The final price for the Basic Dragon Transformation Potion shocked many parties, but they soon calmed down. After all, the auction was far from over. Some would even say that it was only just beginning, and they wouldn't be wrong.

Now that this previous item had jumped the value of bids, many parties sat at the edge of their seats. Who knew, the next potion could be very well valued in high-grade Aether Crystals!

Zaine gestured to the next potion, which was the Panda Summoning Potion. This one wasn't as high-end as the Basic Dragon Transformation, being on the level of the Basic Phoenix Fire Potion, theoretically.

As such, despite the audience's fears, Zaine was reasonable with the price. "This next item is valued at 10 low-grade Aether Crystals. Increments must be made with 5 low-grade Aether Crystals at the least."

Many fellows in the crowd sighed with relief and then paused. While the minimum bid was fine, what was up with that increment amount? 5 low-grade crystals per increment was a significant jump from the mere 1 it had been before.

It started to become clearer that things were going to get worse from this point forward. The Basic Dragon Transformation Potion had been won by a Rank 7 fellow who was not in a VIP room because he was not a part of any factions.

The VIP rooms had remained silent during the bid for two reasons. The first was that with their standing, they could certainly find ways to requisition some from Draco afterward.

The second was also due to their standing, since it would be seen as unsightly if they started bidding at only the second stage of the auction. They would show their hand during the final stage, when the prices soared to the limits.

With the start of the bidding, many of the middle tier guests began fighting again. After all, this potion was significantly better than the first one, and that was ignoring the fact that it had the same starting price point.

"15 low-grade Aether Crystals!"

"23 low-grade Aether Crystals!"

"27 low-grade Aether Crystals!"

"32 low-grade Aether Crystals!"

The bids rose quickly due to the increased increment limit and soon reached 50 low-grade Aether Crystals. It began to slow down around this point, as was to be expected.

It had already far surpassed the Basic Phoenix Fire Potion which had gone for 27 low-grade Aether Crystals!

Eventually, the bidding came to a halt with the final price stopping at 60 low-grade Aether Crystals. This was a very good amount for the value of the item, so there were no complaints.

Next up was a far more valuable potion that even made many Hidden Powers twitch. This was, of course, the Panda Spirit Potion!

This one promised one the ability to gain the Pandaren Spirit passive skill which should have been impossible to acquire unless one had a way to race change. Its utility need not be reiterated.

As far as Draco - and most NPC powers - knew, the passive skill should function like his subjective magic. It should be an external combat enhancer that required its own techniques and resources to utilize.

Just like they theorized, the skill gave one access to the resources, but not the techniques. This involved both the combat techniques and the 'energy gathering' technique.

In essence, it was like receiving the Mage God title without Richmond's training. Would one still be able to cast subjective magic if they didn't go through the process?

So, its value was much lower on paper. But there was the fact that the techniques for the passive skill could be developed. After all, did the Pandaren divine the way to use this energy from the sky?

Clearly, they spent millennia of hard work compiling data, trying new things in order to create and refine their techniques.

So, this was not an excuse. It was like complaining about a car in the showroom not having a free source of fuel or that it didn't teach you how to drive itself.

Would the vendor care? Of course not! His only job was to get you to buy his good. As for you being able to use it... heh, for all he cared you were free to drive into every wall while before figuring out how it worked.

Zaine smirked as she licked her lips. This action did not turn anyone on, but rather made their hearts sink. That was the face of a sadist, a person who really enjoyed seeing the look of despair on the faces of others!

"The next item's price is set at 50 medium-grade Aether Crystals... this time only increments of 2 medium-grade crystals will be accepted." Zaine purposely left them hanging before explaining with a happy tone.

People almost screamed out in pain as they heard this price. Many had hoped to try and bid for this, especially the Rank 4 and 5 fellows in the crowd.

With this passive skill in their arsenal, they could become a hundred times more formidable if they could contact the Pandaren and purchase some techniques.

The power boost wouldn't be as great as the Mage God title, but it was still comparable, so this was not unfounded.

This was a stage for the Rank 6 and 7 powers to bid. Mere mortals like them had no hope of acquiring this, and no one was going to pool together funds for this since only one person got the blessing.

As such, the bids began once again, with many voices crying out over one another.

"52 medium-grade Aether Crystals!"

"58 medium-grade Aether Crystals!"

"62 medium-grade Aether Crystals!"

"67 medium-grade Aether Crystals!"

Just like that, it shot up to absurd levels. Zaine sat down and resumed reading her book. Were it not for the time and place, one might mistake her for a librarian or a diligent student in the library, but the surrounding voices of the bidders ready to fight amongst each other painted a different picture.

As this was not the Divine Auction, threats were thrown and backgrounds were announced, but it all meant dogshit here. Whoever won would win, no matter your backing, it was your almighty financial donger that would spurt out the white seeds of success!

