Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 506: The Final Item

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have yet another rarity on our hands.” The auctioneer introduced the item with a dubious grin, knowing how well it would intrigue those in the private booths. “Here, we have a rare peak-perennial soul art! Though it’s not offensive in any way, it offers some of the strongest defenses among all known soul arts! And the bidding will begin at forty thousand gold-”

“Forty-five-

“FIFTY!”

The private booths aggressively outbid those in the lounge section, making sure to not give up the art.

“Fifty-five thousand!” Oli declared, startling those in his room while he tested the other bidders.

“Fifty-six thousand!”

“Fifty-seven-”

.....

“Sixty-five thousand!” shouted Oli. He made sure to stand out even more after seeing no one hesitate to outdo his previous bid.

“... SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND!” blurted the auctioneer, waving his arms to get the crowd cheering. “What an offer for such an amazing item! Going once-”

“Sixty-seven thousand!” another bid cried, daring to battle even further.

Oli didn’t back down, showing that he was more than daring to continue. “Seventy-thousand!”

“SEVENTY! THOUSAND! GOLD! ... Going once! ... Going twice! ... SOLD!!

DOOONG! DOOONG! DOOONG!!!

Heaving a long sigh, Oli then chuckled and smiled at his teammates. “Good... The territory needed that.”

No one dared speak up after hearing Oli’s comment. Even if they would’ve personally preferred to get other items, they couldn’t disagree with Oli’s logic.

After a few moments, the auctioneer switched the soul art with the next item. “This, our third-to-last item of the day, is our final weapon! A peak-perennial shortsword crafted by the one, the only Rykard Willis! Such a blade needs no more introduction, so we’ll begin with a bid of forty thousand gold!”

“Forty-”

“Forty-five thousand!”

While the bids went on, the auctioneer kept stealing hidden glances at Oli’s booth. He was eager to see the mysterious youth take it, particularly because Oli was the one to request the item in the first place.

Yet, as the bidding war winded down, no voice cried out from Oli’s booth. The auctioneer expertly hid his surprise with a mask of suspenseful excitement, but he and the auction house staff were all surprised when the final bid was made.

“... Sixty-nine thousand going once! ... Going twice! ... SOLD!”

DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG!!!

None of the staff members understood why the mysterious, influential youth hadn’t bid on the item. However, it wasn’t their job to understand. They were still plenty satisfied by making a killing on the sale so they moved on without considering the matter further.

“We’ve finally reached our second-to-last item, our final peak-perennial piece...” The auctioneer shifted gears, speaking softer to pull the audience in further. “This here is a cultivation technique. It’s a unique light-based technique that boosts both healing and attacking battle arts... Angelic Radiance! We start with Fifty thousand gold-”

“Seventy thousand!”

“...”

Just as before, a pause hung in the air throughout the auction hall thanks to Oli’s straightforward bids.

“WHAT A-”

“Seventy-one thousand!” Another booth argued.

“Seventy-five thousand!”

“SEVENTY! FIVE! THOUSAND! GOOOOLD! SPEC! TACULAR!” The auctioneer almost dove into the crowd as he shouted, “GOING ONCE!”

“... GOING TWICE!”

“Seventy-six-”

“Seventy-eight thousand!” Oli continued to dominate, no matter how much he had to bid.

“Seventy-eight thousand gold! GOING ONCE!”

“... GOING TWICE!!”

“...”

“SOOOLD!!”

DOOONG! DOOONG! DOOOOONG!!!

Now, all eyes were back on Oli’s booth, just as it was at the very beginning of the auction. Except now all feelings of the crowd members were drastically intensified.

Yet the auctioneer and staff members were beside themselves with joy! This proved that this mysterious youth was plenty influential, one among many gathered that day. And that meant they finally had a decent chance of finding a worthy bidder for the final item of the day. As the four peak-perennial items were carted away, the auctioneer stepped forward while the curtains closed behind him.

“LADIES! GENTLEMEN! It’s time! IT’S FINALLY TIME!!”

More and more people began to refocus on the stage due to the unexpected change in the situation. That anticipation left everyone in suspense due to the sudden pause in the auctioneer’s speech. Oli even felt a hand grip his shoulder from behind.

“... After decades and decades of having this kept in storage, we of Icicle Palace believe it’s time to sell one of the most unique items to ever pass through our hands! ... With such a magnificent piece, even we struggle to evaluate its exact price! ... However... There’s one thing we’re certain of... This item is not perennial grade... It’s KING GRADE!”

Everyone’s hearts dropped to the pits of their stomachs and the hand on Oli’s shoulder eased up, slinking back. ‘... Crax.’

“The only problem is,” continued the auctioneer, “we’ve been unable to settle on where in the king realm to grade it! So we’ve decided to take the financial blow and only sell it based on a low-king grading... Now, HERE IT IS!!!”

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

The curtains were pulled open at top speed, unveiling something enormous as all non-stage lights across the auction hall were dimmed completely. Instantly, every single person present was left in complete and utter awe of what stood before them.

The auctioneer walked alongside the huge, ancient stone to demonstrate how massive the item was while running his hand down its side. From what the audience could tell, the auctioneer was a common-sized human man. Yet he was immediately dwarfed by the ancient stone at least four times his height and many, many times his width.

“HERE IT IS! The mysterious fossil that we’ve added to the auction under such short notice!”

‘Any price, Oli. Whatever the price and cost, get it.’

“Due to the absolute rarity of the item, we’ll only take gold offers when paired with other items,” added the auctioneer, trimming the field right away. This time, the auctioneer didn’t hide how his eyes lingered on specific private booths, including Oli’s. “... But before we get into the bidding, I must say this... Icicle Palace lacks the resources to properly harvest the full remains of the beast trapped within, making it impossible to fully recognize which draconic species it belongs to. So rather than paying the exorbitant costs to do so, we’re accepting our losses and offering it to the people here today... There is no starting bid. We’ll leave it up to you to determine your bids, using your tables to present your items up for exchange.”