Limitless Path Chapter Six Hundred Eighty-Eight (Patreon)

The sword had almost been a signal, as, after its sale, the next several lots were better than anything they’d seen so far. It wasn’t that those lots had been bad, by any means, with some of them of the equivalent that Beth would expect not just at Seven Lights’ yearly auction, but even as one of the final pieces at that rather prestigious auction. It was just that, other than the blood skill, there really hadn’t been anything that interested her team. The teleport skill was mediocre, especially when one’s team had a powerful, skilled space mage that had at least one skill crystal for teleportation skills on them. Anyone on Beth’s team could learn a teleportation skill, from a master of the craft, without having to buy anything.

The next lots were all weapons, which was a bit of a theme; show a strong item, then follow up with a few more of that type. How items were presented, including how they were grouped together, was important for maximizing the crowd’s interest and excitement. An excited and happy crowd was a crowd that was willing to spend, maybe even go a bit over budget, to get that perfect item, and auction houses well understood this psychology. At least, the successful ones understood it quite well, anyway.

The items were of increasing quality, and rarity, from there, building up towards the first break or end of the first segment, however one viewed it. Most of their team didn’t need weapons, but not everyone had something amazing. Beth was still set for a while; it would be quite some time before her current sword was past its prime, and she would hopefully be able to make herself something by that point, though she wasn’t so sure about that. Sera had a good weapon, obviously, having just spent a lot to buy her new spear recently, and several of the others had good weapons. Blood’s soulbound weapon was still quite good, and it would always be relatively nice for her level, so she wasn’t all that concerned. Besides, with her incredibly control of blood, she didn’t really need to have an amazing weapon to be very lethal.

The rest of the group was at varying levels, with Bjorn having something quite good, all the way down to Andrea having something pretty old at this point. If they could pick up a set of weapons for her, some nice heavy gauntlets, then that would be a pretty good deal. Kris could also use something new, but she was a bit tougher, as not as many people made staffs like she used, though they weren’t totally absent. It would just have to be something more specific, as her weapon had to compliment her casting and not interfere with it, which was more of a concern for her than for others.

Nothing particularly interesting in the weapons popped up, but there was a very nice piece of armor that garnered interest at the table, and not just because of the level and the bonuses. It was a helm that was more of a crown than anything, harking back to the days when Beth had worn something similar that used a force screen to block attacks from hitting her. Such things weren’t very commonly seen at higher levels, as crafting them was difficult, and making them powerful enough to block the kinds of attacks that someone like Beth would be dealing with on a regular basis was even more so. Beth really liked the look of it, however, and started joining in on the bidding, which drove one of the other tables on the second floor out of the competition immediately. It wasn’t so much that they were ceding to her because of some level of respect, but more they had a deep impression of Beth flexing her power earlier. Despite her still being an Enlightened, which her rebirth clearly showed, the amount of power she had been able to output had rather overawed a lot of the attendees.

Winning the new helm for ten orichalcum wasn’t all that difficult, and that much was still small potatoes to Beth, though too much spending would add up. They might have dozens of neutronium saved up for the deed, but spending on every little thing that came up would bleed them dry if they weren’t too careful. Still, two or three purchases weren’t going to hurt all that much, and Beth was sent the helmet without having to wait until the end of the auction. It was more a circlet than a crown, she saw once she had it in hand, and it wouldn’t interfere with her own crown if she used her Presence, which was quite nice. The bonuses were rather nice as well:

Circlet of Greater Insight

{This circlet is the product of a great smith and artisan, forged for maximum clarity of vision. One who wears it gains the ability to peer deeper into their surroundings.

25% increased Endurance

50% increased Intelligence

50% increased Wisdom

Minimum level 500.

Allows the wearer to use mana to perceive illusions and the false of mind.}

Beth tossed the circlet in her spatial ring; nobody at the venue was wearing armor, though some did have their weapons out, but that was an affection some Wayfarers had that was largely overlooked. She would investigate just how powerful the ability to peer through illusions and lies was later, though she was just assuming the false mind part was talking about seeing through lies or other deceptions that people thought up.

The first break wasn’t only a little after that, about another hour passing with some impressive, if uninteresting, items going across the stage. The host, the same beautiful woman that had started hours ago, was still going strong, not a drop of sweat on her and nothing but calm confidence on her face. She hadn’t reacted to anything that had happened so far other than to watch amiably or to intervene to calm harsh tempers and strong words. She was entirely unflappable, and Beth didn’t believe for a minute that the woman had only done five rebirths; she was quite sure the woman must be someone capable of hiding her rebirths or using an item to manipulate her status. She was doubly sure because, unlike most of the other yokels, she had gotten a very good read of the woman when she unleashed her Ideal. She had gotten a good read of everyone in the building when she had done that, other than a few of the private boxes on the third floor, and so she had a pretty good idea who was up on that stage.

The last item presented before they went to the first long intermission was a spatial item that made Beth’s necklace look like a shiny bit of metal. It had enough space inside that it was roughly the size of a small country, if Beth thought about countries from before the world changed with the start of the Path. It was at least a couple hundred miles to a side, and it was also capable of containing living things. Now, it wasn’t all that much compared to Beth’s medallion, but it was still an incredible item and that was clear from the bidding. It was also clear that people were still watching Beth and her table after her display earlier and there were definitely whispers and hushed conversations when her table showed no interest at all in the item. Beth even thought about throwing in a bid just to play the game, as it were, but she didn’t want anyone that might have a legitimate shot to give up on it because they didn’t want to fight against a future Exalted.

