"Okay." Max nodded, excited. He once again felt happy that he had the system that could help him do the things that were usually extremely difficult or even impossible.
Siana didn't mind the crowd's chatter and maintained her smile as she announced, "Now that I've told you everything about it, I would like to invite everyone interested in the item to bid for it. The starting price would be 80,000 low-grade Mana stones, and each bid must be at least a thousand Mana stones higher."
Just as she finished speaking and everyone, including Max, thought that not many people would be interested in the egg, a hoarse voice resounded in the auction hall, catching everyone's attention.
"80,000 Mana stones."
Everyone in the crowd and Siana turned to look at a figure sitting in the back seats in the auditorium. It was unclear whether it was a male or female or from which race because it was garbed in black clothes from head to toe.
"I hadn't thought someone would still be interested in it."
"He is mad and is simply wasting his wealth."
"Look at him. From how he is trying to hide his identity, I reckon he is someone mysterious. Maybe he has some way to hatch it."
"Then why isn't he in the guest rooms where no one can see him? I say he is intentionally being mysterious and trying to show off."
"It's good for us whether he is doing it to show off or not. If he spends more here, he wouldn't be able to compete with us when spirit fruits come out.
"..."
Siana's smile brightened seeing someone so eager to bid. She then asked in her sweet and melodious voice, "This guest here has bid 80,000 Mana stones, is there anyone who would like to raise the bid?"
"85,000!" Just then, an alluring female voice sounded in the hall and raised the bid by 5,000, making Siana nod in satisfaction.
"90,000!" The black-clothed figure made the bid before anyone could react.
"95,000!" The woman from the second floor also didn't hesitate before raising it by another 5,000.
"100,000!"
...
Max had a slightly uneasy expression on his face. Just like everyone, he had also thought that very few would want the egg after hearing it was useless, and he could bid a few more thousand more than the initial price and successfully buy it.
However, he didn't expect someone to start bidding in a frenzy even before he could make his bid.
Belen and others had been watching people bid with interest and didn't notice his expression. But after a while, Rima, who was sitting right beside him, felt a change in his emotions, and when she saw his anxious expression, she worriedly asked, "What is it, Max? Is there something wrong?"
Belen and Leticia also turned to him upon hearing Rima.
Max took a breath and said in a bitter tone, "I plan to buy this egg. However, If it keeps going like this, I'm afraid we won't have enough Mana stones for spirit fruits."
"If that's the case, don't worry about spirit fruits and buy this egg," Rima said without hesitation.
Belen and Leticia also nodded in agreement which surprised Max quite a bit and warmed his heart. He knew how much they wanted the fruits, but they didn't hesitate and told him to buy what he wanted.
He looked at them lovingly and smiled, "Don't worry. I'll try to buy both the egg and spirit fruits."
Then he focused his attention on the auction. The egg's price had reached 120,000 Mana stones.
"121,000 Mana stones!" The woman from the second floor made the bid again. However, this time, she didn't increase it like before and merely raised it by 1000 stones and from his tone, it seemed she had reached her limit.
The black-clothed man sighed in relief upon hearing this and raised the bid by another 1000, "122,000!"
After the man made his bid, the crowd turned to look at room number 13 on the second floor to see if the woman would raise the bid again or not.
However, even after a few seconds, there was no movement.
"It seems she had reached her limit."
"Sigh! I was having fun seeing them fighting for this useless egg. So disappointing."
Siana felt a bit disappointed for a moment. She shook her head and thought, 'It's already enough that the people here are willing to spend so much for this. I should stop comparing them with the people from the central plains.'
She then asked in a clear voice, "This guest here has bid 122,000. Would anyone like to raise the bid?"
On the second floor, room number 13...
Two people were sitting in the chair while three stood behind them. The two sitting were a man and a woman. The man looked to be in his thirties, while the woman seemed to be in her mid-twenties.
If Max were here, he would find both of them familiar. The woman resembled Flavia. However, unlike Flavia, who had a gentle and elegant air about her, this woman seemed sly as a fox, while the Man resembled Dalton to some extent.
He glanced at the woman and asked, "Miss Janice, aren't you going to bid anymore? I thought you wanted it."
Janice sighed disappointingly and said, "Although I want it, I can't afford to pay any more than this for it."
Hearing this, his eyes gleamed, and he said, "Since that's the case, why don't I buy it and gift it to you?"
"Thank you for the kind gesture, sir Jack. However, you don't have to do it." Janice shook her head and flashed a captivating smile at him.
"It's nothing, miss Janice. Please don't refuse." Jack said and then proceeded to inject his Mana in the armrest to raise the bid. However, before he could do it, a voice sounded from the floor above.
"125,000!"
Bonus chapter (5/15)
