Limitless Path

Eventually, it was time, Beth knowing this because she received a message from Vallenna that the woman was on her way over. The two left the room and headed up to the lobby, Beth once again impressed by just how busy an established Hall could be. That was also taking into account that the capital city's Hall didn't currently have any special events or tournaments taking place; the large volume of traffic in and out of the lobby every hour of the day was a combination of membership applications, members looking for regular fights, people looking to create commissions or job requests, and the far fewer number of senior members there for various jobs, duties, and commissions.

Despite being alone, as far as Beth could see, Val's entrance was still a spectacle in its own right, as the late morning lobby seemed to come alive at her appearance. It was an amusing combination of people respectfully moving aside to give way, and people crowding around her, though mainly in her wake, as no one was foolish enough to get in her way. She stopped before Beth and Blood, giving them a nod, which set off its own round of whispers and speculation, the murmuring filling the lobby.

"Shall we set off?" Val asked, getting nods from Beth and Blood in return.

"How do you deal with it?" Beth asked quietly as they left the lobby and headed for the Seven Lights Trading Firm.

"You, unfortunately, get used to it after a while," Val replied.

"I can't believe there aren't any reporters swarming you," Beth commented.

"They could try it," Val responded crisply. "One of the advantages of having a group to manage the press is that people know if they want access, they have to go through them. If they try to skirt the rules, they get blacklisted. And I don't mean they can't publish a story for a few days, I mean nobody will give them the time of day ever again. Nobody.

"Beyond that, while it is rather heavy-handed and we don't like resorting to it, the wider universe is a harsh place. A single Elder from one of the factions represented by the Young Scions could annihilate even a huge broadcasting company, regardless of the strength of their security, and they could do it without harming a single person. Many companies run on thin margins; having an angry Berserker King suddenly destroy a few thousand or tens of thousands of golds worth of equipment, offices, and relays means you're cooked."

"And no one would punish them?" Beth asked incredulously. "I find it hard to believe that groups like the CRA or powerful political groups would turn a blind eye to a powerful person on a rampage."

"The CRA would step in, of course, but what would they do? For a first-time offense, where no one is even hurt?" Val scoffed. "They would, at most, levy a fine which, even if it were an immense amount, that's only to ordinary people. Even a twenty mithril coin fine would be a rounding error for the factions represented in the Young Scions, and I doubt smashing some camera equipment and offices would warrant even a fraction of that kind of fine."

"Money makes the world go round," Beth muttered darkly in response.

"Oh, please, don't be a boor," Val replied lightly with a wave of her hand. "We hardly ever have to resort to such things, especially if a very strongly worded message, delivered by said Berserker King, would do just about as much to rectify the problem. Despite the picture I just painted, it's not as bad as all that."

"Right," Beth said, drawing out the word. "Speaking of finances, however, I assume you have more than enough to pick whatever you want from the auction."

"I wouldn't say whatever," Val replied a slight bit hesitantly. Beth found it a little hard to get a read on the girl with how much she suppressed herself in public, but she was already developing a bit of an understanding of her tones and tiny micro mannerisms. "It's part of what I mentioned when I explained the benefits of this program we're all stuck in; our factions shower us in resources. They don't really give us as much money as other resources, particularly considering how spendthrift some of the others are." Val rolled her eyes very slightly after that comment. "But they do provide some money and we, of course, make quite a bit in our endeavors."

"I noticed that was very much a non-answer," Beth replied with a slightly lifted left eyebrow.

"Sorry, bad habits," Val said quietly. "I have quite a few diamond coins on my person at the moment, which should be enough if something fancy, but not too fancy, pops up."

"Right, well, we have a number of items up for sale, so how much we can bid today will likely depend on how well they do," Beth explained.

"Several items? Really?" Val questioned with mild surprise in her tone.

"Nothing crazy; just some resources," Beth shrugged in response.

