Chapter 244

"Ten Platinum" comes a familiar booming voice from down in the Noble balconies. 

"His oldest son awakened his class as a young child and became a basic warrior; he's been looking for a way to change it ever since. The boy is completely unsuited to close combat." Lukas explains. 

"The boy's a half-wit. Even more of a pompous idiot than his father." Donovan laughs. 

"How'd he even manage to break that shield anyhow?" Ambrosia asks curiously. 

"Wait, is that Lancelot?" Misha gasps, and both other men turn their attention to her. 

"You know the Knight Commander of Landis?" Lukas asks, startled. 

"Uh, a little? I was in Assah when his shield was broken after all." Misha answers, unsure how much is commonly known about the event. 

"Oh, this I must hear. Landis told everyone that it was destroyed in noble battle against a fearsome monster that threatened his younger son." Donovan insists. 

Vala snorts Rum out of her nose, trying not to laugh. "Oh, it was a fearsome monster, alright. But a monster of the transfer sort. His boy Odin picked a fight he couldn't win, and Lancelot had to step in to save the boy's life. The fight lasted three moves, leaving him laid out with a broken shield."

That declaration makes the eyes of both other groups in the sellers lounge go wide in shock, while the Darklight Host members try to hide their amusement. 

"No wonder he didn't tell anyone. The only thing more embarrassing would be losing a duel." Prince Donovan says, smirking at Lukas. 

"Kindly keep that information in this room. The position of Knight Commander is politically powerful; if there was a challenge to his position because of this, who knows how much damage could be caused." The blacksmith pleads.

Cain nods. "You have my word. Several people already know, but if they're not saying anything, Lancelot can keep his secret."

"Agreed, though I won't guarantee that I don't bring it up with him in private. His boy Odin has caused troubles for my daughters on multiple occasions." Cain can see that happening; it's what got Odin in trouble with them and Donovan clearly doesn't intend to let Lancelot live this one down. 

"Just one more question, what was Odin doing that caused the fight?" Lukas asks, unsure if he wants to hear the answer. 

"Tried to forcefully claim a pair of twins who rejected him." Nemu answers. 

"He should have let them beat that fool to death this time. Think of how much the kingdom has spent covering up for him." 

Lancelot eventually claims the potions for twenty-five platinum bars, and Donovan looks overjoyed. Either his country is small and broke, or he doesn't personally have much money. 

The Auction goes on for another hour before they get to the final item of the night. The Armor Suit that Cain put up for auction. 

"This final item is a full set. Level 122, but don't let that fool you. The entire suit is of matching Set Pieces, made of Mythril and Legendary in Quality. It is damage reduction Plate Armor, including a shield, which grants more total defensive power than a Raid Boss. The suit also comes equipped with a Legendary Weapon, percentage-based damage and suitable to be a National treasure." 

The item was introduced by the big boss himself, who brought it out on stage with his Bodyguards. They're now displaying the stats of the pieces on a sizeable magical screen, including the set bonus. 

"I hope you take land and daughters in exchange because I believe half the Kingdoms here would be willing to grant them to you in exchange for that. With that kind of damage reduction, a King or his Champion would be virtually undefeatable. You could never deal enough damage to get through their healing." Lukas says, looking it over. 

"Master Crafted by Dimnys of the Darklight Host. You've got a Dwarven master Smith in your Guild?"

"A Dark Dwarf. And yes, she made Master Level Blacksmithing not too long ago. The old men are still celebrating her achievements." That makes most of the previously silent Bodyguards chuckle. After all, Dwarves will celebrate almost anything for as long as they think they can get away with it. 

The bidding has gone on for some time as they chatted away. Neither the others in the room were of the sort of wealth category could afford such a thing, so the price didn't much interest them. But more and more well-dressed people with Bodyguards are showing up as the bidding goes on, and that is enough to draw everyone's attention.

"That's the King of Landis. Lancelot must have called him here to bid on the Armor." Lukas indicates an elegantly dressed man in a blue and white cape. 

