The more Deia revealed about the spell manual, the more excited the crowd became. They were just waiting for her to declare the starting price and open up the bidding so they could begin.
Deia saw their enthusiasm and smiled cruelly. "The starting bid for the first tome is 100 Supreme Coins. The minimum increase in bids should be 1 Supreme Coin. You can now begin bidding!"
However, despite Deia's words, the crowd was conspicuously silent. They were utterly speechless and shocked by her words, thinking that they had gone insane or were under the influence of hallucinogens.
After all, they were aware of the value of this item. It was great, but they didn't expect it to be so damn expensive. One should remember, the Dius was previously the universally recognized number 1 currency.
To give a good comparison, the Gold Ando Coin, which was likely the lowest value currency in Fallon - but the most relatable right now - was made of 1 troy ounce of gold. So one could say that 1 gold coin = 1 troy ounce.
It took 32,150.7 troy ounces to make a single tonne. In other words, One tonne of gold could roughly make 32,150 coins for spending. Darius had traded in 50 tonnes of gold to only acquire 500 Dius.
50 tonnes was equivalent to 1,120,000 troy ounces, which was equivalent to 1.12 million gold coins. This was enough to shake the entire Andrato Kingdom from top to bottom, and even the royal family was not that wealthy.
Yet one needed that much to gain a mere 500 Dius. However, this only equated to 5 Supreme Coins.
Roughly speaking, each Supreme Coin would be valued at 10 tonnes of raw gold. So how much were 100 SC? These fellows were asking for 1,000 tonnes of gold for just one spell tome, and that was just the starting price!
(Author's Note: if you are still having trouble scaling how outrageous this is, let me help you. The United States, the most powerful country on Earth currently, only has 8,000+ tonnes in reserve.)
However, soon many snapped out of their shock. After all, they had bought hundreds and thousands of Supreme Coins coming here because they expected the goods to be expensive.
As such, the bidding soon began. Unlike one would expect, there was no raucous shouting and threats, because everyone was bidding privately using the HoloBrace. They just had to imagine their in their mind and Martin would place it, then sort out between the highest within a frame of a picosecond.
This kind of silent bidding was quite intense. Luckily, there was a screen behind Deia that displayed the current highest bid price which was refreshed rapidly, so that those bidding would know where the amount stood.
Darius also had a smaller screen in his viewing room with his Apprentices, and they were watching the first bid battle in silence. The Apprentices did not understand the value of the Supreme Coin naturally, because everything was being provided for by Darius and they had not been allowed to leave the tower until today.
At 234 SC the bids finally slowed down. Many bidders were eliminated by this point, and they came to realize that despite coming here, they might not be able to afford what they needed.
At this time, Martin appeared on all HoloBraces and spoke privately to the various owners, but the content was the same. They could each summon a Guard Android to their side anytime during the auction to exchange any extra currency or items they had into more Supreme Coins on the spot.
Basically, they would call Martin with their minds and inform him about what they were changing and he would credit their accounts. Then when the Guard Androids came around, they would cough up what was owed.
Hearing this, the various powerhouses were excited and struck with fear. Excited because there was hope for them to not have to leave here empty-handed, and fearful because they understood that the city was going to milk them like a baby suckling a teat.
Many fellows quickly exchanged for more coins while the bid stabilized at 276 Supreme Coins. Eventually, it stopped there for about 10 seconds, after which Deia began to call out the sale.
Seeing that no one wanted to push further, Deia called it out. A Guard Android removed the book and went backstage, but would present the item to the buyer after the auction.
Martin informed the buyer mentally to return to the city and stay in a pre-arranged inn for one night. During the night, a Guard Android would bring the item over in order to protect their safety.
Learning this, the buyer felt grateful and impressed by the foresight of the auction house to protect the safety of their buyers. Although only the buyer had been informed, others were able to see through the act and conclude that it would not be easy to steal items from others.
That made hesitant fellows who had the money but lacked personal strength relaxed and confident to win at all costs.
"The next item is another spell manual with the trait called Instant Restore. Every hour, you automatically burn a certain amount of your mana - or the equivalent to that according to your system - to restore a fixed amount of your vitality and stamina." Deia began with a smile, patting the book.
"You cannot control the amount restored, that is why it's a passive trait after all, but upon learning, it is estimated that you should be able to sacrifice 5% of your overall mana to restore 5% of your overall vitality and stamina."
"You can naturally train it to do more, as well as gain more control over the process, but the fundamentals are as explained!"
Deia then smiled playfully, something which made the various powers feel wary.
"The starting bid for this spell tome is 150 Supreme Coins and the minimum increase is 1 Supreme Coin! The reason for this should be obvious, a passive ability that can heal without needing a priest is far more valuable than one that can kill~"
"Let the bidding begin!"
