"Welcome to the first Soultrait Symbol Auction of the Bartholomew Corporation. We hope that everyone watching the stream is having a pleasant time and that you're as excited for today's event as I am," Kraft Viton introduced himself from the large recording device that managed the livestream all over the Tritan Alliance.
The recording device was empowered with several Monster Cores of Higher Lifeforms, allowing everyone who was interested to connect to the stream.
Kraft Viton smiled at the recording device, ignoring the pairs of eyes that lingered on him. He was a true professional.
Michael and the others decided to attend the Soultrait Symbol Auction in person. They sat down in the spectator rows in the Colosseum and listened to Kraft Viton as he introduced a handful of new items of the Bartholomew Corporation. He didn't jump to the Soultrait Symbol Auction immediately, and stalled for some time instead. The vast majority of bigshots interested in the Soultrait Symbols had yet to join the livestream, after all.
Kraft Viton introduced various herbs, greens and other plants in the stream. It didn't take a genius to determine that the products shown in the stream came from the Agriculture Project.
Was the Bartholomew Corporation bragging about their successes, or was there some hidden agenda behind this?
Michael presumed that it was the latter but a simple analysis of Kraft Viton's facial features and attitude made it seem like they were bragging. Well, everyone felt the need to brag every now and then. It was fine.
Roughly ten minutes passed since the livestream started when Kraft Viton retrieved a small glass vial containing a large, glowing mass. It was a Soultrait Symbol.
"I think everyone is already tired of listening to my voice, but I hope you can stay tuned for the main event," Kraft Viton said, the corner of his lip curling up, "What I'm holding in my hand is one of the six Soultrait Symbols that will be auctioned today, two for each race as demanded by our 'anonymous' partner."
The tension in the Colosseum intensified as all eyes were drawn to the Soultrait Symbol. Lincoln and some other Descendants jumped up from their seats, their bodies tense, and their left hand grasping their right tightly. Small tendrils of energy emerged from their War Runes. They'd sensed the Soultrait Symbol and desired to devour and fuse with it immediately.
"My War Rune is going crazy…" Kaleb mumbled, breaking into a sweat to prevent the tendrils of energy from shooting out of his War Rune.
"That's normal. War Runes are instinctively drawn to Soultrait Symbols," Michael responded, while easily controlling his War Rune. He suppressed its desire to claim more Soultraits with a mental command and observed Kraft Viton. The old man's War Rune was no different from that of the remaining Awakened. The only difference was that Kraft Viton had received enough time to learn how to control his War Rune's tendrils. He had been exposed to the Soultrait Symbols a few days in advance than everyone else who was struggling to get their War Rune's under control, other than Michael, of course.
"As everyone should be able to see…my War Rune is going crazy. This is a natural phenomenon, which is directly related to the relationship between Soultraits and War Runes. If you manage to bid for the Soultrait Symbol, you will notice that your War Rune will go crazy for the Soultrait Symbol as well. That I can promise!" Kraft Viton said, trying to sound nonchalant and in control. Unfortunately, that was quite hard with greedy energy tendrils shooting out of his War Rune.
He managed to control his War Rune within the next few seconds and cleared his throat to disperse the traces of embarrassment he felt.
"Let me tell you a little bit about this Soultrait Symbol. First of all, it is a Soultrait Symbol that is going to be auctioned to the human race. However, if a member of the Berserker, or Warlock Centaur race thinks that this Soultrait fits perfectly to them, you may bid as well. But keep in mind that we took every races' fighting style in consideration," Kraft Viton explained, his expression turning serious.
"If you bid for a Soultrait Symbol that was chosen for another race, one of the Soultrait Symbols we've picked for your race will be sold to another race. Therefore, stay cautious while bidding for a Soultrait Symbol that has been reserved for your allies," He added, only to smile brightly once again, "Of course, bidding for the most compatible Soultrait is the most important. This is an auction, and a bidding competition. There is no need to be considerate. Who knows how many years it will take before a second Soultrait Symbol Auction will be held?"
Kraft Viton did an exceptional job playing with fire. He warned everyone that they picked appropriate Soultraits for each race, but enticed the other races to bid for other Soultraits as well. Kraft's declaration was nothing short of war – a bidding war. Michael was not sure if that was the best way to generate more profit, but he trusted the old man. If anyone knew what he was doing…then it was Kraft Viton!