"There's the Demon King Aggramor. He has a huge amount of power on the Western side of the central continent." That's the one the Demon midwife was talking about. He does look like a kindly Demonic Grandfather in person. 

The Demon King slowly surveys the crowd before looking up to the balconies, and Cain can swear the Demon King just met his eyes, despite the enchanted glass that should be hiding him from sight. Cain gives a slight nod, and the King smiles before placing his bid. 

"We will pause the auction for just a moment now while we consult with the seller." The auctioneer declares. 

"Sir, the auction house would like to accept nonmonetary bids on this item. The usual fee will be waived in exchange for a flat fee from the winning bidder." An attendant informs Cain. 

Technically, this piece belongs to Dimnys, but if the winning bid is unsuitable for her, he can always compensate her for the loss. 

"Go ahead. I've got plenty of coins."

"Good news, everyone. Non monetary offers will now be accepted. A fee of five platinum bars will be charged to the winning bidder in addition to their offer. The bidding will be one round of closed bids in a blind auction. You have twenty minutes."

The Demon King is staring at Cain with a pensive look, while an overdressed Dwarf looks ready to explode beside him. Four other Royals, one Beastkin and the others human, are also in talks with their advisors. 

"Why is the Dwarf so mad?" Mythryll asks, the Deep voice of her transformation startling Cain.

"They usually pressure out other buyers to claim all Master Crafters creations that come up at auction for themselves, keeping them Dwarf exclusive. In a blind bid, he can't do that." Donovan explains as the Dwarf rages at the Auction Manager. 

The twenty minutes fly by, and Sergio brings up a closed envelope tray. "The bids, Sir. This is my favorite part, watching your reactions. None of them know who is selling the item, so they've got to guess both what you might want and what the others will offer."

"I doubt that's the case this time. The items are all made by the same Master Smith. Another Master Smith can tell, so the Dwarves at least know a little. Plus anyone else who brought a Master Smith. I'd have informed my King, but he shouldn't know I'm here." Lukas smiles at the Auction boss, also looking forward to seeing the bids. 

Cain opens the first, from a human Kingdom in the Northern Continent. They offer a keep and lands, including a dungeon and two small Mines plus a hundred well trained slaves. The girls chuckle at that. Offering a Puppet Master slaves. It's worse than pointless. The others are more interested in the lands, which appear to be pretty good, though the mining quality is unknown. 

Next up is the Beastkin offer. They offer a large tract of wildland and an assortment of rare materials. Cain sets that one to the side as a possibility. 

The following two human offers are a joke, marriage alliances, and titles plus farmland. They would entice many people but not Cain, and certainly not Dimnys. 

The Landis Kingdom offers a Keep with a mine-type dungeon entrance inside, a collection of resources, and a position as Royal Master Smith.

"Hey, Lukas, they're offering to give your position away. That's mean." Nemu says, pointing at the bid. 

"There's more than one Royal Blacksmith. Don't worry; they've got plenty of work to go around." 

The last offer is the Demon King's bid. While it's still written on the official notepad line the others, it reads much more like a letter than a simple bid. 

"Guild Master, I can offer you a way to upgrade both your Demon and your Dragon and a Keep in my Capital with access to the Unabridged Dwarven Master Smithy Recipe Book for your Dimnys. Regards, Aggramor"

"He doesn't really get the concept of a blind bid, does he? But I suppose it fulfills the requirements." Sergio says, looking over the elegant penmanship. 

It's a genuinely intriguing offer. A way to upgrade Vala and Laura? Plus, a complete set of Master Level Dwarven blacksmithing recipes for Dimnys? That is more valuable than money; the Dwarves guard that knowledge with their lives. Their trip to the western side of the continent might prove to be much more than a simple vacation.

"I believe I will take this offer. The Demon King has bid something I couldn't get for myself.." Everyone present is in agreement; the very best bid for a Priceless item is something the seller also couldn't get with money.