Chapter 62 - A Loss And An Unexpected Opportunity

A few minutes later, just as the item was brought off from the main stage, someone knocked on the door for Aziel's VIP box.

It was one of the Auction House servants, a young woman with straight matte black hair, pulled up into a ponytail at the back of her head. She was holding the wrapped-up and boxed item in her hands. Aziel could already sense the familiar vibrations coming off from inside, she was carrying the Void Stone, the precious conquest Aziel spent so much money on.

Aziel didn't hesitate and rushed to open the door. This Void Stone was an urgent material he needed right now, he wanted to hold it in his hands as soon as possible.

He had to inspect the item, hold it in his hands, then pay the sum of money!

With a gentle smile, Lydia gave the card to the servant. The transaction went very smoothly, and Aziel quickly returned to his seat at the VIP box with the Void Stone now in his hands.

A smiling expression hung on the corner of Lydia's mouth, even though she was fully confused why the boy wanted that strange stone so fervently. Still, since it was Aziel, she didn't dare to ask but instead smile and said in a low but soothing voice.

"Congrats dear for obtaining the treasure!" Though she was somewhat pained inside for the astounding amount they had bought this small piece of mineral, ultimately she didn't bother herself too much about it.

Her mind, her thinking was slowly getting accustomed to the subservient role. If Aziel wanted this item, he must have had a very good reason for it. She could not question him, she felt that she couldn't question his decisions.

"Thanks!" Aziel nodded at the woman, before returning his attention to the stage once more as the next item was brought up.

The auction continued in a rather quick fashion. The next few items that were brought up found their just owners without much of a hassle, or a similarly vehement battle that went on for the stone. What surprised Aziel slightly was that there were quite a few smaller items following the ore, despite how the brochure proclaimed it being second to last. In reality, there were quite a few in between them.

Aziel really admired the auctioneer's social skills. A lot of items' original value was quite modest, yet due to her impeccable, unceasing speech, she managed to spark the people's interest, making them generously spend their money, causing the auctioned item's price to climb.

"She is gifted…" Aziel thought, looking at the smiling, cheerful woman.

Time passed as items were brought up one after another. Almost one and a half an hour later…

The auction would soon be finished and also enter the final climax.

"The next auctioned item is our second to last one tonight! This is also the item that a lot of people have been heavily paying attention to… the century old wild ginseng. It is public knowledge that along with today's rapid development in modern technology, the forests are being severely exploited. Thus, finding such genuine, wild ginseng, untainted is an incredibly difficult thing to do, much less for one being a full century in age! It's borderline miraculous that we have this one prime mythical herb here for sale tonight!"

"The main question remains… to whom will this precious treasure belong to in the end? Who will be the victor, that will have the right to grab hold of it? Let's find out! I wish you all the best!"

"Thus, I hereby announce that the true auction has begun!"

The moment the auctioneer, Tiana Sohl had finished speaking and stepped back, the entire venue erupted, boiled with the guest wildly competing in an all-out bid war.

"30 million!"

"40 million!"

"60 million!"

"70 million!"

"80 million!"

...

In just 2 minutes, the price has already reached the astounding 190 million mark. It was already impossibly high, and no matter how hard Aziel would have wished for it, he couldn't compete. Even with Lydia's immense wealth, the price was reaching such heights that were just out of their reach.

Still, such a priceless treasure would be an immense boost for him to push through his current bottleneck and fully transcend his current limits. After realizing that this world, this 'Earth' wasn't as simple as he thought it would be and that there were other cultivators that could utilize [Aether], Aziel's thirst for power has been fully unleashed.

He looked at Lydia, knowing that at the very most, she could -maybe- gather up another 200; may be enough for the next bid.

Aziel looked at the side, the calmly smiling, pair of husband and wife that came with them.

"The difference is only 10 million right now, and the amount would probably change shortly after. Hmm... Should I..." Aziel was in deep thought about his possible options. He could use his usual approach and make these two submit to him, either by using one of his old life's most useful skills, the [Mind Compulsion], or simply using some schemes.

[Mind Compulsion] was a very powerful ability Aziel had acquired after absorbing the clan of rebellious vampires in his last life. After killing and assimilating the only Ancient amongst them, he gained the skill amongst a couple of other useful ones. [Mind Compulsion] was a powerful hypnosis skill, that allowed the vampire, -then Aziel-, to control the mind of another simply through eye contact. Though the skill itself was not exclusive to Vampires, the other races also had similar abilities that mostly worked through either a spell or physical touch to achieve a similar result.

The skill was also only temporary, its length and power depended both on the caster's power, level, mana usage as well as the target's willpower to resist its effects. Also, if he or she was aware that such an ability was attempted, it would significantly increase its difficulty.

Still, it was an incredibly useful and powerful tool, that Aziel often utilized during his climb to the top, especially during meetings or making deals.

