NOVGO.NET Chapter 417: The auction is over
Chapter 417: The auction is over
The roar of the crowd was like a physical wave.
The lesser races, the “dust” of the Dragon World, were no longer silent.
They saw in Ryan a beacon of hope.
If a human could stand twelve feet tall with the aura of a Primordial Titan, then their own destinies were no longer written in stone.
The auction host let the applause ring out for a full minute before raising her hands for silence.
Her smile was sharp, knowing she now held the keys to the kingdom.
“As you can see,” she said, her voice amplified to every corner of the hall, “the miracle is real. We have four vials of the Bloodline Awakening Serum remaining.”
“These are the keys to shaping the fate of any lower race.”
“We do not have a starting price tag for these. The highest bidder will gain them. Let us begin!”
The hall turned into a battlefield.
It was no longer just about the money.
It was about the survival and elevation of entire species.
“Eight billion Origin Coins!” shouted a representative from the Gnoll Tribes.
“Nine billion!” barked a leader of the Cat-folk.
“Ten billion!”
The bidding was not as suffocatingly intense as the war for the white spear, mainly because the Eternal Sovereigns were saving their strength for the evolution serums.
However, for the lower races, this was their everything.
The price jumped by billions every few seconds.
Ethan watched from his booth, leaning back in his stardust chair.
He felt a sense of absolute calm.
Through his Authority of Creation, he had crafted these serums using his own essence.
Every person who consumed them was essentially taking a part of him into their bodies.
He wasn’t just selling a product.
He was planting seeds of loyalty that would bloom when he eventually decided to ascend to the realm of gods.
Finally, the first of the remaining four vials was sold to a representative of the Snake-man race for 12 billion Origin Coins.
The following three vials followed a similar pattern, selling for 12 to 13 billion each.
The wealth accumulating in Ethan’s accounts was already reaching levels that could buy entire star systems.
The host gestured for the stage to be cleared.
The air grew heavy again.
Now, it was time for the “Original” races, the Dragons, the Phoenixes, and the high-tier elemental beings, to scramble.
“And now,” the host whispered, “would any of our noble guests like to try the Bloodline Evolution Serum?”
“This is not for awakening a dormant line, but for purifying and evolving one that already exists.”
The high-tier nobles were still cautious, but their greed was winning.
They had seen Ryan’s transformation.
If a human could become a Titan, what could a Dragon become?
Inside Prince Trian’s booth, the young royal looked at his most loyal subordinate, a high-ranking Salamander warrior.
The Salamander had about 70% Fire Dragon purity, strong, but still “impure” compared to the true royals.
“Go,” Trian ordered.
“Test it for me.”
The subordinate’s eyes widened.
He felt a rush of overwhelming gratitude.
He thought his prince was giving him a divine gift out of love.
“Thank you, my lord! I will be by your side until the last day of my life!”
The Salamander ran to the stage.
He looked at the host with a frantic, excited smile.
“Please, my lady. Let me be your guinea pig.”
The host bowed elegantly and handed him the golden vial.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the warrior uncorked the bottle and swallowed the liquid in one gulp.
BOOM!
The reaction was violent.
The warrior let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed.
His body shifted instantly into his true Salamander form, a massive, lizard-like creature covered in scales.
But then, the scales began to fall off.
He writhed in pain for ten agonizing minutes.
The crowd watched in a mixture of horror and fascination.
Slowly, the Salamander’s body began to lengthen.
Two massive horns sprouted from his head, and his dull scales were replaced by shimmering, ruby-red plates that radiated intense heat.
When the light faded, a true or rather almost true Fire Dragon stood on the stage.
His bloodline purity had bypassed the 90% mark.
He had evolved from a “lesser” dragon kin into a near-pure-blood royal.
The silence that followed was terrifying.
Every noble in the room realized what this meant.
This company didn’t just have good products.
They had the power to rewrite the hierarchy of the entire Dragon World and other origin worlds.
If you had enough money, you could buy the status of a god.
“Fifty billion!” Trian roared from his booth, his voice shaking with a mix of fear and madness.
“Fifty billion for the next vial! Anyone who dares to compete with me will declare war against the Fire Dragon Royal Family!”
The other families gritted their teeth.
Trian was acting like a lunatic, but there were still three vials left after this one.
It wasn’t worth starting a world war over the first vial when more were available.
Trian secured the first evolution serum for 50 billion.
In Lady Melida’s booth, Rose was trembling.
She saw Ryan’s success and the Dragon’s evolution.
She looked at Melida with pleading eyes.
“Master… do you think you can buy me one vial? For Zara? For our future?”
Melida didn’t even look at her.
Her voice was as cold as the Ice Dragon domain she hailed from.
“You don’t need me to buy it, Rose. You need to ask the owner.”
“I think he would love to give you a vial for free if you play your cards right.”
Rose’s heart sank.
“Master?”
“I won’t force you to stay with Trian anymore,” Melida muttered, her eyes fixed on the stage.
“But you must make friends with the owner of this tower.”
“There is no room for negotiations.”
“If you fail to secure a connection with Ethan Hunt, Zara’s eligibility for the Saint Trial will be confiscated by me personally.”
Rose felt like she had been punched in the gut.
The woman she had viewed as a mother figure for years was now treating her like a piece of meat to be traded for business interests.
Zara, standing behind, clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white.
Ethan, sitting in the highest booth, heard every word through the tower’s surveillance.
His eyes turned a deep, murderous red.
“Old hag,” he whispered to the empty room.
“I think you have lived enough. You should probably die soon.”
The bidding for the remaining three vials of evolution serum reached a fever pitch.
Without Trian’s direct threats blocking the way, the tycoons and elders went wild.
Each of the three vials sold for over 50 billion Origin Coins.
When the hammer fell for the last time, the host bowed deeply.
“The auction is officially over,” she announced.
“Thank you for making history with the Ethan Hunt Company.”
In a single afternoon, Ethan had gathered nearly 300 billion Origin Coins.
It was a sum of wealth that equaled the entire treasury of some lesser races.
But more importantly, he had shown the world that he held the power of evolution in his hands.
As the lights dimmed on the stage, no one moved to leave.
The 79 emperors, the royal protectors, and the business tycoons all stood by their doors.
They didn’t want to go home.
They wanted an audience.
They wanted to meet the mysterious Demon who had just turned their world upside down.
They knew that from this day forward, the economy and the power structure of all races would be controlled by one man.
And they were desperate to be on his good side.