After the necklace sold, it was time for the first break, and staff moved to attend every table. They were able to order food and drink at any time during the event, but now they had someone check on them to make sure they weren’t going without. Other than ordering some expensive alcohol, their table was largely fine, though Sera could always eat something. She tried to keep her gluttony skill out of sight and out of mind, but she would always take the opportunity to eat given that it presented itself.

Many people got up and wandered the are during the break as well, and Beth wasn’t surprised that several people from her table engaged others. Val was a known commodity, even here, but the woman enjoyed networking, and would talk with just about anyone. There was a reason she had been acting as the leader of the Young Scions, after all, and she proved that here with talking to many throughout the venue. Andrea was always ready for a good time, so a little different angle to approach the same thing, socializing, and she went around sharing a drink and a laugh with many of the people on the first floor before the second part was kicking off.

The opening item of the second section was a starship, and not anything cheap or small. It was the size of a skyscraper, if not a lot larger, and had the kinds of drives that most people only dreamed about owning, able to jump between systems at the drop of a hat. Well, maybe not quite that fast, but it had a jump drive that, if the specs were to be believe, had insane range and speed, with a massive power plant to back it up. The weapon load out was also enough to scorch a small, or even large, star system, and the shields would need an Exalted to crack in any reasonable frame of time. It was, to be perfectly honest, something that Beth still dreamed of owning, though she already had a lot of very fine things.

That dream was going to remain a dream for now, however, as they starting price alone was three neutronium, and there was no way a ship like that was going for anything near that price. When the third floor boxes started joining in right away, or from very early in the bidding, she new that was right, especially since they ignored the minimum bid of five adamantine coins and started raising the price by a neutronium at a time, going back and forth quite rapidly. The hostess didn’t even need to really add anything, as the competition was fierce without her extolling the virtues of the item or goading people to spend even more to out compete the others.

It also made Beth a bit leery about the deed, considering that was what many people here considered the big prize of this running of the auction. If people were bidding like this, even if the item was a very nice one, she wasn’t sure they really could compete with the others for the deed. Then again, a house, even a nice one in an amazing location, wasn’t a starship at the level of a battleship with cutting edge technology, so maybe the deed wouldn’t be all that bad.

Someone eventually got the ship for fifty-eight neutronium, which was a little less than Beth had started, but it was clear at the fifty neutronium mark that people were starting to get a little wary of bidding anymore. Whether that was because that was all their funds or because they were saving for something else, something like the deed or the big finale items, she wasn’t sure, but she was certainly hoping for the former and not the latter. If they could just out-muscle everyone on the deed, she’d be happy to give up what the finale item was, as long as it wasn’t an even better deed. That was the only thing she was really worried about, was finding out the two super secret items at the end contained a deed and property that was way better than the one that had been advertised around before the auction started.

The second segment of the auction was much fiercer than the first, considering how much more valuable the items were. It was pretty clear that the initial section had just been to whet the attendee’s appetites and the second section was where the real, big ticket items were going to be displayed. The ship was followed by a level one thousand set of armor, and it was a full set, not just a single piece, something that had everyone in attendance buzzing, though only some of the wealthier bid. That was followed by another sword, though this one was far superior to the earlier examples, and that was followed by a lot of crafting supplies, though these were of a value that made even Beth boggle at the initial price. It was nearly as much as the ship, though the bidding didn’t drive the final price to that of the ships.

It was during this section that their second item came up, and Beth was eagerly looking forward to what they could make off the liquid. She hadn’t set a reserve, which might have been foolish, but she trusted such an esteemed auction house to know what they were doing and to get the full value with her having to tell them a price. She was also hopeful that the plethora of crafting materials so far indicated that there were a lot of crafters here today and that they hadn’t all shot their shots before now.

The container she had provided was gone, which wasn’t a big surprise, and had instead been replaced by a clear container that showed off the liquid within, sloshing just slightly as it was moved into place. There was already a buzz of conversation as the container was wheeled out, but when the hostess explained what it was before cracking the lid and letting just a little of the scent waft out into the venue, that buzz turned into a cacophony. There were people ready to bid before the go-ahead was even given, and the initial price really seemed like a tame suggestion when the venue got going.

People from all three floors were bidding, and there were even offers, as well as insults and threats, being called back and forth. Would this luminary like to trade some of the liquid for a favor? Would this person be interesting in combining fortunes to work with the liquid together? All of it just added to the excitement, and Beth watched the price climb through two neutronium, then three, then four, before breaking past five and suddenly shooting up as the third floor guests started really going to war. It wasn’t as fierce a war as over the starship, but it was definitely a fight, and they battled until the current bid was over twenty neutronium. With the auction house taking eight percent, twenty neutronium was already going to be a huge windfall, but the bidding wasn’t done quite there.

It climbed a little higher before a lull, and then burst forward again. The final price, when the dust cleared, was twenty-eight neutronium, fifteen adamantine, and forty orichalcum, that last little bit thrown in just to be petty on the winner’s part. Beth could care less, as that put them in an even better position for the deed, which wasn’t going to be up until right at the start of the finale section.

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