Second Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  They had been so wrapped up in their own crafting they hadn’t really discussed it.

  They went through two more stacked plates as they told each other what they had done in their time apart.

  “You look to have a thinking expression on your face,” Erik said as Rugrat went quiet.

  “It’s just…my teacher. She’s a good person but she’s been crapped on. I was wondering if I should ask if she wants to return to Alva Dungeon. I know that having her around would be good for the dungeon. I don’t know if it would be good for her skills, though, or if she’d want to. She doesn’t like her family very much but she still wants their recognition,” Rugrat said.

  “She seems like a good person, a hard worker. I don’t see why not.” Erik shrugged.

  Rugrat didn’t reply, still turning it over in his mind.

  “What does it hurt to ask? It’ll give her another option and possibly bring a new blacksmith to our side. We have a lot of people trying out different ideas but having a smith who’s done more will aid us greatly,” Erik said, reassuring his friend.

  “Okay, I’ll ask her after the auction,” Rugrat said, resolving his mind.

  “I wonder how the people from the dungeon are doing.”

  “Hopefully they’re not in too much trouble. We need to hurry up in finding a new dungeon with a dungeon core in it. Even though we’ve increased our skills, I can’t help but worry we might not get a dungeon core in time.” Rugrat sighed.

  “We’ll find one—we’ve got to,” Erik said. “It’s why we focused on making items that would sell, so that we have the funds to compete against anyone else who wants the maps and information on the different dungeons.”

  “Yeah, I hope that they’re enough to wrestle a few dungeon items from the other groups.”

  They fell into silence, each left with their own thoughts.

  People on the ground floor talked to one another and moved to their seats.

  “I hope that I can get a few books on tailoring. My daughter talks my ear off about thread this, leather that, and get me those types of hides, but not those.” One man laughed with a few friends.

  “It looks like a lot of powerful people have come out today. A total of five different first elders have left their sects to come to the auction. The Kerose Institute’s leader is here as well!”

  “I heard that one of the Kerose Institute’s formation students was scouted out by the Blue Lotus. They must be putting on a good show because of this!”

  “It should be lively with so many powers around! Do they know something we don’t?”

  These conversations and more drifted into the booth, although they couldn’t hear anything Erik and Rugrat said. The formation on the window also served to cut off noise.

  People continued on with their conversations until the doors closed and an amiable-looking man walked on stage.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I am your auctioneer today, Lu Chiao. I hope that you are ready for the treasures that will be brought before you today! We have a number of interesting items that might not be seen in the Mortal realms!” Lu Chiao smiled, his manner making the people push their other thoughts to the side and lean forward in anticipation of his words.

  Lu Chiao clapped his hands together. “Let us begin!”

  A lady walked in from the side, a rare beauty holding a jade box that she placed before Lu Chiao.

  “This is a rare technique scroll that is suited for those who practice magic of the Air attribute. It has been verified that the person who created this scroll was a person of the Sky Realm and was talented in Air magic. This scroll will allow someone of the Third Realm to fly with ease and have a movement speed that will leave others at a loss. It is rated as a mid-Master-level scroll!” Lu Chiao said. With his words, the atmosphere in the Blue Lotus changed.

  “I must have that scroll!”

  “An item of the Fifth Realm! This is a treasure that could push a family from the Second Realm into the Third Realm with ease.”

  “I will start the bidding at fifty gold,” Lu Chiao said with a smile, happy with the talk that he’d stirred up.

  “Fifty-five!”

  “Fifty-six!”

  The bidding started in earnest as Erik watched. Techniques were hard to create and few were willing to pass them on. To get a technique that few others knew and had been used by someone in a higher realm spoke to the power of this technique.

  The Second Realm had the least resources and techniques to pass down to their younger generations; all of them were trying to reach higher levels to gain fame and prestige.

  The technique was sold. Other items appeared, from weapons and armor to rare beasts that one could train.

  As soon as the people in the VIP seats from the powers in the higher realms spoke up, then the seats on the first floor would turn silent to watch the titans fight it out.

  Erik was uninterested in it all; he just wanted to see whether there was anything to gain his interest.

  “Here we have a healing spell of the mid-Journeyman level, Healer’s reach. We will start the bidding at ten gold!” Lu Chiao said.

  The hall was quiet for some time before someone put up a hand. “Fifteen gold,” they said.

  “Healer Tae has started off the bidding!” One of the spectators said

  “Thirty gold,” someone else said.

  “That’s Healer Francis—I heard that he is mid-Apprentice level!” someone on the first floor said.

  “Forty gold.” Healer Tae looked to Lu Chiao.

  “Fifty,” Francis said.

  “Who is that person in the VIP section? Might they be a healer as well?” someone asked from below.

  Healer Tae paused for a second. “Sixty.”

  “One hundred gold!” Francis declared.

  Healer Tae’s eyebrows pinched together.

  Erik was also interested in the book, but not knowing the effects of the spell and having his own healing abilities Erik would much rather adjust the spells that he had than wasting money on another healing spell that might not be useful.

