it into place, saying, "This cube might not look that impressive, but I assure you, it is. This is the compact form of a high-class airship that measures seventy feet by thirty feet by twenty-five feet when fully unfolded, with a stylish, tapered design. It's capable of not just atmospheric flight but, due to its high-quality drive and components, can be used as an albeit slow but reliable spaceship. It is, unfortunately, incapable of interstellar flight, but we all know how rare such things are. You can see on the screen behind me, and on your tablets, the specifications of the ship. We have checked it thoroughly, but as this is a consignment from a ruin hunter that found this ship in an abandoned storage, we can offer no warranties or guarantees with its purchase."

The last part really seemed to kill the excitement that had still been mostly bubbling in the auction hall, many people visibly giving up on a ship with no warranty or backing. It was doubly a risk as, even though the Seven Lights firm had checked the ship over thoroughly, they weren't necessarily leading experts in ship design and construction. Buying a random ship with no backing like this might be good if someone didn't have other options, but it was a huge gamble when one could get airships that had guarantees at perfectly reasonable prices, even if they weren't mysterious ruin remnants.

"The bidding for this incredible piece of technology starts at the low price of one mithril coin! Who'll place the first bid?" Megahn beamed cheerfully, keeping up that false cheer even as no bids came in at first. After a moment, someone on the balcony bravely put in an initial bid, and then there was nothing for a time.

Beth couldn't really believe it, but she snatched up their tablet and placed a bid for two mithril coins, her first bid in the auction. The other party countered with a single coin raise, and Beth returned with a bid of four. They went back and forth two more times before the other person gave up, already not interested in the ship at eight mithril coins. Beth was hopeful for a moment before someone else jumped in and started bidding, though they also raised the price by a single mithril coin every time. Beth countered with the same, and they went back and forth until the price hit twenty mithril coins, at which point the other person gave up in frustration. Nobody else was interested after that, which rather disappointed Megahn, if the amount of time she spent asking if anybody else would like to jump was any indication. Eventually, she was forced to call it, but that was the other side of auctions. Sometimes, a person put a valuable item up without a minimum reservation and it just didn't draw interest from the crowd and made far less than the person hoped.

It was rather good for Beth, however, as she was now the owner of a nice, if mysterious, airship for not even a sixth of her total earnings from the auction. She could go pick her items up now, but she didn't want to miss the last item, or items, of the finale, though she doubted there would be anything else she wanted, or even could win. The ship would be waiting for her backstage whenever she was ready to accept it anyway, and so she put the tablet back in the slot and waited.

"Well, if nothing else, that was a nice little break," Megahn said, getting a few chuckles from the assemblage. "But now, we're back, and this is going to be better than ever. And I would hope so, too, seeing as how this is true finale item of the day. Let me start by giving everyone a brief introduction of this next item. This is an item that was found right here on this very world by a rather renowned Wayfarer known for their explorational prowess. It was part of a ruin that had several items within related to space and space-based concepts, one of which is already reserved for the yearly auction in another three months.

"This item, however, was deemed just within the range we like for final pieces in the monthly auction and, as such, is our last item for the day. Obviously, it has something to do with space or the manipulation of space, and I’m sure even our fourth-floor guests will be quite interested in this. In particular, if any of you have a starship or armored fortress that needs to be taken to that next level, this will be just the item for you. I suppose I should stop beating around the bush at this point, yes?"

Megahn gestured with her hand and an attendant brought out a roughly spherical item that drew in the light around it while thrumming with power. The item was on a small display cart, and the attendant wheeled it out beside Megahn before bowing and disappearing backstage. The item gave Beth a strange feeling, familiar and distant at the same time, and she missed a bit of what Megahn said next because of it. That wasn't really a big deal, as she was just introducing the item to the crowd, and Beth could see the information displayed on the screen.

"I really can't believe it," Val said then, shaking her head. "I hadn't realized the Seven Lights firm was this wealthy and influential."

"It's the final item, so it has to be good, but is it that good?" Beth asked.

"That space core is a real masterpiece. Even if someone has a high-class starship, replacing the main power core with that will boost its capabilities by at least thirty percent," Val replied with a firm nod. "I don't know who this person discovering ruins and consigning the items to Seven Lights is, but they are quite powerful and knowledgeable, if they are able to get their hands on lost treasures like this."

