We’ll have to continue this conversation later,> Samantha said. It was something I was learning that she loved to do. Putting off tough conversations because of an “urgent” matter.

“Welcome to the Atropos Schema Hard-mode Tutorial Auction!” A man’s voice rang in my ears. He spoke with a loud, hyped-up voice, and the power and resonance in my own head bespoke magic.

“Please note that any violence or disruption will result in immediate expulsion from the auction. My name is Mrinda, and I am the representative that the Merchants’ Faction has appointed to lead this auction.”

Samantha said.

And now Samantha was back to telling me what to do.

It was hard, really. She clearly knew a lot more than I did about everything. But it was annoying, how easily she took back control.

And this was just after she caused the death of my companions by knowingly aggravating a mini-dragon.

Of course, I could ignore her. Samantha wasn’t mind-controlling me and making me stand on my chair and look around.

Samantha said.

It felt kind of silly, really, fighting Samantha about something as simple as turning my head. Especially with the way Samantha framed it—not looking would be a sign that I didn’t care about my Hard-mode companions.

The building reminded me of the Colosseum, with elegant stone arches and standing space for thousands of people. I was in the front row, which allowed me to see the stage clearly. The stage was tiny, compared to the size of the audience stands. It was about the size of a high school theater’s stage.

Standing on the stage was a four-foot-tall fairy. My best guess was a fairy mainly because he had translucent, pixie-like wings attached to his back. The wings were small—it seemed impossible that they would be sufficient to allow him to fly, but there he was—hovering a few feet off the ground. His body looked thinner, smaller, and lighter than most humans. It wasn’t that he looked like he was all skin and bones. It was like his body was the size of a prepubescent child, but he had the musculature and features of an adult, without the stockiness of a dwarf.

I stood on my seat and glanced up, behind me, at the crowd of people. Tens of thousands? A hundred thousand?

All I knew was, I saw a lot of people.

Samantha said.

“Dude, really?” The man behind me said in an incredulous drawl. “Can’t you just stand like everyone else?”

I glanced around and saw that I was getting some angry glares.

I stepped down from the chair I was on, and turned back towards Mrinda.

There was this weird dissonance in my brain. Our world was going to hell, and these people cared so much about the etiquette of not standing on my own seat. Then there was the concern in my head about how quickly I just followed Samantha’s instructions to stand on a chair. Was that mind control? Or was I just so used to following her directions, now? Or did I do it because I wanted to?

“There are two parts of the auction,” Mrinda was saying. “First, there is a silent auction—a list of items you can bid for through the Information Crystals that will appear in front of you. Then, there are the main items, which will be presented here on the stage.

“Bidding will happen through your crystals. All bids for the live auction will be public. Take your time to peruse the silent auction and the live auction item list, and then we’ll get started.”

Mrinda spoke with very little pomp and circumstance, yet at the same time, there was no boredom in his voice. His initial welcome had sounded like a sports announcer, but now, he spoke with a clipped, all-business tone.

A translucent, blue crystal materialized in front of each person in the audience. There was a collective gasp—even after everything we had seen so far, seeing something appear out of nowhere still felt shocking. Especially when you consider the sheer numbers. Close to 100,000 crystals, magically appearing at the same time? How did they pull that off?

The crystal was smaller than a Recovery Crystal—about twice the size of an egg.

Samantha said.

As I put my hand on the Information Crystal, I glanced at my own Status Window, taking stock of the number of coins I had, and the levels that I had gained.

Name:

Jarek

Level:

18

HP:

28/28

Physical Defense:

16 (+4)

Strength:

20 (+2)

Mental Power:

11

Dexterity:

10

Agility:

10 (+4)

Perception:

20

Mana Pool:

41 (+1)

Mana Regeneration:

20 (+1)

Available Points:

0

Coins:

121,440

Class:

Mana Modulator (D-rank)

Profession:

None

Titles:

Skills and Spells:

Identify (E-rank)

Mana Modulation (D-rank Core)

Death’s Defier (A-rank)

Affinities:

Internal Mana (D-rank Low)

Equipment:

Mana-infused Knife (F-rank): +1 Mana Pool, +1 Mana regen.

Orc Helmet (F-rank): +2 Physical Defense

Orc Breastplate (F-rank): +2 Physical Defense

Orc Boots (F-rank): +2 Agility

Orlan Blade (E-rank): +2 Strength, +2 Agility

Interdimensional Pouch (E-rank):

I’d leveled up quickly against the griffins, clearly.

Samantha said,

I was certainly coming into this situation from a position of power. I’d gained a load of levels during the latest round of the tutorial. Thanks to being the second to finish the first three stages, I had gained 50,000 coins. Now, it seemed, those coins would pay off.

Glancing around, I noticed that the people in this front row held a particularly dangerous aura about them.

Is my wealth the reason I’m in the front row?

Yes, it is,> Samantha’s voice appeared in my head.

With my hand on the Information Crystal, my whole vision was soon covered in words. It was something like a website, except everything was projected in translucent blue text. The current page showed categories of silent auction items. Weapons, equipment, classes, professions, single-use items, permanent stat boosts, materials, ingredients, and so on.

I pushed back against the slight feeling of gratitude towards Samantha. It did help, having a sense of what path I wanted to pursue. But it was worrying, how quickly I found myself forgiving her. She was probably still controlling my emotions, somehow.

I clicked on a separate tab to sell items.

I felt several attentive eyes on me as I took flowers out of my Interdimensional Pouch.

I laid the flowers on the ground, and then I selected the Appraise icon in my field of vision.

A blue light shone around me, gathering more glances from the people around me.

Yanir Flowers (E-rank) x10: Trade-in value: 5000 coins each.

Confirm trade? Y/N

Samantha said.

Once I confirmed the trade, I was 50,000 coins richer. Still not worth it, I told Samantha.

Samantha responded.

I hid the text in my vision and glanced up in surprise. Sure enough, Ethan—looking maybe a bit more beat-up than I remembered—was studying his crystal carefully.

If this was a power play, a look how impressive I am, then it was working.

I’d spent a few seconds glancing around the whole stadium, and Samantha was able to pick out their faces so quickly from tens of thousands of people?

I glanced towards Bradson. Surprisingly, he wasn’t focused on his crystal. Instead, he was in the midst of a crowd of about twenty people. Mostly men, buzz-cut hair, very little facial hair, muscular builds—I didn’t need an A.I. in my head to tell me that maybe they were all from the military.

They were shaking hands, and even their handshakes looked unnecessarily firm. It could be they were greeting each other, but it was also possible they were sharing funds…

They were the closest group to me that had formed, but they weren’t the only one. I could see a half dozen other groups forming in the area as well.

Samantha said, as I glanced at the groups around me.

Samantha suggested.

It was disconcerting, how polite she was being. When you’re ready? I scoffed mentally.