System Change

“So,” Derek began. “I haven’t talked much with Roman about his potions. Was he able to make potions of varying stats, or do they all give five points to each increased stat?”

“Just watch and find out,” Alanah replied.

Derek smirked and turned his attention back to the auction.

Stella waited for the crowd to settle down before she began her next pitch. “Each of the three vials in front of you contains a Potion of Physical Permanence that increases Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Vitality by three points each. That is a total of 12 stat points. It is on par with a full level from an uncommon rarity class.”

“So everything does depend on the Void Beast used. I bet those potions were made from the same Void Beast used to make the earlier meals,” Derek said.

“Your bet would be correct,” Alanah replied.

“Now…” Stella continued. “As this is a new product of high rarity, and because of the severely limited quantity available…”

Derek snorted. “Severely limited quantity, my ass. I don’t know how many potions he had the time to make, but the materials he has are definitely not ‘severely’ limited.”

“I beg to differ,” Alanah disagreed. “With the number of ingredients he has available and potions Roman has been able to make, compared to the number of people who would want to buy in the entire Kingdom, not to mention continent… severely limited isn’t an exaggeration at all. In fact, I think that is being lenient overall.”

Derek couldn’t argue with her counter. Yes, he provided dozens of Void Beasts, which would create materials for dozens, if not hundreds, of meals and potions, but compared to the size and number of people on the continent, it would really be just a drop in the bucket.

“Touché,” he said. “It is very limited overall, but here, currently, I could say that we are even overstocked. Still, Stella did not lie, only slightly deceived.”

“Besides…” Alanah said. “It’s not like everything we have is being auctioned off today, in one auction. What we are selling today is limited. Very much so.”

Stella continued. “Because of the severely limited quantity available, we will begin this auction at 5,000 gold coins.” She waited for everyone to take in all the information before speaking again. “Begin!”

This time, those lesser houses and members who had bid on the early Void Beast meals weren’t even able to fight for crumbs. The heavy hitters came in right off the bat.

“5,000.”

“That’s 5,000 gold coins from number 45, King Edwin.” Stella announced.

“I’m sorry for the insolence, Your Majesty, but this one cannot pass up this opportunity.” A man spoke up. “I bid 6,500 gold coins.”

“Hahaha.” The King’s laughter rang out from his private booth. “Lord Allister, I would not have it any other way. 7,500!”

“That’s 7,500 gold coins from King Edwin.”

“8,500!”

Craig Allister and King Edwin went back and forth with their bids for some time. Both seemed to be enjoying themselves, and neither wanted to let up.

When the price hit 17,000, Derek spoke to Alanah. “I don’t know if that potion is worth that much.”

“It is worth however much they want to pay. It is an auction, and the potions are new and shiny. They do not know if there will be more later on, or if the quantity is limited to the three vials shown right now,” Alanah replied.

“Does House Allister really have enough money to compete with the King?” Derek asked.

“More than enough, actually,” Alanah responded. “They may be a mid-sized noble family, and may give many of their services away for free, but don’t for one second think they aren’t wealthy. Going on dungeons for the Kingdom pays quite well, as does healing other noble houses. Just because they are generous, doesn’t mean they don’t know their worth.”

“I see. I guess being a healer can be quite the lucrative profession.”

“Yes! Just think about their accumulation of wealth over the generations. Not only are they the number one pick for healers in the Kingdom, they are also sought out when it comes to dealing with dungeons and beasts of the dark affinity.”

“I bet the undying dungeon close to Torith would be a great place for them,” Derek muttered.

“They have already profited a substantial amount from that dungeon. Ever since that dungeon guide was presented some time ago, House Allister has been sending their forces. They have obtain more storage rings from that dungeon than any other house thus far. They are a near perfect counter to the bats, skeleton, and the boss Lich in the dungeon. They only have to be wary of the ghouls.” Alanah explained.

Derek inwardly smiled. He was the one who presented that person with the dungeon guide. So really, he could be the one to blame for some of the recent profits for House Allister. He turned his attention back to the battle taking place in front of him. Now, with a new outlook, he was rooting for Craig Allister.

