System Change

Derek and Alanah both waited in their booth until most of the participants cleared out. Some time later, other than a few people, only those who had won an auction, and those who were with them, remained.

Alanah and Derek chose then to leave their booth. Derek needed to find Malorie and Rudy, while Alanah had a whole load of things she needed to take care of as the host of the auction.

Once Alanah left his side, Derek looked around at all those remaining. Finally, he caught sight of Malorie and Rudy standing together, close to the exit. He soon squeezed through the few remaining guests and made his way to his people.

When Malorie saw Derek approaching, her eyes lit up, and she moved to meet him, dragging Rudy along behind her.

“Wow! Derek… that’s was amazing!” she said as they drew close.

“It was a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be. Especially learning about the prices of everything.” Derek agreed.

“The Soul Contract was much more special than the auction.” Rudy did his best to ruin the mood. “Auctions happen all the time. Do you know how rare it is to see a Soul Contract be undone?”

“Oh, so you’re saying that auctions that sell items for one million gold or more happen all the time and are very common?” Malorie chided.

“Well… obviously, the auction was special.” Rudy conceded.

“Yeah, and had some of the most powerful people in the entire Kingdom as participants. The King was here, for heaven’s sake,” she continued.

Derek snorted. “That’s the least special thing that happened today.”

“For you, maybe,” Malorie shook her head. “I grew up in a small village. Now I’m in the same room as the King and sitting at the same table as nobles. I don’t even know what to say. They don’t even seem to look down on me, either.”

“Are you glad you came?” Derek finally asked.

“Of course!” Malorie said. “I met so many people and learned a lot. Stella was amazing!”

“You know that’s going to be you next, right?” Derek said. “When Brandi starts pumping out amazing items, you will be the one in charge of everything. Remember, you are our Stella.”

Derek let her have a moment to process before shifting his focus to Rudy. “What about you? You think you may have increased your business today?”

“I can’t know for sure, but I tried my best,” Rudy replied. “Though I worry that all the advertising I did was lost after such an auction took place.”

“That would make sense,” Derek said.

“That is why we are by the exit. I made sure to get here first so my face will be the last face people see before they exit the auction. Surely that will help them remember.” Rudy grinned.

“Always thinking about business.”

“Of course! How could I let this opportunity slip?”

“That’s fine, I guess.” Derek rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I have to stay behind and take care of some things, so you two can go back whenever you want. Don’t wait for me.”

While everyone was leaving the hotel or going up to their own rooms, Stella had made her way to a private room set up for the sole purpose of fulfilling all the auction agreements. She was doing her best to remain professional, but it was hard not to think about the auction. Sure, all the auctions she and the Crown had hosted before were big, but rarely did an item get sold for more than a few hundred thousand gold.

But this auction had items, not just one, selling for over one million gold coins. It was ridiculous. She had maintained her cool out in the open, but when the King offered his price for the Vitality Elixir, she had nearly gasped. Luckily, she didn’t. She was a professional through and through.

It was now time for Stella to exchange items with the guests. She began by having the Crown workers direct the participants to her based on what item they won. The line was moving at a rapid pace, as most of the participants, especially the early bidders, were anxious to get their winnings and go.

As one of the participants exchanged their gold for one of the lesser meals and left the room, she was surprised by who came in next. The small stature Natalie stuck her head in the door, then walked in, closing the door behind her.

Stella was sure that there should have been many guests coming before her. “Miss Savannah, you’re here much earlier than I expected.” She wasn’t quite prepared for someone like Natalie yet. She would be less nervous around the King. When she was around Natalie, she always felt the same way as she did when she was around Alanah before getting to know her.

“Mhm.” Natalie mumbled as she hopped in the chair on the opposite side of Stella’s desk. “I’ve many things that need my attention, and I don’t have time to wait in line. The auction took too much of my time away from me than I would have liked, so I won’t stay here longer than I’m needed.”

Stella nodded her head. Natalie was a busy woman. She would have to be to keep a city such as Savannah running as well as it does. Alanah only had the restaurants and a few hotels running throughout the Kingdom, and she had Stella and Avery to help her, and they were still far more busy than anyone would expect.

With the amount of businesses Natalie has to keep up with, plus all her other endeavors, she was probably the busiest woman in the Kingdom. Stella couldn’t fault her for skipping ahead, and she doubted anyone else would, either. Well, anyone other than Alanah and Derek. She heard Derek wasn’t a big fan of people cutting in line.

