The core sold for 3 million Starcoins. The items after also sold for similar numbers. Nothing breached the 5 million mark apart from the first item. Still, the numbers were so astronomical.
In the first session alone, he could count that there were 10 items that all sold for more than 2 million Starcoins.
Time passed and the auction proceeded smoothly. The item that he had come for wasn’t going to be presented in the first session, so by the time the break came, he hadn’t bought anything at all.
“Everyone, this marks the first session of the auction. We will reconvene after an hour.” The old man said. Out of everyone there, he looked like he needed the break the most.
When he said that, everyone got up from their seats to start talking to each other. There were attendants coming into the room with snacks for all the people there. Leo didn’t want to miss the action so he decided to participate in the conversations around him.
“Hello, I am Victor Whitewind, from the Whitewind Family.” One of the men was introducing himself to the lady that was sitting near them. She was also enthusiastic in her response.
“I am Lyra Silvermoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said. Before Leo could even start talking, he realized that the conversation was out of his world. They were nobles socializing with each other while he didn’t even have a last name. He decided not to participate in the discussion and went back to his seat.
As he sat down, someone came and sat beside him. He was a similar age to him. He had brown hair and was wearing a cloak like Leo. He started talking to him.
“Hi, I am Max!” He said.
Leo smiled. He knew instantly that the person beside him wasn’t a noble. He was definitely a commoner like him.
“I am Leo,” he introduced himself.
“You look very young. Are you here with someone?” Max asked him.
He shook his head. “No, I’m alone. What about you?”
Max pointed to one of the corners where there were a few people talking among themselves. There was a person who looked like an adult version of Max there. He had the same brown hair and was talking to some nobles.
“That’s my dad. He came here to make connections. Are you buying something?” He asked.
Leo nodded. “Yes, I am trying to buy a pill. It should come up in the next session. Are you not buying anything?”
“Nope,” he said. “Everything here is for mages. There are only a few items for Aura Knights that I can’t even use. They are either for rich families or powerful Aura Knights. I am neither.”
Leo smiled. He was one of the persons buying the pill that would help him become an Aura Knight. As they were talking, the discussion of academies came up.
“Oh, I am in the Solhaven Academy for Aura Knights. I am planning on going to Eldridge once I break through to become a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. Then I can join one of the academies there. It might take me a year or two.” Max said. “I never saw you there. Do you go somewhere else?”
Leo shook his head. “No, I am not in an academy yet. I am going to think about it next year when the admission cycle starts.”
While they were talking, the auctioneer came back to the podium.
“I hope you enjoyed the break. We are now resuming the auction.” He said.
Max quickly went back to his seat while Leo took his book out and started observing the auction. The items in the second session were a lot less expensive than the ones in the first session and he could see that more people in the general admission categories were bidding for them. None of them even crossed a million Starcoins.
Eventually, the item that Leo had come for appeared on the podium. The auctioneer announced the item.
“The next item is the Swift Ascension Pill. This pill will help your child break through into the first circle to become a real Aura Knight! Bidding starts at 500,000 Starcoins!” The auctioneer tried to hype the pill up but it wasn’t useful. No one was interested in the item.
Leo raised his paddle after a few seconds to be the first bidder.
“500,000 from the gentlemen here with number 44! Do I hear a 510,000?”
After a short pause, someone else raised their paddle. Leo winced. He was hoping that no one else would bid on the pill. But now that someone else was competing with him, he would have to pay more.
He raised his paddle quickly before the auctioneer could even say anything.
“520 from 44!”
The other person also raised their paddle. The price slowly started rising. From the initial 500,000 Starcoins, it went to 800,000 before slowing down. Leo was persistent in his bidding because the pill was so important to him.
Once the price reached, 900,000 the other bidder backed down.
“900,000 Starcoins going once!” The auctioneer announced.
“Going twice! Going thrice! Sold to the gentlemen with paddle 44!”
Leo smiled. He hoped that the purchase would show results. For any other person, 900,000 Starcoins would be enough to groom a dozen 1st Circle Aura Knights. But this was important to Leo because he had to show that he was an Aura Knight himself. He could easily earn all that money back as a mage anyway.
Pleased with himself, he sat back for the rest of the auction. He didn’t find anything else interesting so he just kept track of the cost of each item. The session quickly ended and it went into a second break.
Leo saw that Max was leaving with his father, so he checked what was left in the items for the day. He saw that all of them were items for mages that all started at 1 million Starcoins. He smiled bitterly but chose to stay.
For the rest of the day, he did not notice any product that screamed out to him like the 4th Circle Beast Core. The day was very lackluster. The third session was the last session for the day, so he went back home after it.
The next day, after thinking hard, he decided to go for the second day of the auction. He knew that the last product would be the most expensive one, but he didn’t know what it was. It was masked by the book and he would have to appear in person to see what it was.
So he got ready and went to the auction again. He was very interested in seeing what the last item would be and how much it would sell for. When he got there, he saw that Max was also there. He saw Leo and walked toward him.
“Hi, Leo!” Max said.
Leo nodded. “Hello, Max. How are you doing?”
Max was with his father, so he also joined the discussion.
“Yes, this is Leo! Leo -” Max paused. He didn’t know Leo’s last name and it was courtesy to introduce the last name too. He didn’t know that Leo didn’t even have a last name.