It was only a moment later that they arrived at their destination and swept in through the doors. Well, Val swept, Beth more tromped and Blood gracefully slid, her lupine characteristics at the maximum today. Beth walked up to the main counter, noting several other people had entered the lobby, before presenting her token to a free clerk. As soon as the attendant saw the token, he had an awful fright, quickly bowing to Beth and assuring her that it would only be a moment while he frantically made a call to get a senior member of the firm to the lobby. Beth assured him it was fine after his hasty, but immaculate, bow, waiting while he made arrangements for them.

It was Alex that showed up in the lobby, shocking the several other guests that had likely come for the auction. It was even more stunning to see her respectfully bow to the random woman at the counter; if Alex had bowed to Val and been excessively polite, the bystanders would have been able to understand. After all, Val came from one of the most powerful clans in the Milky Way and had the backing of an enormous conglomerate behind her. But instead, it was the totally unknown human woman that the angel treated with utmost respect, personally guiding her back into the hallways and to the auction venue.

That venue was located a few floors up in the Seven Lights' building, occupying the fifth through eighth floor all by itself. Even the most basic seating on the floor consisted of groupings of comfortable chairs with small side tables in between where expensive drinks and small finger foods rested. Beyond that was the second floor, which had a series of balconies that more important guests could use to get a good view of the entire proceeding. Beyond the second-floor balconies were the private boxes on the third floor, each of which had room for up to a dozen to sit in great comfort and came stocked with a large range of extremely high-class drinks and other refreshments.

Alex led them to one of the boxes on the third floor, which the three would have to themselves for the duration of the auction. After making sure they were comfortable and understood the functions of the pads present in the room, similar to the pads the CRA used in many of their rooms, Alex left them. As much as she would have loved to accompany them for the auction, every monthly auction was a massive affair in and of itself for the firm, and it was all hands on deck to get the necessary work done. Beth and Blood likely wouldn't see Alex again the rest of the day, unless she personally delivered them either a won bid item or their earnings from their sold items.

Selene swept into their box shortly after Alex left, slightly surprising Beth and Blood, though it did more than slightly surprise Val. Again, it was hard for Beth to tell, as Val was quite used to keeping her cards close to her vest, but it was pretty clear to her that the young woman was quite surprised. Whether that was from Selene herself, or just her showing up to Beth's box despite her importance, or for some other reason, Beth wasn't really sure.

"How are you finding everything so far? Any questions?" Selene asked, standing to the side and giving them a huge grin. It was clear from her posture that she was not going to stick around but was just there to check on them before moving on with the rest of her duties.

"Everything's good so far," Beth replied with a smile. "I did, in fact, have one question."

"Go ahead," Selene said with a nod.

"Since we have stuff up for auction, but we won't get any money until it's sold, we don't really have any money to bid with…" Beth said with a slight frown.

"Don't worry about that. We can extend you credit, and before you ask, we'll go up to the appraised value of the items at no extra charge. If you want to bid over the appraised value, then you need to either have the difference or have sold enough that we would be holding the difference for you," Selene explained.

"Got it," Beth said with a nod.

"Anything else?" Selene asked.

"Not from me," Beth replied, looking at the others. They both shook their heads, so Selene bowed out, quite literally, with a final encouragement to enjoy the auction.

"A personal visit from the branch master," Val said with a single eyebrow arched just slightly at the perfect angle. "A rare honor."

"We met a few days ago," Beth shrugged in response. "She seems nice enough."

"Selene, The Bane of all Kings, The Last Slayer of Hope, Queen of the Lost Dark, 'seems nice enough,'" Val ground out incredulously, staring at Beth with slightly wide eyes, a great display of shock from her.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know all that…whatever the hell you just said until right now," Beth said waving a hand carelessly.

"Didn't know-" Val started but was interrupted by a chorus of cheers and a massive wave of applause.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and other esteemed guests," a sultry, tantalizing voice echoed from the stage. Beth turned her attention from Val to the main stage, finding a woman in a short black qipao with white embroidery up the sides standing in the spotlight. She appeared fully human, with no characteristics that would set her apart as another species or people, but that barely registered for Beth. The woman was the most beautiful person Beth had ever seen, putting even phenomenal beauties like Selene and Val to absolute shame.

