Chương 631: Limitless Path Chapter Six Hundred Fifty

Beth and Sera, as was usual for them, didn't mingle during the intermission, which wasn't all that unusual for people on the third floor. There was a reason, or several reasons, why those people had private booths, and mixing in with the rest of the people there to attend the auction, even other third floor people, wasn't a part of those reasons.

Other than magic rocks, the first half of the auction had been pretty mild, all things considered, and Beth commented that she hoped the firm was going to kick it into gear in the second half, which had Sera laughing. Apparently, after delving level five hundred dungeons for months at a time, Beth had started to get a slightly skewed opinion of what exactly constituted amazing items.

The auction resumed after the intermission had dragged on for quite some time, though it was just more time that Beth got to spend with Sera, so she didn't have any good excuse to complain. It looked like they were going with the strategy, the trading firm, that is, of starting the second half with a bang, one loud enough to make even Beth sit up and take notice.

Not that she was seriously considering buying the item on display, but it was a lot better than the other stuff they had seen so far, especially considering their big haul at this point was a pile of magic rocks. The opening item for the second half was a starship, something that would normally be reserved at Seven Lights for the finale, even of the yearly auction, but they were wheeling it out early, so to speak. After going through the information on the display screen, Beth could more understand why.

Yes, it was a starship. Yes, it had a working FTL drive. Yes, it had armoring and weapons. But, overall, the entire product was… somewhat lacking. The FTL drive, quite frankly, sucked, and that was coming from someone who had a 'slower' drive FTL in their one starship. The weapons and armor weren't anything to write home about, either, and the ship, overall, was pretty cramped. It was both smaller than Beth's cruiser and had more room taken up by machinery and gear.

It was at least enough to get people to sit up and take notice, quite literally in several cases, including Beth's, and that kicked off a more fiery auction half than they had previously experienced before the break. The bidding on the starship was fierce, a lot fiercer than Beth had expected to see, and Sera commented that she had heard from her clan that starships were in short supply right now.

It traced back to a war, as a lot of bad things usually did, and supply lines being all messed up throughout the galaxy. Considering that contact with other galaxy was very sparse, mainly due to price and power, it wasn't an opportunity where their market was open to extra-galactic sales. It was just a time when their market was suffering and would have to tough it out.

If Beth and the team had an extra starship laying around they didn't need, which they didn't, it was a seller's market currently, but she doubted they were going to stumble onto a working starship out in the wilds, especially given the frenzy for them currently. Even the one they had stumbled on, their cruiser, had needed quite a bit of work; it wasn't like the things just grew on trees, even in a magical universe with crazy dungeons and ancient secrets.

The starship as the opener was a good gambit, and the fact that it took a while to sell actually worked in Seven Lights' favor, in her opinion. Such a big ticket item, up on the stage for so long, with serious and very expensive bids getting thrown around, actually got the crowd pumped it. It was a strange effect of auctions, or that happened in auctions, that most people that were there barely put in a bid, and very few would win even a single item, but the atmosphere was what counted.

See people throwing out coins that the people sitting on the first floor might never see in their whole lives like they were water or cheap trinkets was a thrill in and of itself and why many of the first, and even second, floor participants attended the auctions. Of course, there were usually lots that they could bid on, in the monthly auctions at least, but there weren't guaranteed to be any items like that in the yearly event.

The starship eventually went for somewhere in middle adamantine range, not quite half a neutronium, which would have been rather pricey for a ship of that size and capability, but it was a hot commodity right now. What followed was a series of very high-end weapons, something that didn't really interest Beth and Sera quite as much, though it was a good gauge of the kinds of things that were currently selling or in high demand.

As usual, the swords went for crazy prices, with so many Wayfarers being sword users, the demand was always outstripping the supply, especially since a lot of people got into fights that wound up damaging or destroying their swords. Beth was something of an exception, considering she didn't use her sword all the time and that she could fight without any equipment with her hand-to-hand skill and the toughness of her body.

Not that her gauntlets or other gear was bad or didn't provide big bonuses, she just didn't need anything else to fight and sometimes didn't even use her very powerful gauntlets. After a series of weapons, there were another two lots that made Beth and Sera perk up, not necessarily because they absolutely had to have the items, but because it was a further representation of what would be coming up in the final part of the auction, including the finale.

There were two single-use, tier five skill crystals, meaning the skills within could go up to adamantine rank at the very minimum, and might even be pushed to neutronium rank, though most people didn't discuss that. Pushing a skill that far was incredibly difficult, so even using it to advertise as the potential the skill could reach wasn't done all that often, but it was possible. Higher tier skills were, overall, just better than lower tier skills, which was big draw that pulled most people in.

Many people would never get a skill beyond Diamond, and many would never get even one skill to Diamond, so discussing higher ranks and levels was a bit of a pipe dream. Most were concerned with what happened at Platinum to the skill, and how it compared when measured up against other skills at Platinum rank, which was kind of short-sighted, in Beth's opinion.

The wall between Platinum and Diamond wasn't all that big, not even as difficult to scale for most skills as the wall between Gold and Platinum, but it was still something people didn't try for. Neither of the skills was anything Beth, nor Sera, needed to work with their current builds, and neither was a skill that particularly interested either of them. If either of the skills was in any way good for the team, Beth would have put in bids, but both seemed to be fairly niche.

The first skill up allowed the wielder to create and control multiple blasts or vortexes of air, though it wasn't a spell system; it was linked to movement, either of the body or a weapon. Given that, it didn't really suit anyone on their team, though the bids out on the floor certainly showed it was popular, popular enough that the fourth floor got involved in a serious way.