"Hahaha, fellow friends, please give me some face and let me win this bid."

"What nonsense? Why should I give you face? Is your face even nice? Foolish boy, scram!"

"YOU!!"

"71 medium-grade Aether Crystals! Anyone who dares to fight with me will offend the Elphante Merchant Group!"

"73 medium-grade Aether Crystals! Hahaha, I just bid, what the fuck can you do to me bitchboy?"

"INSOLENT!"

Arguments like this were going on as the bids rose, with many parties trying to push and pull for success through their status, only for those of similar status to step on them like deadwood in a forest.

Some parties looked inches away from a fight, but the presence of the silent, yet watchful pinnacle powers stayed their hands. As such, the bid eventually reached 99 medium-grade Aether Crystals, stunning the crowd and even the bidders themselves.

It was like someone had cast a silence spell over them. Many of those who were qualified to bid and wanted the item looked like they were gagging, as if something was stuck in their throat.

This would be to call a number to raise the bid higher, yet they couldn't. After all, the bidding didn't work the way one would think on the surface.

For example, someone might have 1,000 low-grade Aether Crystals, but the bids had never surpassed 100, despite someone probably hiding that many away.

This was because 100 low-grade Aether Crystals represented 1 medium-grade Aether Crystal. So, something like 120 low-grade Aether Crystals as a bid would equate 1 medium grade crystal and 20 low-grade crystals, despite them having 120 low-grade ones to pay.

That was why almost no one was willing to add 1 more medium-grade Aether Crystal to the bid. If they did, they would have to payout 1 high-grade Aether Crystal, and many parties felt it would be a waste since the best items haven't been brought out yet.

Hence, the current situation.

Zaine saw the silence and smirked. She decided to call the bid for the one who hit 99 medium-grade Aether Crystals. It wasn't a big deal that no one wanted to cross the barrier, as the finale of the auction was where her plan would flourish.

The one who got it was a burly man that looked like a… bear. He was hairy, grizzled and coarse, but also heavyset as well as thick. If one squinted their eyes, they might actually confuse him with a Pandaren. His eyes glowed as he held the potion, and he immediately drank it on the spot.

A loud boom sound occurred and a gust of wind shook the entire auction, which was even so large that the naked eye couldn't traverse it fully.

A blue-ish glow emerged from the fellow and crawled around his skin for a bit before subsiding quietly. He then opened his eyes and smiled arrogantly, as if he had seen through the facades of the universe.

Many who had planned to rob him after the auction felt their heart break and cursed the fellow deep down. How could he be so selfish? Who ate the products they bought in a store right in front of the cashier after paying him?

He should have at least given them a chance to make an appearance and struggle a little before doing this as a last resort in order to get rid of them. Had he no sense of foreplay?!

The auction soon hushed up in anticipation of the final potion. Many knew that this one was the undisputed best of the five, so the starting price of it was what many powers wanted to know of.

"This is the final item of the second stage of the auction, and its price reflects its position and value as well." Zaine began, glancing at the crowd with a deadpan expression.

She scanned the crowd slowly, stretching the suspense and making the tension rise greatly. "It will start at 1 high-grade Aether Crystal, and the only acceptable increments are of at least another high-grade Aether Crystal."

A great noise erupted from the crowd as they exclaimed in shock, anger, and dissatisfaction. After all, this price was like gouging out a piece of flesh from their skin!

Zaine ignored them all and continued to watch the crowd silently. As such, in a matter of minutes, the noise reduced steadily, until total silence had returned.

When this happened, Zaine smirked and added even more fuel to the fire. "Due to concerns over the scarcity of such a resource, the auction will convert lower grade crystals to higher grade ones for bidders."

Many sighed with relief after they heard this. After all, what Zaine said was true, most couldn't bring out more than 40 high-grade Aether Crystals. As for the 400 Draco had sold, they were in the hands of the pinnacle powers who had yet to bid.

"Our conversion rate is simple. 1,000 low-grade Aether Crystals will make 1 medium-grade one, and 1,000 medium-grade crystals make a high-grade one. Naturally, whoever has 1,000 high-grade can use instead of a top-grade one." Zaine concluded with a little naughty titter.

Instead of being amused, the crowd simply erupted into an even greater uproar. Many fellows tried to jump on the stage in order to clobber the whole of Umbra to death, but were barely held back by their friends.

The conversion rates Umbra provided were more than daylight robbery. This was scandalous, rapacious, and unsightly! Umbra would have been better off coming to their houses and robbing them honestly than doing this!

Zaine licked her lips and focused as Draco told her to. She was far weaker than him in this aspect, but she was able to sense the flow of negative emotions directed towards her.

Like Draco had said, this blackish miasma that was completely intangible was extremely tasty. It was like drinking fresh, cool bottled water after a long day of hard work, or eating meat after a year of eating only vegetables.

