Chapter 136: Joint Ventures

Chapter 136: Joint Ventures

The only explanation Zac could find to the weird behavior of his axe was that the stone in front of him was something it desired. He knew since long ago that it needed to absorb various materials to improve to E-Grade.

However, the only thing hed found so far that it actually wanted to absorb was blood. And not any blood either, since it was completely uninterested in both the humans and the ants hed killed since acquiring it. The only thing it had actually drunk was the supercharged mink in the forest.

He had tested various things that were lying around in Port Atwood but with no luck. Unfortunately different Spiritual Tools craved different materials, so there was no guide lying around. However, it seemed that at least some of the ingredients would need to be E-Ranked in order for it to upgrade, as that was the same with all Tools.

Zac had the money and decided to purchase the stone. Who knew when another chance would crop up. He surreptitiously glanced over at the Gnome, but he only slightly shook his head while looking unsure, indicating he didnt know what the stone was.

One hundred thousand, a voice from the back said, once again starting a bidding war.

It was a bit more heated this time, as perhaps the prospect of creating a weapon that could suck the lifeforce out of their enemies was quite intriguing.

One million, a voice suddenly came from the front, quickly silencing the bidding.

It was Thea Marshal, holding up her paddle with an indifferent face. Zac frowned as he glanced over. She had just upped the bid by a whole 700 000 Nexus Coins, and it felt like she wanted to close it out.

One point one million, Nigel said as he held the arm of Billy.

One point five, Thea said as she threw a glance over at Nigel.

One point six, Nigel followed up without hesitation.

Zac felt there currently were two possibilities. Either they both knew what the stone and its approximate value was, or they both received a clue in the same way that he did. That would mean the both of them had a Spiritual Tool. The felt that the first option was a bit unlikely, as there shouldnt be anyone more knowledgable about precious metals compared to Calrin on Earth as of yet.

Since both were high rankers the second possibility was by no means impossible. The Tutorial gave out all kinds of good things, and these two were clearly at the top of the Tutorial. It seemed not only possible, but almost likely, that they were given proper weapons. And if it wasnt from the tutorial, then perhaps from some sort of quest.

But if that was the case he felt it was a bit odd that all three weapons wanted the stone, as the weapons appetites should vary more than that. Perhaps it was something else, some sort of treasure that all tool spirits wanted. When he came to that conclusion he didnt wait any longer and entered the fray.

Two million, he said as he held up his paddle.

Two point five, Thea answered after throwing a glare at him.

Three million, Zac unhesitantly responded.

From there the bids started to get smaller, and at 4 million Billy dropped out with a disappointed sigh. However, Thea was adamant.

Five million Nexus Coins, she said, now keeping constant baleful glare at Zac.

Six million, Zac answered with a helpless smile, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head.

He finally found something that was quite valuable, and he had a huge amount of wealth at the moment. He might only have 17 million in pure Nexus Coins, but he also had mountains of crystals. He wasnt first on the wealth ladder for nothing, while Thea had dropped down to the 17th spot recently.

When Zac reached six million she finally relented and sat back in her chair with an angry harrumph.

Fine, fine. Im sorry, ok? Write down a spending limit and Ill stick to it! he said as he handed over a paper.

Zac once again felt the veins on his forehead throb when he saw that the gnome had already written seven zeroes on the note, and Zac unhesitantly scribbled over the last one to the Calrin's dismay. As they were arguing a man in a suit walked up on the stage with a microphone.

Gentlemen, please remember the rules of the auction. This is your first and only warning, he said with a somber expression.

Sorry sorry. How about I take Miss Emma out for dinner to show my contrition? the demon said as he smoothed his hair and shot off a winning smile.

The hall immediately exploded on boos and demands to throw them out, but Emma only smiled in response.

I dont know, judging by the bidding your blue little friend is the one to go to dinner with. He seems quite generous, she said wiat ha wink.

The comment made Calrin proudly stretch his back, and even Zac couldnt stop himself from smacking the gnome in the back of his head.

Its easy to be generous with others money, he muttered in a low volume. Five million, thats your limit. And I expect to make quite some profit from your escapades. Otherwise, Ill hand you over to Ogras.

With that the auction continued and kept going unimpeded. Zac hade somewhat large hopes that the final items would be something exciting, but was disappointed to see that they were high-grade gear. He had hoped that there would be some stat or Dao-improving fruits for sale, but Zac guessed that they wouldnt go on sale even if the Government had them.

Of course, the others in the audience didnt have the same reaction, as there were harsh bidding wars for the last pieces of items. None of the items were Spiritual Tools though, but Zac felt it wasnt anything odd. Any truly good piece wouldnt be put up on auction this early into the integration, and in general he was actually surprised the government was willing to part ways with so many interesting items.

Perhaps it could be considered a display of power as well, the capability to sell so many treasures. In addition they made quite a bit of money, and the total value of all the items in the auction should approach almost 70 or 80 million.

With that amount of Nexus Coins they could do some quite large upgrades to New Washington, provided they had unlocked enough options in their Nexus Node.

As for this final item of the evening, I present to you the [Sword of Storms] an E-Rank sword fitting both wind and water cultivators, she said.

Sap Trang looked quite interested for a bit but soon shook his head.

You want it? Zac asked as he looked over

Thank you, but no. It is a fine weapon, but sword fighting isnt really the point of my class in the end, he said.

The Marshall Family didnt seem interested either, and in the end it went to a strong-looking cultivator for the whopping price of 2 500 000 Nexus Coins.

Thank you all for coming and bidding today! I hope to see you all again at our next event. With this I give you Thomas Fischer, Emma said as she quickly left the stage followed by applause and hooting.

Thomas Fischer came up to the stage soon after and was followed by multiple officials who stood in a row behind him. Zac recognized Julia, but the rest were unknown to him.

Welcome all. I have already had the pleasure of meeting many of you, but for those who do not know me, I am Thomas Fischer, the leader of New Washington. I was once the Deputy Secretary of Defense for the American Government, but today I stand before you as a representative for The New World Government.

The arrival of the System and the Incursions have resulted in extreme upheaval to our society, and I am sad to say that there are only approximately 1.5 billion humans left on Earth, Thomas began.

Six Billion. Over six billion dead in just above 5 months. Every day our brothers and sisters fall due to either the harsh environment we have been thrown into, or the invaders who aim to take our land for their own, he continued, somberly looking over the subdued audience.

It is time for humanity to unite.