Chapter 204 - Divine Auction 5

The crowd also seemed thrilled that such a wonderful material was being sold. In the last Divine Auction, many great Legendary materials had been sold but Draco and Riveting Night were unable to purchase them due to limited funding.

Now that she could swallow up all the Legendary materials, Riveting Night was not going to stand on ceremony. Draco might not have a use for each and every one, but those could still be used by the other members of the guild when they reached higher levels.

As a former guild leader of the Divine Guild Darkrow, Draco didn't need to teach Riveting Night anything. She knew about the importance of resources over money, so she also wanted to create a stockpile for the future.

The Special Inkstone seemed to be crucial to Scrivening, which was a Tradeskill presented at Shuro's Shop for this batch. Since Draco would naturally be the one to swallow up those Tradeskills, it meant she had to get it for him at all costs.

"The base price for the item is 70,000 platinum. Increments must be 300 platinum at the least!" Shizura stated with a twirl of her hammer.

"Auction… Start!"

Riveting Night directly bid for the item without reservation this time. "100,000 platinum."

"120,000 platinum." Said a young voice from room 51.

"140,000 platinum." Came an aged voice from room 24.

"142,000 platinum." Echoed a nasal voice from room 47.

The maximum limit for a material like this would be around 150,000 platinum, so Riveting Night's call earlier had been a huge jump, making many hidden powers unhappy.

They would have liked to climb slowly and stop at a reasonable price, but Riveting Night forced it to a high price straightaway.

Since she could payout 150,000 platinum for the gem core, she could certainly pay 150,000 platinum for this one, so now the bids slowed down when it reached 150,000 platinum.

This was to control the price and then force out Riveting Night's hand.

Since you clearly wanted this item, don't blame us for making you pay a steep price!

Riveting Night's aura and mood did not change. She calmly spoke out the new and final price for the item. "200,000 platinum."

The Hidden Powers felt like someone had poured water in their faces. How could that person in VIP room 1 have so much goddamn money?!

No, first of all, who the F.U.C.K is in that room?!

Of course, they would never get an answer since the Church guaranteed the privacy of their VIP clients. Otherwise, there would be no need to host the auction. It was crystal clear that without such a measure, the strong would simply rob the less powerful for all they had.

Riveting Night herself naturally wouldn't let the cat out of the bag until she and Draco were strong enough to beat those old fogies to death with a feather.

As such, this item was swept away by Riveting Night, much to the pain and grievance of other bidders.

Shizura laughed cutely as the next item was brought out, which was yet another material. This one was a bowl of blue water that seemed to be filled with endless power.

｢Heaven's Aqua – Material

Rank: Legendary

Use: Divination｣

According to the description, this one was for the Divination Tradeskill. Riveting Night knew relatively little about it. One could directly peer into the heavens to gain foresight on future activities, but this only worked on NPCs and monsters.

Players were too unpredictable, so the AI only computed some theories and showed that as the result. The in-game lore reason for this was that the Immortal Spirit that every player possessed was too potent to be messed with.

Possibly, one would cast some form of spell or go through some processes when Divining, and then look into this water to see the result. Riveting Night assumed that the better the liquid, the more stable and accurate the divination result.

"The base price for this item is 35,000 platinum. Increments should be no less than 100!"

"Auction… Start!"

This time, Riveting Night remained silent. She was extremely hesitant to buy this item, as it was a fact that both Draco and Roma had Divination skills. It would be a supreme waste to use it for something like this.

Even Roma, as a Mystic Servant, had better Divination results than actual Diviners, only that the backlash on her was extremely heavy. Draco was immune to that backlash, so he was free to abuse the skill.

But why would he, when there was Jada? Jada was a legitimate clairvoyant from the real world who could predict everything with accuracy unless it involved the bloodlines.

Draco, on the other hand, was someone who had never come in contact with such a skill in his past timeline.

He already had his hands full with other Tradeskills which would prove much more useful like Magical Engineering. A good leader knew how to delegate his tasks to more suited members.

As such, Riveting Night decided to remain quiet for this bid. The material ended up bought by the aged voice in room 24 who had bid against Riveting Night earlier. Following the stereotypes, that old man should be a diviner.