"The first Soultrait traded in today's bid can be classified as a rare Elemental-type Soultrait. Like all Soultraits auctioned in today's special event, it is a 1-Star Soultrait."
Nobody was surprised to hear that the Soultrait was 1-Star. Kraft Viton clarified that before in the notifications he forwarded to every participant of the Soultrait Symbol Auction. He also clarified that they can purchase Michael's service with a discount to upgrade the auctioned Soultraits up to 4 Stars.
"The Soultrait is called [Aquarius] and it's very versatile even as a 1-Star Soultrait. It is a water-attributed Elemental Soultrait that can not only control the water in the surroundings, but also manifest water with energy. It's formless but can take shapes as well. You may use Aquarius to cleanse wounds as an infinite source of water for your territory, or in battle to block attacks by summoning walls of water, or attack via water jets." Kraft took a deliberate pause before continuing,
"The potential uses with Aquarius are near-infinite. All you need to be is…creative. As long as your creativity doesn't die, you will be able to find new uses for Aquarius. If used with other Elemental Soultraits, or other types of Soultraits, you may as well create stronger versions of your respective Soultraits…"
Kraft Viton turned the bid into a detailed lecture about Aquarius' potential uses and its uniqueness among Soultraits until he noticed that the first bids had already begun flooding in.
"Oh! It looks like we've already gotten a few bids while I was busy speaking about Aquarius. It seems like the account with the name [God of Thunder Family] is very curious in this Soultrait. That is certainly an interesting choice," Kraft Viton said, clearly noticing which family the account belonged to. It was obvious.
Another bid entered the chat.
"Zenovia's Glory made another bid with 20 Silver Tokens of Transportation, a vast variety of exotic resources, and a Bronze Egg of Destruction! To think that Zenovia's Glory is willing to exchange the Bronze Egg of Destruction. What a plot twist!"
"We've got another bid. 22 Silver Tokens of Teleportation, all resources mentioned in the list of items in section one, and… a Summoning Scroll Set for a Grandmaster Beastmaster Family! A Summoning Scroll Set! It's very rare to see them! For those who've never heard about Scroll Sets, the Scrolls contain a Set of Summons that is linked to each other. Usually it's a family with a Unique Bloodline. Their unique Bloodline allows them to use special abilities that resemble the powers of Soultraits!"
More bids moved in, but Michael didn't pay much attention to them for long. At first, he was a bit curious in incoming bids, but he quickly noticed that he was growing too excited about certain items, only for more valuable – but less exciting – bids to be made.
He was curious about the Egg of Destruction since he had no idea what exactly the Egg of Destruction was, in the first place. However, the Scroll Set for a family of Beastmasters at the Grandmaster level was far more valuable. The bidding for Aquarius continued for a while until the Zeus family – through the account of the God of Thunder family – made a final bid.
"What a shocking bid! The God of Thunder Family bid 30 Silver Token of Transportation, 25 Intermediate Blueprints of Exotic rarity, 8 Advanced Blueprints, including the blueprint for a Hunter Academy, AND a Bloodline Upgrade Token!"
A Bloodline Upgrade Token possessed the power to upgrade the bloodline of a Summon. It couldn't be used on an Adventurer, or a Lord. But that was ideally fine. It was exceptional if used on a appropriate Summon as it upgraded the Summon's potential alongside his/her bloodline. Depending on the target's latent potential, it was possible that their Star Rating would improve in the future.
However, that was not why Michael valued it so highly. Upgrading a Summon's bloodline was comparable to a transmutation – an evolution. If used on the Immortal Knight, it was possible to heal his wounds, rejuvenate him, and allow him to fulfill his much-awaited dream; to join the battlefield once again.
Michael nodded to Kraft Viton, who noticed his action from the corner of his eye. Maybe other bids would be better for others, but the Bloodline Upgrade Token was of tremendous value for Michael. It was probably more valuable than all the other goods that had been bid alongside…together.
"There are more incoming bids but none of them can rival the God of Thunder Family's bid. It seems like we found a new owner for Aquarius! Please congratulate the God of Thunder family for successfully bidding and receiving the first Soultrait Symbol in today's special event!"
Soft cheers rang through the Colosseum, but nobody was actually glad that the Zeus Family won the bid – other than Michael, of course.
Michael was overjoyed. Using the Bloodline Upgrade Token might add a 6-Star Summon with enhanced potential back onto the battlefield.
How could he not be happy?!