  The goal was to get the dungeon map in the end.

  The spell went to Healer Francis.

  “Look, brother Francis is glowing with glory. Being the Master healer of the Klemine sect!” someone said.

  Francis, a middle-aged man, smiled as he looked over the crowd. The others in the suite with him congratulated him on the win as he looked over to Healer Tae’s suite, also on the fourth level.

  “Looks like we’ve got some competition.” Rugrat laughed.

  “I have a feeling that most of the people here are going to be ego bidding instead of actually giving a damn about the items.” Erik sighed as the bidding started on the next item.

  “Oh?” Rugrat looked to Erik.

  “They’re the overlords of this area. They’re always trying to look better to pull more people in and increase their power. They’re not fighting but through their bidding, they can piss one another off.”

  “I miss the days when if someone pissed you off, you just punched them in the face.”

  Erik rolled his eyes and took out the gold Rugrat had loaned him and passed it back.

  Rugrat took it without comment as they continued to watch the bidding.

  On the fifteenth item, they sat up as a new item was pulled out.

  “The next item is a pair of bracers. They might look simple but don’t be deceived: these iron bracers are half-step Journeyman in quality. They hold an innate effect of increasing one’s Stamina Regeneration. There is no formation on them. I will start the bidding at ten gold,” Lu Chiao said.

  “Now we’re talking.” Rugrat leaned forward and looked at the other bidders as if his actions would draw more money from their pockets.

  Erik rolled his eyes even as he smiled. After all, no crafter would forget the look and appearance of their own items.

  Chapter: Age Rejuvenation Potion Creates a Stir!

 
; “Fifteen,” someone from the third-tier suites called out in a casual voice.

  “Seventeen,” another called out in the third-tier suites. The fighting was quick and rapid, driving the price up rapidly.

  Rugrat, who had been leaning forward before, now sat back in his chair as the bidding started to slow down.

  “Twenty-seven!” one of the people in the third-floor suite called out, standing up and leaning on the banister to look at others as if challenging them to outbid him.

  The hall quieted down with his latest declaration.

  Lu Chiao looked around the room for any more bidders. “If there are no more bidders, this piece will be sold for twenty-seven gold to the gentleman in the third-suite booth.” Seeing the reactions, he gauged the room quickly. “Congratulations, sir, on your purchase,” he said with a smile and hit his hammer against the table. The bracers were cleared away before a new covered item was brought to the front of the stage.

  Slowly the talking died down as Lu Chiao cleared his voice, his face solemn.

  “Today, I truly have an item that one could only find but not purchase, even in the Third Realm,” Lu Chiao said.

  An alluring woman walked out with a jade box in her hands and put it on the display table.

  “This potion has been verified by the Alchemy Masters of the Blue Lotus and its effects will be displayed to you today!”

  A pill beast was pulled out. This beast was sensitive to the effects of potions and would display the effects of the different Alchemy concoctions. They only required a small sample to display the effects.

  Those in the Blue Lotus leaned forward; even those in the VIP sections showed interest.

  “This potion is a peak mid-Journeyman level, with a medicinal efficacy of thirty-five percent!”

  This sent murmurs through the people in the auction house.

  “Thirty-five percent? What Alchemy Master made this?”

  “Is it possible that it was crafted by an Expert alchemist and not a Journeyman alchemist?”

  “An almost high-Journeyman-level potion of thirty-five percent medicinal efficacy is rare, but they are not things that can’t be bought with money in the Third Realm,” one of the people in the VIP section said. Her words made those who had also ventured to the Third Realm nod in agreement.

  The person handling the pill beast opened its mouth and let a few drops enter its mouth.

  The pill beast shook as ripples of energy started to appear all over it. Its veins popped out, with deep orange lines running through its body.

  “What is this?”

  “I have never seen a potion of this tier have such an effect. Are they sure it is just a Journeyman potion?”

  “Is it a poison?”

  “It can’t be. Look at the pill beast’s face—it looks almost...excited?”

  The people in the room were in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

  A few moments passed as energy rushed toward the pill beast.

  “How is this possible!” People yelled out, looking at the pill beast with alarm. In just a few minutes, it had undergone a great change.

  “It looks…younger?”

  “Alchemist Hou, what do you believe happened?” one of the students in the VIP section asked an alchemist of their sect.

  “It looks to me that this is an appearance-changing potion, good for those who want to keep their young looks!” the alchemist said, his expression dark.

  Lu Chiao cleared his throat. Everyone looked to him and regained their composure.

  “This is the Age Rejuvenation potion, of the mid-Journeyman level. Consuming it will allow someone to regain two to ten years of their youth. It can only be used once but one can use other age reversal medicines after or before this potion!”

  Alchemist Hou stood, his face filled with shock. “You can use this even after consuming other age reversal medicines?” he yelled out.

  “That is correct.” Lu Chiao nodded with a smile.

  People’s faces went blank as their eyes gathered on the potion.

