He bid 25 gold... for an item only halfway into the auction. This mystery buyer is already making himself known.

As I calculated before, the bundle of stones is nearly 8 million MP, so it's over 90% off the market price. If I were to buy this much in potion form, even with the Dark Continent price discount, it'd take all of my 263 gold. Still, I'm trying to get as many of these essence stones as possible for the lowest price.

A bid of 25 gold for 8 million MP is pushing my limit. If this is the going price, I'd only be able to buy 10 of the same value, averaging about 80 million total MP for the night. Divided by all 5 of us that are looking to absorb it, that brings our total down to 16 million MP each.

It's an exorbitant amount, but it's not the overwhelming advantage that I'm looking to come out of here with. Plus, the bidding hasn't even started yet. This would be the best-case scenario... hoping that this man in the silver mask doesn't bid too much higher.

The announcer speaks, replying to the offer received.

"And we've got our starting bid of 25 gold from Premium Buyer number 1! These items are truly a unique collection of gems, farmed from a collapsing B-Grade dungeon out in Sector 3 following the most recent surge."

The eyes of the crowd down below reflect the green gems' vibrancy as the woman places them on the red velvet display table.

I can't help but notice the fact that the announcer did not go into detail on what exactly these gemstones do. Unlike his in-depth descriptions and stat readings of some of the past items. It seems at the higher-priced portion of the auction, it's more of a 'if you know, you know' type of deal.

He continues.

"Now, let us start the bidding in increments of 1 gold coin."

I raise my paddle, but to my surprise, almost half of the other premium buyers do as well.

The crowd below erupts in whispers as the announcer's voice rings out clear as day in all of our ears.

"That's 26 gold from number 12, no, 27 gold from number 5, 28 from..."

He goes on and on, and the buy price keeps rising higher.

I back out once the price passes 35 coins, observing the event unfold before me.

The buyer in booth number 1 stands out over his balcony while raising his paddle as the announcer accepts a 36 gold bid from the buyer right below me.

The silver-masked man speaks in the same voice he did previously to make his first bid.

"I bid 75 gold."

The room falls silent, but the announcer fills the vacuum in a professional tone.

"Our new highest bidder! Booth 1 bids 75 gold. Going once... Going twice... Three times... and sold!"

After a few sighs from other booths and the excited whispers of crowd members, the green gems are taken offstage, and I'm left in a state of shock.

Whispering under my breath, "This is not going to be as simple as I initially thought..."

I turn to Chester; he's thoroughly enthralled by the gems as well as the woman in the red dress as she walks backstage to retrieve the next item.

As soon as he feels my gaze, the old man realizes what I'm implying and responds.

"Tough competition tonight. It seems there are some other strong parties involved."

I nod while thinking to myself.

Sure, 75 gold for 8 million MP is still well under market price, but it's much worse than my initial estimate. Three times as worse, actually...

I clench my jaw as the next set of shimmering silver swords with 70% strength buffs are all brought out to be displayed.

My eyes gloss over without a care in the world for these common items as the auction continues.

Armor sets, platinum rings, and enchanted artifacts all found in high C-Grade and low B-Grade dungeons from Sectors 3 and 4 are brought out. They all sell for between 10 and 15 gold to premium buyers and a few members of the general audience.

Nothing compares to the excitement in the air from those green gems until the 24th item set of the night comes forth.

My eyes perk up as a bundle of grey stones with white energy swirling through them catches the corner of my eye and activates my appraisal skill.

[Black Stone Golem Fragments] x11

As my careful eyes closely inspect each of them, I conclude that these may be worth my while. Each of them holds over 4.5 million MP, some of them nearing 5 million. The total here is about 50 million.

Whatever monstrous golems these fragments dropped from are no joke. Back when I farmed Blue Ogres, the mobs only dropped 100-250k per stone. Even the anomaly that took in nearly the entire dungeon's mana expenditure and hundreds of essence shards is only twice as much as just these 11 stones.

