CHAPTER 62: AUCTION EVENT ARC 6

The gavels sharp crack blasted into the air and a round of applause followed suit. The third item of the night disappeared backstage. The air in the hall was still warm with money, the kind that didn’t shout, but smiled and nodded while it took your last dime.

A server in a sharp black and white vest passed with another tray of champagne flutes. The clink of glass followed him into the distance. The lights shifted again, the blue fading into something softer; amber glow that bathed the stage in a rich, museum like warmth.

Maximus sat back in his chair, his fingers anxiously drumming steadily against his knee. He wasn’t fidgeting, it was the rhythm of someone counting possibilities.

Valerie, legs crossed elegantly, didn’t look at the stage right away. She was scanning the crowd of elites with that sharp, feline gaze if hers, the one that seemed to measure everyone down to the thread count in their attires.

Then the curtains at the back parted, and two staff members rolled out a long glass case.

The auctioneer’s voice dipped into something almost reverent.

"From the heart of the same tomb... A ceremonial necklace, wrought of pure gold, each segment carved with symbols that predate known West Afrixan dynasties. Scholars believe this piece may have been worn by the tombs ruler during religious rituals, a marker of both status and divine authority."

A ripple of gasps and low murmurs surged through the front rows. Cameras from the press section snapped in rapid white light.

Maximus’s gaze locked unto the necklace. The gold wasn’t the over polished, gaudy kind you saw at high end boutiques. It had that deep, lived-in glow, the kind that has been hammered in by the wrath of centuries.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Valerie leaned toward him, her arm brushing against his, "Now that right there," she murmured, "has weight. Not just in gold."

His lip twiched in agreement, though he didn’t take his eyes off the case. "Resell would be massive. Even without the story attached."

"Mm," she hummed, tilting her head toward him, "but with the story... Priceless to the right buyer."

They both knew this was different from the earlier stuff, this was one of the night’s real players.

The auctioneer glanced over the crowd, reading the anticipation like a conductor waiting for the first note.

"Shall we begin the bidding..."

Maximus sat a little straighter. His fingertips brushed the paddle resting on his knee.

He now had every intention of joining this bidding war for this specific item.

But before he would dream of spending a dime on this item, he wanted to know if what was the actual value of the artifact in today’s market.

And the only way to do that was use his skill to decern the original value.

"... I think this is it, this is where I’ll make my first bid... Do you think I’ll win this item?" Maximus turned, looking at Valerie.

Valerie looked back at him with a cunny smile, "You realize you’re not the only one eyeing that piece... Notice how the whole hall is so quiet, waiting for the opening bid."

Maximus glanced around, and she was right. The hall was extremely quiet, no one said a thing — frankly they were the only ones talking at this point.

"... This is going to be crazy, but I believe I will win it... I always get what I want because I am absolute." Maximus said z returning his focus back to the stage.

"Okay, I love the confidence... It’s so hot". Valerie replied returning her focus back to the stage.

At that moment, Maximus mind went to work; ’knowing humans it would be possible that they would set the opening bid below or even above the original value, it’s not their fault they are subset able to parallax errors... In that case...’

"Shimmer..."

Tiring!

~Trigger word recognized~

~Active Skill: Eye Of Apollo~

~Locating Target... ~

Maximus focused his pupils on the item as it stood there on the stage for a few seconds until the system responded with another chime.

Tti-ring!

~Target Acquired~

~The Radiant~

~Composition Belongs to the Pharaoh Akhet-Ra and it is a ceremonial collar crafted from alternating plates of electrum and meteoric gold. Each plate is etched with miniature hieroglyphics said to "trap the light of Ra" during sunrise rituals.~

~Value 8 million dollars~

"8 million dollars..." Maximus murmured to himself, as he stared at the artifact.

"What would be the opening bid, because the system would only recognize this as an investment if I buy it below the valued price and resell above the valued price..."

The auctioneer clapped his hands and waved it frantically in the air in attempt to hype up the crowd.

"The fuck is wrong with him..." Maximus said with an audible tone.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen! The opening bid has been set at... One point five million dollars!"

The words hadn’t even settled in the air before...

Thwip!

Paddles shot up across the room like a field of flowers blooming in fast forward.

Maximus didn’t move his paddle yet, his darted from face to face, reading the crowd.

"Forty percent, out of seventy people here, about twenty eight are in play. That meant... Thirty nine point nine nine percent chance of losing if I don’t scare off the casuals early," he murmured under his breath with his lips barely moving.

Valerie, still leaning against him with that effortless poise, caught it. "You’re actually doing math right now?" She whispered, a faint smirk curling her lips.

"Every second counts," he said, eyes locked in the game in front of him.

"Do I hear one point six million?" The auctioneer called.

From the second row, a man in a perl gray suit lifted his paddle. "One point six," the auctioneer confirmed.

Maximus’s have moved before Valerie could blink, his paddle went up with calm, deliberate certainty.

"One point seven," the auctioneer announced.

Valerie turned sharply to him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You? Already?"

Maximus didn’t answer, he just kept his gaze straight.

"One point eight million." This from a statuesque woman draped in emerald silk near the center.

"One point nine million," Maximus countered instantly, voice deep and intentional as the quick retaliation drew a few curious looks from the crowd.