This uproar lasted a longer while, and mere ignorance of their unhappiness was not enough to dispel it. As such, a VIP room took it upon themselves to do.

"Silence!"

A blast of menacingly murderous aura washed over everyone in attendance, crossing hundreds of miles that made up this super mini small world and all those arranged within.

It was like pouring a bucket of ice-cold water, one that was fetched right from the arctic itself, on the crowd. The flame of their anger was doused, and their will to rebel was scattered.

They sat down obediently and became quiet. This was the kind of power and influence the pinnacle powers had that no one else could mimic.

Zaine bowed slightly towards the VIP room in question and continued. "Since the price has been stated, you may begin the bidding for the potion at any point."

Many people hesitated here. There was an issue here that was hard to see if one wasn't too perceptive.

It was the quantity of Aether Crystals. In terms of quantity, everyone here who had formed a bidding power could pool together their crystals and even surpass Draco's gross total using the normal conversion rate.

But individually? No. This man here had 400 low-grade crystals and 20 medium-grade ones, this other man there had 200 low-grade and 1 medium-grade, and so on.

So, the best way to 'rob' them of their crystals would be to get them to pool together resources until the quantity was truly scary, similar to how things went in the Divine Auction.

The issue then came about in terms of the quality and quantity of the item sold. Something like Aether Crystals were so valuable that anyone would have killed to get the quantity back then.

Not to mention that Aether Crystals could be properly divided amongst those who contributed. As such, it was only logical to pool funds in such a manner.

This situation though, featured items that were mostly for the use of one person, and the current batch were items that were consumable. In essence, only one mouth would get to drink it.

So why should one give up their precious crystals for another to enjoy the goods? Was there really such a good deal in this world?

However, Zaine wasn't worried knowing this. She had her own schemes, and everyone in attendance today was just a pawn in her grand plan.

The bidding soon began as a rank 6 power tentatively called out a bid. "2 high-grade Aether Crystals."

The bid snapped others awake. If they let this fellow swipe the potion so cheaply, they could only spend eons lamenting in pain for their own cowardliness.

"3 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"4 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

It should be known that most of these fellows didn't have an actual high-grade Aether Crystal. They were just converting their stores of low-grade and medium-grade ones upwards.

Even with the horrid conversion rate, they were still able to gather this much… it went to show that despite the low output of the crystals in the short term, many had been gathered and kept over the centuries.

However, they could forget about keeping them any further. Once Zaine and Draco decided to collect it all through the auction, these fellows were destined to go home with only a needle and thread.

"5 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"Dog thing, how do you have so many of them? Do you shit them on a daily? 6 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"Hahaha, what do you know? I struck gold recently and got a large haul of them! 7 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"This buffoon here, has your brain been kicked by a donkey recently? After revealing this to the millions of people here, get ready for your estate to become quite lively soon, heh heh. 8 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"… fuck."

The bids rose to 12 high-grade Aether Crystals, and many were reaching their limit. Some Rank 7 powers had made heavily detrimental promises in order to borrow Aether Crystals from others.

This wasn't the same as pooling the crystals together since the lenders would have no share of the item if the borrowing party won the bid. Instead, the borrowing party was temporarily 'buying' the crystals, and as for what they paid out, the value was much higher than the crystals subjectively.

Many of the Rank 6 powers had 'sold' their crystals to the rank 7 fellows in the crowd, and the bidding war was handled by them. The VIP rooms were still silent at this time, and the rest of the auction were watching on as well.

"16 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"17 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"18 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

"19 high-grade Aether Crystals!"

The price had reached blood-chilling levels. Putting aside the superior value of Aether Crystals, the price in platinum alone was far more than anyone expected.

A single high-grade Aether Crystal was worth 50,000 platinum, meaning that 20 of them were equivalent to 1 million platinum! This was an amount only exchanged in places like the Divine Auction, which more than 90% of people here had no idea of.

Eventually, the final bid for the potion was called. It ended at 22 high-grade Aether Crystals!

The fellow who won was completely unsure as to how to feel. It was clear when he whispered to himself: "I've won… but at what cost?"

Zaine moved to the side, allowing the aides to bring in a pedestal with a fancy glass case. What lay within was not hidden from the public, so everyone could see it and inspect it.

When it came out, energy burst through the auction as many people began chattering, pointing, and generally displaying excitement.

Those in the VIP rooms also sat up and their eyes sharpened. Was it finally time for them to show the world what true wealth meant?

"Our next item… is not our final item. It is but the first of the third stage of the auction… an opener if you will." Zaine teased with a wicked smile.

The crowd slowly calmed down as their hearts began to beat. This was only the opener to this stage?

In other words, this powerful Bag of Holding that had attracted almost the whole of the top echelon in the human race… was just an appetizer?!

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Author's Note: new announcement, check it out here: https://bit.ly/3deIXEH