As soon as Ameena announced the start of the Aeredale Revival Auction, the stands quieted down, ceasing all talks of Ameena's appearance and the air she exuded.
From their initial fawning state, everyone entered a competitive mindset, viewing everyone around them as a potential competitor.
"We'll be starting with the herbs and material. We've harvested and collected quite a collection—some of which can even be used in a high-level alchemy production. If you're lucky, perhaps you'll even succeed in commissioning an Alchemy Master or Grandmaster from the Alchemist's Circle," Ameena announced.
Following her announcement, Ameena waved her hands, resulting in the large mahogany-colored curtains being drawn back.
Once opened, several containers revealing one item per container were showcased to the crowd.
"For security reasons, the actual stock is being held by our staff. Should you make the winning bid, you'll be able to claim your purchases afterward," Ameena revealed.
There wasn't much dissent to her announcement because it followed typical auction proceedings. Since there was no negative feedback, Ameena continued explaining while moving away from the stand.
The first item she approached resembled ginger, but it was bright orange in color and radiated a soft tangerine-colored glow.
As Kieran looked at the item, he felt it was something he was familiar with.
"This first herb is known as Solar Ginger, gaining its name from its ability to burn away some impurities in certain alchemy recipes. It's quite rare but not impossible to find, so we'll start the bidding at 50 Gold for the 10,000 units in possession," Ameena voiced.
As he looked at the item Ameena mentioned, Kieran squinted and inspected the herb closer than the others could.
After scrutinizing the Solar Ginger for roughly ten seconds, Kieran chuckled to himself.
'She has really buttered up this herb. Though it can indeed do what she said, handling it is difficult due to how volatile its energy is. Still… the price given is a steal.'
Within thirty seconds of the bid being opened, the price for the 10,000 units skyrocketed by over 500 Gold.
Based on Kieran's appraisal of the item, going beyond 10 silver per unit exceeded the worth of the ginger. But since it was still within an acceptable range, Kieran decided to join in.
"600 Gold," Kieran called out, directly increasing the bid by roughly 50 Gold.
Because his voice came from a VIP suite, many turned their heads. With perplexed looks, they began to wonder why a person capable of obtaining a VIP suite was interested in such an insignificant item.
However, because of his identity, everyone decided it was best to avoid getting into a financial scuffle with someone that commanded the wealth of an Honorary Member.
What they didn't know, however, was that Kieran only commanded wealth on par with mere Premium members of the Merchant Association.
He was fortunate that merely possessing the membership caused several assumptions that worked in his favor.
After his bid, no one else raised additional offers, leaving Kieran to claim the 10,000 units three seconds later.
'This apt addition to our resource pool will be perfect for the Alchemy Department. This is especially true considering the new recipes I've picked up,' Kieran thought.
Except for the Solar Ginger and a few other herbs in the selection, Kieran rarely showed any interest in what was present on the auction floor.
Most of the materials could be found or harvested easily, so Kieran saw no reason to compete with people of considerable wealth. If he wished to obtain them, all he needed to do was amass a team of Harvesters and Foragers to obtain the materials after he killed off the corresponding monsters.
Of course, another alternative would be creating a guild and training enough members to become a strike force capable of acting alongside a gathering team.
But the logistics of this required more managing manpower than he currently possessed.
'If the members of my legion in Golden Brigade didn't betray me, I would have considered them for the task. Sadly… they're not an option. What I need most is undying loyalty and there's only one way to cultivate that,' Kieran thought.
Though Zenith Online displayed increasing levels of realism, at the end of the day, many, if not all, players regarded it as nothing more than a game.
Even if it could refine their combat standards and produce unprecedented changes, such changes were only present within a tiny pool of players.
Ones capable of unlocking Hidden Attributes.
Without unlocking these Hidden Attributes, one would never become cognizant of Zenith Online's greater purpose, keeping them ignorant and under the false veil of reality.
Because he intended to auction off the orders in his possession, the creation of his guild became a more pressing matter. Recruitment was something Kieran had to consider deeply.
'I've already decided to go the quality over quantity route, but that's not enough. Aside from quality, I also need people like Bastion and the others. People willing enough to brave the good and the horrendous,' Kieran thought.
After securing a few bids, Kieran grew disinterested in the materials and herbs before him, allowing his thoughts to trail elsewhere.
