chap 36

Lukas made his way through the crowd that had gathered in the market square. Colorful banners and lanterns illuminated the area, reflecting light off the various types of artifacts and items on display.

The auction was held in an open space on the first floor. That seemed odd. There were no chairs or anything. People stood there while the organizers, dressed entirely in black robes and masks, handed out simple white badges with a small screen with the number 0 on it.

Lukas is aware of what they are. Given their size, they are bidding tokens. This is primarily for bidding on how much you can offer. Credit points are almost virtual.

Simply hold the badge and think about the number each round. If they won, a sign will be displayed. It appears that all that is required is to touch the white badge with one's credit badge.

Lukas paused and glanced to the left. A simple-looking stall was there, offering masks.

Lukas quickly glanced at the price tags. The price range is 10 to 50 credit points. He was tempted and went for them.

The owner was also wearing the same black robes concealing his identity. Lukas gave a quick look at the masks in front of him.

First, he noticed a simple leather half-mask priced at ten credits. It was designed to be open so that he could see and breathe freely.

Lukas noticed a copper mask with runic script further down the stall. It was designed to cover the entire face and featured adjustable leather straps for a snug fit. The material looked durable enough to withstand battle. Its tag listed the price as 40 credits.

He felt like buying it. Reason? It looked cool and suited his face. He scanned his credit token into the slot on the table and put the mask on his face.

There were also some cool, stylish robes. He decided to buy one as well. After going through a quick scan, he decided to go with a dark purple one.

It was also cheap at thirty credit points. The transactions happened in the same manner.

With a purple robe on his body and a copper mask on his face, he was prepared. He did not stand out or anything because he could see many people wearing similar outfits.

Lukas looked at the timer, which would soon reach zero. If he was correct, the auction will begin as soon as it reaches zero.

As the timer counted down, Lukas gazed around at the other attendees, all concealed behind masks and robes.

When the timer reached zero, the lead auctioneer stepped forward. "Welcome, everyone," they said in a distorted voice from behind their own featureless mask. "We have many rare and valuable artifacts to auction this evening. But first, a review of the rules. Simply hold your bidding token and concentrate your intent to place a bid. The highest bid will be displayed on the token screen. If you win, touch your tokens together to complete the transaction."

The first item shown was a large jewel-encrusted chalice on a floating table.When Lukas saw this, he recognized the item: it was not your typical jewelry, but rather one made from elemental ores. More specifically, they are referred to as gemstones.

Bidding started slow but quickly escalated as various tokens around the square lit up with higher numbers. In the end, a bid of 10,000 credits won the chalice for someone across the way.

Lukas took a deep breath, realizing how useless his five hundred credit points are here. As for the time it was expensive, but to think it reached ten thousand credits. The use of gemstones was simple; they are like one-time-used items as they grant the barrier to control the imbued elemental essences. In simple terms, they give the ability to wield an element which he doesn't have.

Lukas already decided to earn credit points as soon as possible. He will very much need them before the actual event happens around next year if he was right, that is.

Next came an ancient-looking sword still in its ornate scabbard. It held magical properties, and bidding for this item was even fiercer. Lukas watched with interest, wondering if any of the artifacts held significance he was not aware of. In the end, a bid of 7,000 credits won the mysterious blade.

As the auction continued, Lukas idly raised his token to bid on smaller trinkets that caught his interest - an agate stone, a bronze figurine, a rolled parchment with unknown writings. Nothing too extravagant yet. But he looked forward to seeing what other treasures might be revealed... and what secrets this strange gathering might hold.

He just tried his luck. But as expected, his luck never won. The reason was he was broke. His five hundred credit points turned out to be completely useless here.

Lukas sighed as another item was won by a bid far higher than his meager 500 credits. It seemed this auction was well beyond his current means. But his curiosity had only grown as each new artifact was revealed, hinting at mysteries and powers beyond his understanding.

He turned to leave. As he did so, his gaze fell upon a lone figure standing apart from the rest of the masked crowd. Unlike the others who milled about socializing, this person stood still as a statue, their features hidden completely by an ornate golden mask wrought in the likeness of a fearsome beast.

He decided to ignore him or her. Soon he arrived right in front of the library. His reason? He found a flaw in himself. He was lacking AoE spells; he only had a bunch of one-shot spells.

The library was still active. Some looked at him but then lost interest and focused on their studies.

Lukas also focused on his task at hand and searched through the shelves. And soon after some time, he found two.

Sigils of Disk: Makes the essence shape into a thin disk.

As for the AoE creation, he couldn't find any good ones. The ones he found were mostly for the 2nd or 3rd higher circle. But he did find a long-range one.

Sigils of Beam: Makes the essence into a beam.And thus, with this in hand, he returned to his dormitories. And fell asleep right away after taking a few bites from the bread. He forgot to get his prescription; he was lost in thoughts. Poor Lukas. Well, at least he then slept peacefully afterwards.

Completely unaware of how many messages he received from Ama and a few from Ria today.

[To be continued...