He paid just over 50,000 platinum for it. After all, Divination wasn't like Magical Engineering which was an Epic Tradeskill or Scrivening which was a Legendary one. It was merely an Advanced Tradeskill.

The other Hidden Powers' eyes gleamed. Could it be that VIP room 1 had learned sense and decided to give up the resistance? Or could it be that they were out of money?

As much as they hoped for this to be the case, none of the Hidden Powers actually believed it.

They knew that no one in attendance should be stupid enough to be spending all their money on materials when the items hadn't come out yet. It was more probable that VIP room 1 simply didn't need this item.

After this item was a giant slab of a grey, slate-like stone that was placed on a table. It had no markings on it and seemed to radiate no real aura.

｢Silostone – Material

Rank: Legendary

Use: Sculpting｣

Sculpting was another Advanced Tradeskill that had its own rules, but was extremely niche. Most people who chose this hardly used it to earn money, but rather as a pastime or a hobby.

Still, it was a Legendary material, so it sold for over 15,000 platinum to a young girl that was seated with a Rank 7 power outside the VIP rooms.

Not a moment later the next material was brought out.

｢Primal Papyrus – Material

Rank: Legendary

Use: Architecture, Privateering, Scrivening, Scribing...｣

This was a more diverse and all-purpose item, papyrus, the predecessor to paper. Architects needed it to draw building plans, Ship Captains needed it to draw maps for navigation, Scriveners and Scribes needed it for their books.

Normal papyrus was available in good amounts, but a Legendary version of it would make one's final result much better. It was like using a Legendary Blacksmith set. Draco would naturally have an easier time crafting stuff with this item.

The Papyrus was in quite a high quantity too. There were about 500 rolls of it, and depending on the Tradeskill, this could turn into more or less usable products.

A material like this Primal Papyrus would be heavily contested, and its value was high due to its rarity and its diverse uses. Riveting Night was looking forward to suppressing all the others.

"Hihihi… the base price for this item is 50,000 platinum. Increments should be no less than 100!"

"Auction… Start!"

Even though the base price was normal, the bids that were called thereafter were not.

"100,000 platinum!"

"250,000 platinum!"

"300,000 platinum!"

It couldn't be helped that the price would soar past the reasonable limit. This material was just too good to pass up, and it was usable by so many different Tradeskill users. Putting aside the Tradeskill masters here, even the normal powers had Tradeskill masters in their factions that could use this.

Soon, the price growth began to slow down.

"351,000 platinum!"

"353,000 platinum!"

"354,500 platinum!"

Now, the bids were only called out by the various VIP rooms. The price had long passed what any Rank 6 or non-VIP Rank 7 power could easily pay. They certainly had enough to pay this much, but the problem was that they would be bankrupt.

Riveting Night decided to close the bids once again. "400,000 platinum."

"355,000 pla… f.u.c.k."

A certain power could only sigh with lament halfway through their bid. Everyone had suspected that the immoral monsters from VIP room 1 would strike again, and they were right.

Many Hidden Powers were tempted to increase the price even higher. It would be very satisfying to make whoever resided in room 1 pay even more, but they struggled to control themselves.

After all, there was the off chance that they would stop bidding and there were many more important items still to come, so there was no need to battle so wastefully.

In fact, the more that VIP room 1 splurged on materials, the happier the other powers became deep down, despite their grievances. The lower the bidding power of VIP room 1, the better for them!

The next material was a large slab of meat, one that was neatly cut into large pieces. Everything was there, the prime cuts and the fat, as well as some of the edible organs.

Just looking at it made many start to salivate and feel some hunger pangs.

｢Boarbull Beef – Material

Rank: Legendary

Use: Cooking｣

This beef was from a Boarbull, which was a cross between a…well, a boar and a bull. It was an animal that was born as a Rank 3 creature, but grew up to be Rank 5 as an a.d.u.l.t. Some older ones could even grow to become Rank 6 creatures.

Unfortunately, they were very hard to rear, because the quality of the food it had to eat was expensive. Most were therefore hunted in the wilds.