Though he knew more than the average player, Kieran also understood that his prior knowledge possessed an expiration date.
Back in his original timeline, the strongest player had only completed their First Awakening, meaning that Kieran's knowledge could only suffice until then.
Beyond that point, it became fair game.
'Most of what I know only pans out if the timeline remains the same, but that's not very likely. Because I refuse to adhere to the limits of my previous fate… I'm liable to change a lot of things, and I have to be prepared for that,' Kieran thought.
Not long after his bout of contemplation, Kieran lifted his gaze as Ameena mentioned a truly fascinating product.
"Here we have Purified Mana Dust. One might regard it as an incomplete Mana Shard, Crystal, or Stone, but that's not entirely true. It's more practical for smelting into liquid Mana to be used in item enchanting," Ameena said.
Mana could be found everywhere in Xenith, but the same couldn't be said about crystallized Mana. Not only did the crystallization of Mana take an absurd amount of time, but it also required a proper environment to promote the process.
Empires generally owned these environments, which is why they commanded some of the greatest wealth, leaving the kingdoms to vie for the remaining scraps.
Still, any area capable of producing Mana Dust, Shard, or Crystals of acceptable quality was a gold mine.
"We have approximately 20 kilograms of Mana Dust in stock. But as this marks the transition into pricier items, we'll be starting the bidding at 2,000 Gold for the present stock," Ameena voiced.
Seconds later, the stand erupted with bids.
"3,000 Gold!"
"3,500 Gold!"
"6,000 Gold, dammit!"
"Hah! Do you want to engage in financial combat, dimwit? 12,000 Gold!"
"Oh, no, no, no. 20,000 Gold!"
As Kieran listened to the rampant bids, his eyebrows shot up.
A mine capable of yielding 20 kilograms of Purified Mana Dust had to be extremely high grade! This was not something he expected in the auction as it appeared to be left out of the index.
Mana's versatility was kept even in liquid form so that it could be used to power magic circles and formations or in direct item production for the final touches.
But handling liquid Mana was something only some were capable of.
The Mana would harden again if it wasn't kept within a particular environment. And continuous smelting could ruin its properties.
'Even some Famed Blacksmiths fail to utilize liquid Mana properly, so it's not something that interests me. At least… not right now. When the time comes, I'll explore a better alternative, especially since I have to repair Crimson Ashrune,' Kieran thought.
Ultimately, Kieran learned that he had made a good decision.
By the end of the bids, the item had reached a whopping 145,000 Gold!
Considering that liquid Mana was required in forging a high-level Epic Item, this price tag was justified.
'I need items that won't interest the NPCs but will greatly interest the players. I must either recoup or make a large profit on what I obtain,' Kieran thought.
"For the next auction segment, we'll be moving on to recipes and the like," Ameena announced.
At the mention of recipes, Kieran's eyes brightened.
Recipes and production items generally didn't interest NPCs as they relied upon the production organization for their items.
This luxury was extended to players as well, but as of now, most players couldn't afford the price of the Brotherhood of the Forge, Alchemist's Circle, or the Tailor Allegiance.
"We have a variety of potion recipes that'll be valuable to you adventurers that go out on dangerous missions. Our first recipe is… the Advanced Gladiator Potion, known to increase one's battle power."
A silence occurred as expected, which led to Ameena's grimace.
However, Kieran's deep voice sounded from within the VIP suite a moment later. "I'll take the buyout price for all copies."
"Understood, honored VIP," Ameena answered in high spirits. She felt saved by Kieran's generous "offer."
"Next, we have the Advanced Whirlwind Potion—…."
"I'll take the buyout price for all copies," Kieran remarked again.
Because he had an index on the items, he was aware of the recipes. After all, they were partly his main focus.
Every time Ameena announced a new potion recipe, he'd also claim their buyout.
In the end, Kieran secured nearly 1,000 copies of ten potion recipes. It was a somewhat pricey investment, costing him more than 20,000 Gold, but it was worth it.
"Up next… we have a lovely production tool—the Frostflame Hammer," Ameena announced.
The moment he saw this crimson hammer with cerulean lines running through it, Kieran understood that he had to obtain it.
It was undoubtedly a valuable production tool from which either Hamon or Bernard could benefit.
