Second Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  This was an ancient elixir that had been lost over time.

  Nguyen had stumbled across it by chance. His study of the limited potion that was left was enough for him to earn his current position. He wanted to use the Age Rejuvenation potion in the same way to inspire a breakthrough in his skill. Now he didn’t have the money for it! He had less than one hundred gold.

  After I just denounced the potions and pills, what reason would I have for trying to get them? If I was to bid again, then people would think that there is something wrong!

  Nguyen looked at the vessels. His eyes flashed as a small smile appeared on his face. “Ah, I see that you wish to have the containers! You have a good eye, a much better one than I do. These are indeed interesting vessels. Very well, I will raise to thirty-three,” Nguyen said, as if he were curious.

  His eyes moved to the other booth, a slight smile on his face while his mind turned over. Could he know what is contained in these pill bottles and potions?

  Alchemists were proud of their skills and would regularly wear items that showed off their ability with Alchemy. In the higher realms, most would wear their skill level badges on their chest so that anyone would be able to recognize them with a glance. Seeing this man chose to hide away instead, Nguyen felt secure.

  The other man might be interested in the random selection but as nothing more than a casual collection. He should give up after some time!

  “Ah, that man must have a collector’s eyes. After all, items from a hundred years ago are mysterious,” someone commented below.

  “Potion and pill bottles are another treasure—these ones are much different from what we use today. It is indeed interesting to see what the previous generations did!”

  “An auction for pill bottles! I would sell them all the pill bottles I had for three hundred gold!”

  “Forty,” the hidden man said, as if uninterested in money.

  “Forty-five,” Nguyen said, almost playfully.

  “Fifty-five,” the hidden man said.

  Nguyen seemed to pause before he nodded. “Sixty.”

  “Seventy-five.” The hidden man didn’t even pause.

  “What is this? Are they competing for the pill bottles or against each other?”

  “It does seem more like they’re playing with money than caring about the items for sale.”

  “One hundred. I hope the Blue Lotus takes this as my apology,” Nguyen said, showing himself to be benevolent. “It seems that my own competitive spirits have been roused by this affair!”

  If the other person was to put money on the items, then he would have only won through Nguyen’s graces, tainting his victory. If you are competing with me for simply making yourself looking better, there won’t be any feeling of victory! Maybe there will be time afterward to see if I can “admire” the pill and potion bottles.

  What was his standing? He was a Journeyman alchemist soon to make it to the Expert skill level! Who could deny his request?

  When he examined the pill and potion bottles, he would take the contents of both. The murky and opaque glass would make it nearly impossible for someone to see inside. If they were opened later, then there would be no signs leading to Nguyen.

  After all, these were mysterious pill and potion bottles—who said that they hadn’t been opened in the last hundred and fifty years?

  “One hundred and ten,” the hidden man said.

  After a few moments of asking for more bidders, Lu Chiao hit his hammer against the table.

  Alchemist Nguyen stood and looked to the blacked-out box. “Congratulations on your victory. I would be interested in examining these containers with you, if that would be possible?”

  There was a pause before an altered voice replied. “I would welcome the opportunity to talk to an alchemist as skilled as yourself,” the man said, sounding interested.

  “Sir honors me.” Nguyen smiled, bowing slightly as he hid his malicious intent deep.

  The hidden man didn’t say anything in reply before the next item was brought out.

  “Ah, a fight of gentlemen—this is something that others should learn!” a man from the VIP section told his disciples.

  “Yes, Master!” they repeated back. For Alchemist Nguyen to address and invite this man to share his goods with him, even though he had won the auction, this was the bearing of a high-tier alchemist—this was being humble without caring of one’s level!

  ***

  Although Nguyen might have fooled most people, he had been going up against Erik. Juko and Su Wei had both met with and dealt with Erik, so they were able to get a good idea of how he acted.

  “Do you find that there is something odd in the way Nguyen acted?” Su Wei asked Juko casually.

  “I do,” Juko said, with a displeased expression.

  They had hoped to have a battle between people who were allured by the mysteries of the items. They hadn’t been opened and could contain great items. It turned them into a form of lottery, there was the possibility to gain a lot or lose everything one paid.

  It was an ingenious way to stoke one’s competitive spirit over something that might be worthless.

  Nguyen’s words had thrown water on any excitement they might build. He had seemed reluctant to put a bid but he had at the beginning.

  As soon as he bid, then Erik put down a bid.

  Juko and Su Wei knew that the other was a person who was capable of making low-Journeyman potions.

  Then, instead of just letting the item go, Nguyen had bid on the item again and again until reaching one hundred gold coins.

  “Surely he’s seen a lot of Alchemy containers in his time. Why would he be interested in these ones?” Juko asked.

  “He wants to find out what is inside them,” Su Wei said.

  “Why didn’t he compete with the others?” Juko looked to Su Wei.

