Mixed Blessing System

As soon as the lights outside Annaliese and Lothur's VIP room went out, the two of them promptly sat down in the main seats in that area.

From there, they faced a big area with an empty space between the first and the third floor of this theater-like building. There, the rows of seats on the first floor were crowded, while on the opposite side of Lothur's VIP room, a stage about 30 meters in length stretched from one end of that space to the other.

While a single round light source illuminated the center of that stage, Lothur looked around the surrounding area, seeing the other balconies of the VIP rooms on three sides of that area.

There were two levels of special rooms in the local auction house. One was this one on the second floor, where Lothur and his sister-in-law were at the moment. The other, on the third floor, was where normally the most prominent individuals of the province stayed when coming to this place.

But unlike the VIP rooms on the second floor, those on the third floor had dark glass in front of their balconies that were able to totally conceal the identity of the people there. On the other hand, those places were less numerous and more prominent than those similar to Lothur and Annaliese's area.

"You said earlier that a Silver-grade armor would be auctioned today. Will your family try their luck here?" Lothur looked to his left side, where his beautiful sister-in-law was watching the front of that place with an anxious look on her face.

She turned to him and said. "Hmm, my mother and sister must be here too."

'Oh? Looks like you really like your brother-in-law, huh?' Lothur laughed, realizing that she had preferred to come to this place by his side rather than with those two.

...

Meanwhile, on the third floor of that building...

Viktoria and Mabel were sitting side by side on a balcony in the left area of that building, near the stage, at an angle that Lothur's wife could see where her sister was.

"Didn't Annaliese say she wouldn't come with us to the auction?" She asked her mother, still looking toward those two well-dressed, attractive people.

"Hmm?" Mabel looked at her daughter with a distracted look due to the many things on her mind. "Yes, she said."

"Are you worried about her disinterest in accompanying us to events like this? Don't worry, Vicky. Anna is still immature. But sooner or later, she will grow up and become more responsible."

"But for now, let's allow her to have fun with her friends."

"Hmm, she must enjoy having fun with her friends..." Viktoria commented in a low voice, curious as to why her sister had come to this place alongside Lothur. 'Are they really friends?' Doubt arose in her heart as she saw the blush on Annaliese's cheeks.

But as she thought about that, finally, a distinct sound reverberated through that area. Soon after, a person walked across that stage until finally reaching the lighted circular area.

With the arrival of this person at the center of that stage, the last voices in the surroundings ceased as everyone looked in the direction of that black-haired, well-bearded man, who wore a luxurious black suit.

Standing there, he looked from one side to the other, pleased that he was hosting a fully booked auction once again. He then began to speak. "Good evening, everyone!"

"Dear guests, welcome to another round of Weidmann Gate auctions!"

"This one is named Martin Waldauer, and I will be hosting this occasion for the next few hours..." He quickly introduced himself, causing several murmurs to arise in the surroundings as he was none other than the son of Linn Province Duke!

Considering this alone, many of the more ordinary people in that place could not help but be amazed that a person of such status was there hosting this event.

But this was no surprise for the most influential people in the VIP area. Despite that person's unusual status and power, this was the auction house of the duke's family!

On the other hand, Martin's presence in this place meant something more. The presence of valuable items on this occasion!

Leopoldine naturally had its rules that restricted violent actions within its cities. However, because of some riches, even some of the most peaceful minds could be carried away by greed.

In this case, even if this was Peters City and the duke's auction house, Weidmann Gate used that peak 2nd stage cultivator to host this event!

'Level 15, huh? This guy is stronger than my father-in-law!' Lothur was impressed to see that individual who was ending speaking the rules of this auction.

"It looks like there truly are valuable things to be auctioned off, Lothur!" Annaliese commented to him in an animated tone, smiling graciously.

"Hmm, it looks like that's right, but... Why are you so excited? I don't think we'll be able to buy anything here."

She looked at him with a playful look and said. "Who says I can't?"

"Oh?"

"Obviously, I can't dispute a Silver-grade armor, but there will certainly be items within my budget!" She said confidently.

'Well, I only have 150,000 bronze coins. Let's see if I can get something...' Lothur turned his attention to that stage as he remembered the earnings he had recently had.

In addition to the academy missions, he had sold some of the items collected from the bodies of his enemies and raised funds from them. Therefore, his financial reserves had reached that amount.

Martin then finished his presentation. "... Well, with that said, I hope everyone here understands the position of our auction house and behaves properly during this occasion."

"We will not tolerate interruptions by people trying to use their status to stop the auction from going forward. Whoever bids the highest will be the winner."

"Don't blame us if you or your organization lose the right to participate in our auctions in the future!" He said in a tone charged with energy, making hundreds of people in that place tremble with fear.

"How terrifying the aura of a peak Spiritual Warrior!"

"Incredible!"

"So the rumors are true?"

"Truly worthy of the future leader of the province! He's already reached that level in just 100 years of cultivation!"

"What a prodigy!"

"He's even more talented than his father..."

Several comments arose in the first-floor seats and the VIP rooms.

But Martin was not bothered by the voices that momentarily arose in that place and soon positioned himself next to an item that had already been lit on that stage.

"Well, to begin this auction, we have here a unique artifact, which, even in our humble house, we have never had the chance to auction something of the sort." He removed a black cloth that looked of very high quality, covering the item that stood on a one-meter-high pillar.

In doing so, Martin revealed to everyone in the place a war hammer with a handle more than a meter long and a head shaped like a square pyramid, red and gray.

He then continued. "That is an imposing war hammer produced with the metal alloy of Spiritual Carbon and Deep Sea Iron, one of the toughest metals found in Concordia!"

"This item is classified as being a Bronze-grade weapon. But make no mistake, due to the presence of that special mineral, it can even clash with Silver-grade weapons without being destroyed in a single blow."

"On the other hand, testing of this item gives us confidence that it can even cause damage to ordinary or damaged Silver-grade armor if used with caution."

"Finally, if used by a 3rd stage cultivator, the projection spirit from it is almost 50% as strong as that of Silver-grade weapons!"

After those sweet words were spoken, many people there began to voice their thoughts, surprised that the auction house was already starting the event with an item of such value.

"Amazing!"

"Looks like we will only have valuable items today..."

"Damn! Why didn't I bring more coins? Now how am I going to get artifacts for my family?"

"That war hammer is truly interesting..."

"Haha, we are destined!"

After Martin made a brief moment of silence, waiting for the crowd to calm down, he finally said. "Well, the starting bid is 40,000 silver coins, with a minimum raise of 1,000 silver coins."

Upon hearing that, Lothur, who was comfortably in his armchair drinking something, suddenly felt an urge to spit the entire contents into his mouth, shocked at that number.

'40,000 silver coins? That's 400,000 bronze coins! How can that be? They already start the auction with an item of that value?' He leaned forward, looking more closely at that war hammer.

But then he began to hear several voices. "41.000."

"42.000."

...

"49.000."

...

"88.000!" A slightly nervous voice gave that bid when there were not many left competing for that item.

​ After that, Martin called out to the audience three times until no one else dared to raise the bid for that item. "Well, sold for 88,000 silver coins to the gentlemen in room number 12."

And then, after a few seconds of commotion, Martin walked over to the side of where another item was, with the lighting of the previous one being turned off and this one coming on.

He then removed the fabric covering that item, revealing what appeared to be a femur bone, metallic, red, and blue.

"Well, as you can see, this is..."