Eventually, to Derek’s dismay, the King won the first potion for 23,000 gold coins. Potion number two was auctioned off shortly after to Craig Allister for 21,000, which meant that Craig Allister still got the last laugh. The final potion sold to a noble named Svetlana Greenland.

The woman was the head of the high ranked House Greenland. A house known for its affinity to both earth and wood, producing heirs with great support and defensive skills. Their healing wasn’t as good as House Allister’s, and their defensive skills weren’t on par with House Aarden, but their overall ability wasn’t much weaker than either house.

Svetlana Greenland was one of the few Cydarian Nobles of Elven descent. She was tall, even taller than Derek. Her light pink pixy cut hair complimented her soft green eyes. Her short hair did wonders at drawing attention to her Elven ears. She had no shame in her race, and instead of the uppity, conceited attitude towards other races that Derek had noticed from some elves, she was quite kind to everyone, even during her bidding war.

The auction quickly fell into a pace as more meals were carted out. Old rivalries sparked up and new animosities blossomed. It was a much more fun event than Derek had imagined. It was especially interesting when a guest of a House Geiger began hurling insults at multiple bidding noble houses.

The patriarch of House Geiger’s face turned a very particular shade of red as the guest that accompanied him continued to embarrass both himself and the patriarch.

Derek actually enjoyed watching the guest hurl insults. Apparently, he was a good friend of Mason Geiger, the head of House Geiger. The guest was a high-ranking member of the Adventurer’s Guild named Keith Burnes, but was not a noble.

The man reminded Derek of Jim, one of the well-known leaders back on Earth. He had founded a city called Muscle Town that developed into one of the foremost cities in what used to be the United States. He was what one would consider a muscle head. He had bulging muscles, a round face, and very bad case of balding.

The man was one of the nicest people Derek had ever encountered. And he was genuinely nice, as well. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, but you would only have one chance with him. Betray his trust once, and you were dead to him.

Keith and Jim were the spitting images of one another, at least from what Derek could remember about Jim. If Keith would have had a southern accent, Derek could have believed they were brothers. He was a rowdy man, and everything he said was all done in good fun. Derek could tell there wasn’t any actual spite in his words, no matter what he said.

Most everyone else seemed to know that as well, as they either played along or just ignored the man.

According to Alanah, the man was well known in the Adventurer’s Guild. He hadn’t obtained a membership to the Crown Restaurant yet, but that was only because he had yet to try. She seemed to quite enjoy his antics, as well. Apparently, he even had a decent amount of money saved, as he was able to bid and win one of the better Void Beast meals being offered.

Every time the man bid on an item, Derek inwardly cheered for him. After a while, the man actually won another auction. This time, it was one of the potions made by Roman.

Derek couldn’t even keep track of the amount of money he was bound to make. Some of the higher tier meals even broke the 100,000 gold mark. Those who attended the auction were truly cash cows. Finally, a worker carted out yet another covered plate.

“Our next auction is special, as it will not be auctioned for money, but for trade,” Stella informed the crowd. She uncovered the plate, and a single meal sat in the middle. “This meal was prepared from a special Void Beast. Though not the strongest we have ever encountered, it was up there.”

A hush fell over the crowd as they listened with bated breath.

“As for the stat allotment…” she drew the silence in before continuing. “28 Strength, 18 Endurance, and 16 Intelligence.” Stella smiled as the crowd drew in a collected breath before going crazy. She put her hand up to silence them. “For this Void Beast meal… a meal that provides a whopping 62 extra stat points. We are looking for a weapon.”

That statement caused most in the crowd to frown. What kind of weapon would be worth that many permanent stat points?

“Now, now…” Stella started back up. “We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t believe someone could provide this weapon.”

“What kind of weapon?” someone from the crowd shouted the question.

“What we are looking for is a glaive.” At that, Stella flicked her wrist, and a glaive appeared in her hand-Derek’s old glaive. “This is the model for the glaive we want. This is just a reference. As long as the glaive is of good quality, it will be considered.”

Derek sat up in his seat. This was the part of the auction he was most excited about. Forget about the money and fame, what he wanted was a weapon that could withstand his void powers. He was tired of using his fists. It was time for him to get back to his old fighting style.

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