The interior of the auction house was ticulously arranged, with various artworks draped in velvet cloth on the elevated stage ahead. From their silhouettes, one could discern paintings, sculptures, and jewelry.
As Ye Bai entered, an attendant promptly escorted her to her seat and provided her with a bidding paddle—raising it would suffice to place a bid.
Glancing down at her assigned number, Ye Bai noted: 233.
...Well, this auction was certainly well-attended.
Before long, the auctioneer ascended the stage. The surrounding lights dimd, with the brightest spotlight fixed on the platform. Ye Bai observed the lighting fixtures and nodded approvingly to herself—when it ca to practical technology, the Alchemy School had its advantages.
After completing her class-change quest this ti, she intended to follow the sa approach as she had in iluo City, leveraging the opportunity to establish trade routes in this alchemy-centric city.
At the town-level stage of developnt, comrce was a crucial driver for rapid territorial growth.
Opening trade routes not only granted productivity bonuses but also accumulated faction alignnt. The earlier one started, the greater the benefits in the future.
Just as the auction was about to begin, the staff moved to close the doors—
"Wait!"
A familiar voice rang out. Ye Bai turned to see the two players who had been barred at the entrance earlier, now breathlessly halting the closing doors.
"Let them in." The manager who had shooed them away earlier reappeared, his expression unreadable. He instructed the bewildered guards before ushering the pair inside and seating them in the last row.
"Hmm?"
Ye Bai was surprised. She hadn’t expected them to find a way in.
But judging by their unchanged attire, they must have leveraged a quest or an NPC’s influence to gain entry.
After a brief glance, she shifted her attention back to the stage.
The auctioneer tapped his gavel, redirecting the audience’s focus from the latecors.
"Distinguished guests, welco to the Figor Treasure Auction! Today, we present thirty-two rare and exquisite treasures, each a marvel of its kind. May every one of you leave satisfied!"
With the auctioneer’s grandiose introduction, the event officially comnced.
"Now, let us unveil our first item—a masterpiece by a renowned painter from two centuries ago..."
The auction proceeded smoothly, with every item receiving bids. While not all fetched exorbitant prices, none were left unsold—a relief, given the potential awkwardness of a failed lot.
Ye Bai remained inactive, waiting for her target. anwhile, she discreetly monitored the two players, noting their continued silence in the bidding.
...
In the back row, the two players kept their eyes fixed on the stage.
Suddenly, the alchemist among them tensed with excitent as the next item was announced.
"It’s here! This is the one!"
"Lot twenty-one—ah, a prized treasure indeed! The [Klein-97] Alchemical Golem! Registered in the Laen City Golem Archives, complete with all legal docuntation."
As the velvet drape was lifted, the auctioneer launched into a persuasive spiel.
"Though this artifact has lost its magical essence, the Klein-series golems were only produced for a decade, and this 97th model is the very last. Its historical significance and collectible value are beyond question. Would any of our esteed guests wish to own this unique and invaluable treasure?"
"The starting bid for this Klein-97 Alchemical Golem is—just 1 gold coin!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd, but no imdiate bids followed.
After all, none of the NPCs present were blind. A fully functional standard golem typically sold for over 20 gold coins, and even deactivated models in good condition were highly sought after by collectors, having once fetched up to 10 gold coins.
But "good condition" was the operative phrase.
The golem now on display could only be described as "utterly battle-worn."
Golems were typically humanoid constructs of various materials, though so took animalistic forms depending on aesthetic trends. They were known for their rigid fras and limited joint mobility, as their strength lay in spellcasting rather than lee combat.
The specin on stage, however, was a far cry from that ideal. Half its body had lted away, as if ravaged by so terrifying corrosive force. Only half a head and a hollowed-out torso remained. Were it not for the accompanying certificates, it could easily be mistaken for a broken sculpture.
The reason for buying the golem ho was also to flaunt one's strength and wealth. This golem was so unrecognizable that it failed to win the favor of the noble rchants present, leading to a brief awkward silence in the auction hall.
Just as the auctioneer wiped his forehead in embarrassnt, a bidding paddle was raised from the very last row of the venue. The number on the paddle was 261, and the auctioneer quickly recognized it as belonging to the guest who had arrived last.