Aziel's mind raced faster as he thought over the possibilities. He had not attempted to use the skill so far, he had no idea what would be the effects and potential consequences if he would try to substitute [Mana] with [Aether].

'It should probably work if I would be careful. [Aether] is stronger, more potent than Nova's [Mana], I need to account for it. Still... there are some obvious differences between the two, I'm not sure what the end result would be... Worst case, I could fry their brain completely...'

Aziel pondered if the risk would be worth it. He knew that the two had probably around the same wealth as Lydia, and even with the few items they had already bought Aziel could gain access to another 200 million. Still, if he were to do that and spend their savings, some questions would probably be raised later on...

Half a minute later...

Aziel had made up his mind to take the risk and use them. He would first hypnotize the man, who was already quite antagonistic against him before, whilst he would ask Lydia to bring the woman, this Sandra out for a few minutes.

He believed in his ability, and he didn't want to miss out on this century old wild ginseng. It was just that much of an opportunity!

Coming back from his thoughts, he looked back at the stage where the latest bid was just placed.

"220 million from the gentleman at VIP BOX number 2! Is there another higher bidder? If there is none, this precious century old wild ginseng will go to the customer in Box 2!" The auctioneer looked excited and loudly asked the audience.

Suddenly, the lights lit up around Box 1, and the same robotic voice sounded from the speakers.

"230 million."

The auctioneer, Tiana Sohl's eyes brightened up as she said with a smile. "The generous customer from Box 1 has come in the last second! The gentleman has offered 230 million, a truly amazing capital! Today's scene truly makes me think, that how many great men have hidden amongst us, common folk! Is he the hero of tonight's drama, or do we have another contestant, a brave soul that would stand up? The choice is with you, my dear friends, take this chance, while you still can! If not, this century old ginseng will go to the dear customer once again at VIP Box 1!"

An agitated expression surfaced on a lot of people's faces in the auction venue. While they sympathized with the auctioneer's words, most could simply only swallow their anger, and pride as the price was just too much, too high for them.

A plump middle-aged man who sat in the front row, just in front of the beautiful host, angrily roared as he raised his hand in the air.

"240 million!"

"250 million." The light instantly lit up around Aziel's box, his robotic voice resounded in the hall once again.

That fat middle-aged man pushed the beautiful young girl at his side as he turned his head and stared toward Aziel's box, and then motioned his middle finger at him whilst exclaiming.

"300 million!"

Silence.

Everyone inside the entire auction venue was shocked by the fat middle-aged man's bid.

300 million?

Such a sky-high price was way too much, going far beyond everyone's imaginations.

People began to whisper to each other in sight of such a terrifying bid.

"Just who is that man? What could be his origin? Such an amount for a single piece of herb... even if it's so rare... This fatso is just a spendthrift fool!"

"Yeah, such a price is too much for a century old wild ginseng. At this point, he just wants to show that man in the VIP box to know his place!"

"What a complete idiot! Too many idiots sprouting up nowadays! Is this fatty really drunk and has a fever of his riches?"

"Why is it always the idiots with all the money?! Life is just so unfair!"

Aziel squinted his eyes as he looked at the provocative expression on the fat middle-aged man's complexion. He secretly sighed inside. He just couldn't afford it any longer. The highest bid he could bid was probably around the 400 million mark, which from judging the complexion on the man's face would be the limit of this fat man, and he would continue the race even further.

His expression soured, as he took a long careful look at the chubby man, whilst also remembering his vital signature. Such a measly, powerless mouse dared to stand up against him, and even humiliate him?! He has a lot to learn about the true powers of this world and that who he just cannot afford to offend.

Thus, Aziel forced a smile on his face as he let out a troubled sigh. Even though he was once incredibly rich, to the point he could have taken entire nations without batting an eye, now the situation was different. He was perfectly aware of the power of money. However, at present, he just restarted from the scratch again with a severe lack of funds.

Finally, the 1000-year-old wild ginseng was bought by the fat middle-aged man.

"Hehe... The real treat will soon be coming!"

"An excited proclaim could be heard from Aziel's side suddenly. Lydia's smile grew wide as she gazed at the stage below.

Surprised by her reaction, Aziel asked: "Why? Isn't the wild ginseng the last item on the list? Shouldn't it have been the last item tonight? Is there another thing not listed on the list?"

Leaning over, Lydia whispered.

"Honey, you are not aware as this is your first time visiting the Purple Cloud Auction, but this is sort of its own custom. For each event they hold, there's always a couple of items that are not on the list, the finale, the most precious being one of them each and every time."

"Hmm... So that's how it is..."

Aziel then realized. For this last item, he had a bit of anticipation. Since he didn't spend money to buy the century old ginseng, maybe the last auctioned item was what he needed.

Suddenly, all the lights at the auction venue were lit, as a band of dim white light was shone on top of the auctioneer's body.. Eventually, the projector cast the pictures onto the wall behind the auctioneer.