Too Stubborn to Die

“Let the second round of the auction commence!” The auctioneer announced, and was met with a roar of applause.

The curtains closed again.

“How entertaining, A-ran? Got anything you’re hoping for?”

“Me? Um, not anything specific. But I’ll know it when I see it.”

The curtains were pulled back to reveal a pile of magazines.

“We open the second round with a collection of ten thousand issues of Playogre Magazine!”

“There you go!” Voidrin cheered.

“This has to be some kind of cruel joke,” Aaron said.

Luckily, though, he wasn’t the center of it for long. There were several ogres on the lower and middle floors that eagerly jumped into the bidding. There was something about a magazine that exposed entities of immense power that seemed to draw them in.

“Finally. Let’s move on.”

Following the magazines, all kinds of different high-rarity ingredients were put up for bid, one after the other. And finally, he spotted some hands going up from the high-level balconies as they scooped up rare ores, gems, and other various hard-to-find crafting materials.

Finally, I’m not the only one up here buying stuff.

Aaron had started to worry that he might be the only person on the top balcony to bid on the lower stage items. If that were to happen, then everyone would be flush with points for the final stage.

There you go. Buy it all up. I’m sure I’m not the only one who needs to catch up on their profession when they get back home.

Moments later, Mala bid on a lot of rare metal. It was Black Matter metal and was supposed to be incredibly hardy and heavy. Extremely dense and heavy even for high-level fighters.

Aaron smiled and raised his hand. He didn’t want the metal. Just a little payback.

He could see Mala huffing and moving in her chair at the other end of their balcony. She was clearly infuriated.

“Do I have 80 points?”

Aaron smirked and raised his hand.

In truth, he had been a little surprised that she wanted metal. He didn’t take her for a smith. And she didn’t wear any armor or weapons. But on closer inspection, he realized that she did have horseshoes, or rather, mammothshoes. Also, spatial abilities and inhumane strength; the metal sounded like a perfect match for her.

“100 to the mammoth!” The auctioneer shouted.

“110 to the man in the same balcony.”

Aaron raised his hand a few more times before giving up. He had a sneaking suspicion that she would take it quite far, if necessary. But he couldn’t risk wasting so many points on metal that was most likely useless to him. After all, speed was important to Aaron’s style, and as strong as he was, the description of the metal told him that even he might struggle a bit with it.

“Going three times. Sold for 220 points to the mammoth in the top balcony.

Mala glared across at him. If she didn’t already hate him, she sure as hell did now.

Serves you right. Aaron crossed his arms and leaned back.

Even after the lot was sold, he had a feeling he could have pushed it further. But he just wanted her to know actions had consequences. After all, he didn’t want to enrage her too much. Hopefully, this would be just enough to make her back off, instead of inciting her to bid for every item he wanted.

Especially because just a few lots later, there was a sack of spiritual herbs for sale.

Soul-strengthening ingredients were one of the few things he had struggled to get since leaving the trials. And unless they managed to upgrade their world somehow, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to find them in abundance anytime soon. And the ones he had found were rather weak.

That said, his need for them wasn’t currently urgent, since he didn’t need a race evolution for a while. However, it wasn’t just about him. Others might need help evolving. And he had plenty to gain from helping them. Dober itself was a growing economy, and the stronger it became, the better it could service him.

Besides, crafting some powerful concoctions with the herbs and having them lying around for when he did need them wasn’t a bad idea either.

Luckily, Mala, despite her pouting, didn’t get involved in the bidding. It seemed that she had learned that what goes around comes around, and was at least reasonable enough to focus on herself.

After all, ascension wasn’t a zero-sum game.

However, there were others who did bid against him. Luckily, they were mostly on the middle floor, and a few on lower balconies.

They didn’t have many points and quickly gave up. There was still much of the second stage left, and few seemed to want to bankrupt themselves over some herbs.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

In the end, Aaron got his spiritual herbs for just 65 points, which seemed very reasonable.

Nodding at himself, he opened his System status.

Auction Points: 621

Okay, still got a lot of points to work with. Not bad.

After that, the middle balconies started to bid more ferociously. They no doubt realized that they would probably be gatekept from the final stage, as items on the second stage had often opened the bidding higher than the bottom floors could even afford, effectively cutting them out of the auction entirely.

And the vigor of their bidding wars only grew more fierce as it went on. About halfway through, when better items started to appear more frequently, many on the middle balconies started to go all in.

Aaron sighed. The items were getting better, and he was forced to leave a pair of very ordinary but quite good pants, as they rose to 120 points in bidding.

“I could have used those.”

“Y’know, despite all your whining, I’m starting to think you secretly like your shorts,” Voidrin said.

“If only. But there’s no way I’m spending that much on a fashion choice. Based on what we’ve seen so far, 120 points for those pants seems far too expensive.”

The middle balconies were starting to get a bit silly. There weren’t enough items for everyone to capitalize on every point they had earned, and more and more people were realizing that. Ultimately, it was better to overpay on something than reach the end of the second stage and end up with nothing because you were being too conservative.