Its meat had one of the best tastes as well as texture, and provided one with many optimal nutrients. Give this to any Grandmaster Cook and the meal you would devour would forever linger in your mind.

It was certain to be another well-contested item. Cooking might be a meager Tradeskill, but the fact was that humans enjoyed the act of eating the most. Everyone would kill to eat good food, and none of the powers here were any different.

"The base price for this item is 10,000 platinum. Increments should be no less than 10!"

"Auction… Start!"

As soon as it began, bids began to fire off once again. It climbed to over 50,000 platinum in a few seconds, and seemed to want to pass this amount in no time.

Riveting Night also made a light bid along the way, which was easily drowned out by the other powers. The reason why she didn't go all out was because she was torn.

The meat had an expiry date, and Draco was only a Master Cook. He had previously shared with her that he could not become a Grandmaster for the time being, as all the available slots had already been filled.

To work with a Legendary material in a Tradeskill he had yet to actually master would be pushing him a bit far, as he mostly used common ingredients and boosted them with Aetheric Energy.

As such, Riveting Night eventually gave up and let another power buy it for 75,000 platinum. The reason why it was so low was because of a certain conversation.

"All bidders, my name is Gaston Drobe. I am a Grandmaster Cook operating the Meat and Relief Restaurant of the Vintage Islands. If fellow friends allow me to buy this ingredient, I will be sure to prepare a hearty meal for you for a very affordable price!"

The voice that spoke was middle-aged and very dedicated. This was clearly someone who dedicated themselves fully to their craft, and it showed in his voice.

"Haha, so it is Grandmaster Gaston. In this case, I shall give up the bidding and pay a visit to your esteemed restaurant soon!"

The one who spoke was someone Riveting Night knew. It was Hermon of the Diad family, who owned one of the 5th-floor shop spaces in the Rank 7 Shop. His family was the biggest Tradeskill and Merchant family around, with many Masters and quite a few Grandmaster among their Ranks.

After Hermon spoke, it seemed like everyone agreed with him, as the bidding came to a grinding halt. The rest was just token bidding to abide by the rules of the Divine Auction, leaving Shizura unhappy.

She pouted as she called out the purchase. If it had sold for more, that was almost 3 more candies she could have claimed for her bounty!

"Next will be the first Legendary item! Oooh, now things are sure to heat up!" She announced to hype the crowd, and herself as well.

So far, 6 materials had been sold. Compared to the 8 that had been brought to the previous Divine Auction, this was far less. However, the relative quality and value had been much higher, so it made sense.

This time, it was a long scabbard that was brought out. It looked like something that was perfect for a greatsword, and its design was intricate, with jewels, gold rivets, and a red color.

｢Gerrad's Sheathe – Scabbard

Rank: Legendary

Effects:

Passive 1 – Quick Draw: The user is able to draw the weapon from this sheathe in the span of 0.1 seconds, with no mistakes or delays. This includes situations where the user is under status effects or binding skills/spells.

Passive 2 – Unenc.u.mbered: No matter the weight of the greatsword in the sheathe, the user does not suffer any weight penalties to speed. The user will also be able to wield the greatsword without feeling the weight.

Active 1 – Quick Switch: Activating this skill allows one to summon a second greatsword from their inventory into the scabbard which would enjoy the same effects as the one already being wielded. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Description: The sheathe of the Great Hero Gerrad, who fought for his wife's soul that was stolen by a Necromancer who wanted to become a Lich.｣

It was a very good item that would be useful for any greatsword wielder as it would eliminate their one inherent weakness, which was speed. Riveting Night remained silent as the bids were called for this one, because in the area of Legendary items, there was Draco.

Even though he currently was limited to making Semi-Legendary growth items, they were far better than these Legendary items in practicality, so unless something really good popped up, Riveting Night would remain mute.

Besides, she had no doubt that it was just a matter of time for Draco to reach his full potential.

This sheathe got sold for 145,000 platinum to a Rank 7 power in the lower seating.

Soon after, a slew of other Legendary items made a show, which made Riveting Night lament Draco's progress. Because Draco could already make something around this level, she could only watch but not bid, which made the other Hidden Powers gleeful.