Beth understood that it was a very powerful skill, particularly in the right hands, its just that those hands weren't hers, or anyone on her team, for that matter. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The second skill crystal was a bit more interesting, being something that allowed the user to sacrifice speed for toughness.

While that was interesting, basically everyone on her team had a defensive skill or two, and those that didn't relied on their speed to avoid danger. A skill that let someone turtle up to avoid injury wasn't something she wanted, Sera and Bjorn had better defensives, and everyone else, from Val to Blood to even Andrea, were better suited to stay light on their feet and keeping moving in a serious fight.

Some kind of melee fighter that wanted to use the skill in brief windows to easily withstand a hit that would have otherwise done them serious injury and then turn the skill off again was an interesting possibility, but it wasn't any of her team's style. That skill crystal went to somebody up on the fourth floor that hadn't bothered being nice about it, bidding by two or three orichalcum coins at a time until raising the bid by ten at the very end, driving off the rest of the competition.

"I hope they have something interesting soon," Beth grumbled a bit, getting a little handsy with Sera while they watched the next lot get wheeled out.

"I hope they have something weird again," Sera laughed.

"That's one of the best parts of auctions, is finding a bizarre treasure that turns out to be really valuable. That and finding something that you know is super valuable but somehow nobody else recognizes its worth, though I think I've used up that luck for the next decade."

"By winning a pile of magic rocks," Beth commented, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, when you get to experience these magic rocks, you'll be a believer, too," Sera said, laughing as she poked at Beth.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure your magic rocks are amazing," Beth said in a pseudo-mocking tone.

"Trust me when I say I cannot wait to get them crafted into their final form," Sera said with another short laugh.

"Even without getting the other two lovely ladies involved, it's still going to be an experience that, how do you say it, 'knocks your socks off'?"

"You're talking it up quite a bit," Beth said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Sera with a slight frown.

"Don't over-promise and under-deliver."

"I won't, trust me," Sera said, squeezing her tail where it was wrapped around Beth.

"Guaranteed best massage experience so far or your money back."

"Well, since it's free, I'm not sure about that guarantee," Beth said, still looking a bit dubious.

"Oh hush, it'll be great. Besides, the next item's up," Sera said, looking at the next lot. It was, unfortunately, a boring lot, as it was a group of precious stones and crystals meant to throw a bit of a bone to the crafters and those with skilled crafters in their factions. Beth and her team had plenty, more than plenty, absolute tons of crafting materials, enough to supply all nine of them for several years and more at this point, so most things didn't interest her.

If they found stuff like this laying around in the wild or in a dungeon? Hell yeah, she would be all over it, and excited about it, to boot. But paying lots of money for some slightly nice gems? Not a chance. Though, the rest of the audience clearly didn't agree, and everyone started bidding, starting with the first floor and percolating up the stack.

It was a valuable lot, and the materials were quite nice, but it also wasn't some multi-neutronium piece, either, so a lot of those in attendance thought they could at least throw out a bid, even if it was a small one or small increment of the current bid. That dragged out the lot far longer than Beth thought it should have taken, really overstaying its welcome in her opinion, but it at the very least kept the audience's excitement, if not even increasing it.

There were a few more lots after that that Beth really had no interest in, and nothing within them caused Sera to sit up and take notice, either, so no more magic rocks or weird items that nobody else understood. As they started to approach the end stretch, there was a lot that interested Beth, greatly interested her, in fact, and more than made her sit up, she was leaning forward in her chair when it was presented.

It wasn't a weapon, piece of armor, crafting materials, or even a skill crystal; instead, it was a token, a very special token, one she wasn't sure how even Seven Lights had managed to acquire. Even given the fact that they auctioned items for others, she wasn't sure who would put this up, but she was prepared to spend a lot to get it. Not bankrupt them, of course, but having tons of money in her stat screen did nothing for her, even if she needed even more to get a place in the City and on Arbitus Prime.

This, however, this would be a good use of all that money they currently had, plus the money they had coming in from other sales. The lot was a token, as had been said on its introduction, but what was really special was that it gave anyone the chance to challenge a unique instance, and instance where combat was the sole focus. Anybody could use it, and the instance would tailor the challenge based on the person participating, which was the only downside.

No team entrance there, only a single individual using the token a single time for one shot at completing the instance. The instance was supposed to be incredibly long and difficult, as well, but far from discouraging Beth, that was like music to her ears, making her want the token even more. Why this wasn't part of the finale, which was still a few lots from starting, she had no idea, but she was going to get this come hell or high water.

Based on the simple description of the instance and how it worked, it was like it was customized just for her, the perfect instance that she would want to run just how she would want to run it. The bidding was fierce, at least at first, but she soon learned why it wasn't a finale item. Interest was there, to be sure, but it wasn't the kind of interest that set the place on fire.

The fact it was a solo challenge, the fact that it was very difficult, and the fact it was supposed to be extremely long, taking months to complete, made it less appealing to many others than it was to Beth. While it was almost tailor made for her, the rest of the crowd wasn't quite as excited. Sure, there were fabulous prizes for completion, or so the auctioneer assured the venue, but the difficulty, danger, and time investment just weren't worth it for many people.

It was a nice appetizer before the last few items, but it wasn't going to be the main feature itself. Which was also to say, the final price was well within Beth's budget, though it was more than two adamantine coins before she raise the bid five orichalcum in one go and won it.

She had been bidding against a fourth floor personage, and they gave up with a sound of disgust at Beth's final bid, not willing to keep pumping the price higher over something that was more a passing fancy than something they desperately needed.