Mo’han paid a hefty amount to pick up a bunch of portal tools and materials. But he didn’t seem too bothered. “Now this will be useful. I can build an entire wormhole network with this, once the barriers go down.”

He also noticed Raggots on a lower balcony buying up a bunch of materials. At first, it looked all over the place. Buying random materials for different professions. But then Aaron realized that he was only bidding on resources that got little attention, picking them up on the cheap. He also appeared to be reading from the System.

I wonder what he’s up to. I don’t take him for much of a crafter. But he clearly has a plan.

Still, despite things warming up, most of those in attendance on the top balconies were rarely bidding.

“Our second-to-last item of the second stage,” the auctioneer announced. “We have a divine shard. A piece of a long-dead god. These things are not easy to find. We’ll start the bidding at 100!”

Finally, there was more action amongst the top balconies as several elites joined the bidding.

Aaron smiled. This was good.

Mo’han was also eager, seemingly wanting to connect with his patron god. So was Red Song, who sat on a balcony a couple of floors below them, and bid fiercely. But both were quickly outbid as it flew into 300 points and beyond.

“I’ve got 320 at the far right balcony, 340 in the middle, 360, 370. Do I have 380? Going once. 380 to the madame in the middle balcony! 385 to the left! Can we get 390? Going once, going twice! 390 to the madame in the middle! I’ve got 395 on the top left balcony. And sold for 395 points!”

Aaron looked across. The White Warden had won the bidding. He caught the cold, blue eyes piercing through the metal armor.

The fact that they were undead didn’t inherently bother him, but it was curious.

He himself was a shinigami now, and although not dead himself, he was intertwined with aether. Which made him wonder if people looked at him like he was looking at the White Warden? Did they question if he, too, might be in service to the Death God?

Aaron realized that such an assumption would be fair, assuming others had experienced similar run-ins with the god.

Hmm, I don’t like this. If the shard can be used like mine, and an avatar of the Death God can be summoned into our universe, that is worrying…

Even though he assumed that such an avatar would be greatly restricted, as Yendal’s would be, he still didn’t like the idea of it happening. Although if that were the case, it was still a lot better that the avatar ended up in a distant quadrant, rather than Darius picking it up.

Who knows. Just because he is undead doesn’t mean he has anything to do with that god.

“And finally, our special item of the second stage!” The auctioneer shouted, and the crowds went quiet. “We bring you one of the rarest items in the multiverse—a Divine Pathway Prism. This powerful tool will let the holder follow the path of its creator. Unlocking untold power and Skills. These treasures cannot simply be passed down. They hold the deepest secrets of their creators and a part of their very essence. As such, their creation comes at a great toll, and they are rarely used unless the one who created them has passed on. Thus, some refer to them as an inheritance. This Prism belonged to an ancient god who has long since died. We cannot name the god, but we can say this is a path that would suit knights and paladins. We start the bidding at 250 auction points!”

Aaron wasn’t actually interested in the item, despite how powerful it sounded. He had his own path, one he was proud of. Besides, if there were a god whom he might be tempted to follow, it would be Yendal, not some ancient unnamed god.

However, there were plenty of others who felt differently. Not that it came as a surprise. The Holocron provided a guaranteed path to godhood, a treasure few could pass up.

The reality was, it didn’t matter how gifted you were. There was no guarantee of godhood. And plenty of extraordinary talents never made it that far. Even the top mortal grades of B and A were restricted to supreme talents. And godhood was something else entirely, far above even those accolades.

Not to mention an easy path to immortality. To join the heavens was to distinguish yourself as something truly special. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Elites from across the top balconies started to bid against one another, and the price quickly spiralled.

However, the absolute elites of the elites seemed less interested. Whether it was Mo’han, the White Warden, Mala, Sharrek the Shade Bender, Vardrak the Allseeing, or Casryn the Red, they all seemed confident in their own paths.

“Oww, gimme a break,” Voidrin groaned as the price soared out of reach. “These guys are insane. Throwing around that many points.”

Lord Draxas continued for the longest time on their balcony before hissing and throwing his hands up in anger.

“These softskins will know our vengeance!” Lord Draxas complained with a small huff of flames. “That was for us!”

It was no surprise, as the cost just kept going up. “Going once, twice, and sold for 1020 points to the pale one on the top balcony!”

The winner was one of the elites who had fought alongside Casryn the Red—a very pale man with an entirely bald, elongated head. It was a huge cost, and Aaron immediately wondered if their party had defeated the boss first, or if there were others with even more points stashed away for the final stage of the auction.

Sighing, he inspected the man.

Corvad Ti [ Level 158 ]

“Interesting,” Aaron said. “Maybe another to watch out for.”

“Bah! No way! He’s nothing, A-ran!” Mo’han huffed. “We shouldn’t fear one who has no confidence in their own path.”

Aaron agreed to a point, but knew it wasn’t wise to dismiss the man too much. However, he was glad that he got some idea of where the top end of their points lay, even if he was a little dismayed by it.

“Get your refreshments in! We will soon be starting the final stage of the auction! If you were impressed so far, just wait to see what else we have on offer for you! We will be finishing with the grand finale! The sale of an item coveted by the multiverse is over. A truly priceless treasure!”