One can only imagine how strong they are, but my daydreaming about them will have to wait.

The announcer's voice begins the next round of bidding.

"A collection of magic stones from the Sector 2 Labyrinth break. A very rare item set indeed. Considering our last batch of similar items sold for an extraordinary price, one can assume the price on these will climb much higher."

He pauses.

"Just a word from the auctioneer to buyers out there, our appraisal team has gauged the recommended use for these gems to be around level 700 and above. High-grade gems like these don't come around often; this is truly a one-of-a-kind treasure."

Silence fills the room once again, but the first to break the noise is the silver-masked man.

"100 gold coins."

With a wide smile, the event host replies.

"Very well. 100 gold to number 1! We shall raise the bids by 5 gold per offering."

I raise my paddle.

"That's 105 gold from number 12!"

No one but the silver-masked man raises their paddle back.

"110 gold to number 1!"

"115 for number 12... 120 for number 1...."

We go back and forth, raising the price on each other with every bid.

Not a single paddle raises from any of the other buyers. From a quick appraisal scan to appease my curiosity, I see none of them are anywhere near number 1's level. Whoever this is, he must be investing for his own personal use.

As Chester explained before the auction, items like these hardly sell on the open market. This is because, to most people who can't handle absorbing millions of MP, they're just pretty gems that depreciate over time as the mana flows out of them. To the man across the room and also to myself, this is a 50 million MP pool of mana waiting to be absorbed.

I grit my teeth as he yells out, raising his paddle high into the air.

"200 gold! I bid 200 gold!"

The entire room falls silent, and so do I as a pearly white grin can be seen under the bottom portion of his mask.

I could bid higher, but who's to say he won't just let me take this and burn my pockets for the still 6 remaining items to come?

His inflated prices now could all be a tactic to bleed the medium-sized fish like myself early on to get the best prices on the rarest items near the end.

I let out a sigh and take a step back as the announcer looks around and counts up to 3.

"Sold! To number 1 for 200 gold! What a show! We have a real magic gem connoisseur on our hands tonight, crowd!"

The audience is going wild with whispers, laughter, and cheers.

Even Chester's eyes are open wide. He whispers to me.

"I've never seen such a lively event in years. If this isn't even the main star of the show, I'm sure we're in for quite the treat. Don't worry, the best is yet to come."

I tighten my lips as they prepare the next item for public sale.

I'm not quite sure what to think. It's almost impossible to compete with a masked man and his endless pockets.

Then again, I'm happy I didn't bid higher and spend all my gold on 50 million MP when there's a possibility of a better deal to come.

However, my happiness wanes as the next few items roll out. Sets of enchanted gear passing 100% buffs and bundles of element stones in containment cases ready for fusion into weapons are the next few items that show.

Most go for 20-30 gold, sold to the other regular premium buyers. These are all incredibly rare pieces, and they can be used by anyone, so keeping them in their possession and waiting for resale in a shortage or using the items themselves to fight off stronger monsters is well worth the investment.

Most practical investors and collectors come to the auction for items like these. I, for one, am looking for something else... As more and more items pass, the growing feeling of dread fills my stomach.

If I can't manage to buy any items tonight that will boost my entire team's strength to new heights, our extraction mission to save Lydia and my curiosity to confront the craftsman from another sector may all be very compromised.

I'd have to rely on the newly ranked-up abilities of my team members, plus my ability to wield demonic energy as a trump card.

There's too much uncertainty in this loosely strung-together excuse of a plan; I need something that will help change the odds.

The announcer's voice and the sight of over half a dozen blood-red crystals larger than my open palm completely change my growing anxiety into a source of hope.

This relief comes in the form of hundreds of millions of MP swirling within just 7 stones.

"Our second to last item set of the night. A collection of ruby red gems. Collected as the final drop from the Sector 2 Labyrinth Collapse, we've managed to bring them all the way here for all of you to see! Now, without further ado, let us start the bidding at once!"