Chapter 526: First game
The very limit that the Pyramidic Cuisine could offer for the Dwarven Armor Set was 2.5 million gold coins. However, they weren’t the only ones who could afford to pay that kind of money. Five other companies decided they could pay that too.
That was where the ’game’ came in. They were going to battle it out to see which one of them would ultimately buy the armor!!
"Are the auctions always like this?" Michael asked Max. He was the only one who was knowledgeable about this, given his long tenure in Metropolis.
"Yes. That is how Barnaby’s auction works. Even though I’ve only been in the auction a couple of times because the Vanderbilt business failed, I still hear rumors about it from time to time."
Michael was very intrigued with this kind of format. One would have to prove that they had the money and the power to obtain the item.
"So, if a lot of companies agree to a bid, then will all of them participate in it?"
"Technically, yes. However, that’s where the bidding comes in. Many of these companies intentionally make the price of the item a lot higher than it’s normally supposed to go for just so they could make their competition a lot smaller.
As you can see, only the Rising Six could afford to spend 2.5 million gold coins on a few pairs of Dwarven Armor. This high price weeds out the other companies who are not that desperate to get the item."
Michael rubbed his chin. "I see...that makes sense. Only the truly successful companies can shell out this much money on the first auction item."
"That’s right," Max nodded as he looked over the tinted glass. "There’a a lot of people who want that Dwarven Armor, but they know that they have to conserve not only money, but power, for the items that are going to be in there later.
After all, there’s a good chance that their people could get injured while competing in the game. It’s not worth it to deploy them in this game, especially since the one they’re going up against is the Rising Six."
The auction was quite complex, and gave a lot of room for people to strategize and plan ahead. After all, they weren’t dealing with just money, but also personnel.
"That’s why they’re also bidding for how many officers they get to deploy," Michael realized.
"Most companies want as many ’soldiers’ in the game as possible. That would give them a better chance of winning. Of course, other companies don’t want that, especially if they know that the company that they’re up against was someone who had numerous officers who were strong.
That’s why the Alligator company denied the Pyramidic Cuisine’s offer to have only six officers participate in the game.
Their bidding could even go as low as only one person. Of course, not a lot of companies want to do that because it would lower their chances of winning, so they all agree to have more officers for a better chance."
Michael was starting to understand the rules of the auction now.
"Players, please come down and enter the Pocket Dimension when I say so!"
It wasn’t long before people arrived coming from the backdoors and into the center stage.
There were 24 of them in total, grouped up by 4. Each of them wore a uniform that distinctly showed allegiance to the company.
"Michael, if you’re going to participate in one of the auctions, then I suggest that you also start using uniforms for your crew," Max advised. "Some of the Pocket Dimensions that Barnaby owns will transport you and your teammates in completely different locations."
He looked back at Max, realizing something. "There’s other Pocket Dimensions? Does that mean that there’s other games?"
"Yes. Each item up for bid will have a different game associated with it. It ranges from a simple fighting arena, to a maze labyrinth where it is more than possible that no competitors meet with each other."
Michael finally understood just how rich Barnaby was in terms of Pocket Dimensions. If he could have a different one for each item up for auction, then he must own hundreds, if not thousands of Pocket Dimensions.
"Look, they’re starting to move," Max said, pointing below.
Michael noticed that he didn’t recognize anyone. Even though Spice Vise was included in the game, Reena was nowhere to be seen.
"Are there any restrictions for company owners to participate?"
"Not really. If you’re looking for the Rising Six themselves, they probably won’t show up only if they really need it. They need to reserve their strength."
Michael understood their reasoning. However, he would have liked to see them fight so that he could gauge his own strength against them. But that was probably the reason why they weren’t going to show up, especially for the first item.
"At my mark...get set...GO!"
Upon Barnaby’s signal, the participants jumped into the hole and disappeared into the Pocket Dimension.
It was at this moment that the crowd began to take out fancy binoculars from their pockets. This was what allowed them to see what was happening down below.
Michael used his Supreme Skill to observe everything with clarity. He saw that each team were all separated from one another, appearing in completely random spots inside the terrain.
They all frantically tried to search for the gold coin in the ground, unearthing stones, wrecking bushes, and even felling trees in an attempt to get a better light from the skies.
"Our game has gone off to a great start. Who will be the first one to see the gold coin, I wonder?!"
Barnaby commented on everything he saw unfold. "Look at the second quadrant! The Alligator company and Crocodile Leather have spotted each other. Will they ignore their rivalry to search for the coin, or will they try to take each other down?"
As more and more people scoured the lands for the gold coin, fights inevitably broke out.
Barnaby did a good job figuring out which fight was interesting and pointing it out to the crowd. He gave them background information, like their name, their affiliation, as well as the power difference between them.
"Oh my gosh, two fighters from Mountain Movers have been knocked unconscious—OH WAIT! Look! SOMEONE FOUND THE COIN!"
A lucky fellow from the Pyramidic Cuisine held in his hands, a shining gold coin with Barnaby’s face stamped on it.
Immediately, they rushed towards the mountain.
However, the other players seemed to have noticed this and tried to stop him in his tracks.
The lucky guy had to fight his way to the foot of the mountain, with several people trying to get the gold coin out of his hands.
Thankfully, for him, he had his own backup who successfully warded off any stealing attempts from the other players.
It wasn’t long before the guy used his skills to jump through boulders and icy terrain, eventually reaching the peak of the mountain and winning the first item for his company.
"Congratulations to the Pyramidic Cuisine!" Barnaby shouted, with the crowd howling and praising the winner for an exciting show.
Even Max couldn’t help but clap for the Pyramidic Cuisine. Beau’s officers were incredibly strong and extremely skilled.
It was a powerful show of force, telling everyone that it wasn’t just Beau who was talented, but also her crew.
"Michael, do you see how good they are? That’s what you should keep in mind later. Beau’s surrounded by very powerful—"
But as he looked at Michael and the Rebornians, he saw that none of them were even paying attention!