This was like wanting to buy food from outside, but being told there is food at home. One could only sigh and lament.

Having all this purchasing power but not being able to use it made Riveting Night feel amused, but she remained calm. The 3 Legendary items that were auctioned in a row were not too useful to her, Draco or any other of their core members.

However, an item was soon unveiled that made Riveting Night's eyes gleam with madness.

｢Deed to the Plains of the Colossus – Unique Item

Rank: Legendary

Effect: Grants ownership of the Plains of the Colossus Divine Dungeon.｣

｢Plains of the Colossus – Divine Dungeon

Description: The people of the Leikarthi Village have opened the pathway from the material realm to their secret realm in order for outsiders to assist them in killing the Colossi that are invading their small world.

Rewards: Legendary Item, Platinum｣

The deed to a Divine Dungeon… a Divine Dungeon ah! Even the Underwater Wreckage Dungeon had been Legendary Rank, but it had been hard to get access to it.

If it weren't for them knowing about its hidden location and Draco possessing Richmond's Heraldry, no matter what reputation or potential the Evil Duo had, they could only have gone through the proper processes.

Legendary Dungeons and Divine Dungeons were different from normal dungeons. They were more like typical dungeons from old RPGs games in terms of each one having its own questline.

Not only that, but it was not instanced, meaning many parties could raid it while interfering with each other.

To purchase one was almost impossible, even Draco and Riveting Night had only been able to pull on certain strings at the peak of their power to get occasional access to Legendary Dungeons in the old timeline.

If they owned such a dungeon, they could use it to groom the members of Umbra while also gaining great resources and 'farm' Legendary Items that were of a similar attribute as the dungeon or its story.

Riveting Night's face flushed greatly, and so did the other Hidden powers. How many people could claim to own a Divine Dungeon in this world? Probably only a select few! It wouldn't surprise her if only those Titled Gods might be in such a position.

For the Church to sell this instead of keeping it for themselves showed that the attributes of the dungeon did not really match with their goals. Besides, the Church would definitely have many such dungeons given their backing, which were bloody True Gods.

Whatever the case, Riveting Night made sure to buy the item no matter what.

"The base price for this item is 300,000 platinum. Increments should be no less than 10,000!"

"Auction… Start!"

Shizura smiled mischievously, showing that she knew just what kind of effect an item like this would have.

Lo and behold, her cry for the auction to begin was like freeing a bunch of tigers from their cages, with a poor little lamb standing in the center of the pen as a bait.

"400,000 platinum!"

"500,000 platinum!"

"700,000 platinum!"

"900,000 platinum!"

The price soared to heart-stopping heights. It was almost at one million platinum for the love of God! This was an amount that the previous Riveting Night could never have imagined.

But this was natural. The value of a Divine Dungeon was even more than Vita City-State's plot value. Even if Draco and Riveting Night had to, they would sell the city's plots for the dungeon!

Its uses were too great! Only when they obtained it and sent their members inside would the true reason that it was so valuable present itself.

"1,500,000 platinum." Riveting Night shouted out coldly, as if daring anyone to battle with her.

Fierce as it might be, it failed to suppress the unruly crowd, as many were willing to sink into hell for this deed.

"1,600,000 platinum!" Came a calm male voice from room 12.

"1,700,000 platinum!" Came a seductive female voice from room 9.

"2,000,000 platinum!" Spoke a deep and menacing voice from room 5.

It was clear that the bidding for the deed wasn't going to be small. Now, even the top 10 rooms that had been silent throughout the auction had joined in, showing that their pinnacle powers were interested in such a thing.

Riveting Night's eyes became frosty. She decided to stop this nonsense once and for all, because no matter what, Umbra would be getting this deed!

"3,000,000 platinum!"

The various voices died down, and even the top ten rooms were silenced. 3 million platinum was not a small amount, and this wasn't even the climax item.

For VIP room 1 to go so far was shocking, and many couldn't help but speculate. While a Divine Dungeon was great, everything had a price threshold, and this was a little bit beyond this one's threshold.