Chapter 57 - Bidding War Begins

"Two hundred thousand Lenix from our lovely guest up at seat 37!" The auctioneer announced as he saw the first bid coming in. 

Hecathe leaned back on the couch and seemed to be quite amused as he waited to see what final price the item would be fetching.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand Lenix from our lovely guest up at seat 28!" The auctioneer looked as enthusiastic and sounded just as excited as he called out. 

"Four hundred thousand Lenix from our lovely guest up at seat 44!" Hecathe didn't know if it was just his imagination but he could almost swear that the auctioneer's voice was growing in volume with every next bid that was placed on the item. 

It wasn't Hecathe's first time being in an auction but it was certainly his first time being in this auction. When he had initially read about the black market, he thought the place would be dark and gloomy.

Even though Alphius had clearly explained the place just as it was in his diary, Hecathe still found it hard to believe in the beginning, but now that he was really here and could see everything with his very own eyes, he was forced to accept the fact that this place was normal. 

It was like any other auction hall.

Sure, the architecture and working of the place were a bit new to Hecathe, but it was nothing like what Hecathe expected a black market to look like. 

He had been quick to judge the place by its name alone and Hecathe felt a little embarrassed about that fact. 

"Eight hundred thousand Lenix! By the kind gentleman sitting up at seat 87!" The auctioneer vigorously announced as he gestured up towards one of the balconies that were on the higher floors. 

Hecathe had only glanced casually but he didn't expect the man from the balcony to look back at him. 

"..." 

Hecathe didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he realized that he recognized that man sitting on seat 87. 

The higher floors were completely filled with mecha-suits but amongst them, there was someone dressed in a dark purple cloak and mask. One look and people would clearly be able to see that he was the black sheep who stuck out like a sore thumb. 

It was that damned Raven! 

"One million Lenix, ladies and gentlemen! Did you hear that? A bid for one million Lenix placed by our lovely guest seated in seat 44!" 

Hecathe's eyes widened ever so slightly as he heard the price.

That flame... No matter how rare or precious it was, seeing as how Alphius was using it as a lamp, there was no way it could be worth that much amount of money! 

Everyone seemed to have suddenly gone silent after this ridiculous bid was announced but the silence didn't even last for more than a minute as the place started bustling with chatter once again and this time, it was even noisier than before. 

Seeing the silence, Hecathe had almost thought that nobody would be willing to pay a higher price but he was immediately proven wrong. 

The people who were joining this auction were not only crazy but they were a bit too rich as well! 

"Two million Lenix! People, two million Lenix, a formidable amount placed once again by our dear customer up at seat 87!" 

It was Raven again and Hecathe couldn't help but click his tongue as he noticed the smirk on the man's face as he sat on the balcony seat that was way higher than Hecathe's seat.

"Two million and a hundred thousand Lenix bid placed by our lovely guest sitting at seat 44!" The auctioneer couldn't sound happier as he announced, "Could this be a bidding war?" 

Hecathe's eyes narrowed down on the auctioneer and he felt like the man was a bit too good at his job. By making such a comment in the end, even if there was no bidding war, to begin with, he was making it seem like there was one and by doing so, he was actually creating one. 

Now all eyes were on Raven and the guest who sat in seat 44. 

If Raven didn't place a higher bid then he would indirectly be admitting defeat in front of all these people and that would be rather embarrassing. In fact, even if he decided to place a bid right now to top that amount, he would be consciously walking into a trap as he would indirectly acknowledge the bidding war. 

If he did place another bid then he would have to continue doing so till he won, the same went for the guest seated in seat 44 as well. 

Hecathe couldn't help but feel a little amused as he waited to see what the man would choose to do. 

Would he enter this war or would he choose to admit defeat? 

At the end of the day, Hecathe didn't care which one of the two won but at this moment, it was still interesting to see something like a bidding war. 

In order to save one's pride, they throw away their money carelessly on an item that probably wouldn't even be worth it. This was what a bidding war was. At the core of it, everything was about your pride. If you could afford it then you could keep your pride and if the money was something you can't casually pull out, you would naturally be losing face. 

This was also the reason why Hecathe found bidding wars to be so interesting. 

It was always fun to see people trying to save their pride by being extremely stupid. 

Raven had a smirk on his face as he raised three fingers and the auctioneer's eyes seemed to be shining with delight as he saw it. 

"A bid for Three million Lenix placed by the gentleman up at seat 87!!" 

Hecathe chuckled dryly as he got the answer to his question. 

Raven was going to be the stupid one....