The Mage of Primordial Chaos

I shot Ling Xin and Axilia a look saying to relax, then continued.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Grandmaster Zun himself. But I warn you — this is your only opportunity to get a High-Grade Golden Pill on your hands. Think carefully. Just remember, I am perfectly fine with taking back my own pill and auctioning it elsewhere, or perhaps even giving it to someone as a gift for free."

Hearing this, the other VIPs fell into thought. No doubt, they were questioning my identity right now. But their time was limited. Undoubtedly, they were hesitant. Dubious. Scared.

And that's exactly what I wanted.

When humans were scared, especially with the pressure of time at their doorsteps, they will choose the decision that harms them less in the short-term and forget to see the consequences of the long run.

In this case, these VIPs are faced with two decisions that may or may not cause them regret in the future. One, if they choose to believe me and bid on this High-Grade Golden Pill, there could be even higher grade ones coming up in the future (of course, I knew there won't be, but this is for theory's sake). 

On the other hand, if they choose to  not  bid on this, then there was the chance I am not lying and they would really be missing out on this  golden  opportunity.

That was a very bad joke.

When faced with a situation like this, they would choose the option that could possibly regret least. In other words...

"U-Um... 700 million, going once... 700 million, going twice... 700 million, going thre-"

"Agh, screw it..." Kochis growled. "725 million!"

"Hmph... 750 million," Adelina said.

"800 million..." Old Man Freefeather croaked. "Sorry, young 'uns, but I need this one as well..."

"Ooh... a High-Grade Golden Pill, hm?" The boy who had called Adelina his 'beloved' said curiously. "My apologies, my beloved Adelina, but I'm afraid I must bid for this. Otherwise, my parents would torture me for missing out on this  golden  opportunity! Oh, just thinking about all the pain I will receive is getting me so ecstatic! 850 million!"

Ling Xin, Axilia, and I all glanced at one another awkwardly, not wanting to discuss what we just heard.

"... Poor souls," a new voice suddenly interrupted. "Let's speed things up. 1 billion."

Saying 1 billion like it's nothing... who is he?

After reaching this number, none of the other VIPs spoke any further. Not because they couldn't afford to, but because of the identity of this man. And his voice... sounded somewhat familiar.

"VIP Number 1, with a bid of 1 billion! Do we hear anymore bids?" The auctioneer announced.

Silence. No one dared to bid against this mysterious VIP Number 1... that is, except for me.

"1 billion and one."

A moment of silence once more. Then, slowly, from the other party:

"1.5 billion."

"1.5 billion and one."

"... 2 billion."

"2 billion and one."

"... Are you screwing with me, VIP Number 14, who claims to be the creator of these pills?"

"No, naturally not. I just genuinely believe the Golden Pills I worked so hard to refine are worth more than a billion."

"... Tell you what, Mr. Alchemist. I am willing to hire you personally. You will enjoy wealth, fame, and power like none other. For every High-Grade pill you refine, I will grant you 2 billion mordai, while also providing you with a luxury residence, the power to do as you wish, and however many wives and concubines you may want. How about it?"

"A tempting offer," I admitted, still in my changed voice. "But I have to say... I'm already making plenty of money from this auction. Currently, I am also already staying at a beautiful home. Thirdly, no matter what I choose to do... you cannot stop me anyway. And lastly... sorry to tell you, but I already have plenty of women around me. I don't need any more."

"... Hmph. I see. 3 billion. Will you keep attempting to raise the price? Don't push your luck, old man. This world... is my world."

"Very well. I believe 3 billion is a suitable price for my Golden Pill. Enjoy it... Prince Auldren."

Saying this, I cut off the comms, disallowing anyone from the outside to hear the contents of our conversations within the room. While I was at it, I also got rid of my voice changer.

"Fufu~ that was amusing, master." Ling Xin smiled wryly. "3 billion isn't much to him at all, but it's the mental damage that counts."

"Mental damage?" Axilia laughed. "No, no... the best form of damage... is death. When can I kill him, darling~?"

"Soon," I replied. "I promise."

*****

After that, the auction continued as usual. My Golden Pills were sold one by one, starting with Low-Grade, then Mid-Grade, then High-Grade. Based on their uses, they fell into the laps of various VIPs, while the general audience didn't even try to compete. They knew it was pointless. All of the High-Grade pills, however, were taken by VIP Number 1 — also known as Prince Auldren. I could tell from his voice.

Apparently, a well-crafted Golden Elixir was worth even more than a Golden Pill, but Ling Xin's godfather didn't have the necessary materials to make one. Unfortunate, but I still gained massive profits through this auction. By the time all of my pills were sold, a whole hour had passed in the auction, and I ran some quick maths to figure out that I had made a grand total of nearly 27 billion mordai.

Now, since one mordai — which was made of pure gold — would be equivalent to approximately 1000 dollars back in the Living Realm. That made me a trillionaire. 27 times over, to be exact. The only downside to this was the amount of explaining I would have to do to the girls once I got back.

Finally, it was time for some other items of the auction to begin. Now here, was where I would actually begin participating for real. With plenty of money on my hands, I was ready to bid for whatever treasures I could come across.

"That is all for the Golden Pills in this auction," the auctioneer announced, clearly relieved that this portion was over. "Next, we have the first non-pill item — The Cloak of Yharnav."

Saying this, she pulled off the dark cloth hiding the item to reveal a large, primarily black cloak. It was similar to the one I had on right now, but even darker. The buttons on it and various linings were made of silver, and it had great fashion, if I had to be honest.

"Not only is this an ancient, extremely durable cloak that has withstood the harsh winters of Friljord, it also carries a special, powerful trait to it.

"Once the armor of a dark hero, Yharnav, it is said in his legends that any creature or human daring enough to get close to him would slowly have their life force drained away, converted into power for him. The stronger they were, the longer it took to drain. However, in the end, these are but legends, and no actual testing has been done on this armor piece. Therefore, the starting bid of this item will be as low as 10,000 mordai!"

Immediately, the general audience began making bids.

"50,000!"

"100,000!"

"125,000!"

The prices went higher and higher, until it at last came to 275,000 mordai.

"Guest 769 has made the bid for 275,000 mordai. Do I hear any more bids? Going once, going twic-"

"275,001," I suddenly said. From beside me, Ling Xin struggled to stifle her laughter.

"As crafty as ever, master~"

"E-Er... 275,001, going once, going twice, going three times... sold! VIP Number 14, congratulations, the Cloak of Yharnav is now yours."

"D-Damn it... why did one of the VIPs bid on this thing... I was hoping to impress some ladies too..."

"Hm... they are afraid of bidding against a VIP..." Axilia remarked. "How amusing."

"I can't blame them. If they end up making themselves an enemy of one of the VIPs, they're as good as dead," I replied.

"I don't get it though, darling. Why did you buy this? It's not even tested."

"Maybe so, but something tells me that it's a good buy," I said with a chuckle. "And besides... even if the power doesn't work at all, it still looks pretty cool. I don't care too much about fashion, but the darkness factor of that cloak is better than my current one."

"Hm... I think you look cool in anything, darling~" Axilia said with a bright smile, hugging my arm tightly.

I stroked her hair gently, a wry grin on my face. "Thanks, Axilia."

"Ara ara~ you're actually into cheesy compliments like that?" Ling Xin blinked in surprise. "Perhaps I need to rethink my approach, then... master~ you're so handsome and cool~"

But in response, I merely cringed and pushed her away.

"Just stick to your normal self.. That's what I appreciate best."