  “If others were to bid against him, then it could easily climb higher in price. If he was able to discredit the items right off the bat, then few, if any, people would be willing to bet. After purchasing the Age Rejuvenation potion, he might be low on funds. This was his way of making sure that the other people wouldn’t get into a competition with him and allow him to buy them for a cheap price.” Su Wei’s true identity was as an assistant head to a prominent Blue Lotus location in the Fourth Realm. His ability to see through people and their actions had reached a high degree. If Erik hadn’t won, then he was willing to tell Lu Chiao that the minimum had not been met so that they wouldn’t sell to such a swindler.

  As it was, the alchemist didn’t know it but Su Wei had a bad impression of the man. He quietly jotted down a report and passed it to an assistant in the room. “Have this submitted to the records of the Third Realm Blue Lotus locations that Alchemist Nguyen frequents,” Su Wei said.

  “Yes, manager Su.” The person turned and walked away.

  As the Blue Lotus wanted to build relationships with their customers, they also wanted to know who was worthy of that trust.

  This could be counted as a small black mark on Alchemist Nguyen’s record.

  ***

  Erik and Rugrat didn’t really pay attention to the light confrontation as they were looking at the next item.

  Lu Chiao smiled to the higher booths. Clearly this was an item that normal people wouldn’t be able to acquire.

  He put his hand on the cloth that covered the item. “Next we have an ancient map that was found with an adventurer’s body. The map is in a bad state, but from what we’ve discovered, it looks to be a map to a dungeon close to Kaeju, at least within two hundred kilometers. We will include our notes and findings with the original map.” Lu Chiao’s words seemed to make the auction hall freeze.

  He pulled the cloth off to reveal a glass-looking box covered in formations to protect and distort its image so people wouldn’t be able to simply remember what they saw on the map instead of buying it.

  Even the people in the fourth-tier suites move
d forward as a glass box with a tattered and faint-looking map was shown. The formation also made it hard to make out any details on the map.

  “The bidding will start at one hundred gold coins,” Lu Chiao said. Even as he smiled brightly, there was a sharp intake of air.

  “Two hundred gold coins,” a woman said from a fourth-level box.

  “That’s clan Master Qiao Jingyi!” one person said.

  “Truly, items related to dungeons are something that can only be acquired by those who have great power. Only the big clans, sects, and other groups can hope to bid as they can move all the wealth of their group with one word.” Another person sighed.

  “Good! Seems that things will be more lively! Three hundred.” A burly man wearing armor who had been reclined in his seat leaned forward with an excited look on his face.

  “Cutting Wind’s Sect Leader Feng Luoyang has joined in on the bidding too!”

  Erik and Rugrat looked at each other ruefully.

  “There are eight different items. We just need them to bleed one another on the first four and we can move in afterward,” Erik said.

  “What’s saying they don’t increase the prices of the last four?”

  “Are you intentionally cursing us right now!” Erik quickly knocked on the wooden arm of his chair.

  Chapter: Dungeon, Journal?

  Two group’s leaders might have started the bidding but others quickly joined in. The wealth of a dungeon was incredible. They were areas where creatures could randomly spawn, a great place to farm Experience, and the Ten Realms would give people prizes for moving farther through the dungeon. There might be rare resources and items that appeared as well. If one had a dungeon, they could quickly increase their strength and influence.

  “Five!”

  “Six and a half!”

  “Eight!”

  “Nine!”

  Erik and Rugrat were left stunned. These people who hadn’t bid up to this point were now spending everything.

  “They must have been holding back their bids because they were aiming for these dungeon-related items,” Rugrat said with a sour expression.

  “The people from the Kerose Institute haven’t moved yet.” Erik looked at one of the larger suites.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that these dungeons must have some indication that they’re in this area or they were found close by, or else the Blue Lotus wouldn’t sell them here. This can only increase the price. For the other groups, they’re a possibility to gain great resources. To the Kerose Institute, who control three cities already, if they were to lose out on these dungeons and one of them was actually discovered, then they would lose their position and probably become their subordinate. To others, it’s appealing; to them, it’s giving up their home.”

  Rugrat was about to talk when a man in the Kerose Institute raised his hand.

  “One Mortal-grade Mana stone.” He pulled out a crystal that seemed to contain swirling lights.

  “That’s a Mortal Mana stone! I didn’t think that I would be able to see one with my own eyes!”

  “The lowest grade is worth one thousand gold. Truly, the Kerose Institute’s pockets are deep!” another added in.

  Erik and Rugrat leaned forward. They could feel a faint suction feeling from their open Mana gates, as if wanting to draw in the stone’s energy.

  “So, that’s a Mortal-grade Mana stone,” Rugrat said.

  “I guess it is,” Erik said, recalling that Mana stones could be used as well to help the dungeon to recover.

  “One thousand two hundred!” a man said, breaking the atmosphere.

  The leader of the Kerose Institute looked over with a vicious look in his eyes. He had been basking in the glory that came with showing off such wealth but before he could get a greater taste, the limelight was stolen.

  “One Mana stone and six hundred,” he said, his eyes clashing with the other man.

  “Eighteen!” the man shot back. The two of them stared at each other.

  “Nineteen!”

  “Twenty-one!”

  “Two Mana stones and five hundred!” The leader of the Kerose Institute made a gesture with his hand. Two Mana stones appeared there as he looked to the other man in challenge.