The auctioneer imdiately called out, "Bidder 261! Bidder 261 has a keen eye for treasures with an offer of 1 gold and 5 silver coins! Are there any other bidders?"
Su Da, who had raised the paddle, watched the cold response in the auction hall, his heart pounding wildly. Beside him, his gunslinger companion Helin also wore a tense expression.
This was a chance to snag a bargain!
The day before, Su Da had completed a quest for an NPC noble nad Sir Luo Fu, delivering bills in the city. By coincidence, he had entered the Figor Treasure House and, while passing by a damaged golem being transported, triggered a temporary quest called "A Strange Feeling."
After learning from the NPC that the golem would be auctioned the next day, Su Da followed the quest clues to the Laen City Golem Archives. There, he completed a task for the archivist to raise his favorability enough to access the records of decommissioned golems.
He then set aside leveling up and spent an entire in-ga day ticulously combing through piles of docunts, eventually uncovering the reason behind this golem's decommissioning.
Finally, he enlisted his friends to help gather old newspapers ntioning a mage's exposure, investigated the mage’s rented alchemy lab, and consulted historians to decipher a historical clue called "Transcendent Collapse."
"Transcendent Collapse"—just the na alone sounded extraordinary!
Su Da hadn’t followed the mainstream interstellar trend of becoming a mage or warlock. Instead, he had chosen the "external-reliant" path of an alchemist after careful consideration of the ga’s chanics.
Alchemists were a "gold-sinking" profession—not real-world gold, but in-ga currency. They were both rich and poor because their combat style relied on controlling alchemical constructs. Crafting new items cost money, and battle losses drained funds fast. Even if they could earn by selling constructs to players and NPCs, the gold was quickly spent again.
In reality, Su Da was one of the heirs to a top-tier financial conglorate in a galactic civilization—not one of the more common interstellar agents in the Blue Star server. Busy improving his real-world ntal strength, he had coincidentally registered in the Blue Star server and ended up settling in Laen City.
Financially, Su Da was far wealthier than other Blue Star agents. His civilization was controlled by a few major conglorates, and his family was one of them.
Leveraging his advantages, Su Da chose to beco an alchemist and, just like in real life, exploited the labor of millions to fuel his own growth, amassing vast amounts of in-ga gold to rapidly level up his character and enhance his ntal strength.
To Su Da, this hidden quest was likely about repairing the golem. If he could possess a golem—sothing only a level 40 alchemist could normally obtain—while still in his twenties, he would undoubtedly beco the top player in Laen City’s circles.
Even in the entire Blue Star server, he would rank among the strongest, second only to Ye Bai.
"Bidder 233! 1 gold and 10 silver coins!"
The auctioneer’s voice rang out again, snapping Su Da out of his thoughts. Each paddle raise, without an additional verbal bid, defaulted to a 5-silver increase.
Without hesitation, Su Da raised his paddle again, this ti shouting, "1 gold and 50 silver coins!"
"Bidder 233 counters with 1 gold and 55 silver coins!" The auctioneer’s tone grew livelier as the bidding war heated up.
Su Da glanced toward the source of the bid but saw only darkness. All he knew was that Bidder 233 sat sowhere in the middle of the auction hall. He had hoped his aggressive raise would force the other party to back down, but they imdiately countered.
Su Da raised his paddle again. "1 gold and 80 silver coins."
The auctioneer: "1 gold and 85 silver coins."
"2 gold coins!" Su Da shouted, frustration simring in his chest.
Gold in the Ten Thousand Realms was precious. If this were a real-world auction, he would have already jumped the bid drastically.
Su Da was practically the richest player in Laen City, with over 3 gold coins in liquid assets. If he liquidated more holdings or bought gold in the real-world market, he could scrape together another gold coin.
Before coming to the auction, he had researched thoroughly—golems in such terrible condition had never sold for more than 5 gold coins.
After a brief silence, Su Da thought his opponent had finally given up. But then, a lazy voice cut through the air:
"Five gold coins."
Su Da's head buzzed: Didn't they say it wouldn't exceed 5 gold coins...
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