The teleportation matrix of the Chronos Spire felt completely different from a normal virtual reality login. Vahn Ryker and his newly ford team glided through a tunnel of starlight and landed on the solid marble tiles of the tenth floor.
The glowing blue light of the teleportation circle faded. Instantly, a massive wave of noise hit their ears.
The tenth floor was not a dungeon or a labyrinth at all. It was a massive tropolis known as the Bazaar. Tall white stone structures and gold archways stretched up toward an artificial sky. Thousands of players and NPCs walked around the wide cobblestone streets, shouting prices for rare materials and forming raid parties.
"Target rich environnt," Sia Vance muttered.
Her silver eyes darted across the crowded plaza. She imdiately stepped in front of Vahn and raised her heavy iron tower shield. Her knuckles turned completely white as she gripped the handle. She looked exactly like a secret service agent ready to take a bullet at a mont’s notice!
Vahn let out a genuine laugh and shook his head. He placed a hand on Sia’s shoulder and gently pushed her shield down.
"Sia, if you grip that handle any tighter, you will turn the iron into powder," Vahn spoke in a completely normal voice. He had dropped the robotic tone he used in the lower levels. "Relax. We are here to shop. We are not invading a small country. Stand down before you pull a muscle."
Sia’s face instantly turned a brilliant shade of red!
She scrambled to lower the shield and stiffened her military posture to hide her extre embarrassnt. "Understood! Apologies, Vahn. I was rely assessing the tactical periter. There are a lot of high level players here who might recognize you."
"Let them look," Vahn replied casually as he stepped out of the circle. "If they want to cause trouble, I will just increase the gravity around their boots and let them sink into the pavent. But today is a rest day."
"A rest day?" Aria echoed.
She stepped up beside him and nervously adjusted her grip on her wooden staff. Her erald eyes scanned his face for any signs of the crippling mana exhaustion he suffered earlier.
"You almost drained your entire soul fighting that Spider Queen, Vahn. You should not be walking around like everything is fine. Let check your mana circulation."
Without waiting for his permission, Aria leaned in close. Her delicate fingers glowed with a warm healing light as she pressed them right against his chest. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms washed over him. She was standing so close he could see the tiny freckles across her nose.
"I am perfectly fine, Aria," Vahn said.
Surprisingly, he did not pull away. The old Vahn would have calculated the precise inefficiency of her actions and stepped back imdiately. But looking at the genuine concern in her eyes, he found himself simply enduring her closeness.
"My mana is regenerating at optimal levels."
"He just likes the attention, sister in law," Hana chirped from behind them.
Her dark hair bounced as she skipped forward. She looked remarkably healthy. Her digital avatar was completely free of the illness that plagued her real body. She shot a wicked grin at Aria and tossed a wink at Sia.
"Look at him. He is surrounded by the two prettiest girls in the Spire, and he is trying to act like he is just calculating data."
Aria’s face turned the color of a ripe tomato!
She yanked her hands back from Vahn’s chest and clutched her staff tightly. "Hana! I am simply performing my duties as the party’s healer! It is a strictly professional dical evaluation!"
"Right, right," Hana giggled. She linked her arm through Vahn’s. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Co on, Brother. You said we needed to secure funding. Where are we going?"
"The Golden Scale Auction House," Vahn answered.
He effortlessly guided his sister through the dense crowd. He moved with a relaxed grace and subtly parted the sea of armored players so Hana would not get bumped.
"It is the primary economic hub for the lower Spire. If you want to move bulk inventory or find high tier items, you go to the Golden Scale."
They walked through the winding streets of the Bazaar and left the noisy player stalls behind. Soon, they entered the high end comrcial district. The architecture here shifted from practical stone to expensive obsidian and gold. Heavily armored NPC guards stood outside massive glass storefronts. They projected scary auras that kept the lower level players far away.
Vahn stopped in front of the grandest building on the block. The Golden Scale Auction House featured towering pillars of polished quartz and heavy mahogany double doors.
He pushed the doors open and led his team into the lavish lobby. The floors were lined with plush red carpets. The air slled faintly of expensive incense and old parchnt. Wealthy guild leaders and corporate elites lounged in velvet chairs. They sipped virtual wine while browsing holographic auction catalogs.
Aria looked around and suddenly felt very conscious of her basic white healer robes. Sia shifted uncomfortably. The dents and scratches on her iron shield stuck out like a sore thumb in a room full of glowing armor.
"May I help you?"
A woman materialized from behind a massive mahogany reception desk. She was stunning and dressed in a sleek suit that perfectly accented her curves. Her silver hair was tied up in an elegant bun. Her sharp blue eyes swept over Vahn’s team with a calculating gaze. This was Lunara, the chief auctioneer of the tenth floor.
"You look lost," Lunara continued. Her tone was polite but held a subtle dismissive edge. "The general rchant stalls are three blocks down. This establishnt is for high tier acquisitions and bulk asset liquidation."
"I am aware of where I am," Vahn said.
He stepped up to the desk and leaned casually against the polished wood. He was entirely unbothered by her condescension. "I need to liquidate a substantial amount of inventory. I also want to purchase raw experience items. I was told you manage the largest treasury on this floor."
Lunara raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. She looked at Vahn’s cheap commoner tunic and then at the battered equipnt of his companions.
"With all due respect, sir, we deal in rare boss drops and Epic tier materials. We do not buy basic wolf pelts or rusted swords. Our minimum lot value is fifty thousand credits."
"I have the volu to et your threshold," Vahn replied smoothly.
But before he could open his inventory, his deep purple eyes caught sothing that made his heart skip a beat!
Behind Lunara, displayed on a velvet pedestal and protected by a thick barrier of runic glass, was a featured auction item. It was a small rectangular slab of black glass encased in brushed aluminum. The screen was cracked and the battery was clearly dead.
It was an iPhone!
Vahn’s casual deanor vanished instantly. The faint glowing blue circuit lines flared to life within his irises. His system ability activated on pure instinct. He stared at the device while his mind raced through billions of data points.
This was Aetheria. It was supposed to be a closed digital world. Items from Earth were not supposed to exist here until the Convergence occurred. If a modern smartphone was sitting in an auction house on the tenth floor of the Spire, it ant the boundaries between reality and the ga were already degrading. The tiline was accelerating!
"Where did you get that?" Vahn asked.
His voice dropped an octave, and the sudden coldness in his tone made the air temperature around the desk plumt. Lunara blinked in surprise. She was taken aback by the sudden shift in his aura. She glanced over her shoulder at the display case.
"That? It is an anomaly. A Relic of the Unknown. A high level scouting party found it in a hidden rift on the twelfth floor. It possesses absolutely no magical properties and no stat bonuses. But the collectors are fascinated by its bizarre craftsmanship. Why? Do you recognize it?"
"It is trash," Vahn lied flawlessly.
The blue glow faded from his eyes as he forcefully locked his emotions down. The lifeboat was leaking. He did not have ti to play it safe anymore. He needed absolute power, and he needed it yesterday.
He turned his attention back to Lunara and pulled up his system interface.
"You said your minimum lot value is fifty thousand credits," Vahn stated. A dangerous predatory smile touched the corner of his lips. "Let us test the limits of your vault, Lunara. Clear so floor space. We have business to conduct."
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