  “Bah, take it then!” The other man dejectedly fell back in his seat.

  The leader of the Kerose Institute showed signs of victory as the first bidder, Qiao Jingyi, spoke up.

  “Twenty-eight,” she said simply.

  The Kerose Institute’s leader shot a look over, but it didn’t seem to affect her at all. She simply rose an eyebrow at his look before turning her gaze toward the stage.

  “Is there another bid?” Lu Chiao said, his smile not diminishing in the slightest. He was a person from the Blue Lotus; people fighting over goods was good for him instead of something he would complain over.

  “Three Mana stones,” the Kerose Institute’s leader called out. Another stone appeared in his hand.

  There was a bitter expression on his face still.

  Lu Chiao looked around as Rugrat leaned forward to use the formation to bid. Erik held him back.

  “What?” Rugrat asked.

  “He’s already pissed off. Do you want to jump in and annoy him even more? Also, we can wear down his wealth—he might have more. There are more dungeon-related items up for auction.”

  Rugrat looked reluctant before he sighed and sat back in his seat. “Damn. I wish I just had online shopping—just click and buy, get it in a few days. This bartering and auction stuff is annoying.”

  “Didn’t you just make some two thousand gold off this auction?” Erik asked in a low voice.

  “Two thousand two hundred—don’t forget now, loser.” Rugrat crossed his arms. “Some flawed systems aren’t without merit!”

  “Hypocritical ass,” Erik muttered.

  “Sold to the Kerose Institute’s leader Wen Xuegang.” Lu Chiao bowed toward the man.

  “Next up for sale, we have the Overdrive potion. It increases one’s melee fighting abilities and recovery for forty minutes while reducing pain. There are ten potions up for sale. The bidding will start at forty gold!”

  “Fifty!”

  “Sixty!”

  “Ninety-five!”

  “One hundred and ten!”

  “One thirty!”

  Erik wanted to bid on the item, but he wasn’t sure what the prices of the dungeon guides might be.

  Erik and Rugrat sat there as miscellaneous items were sold. Then a tablet was sold, related to a dungeon, for three thousand one hundred gold—again, to the Kerose Institute.

  The third went for twenty-nine hundred gold. It was a painting that depicted the opening of a dungeon. The painting was thought to be some six hundred years old, though.

  The fourth item was a partial map. It went for a stunning thirty-five hundred gold. The Kerose Institute couldn’t hold out and it went to the Cutting Wind sect.

  “Now?” Rugrat said as the second-to-last item related to the dungeons was revealed. It was a journal that contained information on an adventurer’s journeys as well as a possible location for a dungeon. But nothing was definite.

  “Wait a bit,” Erik said, feeling pretty anxious himself as the price steadily rose past the one thousand gold mark.

  “Seventeen hundred,” Wen Xuegang called out.

  “Twenty-five hundred,” Erik said.

  People’s heads swiveled as a new player entered the field—the silent suite that hadn’t been able to bid on an item that was one hundred gold, then went to buy a forge from under a formations Master in the Kerose Institute for two hundred and fifty gold.

  The man who had been arguing their wealth now slumped in his chair, trying to look as small as possible.

  The leader’s eyes swiveled over to him and then back to the booth.

  “How dumb must he be feeling. Called us out like that and now we’re competing wi
th his boss!” Rugrat said with satisfied laugh.

  “Well, let’s crush ’em!” Erik said.

  “Twenty-seven hundred gold,” Wen Xuegang said in a cold voice.

  “Can I?” Rugrat asked as Erik was about to place his next bid.

  “Go for it.” Erik took his hand back.

  “Twenty-eight hundred,” Rugrat said through the voice-changing formation.

  A few of the elders were talking into Wen Xuegang’s ear as he seemed to deflate.

  “Are there any other bids?” Lu Chiao looked around the auction hall. He slammed his hammer against the table. “Sold!”

  “Suck on these American nuuuts!” Rugrat jumped out of his seat, flipping Wen Xuegang the bird through the formation, waving his hands up and down as he kind of crab-walked across the suite in a victory dance.

  “Can’t fucking take you anywhere.” Erik grabbed his drink and downed it in one go. “Now, we just need to figure out where the fuck we need to go.”

  “With that journal and our Dungeon Sense skill, we should be well on our way!” Rugrat said.

  They calmed back down as the auction continued and the last item was put up for sale.

  “Our final item up for sale today is the carcass of a dungeon monster.” A well-preserved corpse was revealed.

  “It was buried in the sands and mummified. Using the body, one might even be able to use tracking skills to find the location of the dungeon it came from.” Lu Chiao paused, a smile on his face, as all of the leaders and the elders were talking to one another. This was the last item on the table. Those who needed to bring at least one item back were now rushing to see whether they might get enough funds to take this last item back with them.

  “Based upon old bids, the bidding will start at fifteen hundred gold,” Lu Chiao said.

  “Sixteen hundred!”

  “Two thousand!”

  “Twenty-one hundred!”

  “Two thousand, four hundred!”

  “Twenty-six hundred!”

  “Twenty-eight hundred!”

  The bidding was so fast that some people couldn’t place a bid before their amount was overtaken.