"You...you know the Dwarves?" Max asked, astounded.
"Yeah. Me and the Dwarven King have a business agreement with each other. They give us Damascus Steel, we give them beer. You should come visit the Nation of Reborn soon so that you can see them for yourselves."
Max and the Vanderbilt family were flabbergasted to find out that Michael had connections with the infamously anti-social Dwarves. While everyone was fighting for the âgreatâ quality Damascus steel armor in the auction, Michael had so many of them that his âlowestâ quality armor was something that even the Major Factions would covet.
It was a culture-shock to see how much the Rebornians treated this treasure worth more than 2 million gold coins as something worthless.
"2.5 million bid!" Barnaby shouted excitedly to the crowd. "The Pyramidic Cuisine has finally entered the bidding, ladies and gentlemen."
Finally, after this enormous bid, the knocks stopped completely. No one was willing to increase the price even more than that.
2.5 million? Thatâs pretty good,
Michael thought to himself. He was kind of regretting not putting a few of their Dwarven items up for auction seeing as how valuable they seemed to everyone in Metropolis.
"Going once...going twice...declared! 2.5 million is now the accepted price for the auction bid!"
The crowd clapped and cheered, turning their heads up to look at their private suite.
So, do they get the armor now? What about that duel-aspect that Barnaby was talking about?
He noticed that despite the auction bid reaching a peak, there werenât any celebrations from the Pyramidic Cuisine at all. In fact, even the other companies were behaving even more seriously, leaning forward with focus, as if the real fight had just begun.
"Now comes the amazing part! Will anybody else bid 2.5 million gold coins to fight against the Pyramidic Cuisine?" Barnaby asked, looking around the venue.
It was at that moment that a knock came from the tinted glass right next to the Pyramidic Cuisineâs room.
"Crocodile Leather has joined the fray, everyone. They are more than willing to pay out 2.5 million gold coins!"
Whatâs happening? Another company is also offering a 2.5 million bid?
Michael asked himself. He thought that the bidding was over since no one could top the Pyramidic Cuisineâs high offer.
It wasnât long after before another knock came.
"Looks like Mountain Movers have decided to battle it out as well! Is it going to be a three-way fight, or will more companies have the guts to fight it out against the Rising Six?"
Barnabyâs words were directly challenging all the other companies to make a bid. The more of them that joined, the more exciting it was to watch.
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
In an electrifying turn of events, the other Rising Six companies also decided to put their names forward with a 2.5 million bid!
"Going once, going twice....declared! WOW! Ladies and gentlemen, I didnât think that weâd get to see a fight between the Rising Six so early in the night!" Barnaby beamed. "And now comes the second part of the auction..."
Barnaby stepped away from the podium and walked down into the stands. Once he was completely away from the white platform, he signalled with a bell for his workers to activate the spell, creating a large magic circle that completely encompassed the stage.
Mana poured onto the magic circle from five wizards around the auction arena.
The stage suddenly split in half, revealing a bright white light that seeped out of the cracks.
The platform continued to crawl out of the arena, showing a very deep hole in the center of the auction.
The crowd gasped with awe and wonder as they peeked out of the bright blue hole.
What they saw made them clap for the wondrous stage that Barnaby had prepared for the seven bidders.
Michaelâs eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
Thatâs not a hole...thatâs a window to a Pocket Dimension!!!
As he and the other people peered into the tinted glass and out into the hole, they saw an amazing sight.
It was as if the auction itself was located high up in the heavens of the Earth, among the clouds, tens thousands of feet above the ground. And through the hole in the center, they could peek at this new Earth as if it was just a giant aquarium.
From his vantage point, Michael could see a thick gathering of pine trees in the middle of the land, coloring a huge part of the terrain with a natural green color. Beside that was a mountain that reached high up into the skies, and almost reached the very edges of the hole itself!
And using his Supreme Skill, he could see that there were actually animal lifeforms below living a normal life.
This didnât look like a pocket dimension. This was an entirely new planet with its own ecosystem!
"This will be your stage, bidders, for one of our games in this auction. The rules are simple. Find the Golden Coin and bring it up at the very top of the mountain! Whoever accomplishes this task first will have the privilege of buying the Dwarven Armor Sets!"
The crowd erupted in excited murmurings. Michael looked at the companies down below and saw them having a discussion amongst each other. It was easy to guess that they were planning for the game after hearing about its rules.
"Now, itâs time for you to bid your fighters! Pyramidic Cuisine. You are the first to offer," Barnaby said, patiently waiting for their next words.
It wasnât long before a knock resounded out from the tinted glass.
Right after that, a man wearing a dashing black suit came towards Barnaby with an unopened scroll in his hands.
Barnaby accepted the paper before untying the strings to roll it out.
"The Pyramidic Cuisine is willing to deploy only six of their officers for the bid. Is there anyone who wants to counter their offer?" Barnaby asked, showing the five other companies the scroll that he received from the Pyramidic Cuisine.
KNOCK
This time, the knock came from the Alligator company. And just like before, another man came out and presented Barnaby with a scroll.
"A new offer has taken place. The Alligator company is willing to deploy only
four
of their officers!"
After that, a few seconds passed and no companies made a counter-offer. Barnaby started counting down.
"Going once... going twice... going thrice... DECLARED!
These six companies are willing to deploy four of their finest officers to fight in our game! Whoever wins it will be given the privilege to buy the Dwarven Armor Sets for 2.5 million coins!"
The crowd erupted in cheers and heated discussions as they began to talk about who they thought would win the bidding.
"Itâs gotta be the Pyramidic Cuisine. They may be a food company, but Beau surrounds herself with lots of strong fighters!"
"I think itâs gonna be the Alligator company! I remember one of their officers being a good treasure hunter!"
After watching everything unfold, Michael finally realized the rules of the auction.
The bidding of gold coins wasnât simply for monetary value. It also acted as an entrance fee to the âgameâ to acquire the item!