  “It’s said that one can only use one age reversing pill or potion for each realm they are in! Many people will spend their entire fortune to gain just a decade more of life—if they were able to add two decades!”

  “This must be made by a Master alchemist!”

  “I agree. I have only heard of this kind of concoction being made by Expert alchemists who are able to mix the ingredients so that there are no reactions at all. It is said that one can even consume three of their recovery potions and will have no adverse effects! With a lower alchemist, one can only have one of their potions and the second one will have a penalty on it!”

  The people in the Blue Lotus were whipped up into a frenzy as they all looked at the potion with undeniable greed.

  Erik was shocked by their reactions. He had made this potion by himself by working with the Lidel leaves for weeks. He had refined or attempted to refine them hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

  He’d become increasingly intimate with the Lidel leaves, coming to understand them and to bring out the timeless effect that was hidden within them. It had taken him a dozen attempts before creating this potion he was proud of. Then he had further refined it time and time again with each creation. He pursued the knowledge of Alchemy, not to make a profit.

  These were simply the potions that he had remaining. He’d expected them to create a stir, but nothing of this height.

  Rugrat laughed off to the side. “Well, looks like you’ve made something to stun even these people from the Second Realm!”

  Erik could only smile ruefully at the discussions that were going on in the auction hall.

  “Hopefully it’s enough to actually get us some of those items related to the dungeons.”

  ***

  Never mind Erik—even Ban Tong was stunned that such a thing had appeared in the Second Realm.

  He knew that this object wasn’t useful to him now, but it would be a great lure for elders and people he came into contact with in the future.

  If one didn’t have fighting strength, they needed to have the skill to back up their position. Although waiting and attending lessons was good, if one had the wealth and resources, they could open up new routes of progression.

  He knew if he were to gift this to the right person, then he could easily gain access to greater resources and even private teachings from the stronger people!

  I must have this potion! He gripped his fists together, looking out at the sects, clans, and other powerful groups that sat in the fourth level. His expression turned grim as he saw those older monsters leaning forward with interest.

  “We will start the bidding at ten gold coins!” Lu Chiao said.

  “Fifteen!” an elder said from the first floor.

  “Forty!” an elder from the upper VIP section said, his voice calm and reserved. A hush fell over the room.

  “To go from fifteen to forty in a single breath! This is not something that we of the Second Realm can compete for,” someone whispered on the first floor.

  The people on the ground floor looked up to those in the VIP sections, their dismay clear. But they were unwilling to raise their complaints. After all, they were only moderately wealthy merchants and fighters. Those above them owned entire cities and sects that might have origins in higher realms. How could they think of competing with them!

  “Fifty!” another elder said.

  “That is Elder Oilel! It’s said he is trying to reach the Fourth Realm but is being held back by his age!” Now even the disciples in the VIP sections were unable to stay quiet and retain their mysterious air, whipped up in the excitement.

  “Seventy!” The first elder’s face darkened, seeing that there was someone competing with him.

  “Eighty!”

  “That’s Disciple Zhang from the Zhang family!”

  “I heard that his grandfather is declining in health! He must be getting it fo
r him!”

  Ban Tong was thrown off as the bidders climbed to twelve people and the price soared upward.

  “Two hundred and fifty!”

  “Three hundred!”

  “How can money be equal to years of life! If I had the money, I, too, would put it all on the line to gain a few more years!” someone said proudly from the first floor.

  They were no longer upset with their loss but watching with shock as the price continued to climb well above their means. It continued to climb until there were only four people left to bid.

  “Disciple Zhang is not willing to give up!”

  “But Alchemist Nguyen is unwilling to give up!”

  “Elder Yan is still so calm and composed. This is the bearing of a true elder!”

  “Elder Vuong looks like he’s starting to get angry. If a level twenty-five were to show his ire, how would we be able to stop him?”

  Alchemist Nguyen stood. The eyes of the Blue Lotus turned to him.

  “Will you friends allow me to take this prize? I wish to study it and increase my own understanding. As such, it will only be a small period of time until I am able to reach my own Master level in Alchemy. If you are willing to let this go to little me, then I will happily fulfill a request you each have for me.” Alchemist Nguyen bowed slightly to the others.

  “Breakthrough to Expert-level alchemist! To think he is so close!”

  “Having a future Expert-level alchemist owing you a favor is no small thing!”

  Alchemist Nguyen was using his potential to reach the Expert rank in the Alchemy skill to show that he was not someone to be stepped over, while also softening the blow of losing this item to them.

  “Alchemist Nguyen has said these words; I can only bow to them.” Disciple Zhang tilted his head to Alchemist Nguyen. His family was incredibly powerful, but pissing off an alchemist who would soon reach the Expert level in his skill was not a wise move.

  “I will look to Alchemist Nguyen in the future,” Elder Yan said with a slight smile.

  “I hope to see Alchemist Nguyen become an Expert in the near future.” Elder Vuong’s words were biting, making it clear that he was displeased to lose, but that Alchemist Nguyen was too powerful to compete with.