"Snap out of it," Val said, reaching out with her long arms to not just smack Blood in the chest, but hit Beth as well. The slaps weren't just taps, but were infused with mana as well, and Beth had a sensation like she just dropped a glass and felt it shatter. She didn't even have to question Val as to what happened, as it was immediately obvious. The auctioneer, who Beth's attention was still focused on, was now rather different. She was still a very, very attractive woman, but the magnetic and overwhelming beauty she had presented at first had vanished.

"Illusion?" Beth asked with a frown, glancing at Val and giving her a nod.

"Several spells that alter and enhance appearance, including by affecting others' perception of the user," Val explained quietly.

"Thanks," Beth replied before focusing back on the auction.

"I'd like to welcome you all to Seven Lights' monthly auction," the auctioneer had continued while they were distracted. "My name, as you know, is Megahn Metreon and I will be presenting today's auction. We have quite a few items to go through today, and I understand just how precious everyone's time is, so what do you say we get started?"

The crowd, mainly those packing the general seating on the floor, lit up in enthusiastic cheers again. Even those people in the general seats were at least Gold Token holders, so it was a little crazy to see them acting so wild just at the start, but then again, Beth supposed that was all part of the power of the live show, especially when such powerful charms were at play. The guests on the second floor were just as enthusiastic, though Beth could detect far less enthusiasm wafting out of the third-floor private boxes and fourth-floor restricted area.

"With that, let's see the first item of the day!" Megahn exclaimed with flair. "We're kicking things off with a bang today, with a grouped lot of gems! This won't be the only lot of such fine quality gems today, let me assure you, but due to both the quality and the limited quantities we see every year, it's best to get your bids in early. Who would want to miss the chance to grab some extremely valuable resources at a great price?"

As the auctioneer extolled the virtues of the first lot, an assistant rolled out a table containing a large selection of rough gems carefully laid out on special cloth padding. It took Beth a few moments to realize it was a part of the pile of gems she had brought in, even though they were still uncut and in the same condition she had last seen them. It really did show that good presentation and setting could totally transform something from the ordinary to extraordinary, not that the gems had really been ordinary in the first place.

"You might be thinking that this lot is impressive, but what's the big deal? We can find rough amethyst, citrine, and topaz in a number of shops. Well, besides the sheer amount we have in this lot for sale, this isn't just any old amethyst or topaz, my friends. Oh no, it's not even mana amethyst that you see arrayed before you," Megahn exclaimed, really doing a lot to highlight the gems. At this point, there were quite a few murmurs from the floor seating and even from the balconies, but the auctioneer knew how to whip the crowd up further. "Remember, everyone, that this is just the introductory lot from this client. And what an introductory lot to start off the whole auction! Not only is every gem on this table at least grade three, every single piece you see here is a deep gem! Anything crafted from even one of these gems will be more than worth its weight in mana platinum, and that's just the basic lot. How about we start this auction off with a bang? Can I get a diamond coin bid?"

Beth knew that what was on the table was just a fraction of the total amount she had consigned for sale, and some of the worst of the lot. She wasn't sure there'd be any interest at a diamond for just what they were showing, not least because it was the opening item when the audience was still cold and not eager to throw out big numbers. It was a damned good thing that Alex, Selene, Megahn, and the rest were running the auction and not her, because there was a bid from the floor almost as soon as Megahn finished asking for it. What was even crazier was the bids continued on after that, raising the price by five or ten platinum every time. It wasn't until the price of that unimpressive lot breached the two diamond mark that people started getting a little gun shy, the bids tapering off dramatically. Beth also noted that almost all the bidding was from the floor, both the balcony and private rooms not getting involved, let alone the restricted section above where even Beth had access.

Still, the lot finished at two diamond and fifteen platinum coins which, again taking into consideration it was both the weakest product she had to offer and the starting item before the audience really got hot, was rather good. Beth ran a few quick, back-of-the-napkin calculations in her head, based on the amount of gems that had just sold versus the amount she had left with the firm to sell in total. If she was right, they could easily, very easily, clear one-and-a-half mithril coins at minimum, based on the volume and that all the gems coming up were higher grade than what had just sold.