“Very well,” Stella said as she pulled out the three meals Natalie had won. “Your total is 2,475,000 gold coins.”

A card appeared in Natalie’s hand and she tossed it over to Stella. “It’s all on that card.” She reached over the table and stored her meals before hopping back up out of her seat and waiting for Stella to verify the transaction.

Stella picked up the card and verified the numbers were correct. “Thank you for your patronage.” She nodded at Natalie.

“It was a good auction,” Natalie spoke before she turned and left the room.

Stella sat back in her chair. She wasn’t cut out to deal with people like Natalie Savannah. One Alanah was more than enough. At that moment, she decided that it was time to start her leveling process once again. She had put it off in favor of her skills for years.

Being around Alanah for so long had tempered her willpower, and her most used skills were all on the higher end. Yes, she would need to put a dungeon team together. But first, she would need to request for some time off.

Derek watched the door to the private room open and Natalie walk out. She still had her same stoic demeanor, but he could tell she was walking with more pep in her steps. She had, after all, been what he would consider the biggest winner of the auction. Not only did she win those three meals from the intelligent Void Beast, but she also was paid for her role in verifying the authenticity of all the auctioned items.

Derek and Natalie’s eyes met, and she flashed a quick smirk, one that lasted for such a short amount of time that Derek wasn’t sure if he actually seen it. Then she moved toward him from across the room.

“That was a very worthwhile auction,” said as she drew close to him.

“I thought so,” he replied.

“I would love to stay and chat with you, but I have been gone from my manor almost all day today. I shudder to think of all the paperwork that has accumulated while I’ve been gone.”

“Well… I would hate to keep a lady from her paperwork,” Derek said.

That quick smile appeared on Natalie’s face for a split second before she dismissed herself. “Remember, you are welcome to visit me at my manor anytime. Now, I must take my leave.”

“I will remember that,” Derek replied. “Have a wonderful evening.”

Once Natalie left, Derek waited alone in the lobby, watching as the participants entered the room, then left in a rush. Obviously impatient to get back and use their precious goods. Luckily, the line dwindled quickly and when there were only a couple of people left, Alanah found him.

“Come on,” she said. “It’s best if you are there for the remaining winners.”

And it was, as the next person in line was Tyron Blacksteel. The contract to make the glaive would be with Derek, not the Crown.

Derek nodded at King Edwin as he walked past the royal and into the room, where Stella waited with Tyron. The giant of a man turned and frowned when he heard the door open behind him, but smile when he saw Alanah.

“Miss Swan. It is a pleasure, as always,” the smith said.

“Tyron, no need for pleasantries. We are all friends here,” she replied.

The blacksmith then eyed Derek. “You would be… Derek Hunt, correct?”

“That’s me.” Derek smiled. Tyron reached out with his bearlike paw and the two shook hands. “I see those muscles aren’t just for show.”

Tyron snorted. “One day I will hopefully get a chance to invest some into Dexterity to lean myself out. But until then, muscles it is.” Both Derek and Tyron laughed as Alanah and Stella rolled their eyes.

“Anyway, Mr. Blacksteel,” Stella cut in. “Derek is the person who requested the glaive, so your contract will be with him.”

“I see… I was wondering what the Crown wanted with a glaive.” Tyron nodded. Then he flicked his wrist, and the halberd appeared in his hand. He handed it over to Derek. “Go ahead and take this for now.”

Derek gripped the halberd. The shaft was a little thicker than he would have liked, but that made sense, seeing how it was made by Tyron for Tyron. It was a hefty polearm, but Derek didn’t have any problems swinging it around. It was also a tad be long, but that was okay.

“Good weapon,” Derek said.

“I would hope so. It was my companion for many high-level dungeons, and I have upgraded it over time.”

“Now that you are finished with that, let’s sign the contract,” Stella said.

“No need,” Derek replied. “I trust in Alanah’s judgement. If Tyron is good enough for a membership to the Crown, then I trust him to make a proper glaive when he is able. I would rather he not rush through his upcoming… trials because of a contract, and have an accident.”

Stella looked at Alanah and Alanah nodded nonchalantly.

“Very well.” Stella pulled the meal out of her storage ring and slid it over to Tyron. “Here are your winnings. Thank you for your patronage.”

Tyron took the meal and turned to Derek. “I will begin work on your glaive the moment I am able.”

Derek waved him off. “I just got a nifty new-to-me halberd. There’s no rush.”

With that, Tyron Blacksteel left the room. All that was left was the King and his Vitality Elixir. Derek looked forward to choosing a new skill.

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