"I take it this is going to make even the other items look cheap?" Beth asked just as the bids were starting.

"Oh, yes, I believe so," Val said with a small smile on her lips as she sat back in her chair.

She was certainly right as, with a starting bid of one orichalcum coin, the device certainly wasn't cheap, but that was no bar. People from the balcony, third, and fourth floors all competed from the very outset, though the balcony people quickly dropped out of the running. The third and fourth floor guests were all quite happy to drive the price through the roof, though the mystery person who made the unbelievable bid for the gem didn't place any bids on this item, surprisingly enough. That didn't stop the price from racing past the fifteen orichalcum coins mark and continuing to climb, though at that point many of the VIPs were bidding in ten or twenty mithril coin increments.

The item finally slowed down at the twenty-five orichalcum coin point and was fiercely contested by two fourth-floor VIPs. The price continued to slowly grow before one of them eventually dropped out of the race, finalizing the price at more than twenty-seven orichalcum coins. That was enough to buy a decent starship outright, but the amount of power the core could provide to even a high-class starship made it well worth the price. After that it was the end of the monthly auction and the guests started to leave, the guests on the floor and balconies far quicker than the guests on the third floor. The fourth-floor guests were not physically present, so Beth wasn't able to tell if they had left or not.

"We should wait a moment," Val said.

"Why?" Beth asked with a frown.

"Even with anonymous bidding, it's a good idea to not announce your presence at one of these," Val explained. "It's about making yourself a smaller target. Not that Seven Lights would tolerate any attack on their guests, but people can be quite patient. It's especially true if you have a big item to pick up or be delivered; best let others cycle through getting their goods if they're not using private rooms to pass out the purchases."

"Well, I guess. The only thing I won is something that nobody else even wanted," Beth replied with a shrug.

"Nobody who bid," Val corrected. "Sometimes people will like the look of something and not the price. If they think it's easier to take it than buy it, they'll come after whoever to get their hands on it."

"Well then, how long do we sit here?" Beth asked, shifting in her seat.

"Can you not relax for ten minutes?" Val asked.

"No, she can't," Blood growled. "I, however, am more than happy to."

They waited for another fifteen minutes before leaving their booth, heading down through a clearly marked path to the backstage area. They found the area almost entirely deserted, with everyone else having already picked up their winning bids or earnings from their items. They were almost immediately intercepted by Alex, who congratulated Beth on how well her consignments went. She quickly transferred the coins to Beth, who made them disappear in the blink of an eye, not that anyone was directly looking at them at that point. Afterwards, Alex took the three of them into a small private room that connected to the back of the backstage area.

"Sorry, but your item is so big we had to put it in its own storage area," Alex said, gesturing to the folded-up airship Beth had bought.

"I can't believe it folds up that much," Beth said as she walked up to the ship.

"It uses a form of space magic to be able to get down to that size," Alex replied. "I can assure you the specifications that were listed are all correct."

"Cool," Beth said with a grin, making the cube disappear into her necklace.

"That's quite a bit of space," Alex commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Trial of Celestial Awakening winner right here, baby," Beth said, pointing a thumb at her chest. "Well, a Trial of Celestial Awakening did really good person."

"You even did Celestial Awakening," Val sighed, though she otherwise kept her expression and body language under control.

"Yep. Storage necklace was a reward," Beth replied.

"For what stage?" Val asked.

"We failed during twenty-seven," Beth replied with a shrug. "Was something we really weren't prepared for."

"Twenty-seven," Val half-whispered to herself.

"Anyway, thanks for the help, Alex. We’ll stop by tomorrow to buy the other stuff," Beth said, having claimed both her winning bid and earnings.

"We’ll see you then. Just show them your token at the desk and ask for me," Alex said with a smile before moving on to help one of the last customers.

"So, that was exciting, but what next?" Beth asked.

"Why don't you stop by?" Val asked.

"Go over to your place?" Beth asked in reply.

"Yes. I would like to discuss a few things with you. No journalists," Val assured her at the end.

"Fine, let's go," Beth agreed and they left the Seven Lights firm.