The audience erupted in applause again. The curtains parted and were now closed, leaving darkness for a moment.
FWOOOOSH
The curtains opened again and there was a single black pedestal sitting in the middle of the stage with something on it - A pen. However, there was something wrong with the pen.
The body of the pen was jagged, as though it had been created from obsidian; you could see veins running along the body of the pen near like cracks in the body of the pen. The ink tip of the pen was definitely not made with a feather.
"Now, if I may have your attention."
Arnid's voice sliced through the silence.
"Our first item for the evening is the Mad Quill."
He pointed to the pedestal with the pen and an audible murmur spread through the crowd. Arnid's smile was now razor-sharp.
"It is a cursed writing instrument which has been purported to have belonged to a mad scholar who lost their mind to pursue forbidden knowledge."
Arnid began pacing the stage slowly with his hand wrapping around the quill.
"My friends, when something is chronicled using this quill... it has an amazing capability of becoming a physical existence. However, this is at a cost."
The quill began to pulse a deeper shade of red.
"The more detailed the description of what you with this quill, the larger the reality costs you."
Arnid resumed his earlier jovial smile and looked back at the crowd.
"So let's get started! I will start the bidding at five million ciza!"
Many bids start popping up, from 5.5 million to 7 million, they just keep rising and rising.Assad, who's at the VIP area, is intrigued by the item alone and thinks it has great power.
"Wow, that is awesome and I am not going to lie, but this feels like it has a down side."
Assad checks with Sévon.
"What do you mean about that?"
Sévon does not respond, which confuses Assad quite much.
"It's because it's fake."
Assad looks back at Vonessia.
"Fake?"
Vonessia responds with a nod to Assad's previous question. An auction wouldn't sell something that would be fake, there had to be more to the story and it seems both Sévon and Vonessia have had something to do with purchasing the item in question.
Suddenly an unrelated noble with a number 23 gets the quill very cheap at 10 million ciza and everyone claps the noble on the back for getting a good deal.
Assad continues to clap and looks at the random noble and from far away sees an average looking noble that was just passing through with his money but feels there is something wrong with that too.
Assad dismisses the idea and concludes that he is simply overly anxious, and that he should take a moment to relax. The curtains close yet again and as they do they reveal a cage instead of a pillar.
This causes tremendous confusion for Assad because he thinks if there is a cage in this environment, there must be an animal for sale. His notion of there being an animal becomes true when the next item, which is animal actuality, is brought out by Arnid, who looks just as calm as he did initially.
"Ah… now for some real life," Arnid says, and taps lightly on the side of the cage. The entire auditorium seemed to lean in towards the stage.
Arnid is reading the thoughts of the people.
"What you are about to see is an animal who is alive."
Assad squints his eyes.
"However,do not think this is any regular animal."
ROOOOOAAAARRRR!!!
The roar echoes through the entirety of the auditorium, and occurs after the creature lunges at the cage hard enough to cause a large dent in the cage. The audience gasps as they first see this creature and it is very shocking.
The creature is now clearly visible and is in badly damaged condition because his scales look burnt, cracked and as if they have been burned with a flame thrower numerous times. His wings are also really badly damaged, but still have glowing embers stuck along the edges of his wings.
The room was getting heavier with the presence of the wyvern as he made a low, rumbling growl, which could be felt in the bodies of the spectators.
Arnid had introduced the creature to the audience as he stood on stage, and all eyes were focused on him. Shim Ma Shin was watching the wyvern with interest, and next to him, Shim Ju-Won was also intrigued
On stage, Arnid raised his hand and began the bidding at 2 million Ciza. A bell rang out in the hall, causing everyone to turn to the VIP area. Arnid was momentarily taken aback when he realized the emperor had raised his hand and made a bid.
"Your Majesty, you wish to place a bid for the wyvern?" asked Arnid.
There was a brief pause in the auction hall as everyone awaited a response.
"I will buy the wyvern," said Shim Ju-Won calmly.
There was another pause in the auction hall as the weight of his statement sunk in.
"For 23 million Ciza," he continued.
At that moment, every person in the auction hall froze. The wyvern appeared to be frozen as well. Even Assad was momentarily shocked. With a huge grin on his face, Arnid raised his arm toward the crowd.
"Twenty-three million Ciza," he stated.
He shifted his body just enough for the amount to settle into the atmosphere.
"Going once. Going twice."
No voices dared join in. Arnid slammed his arm down fast.
"Sold! To His Majesty Shim Ju-Won!"
The applause that filled the air was not only for respect but also acknowledgment. From the VIP area, Shim Ma-Shin rose from his seat, took a step forward and bowed with both hands crossed palm against palm as a show of appreciation and respect.
"Thank you, Father," he stated.
His voice was calm and steady but you could still hear the satisfaction behind it. Shim Ju-Won nodded slightly in reply.
"Make good use of it."
His eyes quickly reverted to the Burnt Wyvern waiting without movement as if understanding it had a new master.