The mana amplifier that some great mage supposedly used, the Orb.
Even though it was broken, its value couldn’t possibly be measured in money.
If a great mage favored it, then its purity and performance were guaranteed.
To begin with, it was impossible to create an Orb with Earth’s materials and environment.
In other words, the Orb was an extremely rare item that you wouldn’t easily see anywhere.
Thus, those who realized its identity and value couldn’t hide their excitement.
“Oooh…! I never expected to see an Orb here!”
“This definitely has collection value…”
“With that alone, high-level magic on Earth…!”
An intense reaction bubbled up from the audience seats towards the stage.
Especially the non-humans, even wearing masks couldn’t hide their inability to look away from the Orb.
Well, such reactions were inevitable.
Amplifying mana in Earth’s thin magical atmosphere was an irreplaceable option.
Even if it was broken for some reason and couldn’t perform at full capacity,
even just a slight magical boost would still be an attractive item for mages.
‘But to find traces of the Invader here…’
However, as far as I was concerned, whether the Orb was valuable or not didn’t matter much.
What caught my attention was the familiar sensation coming from the metal embedded inside.
No, why wasn’t it in some random trinket that people wouldn’t care about?
Why did it have to be inside the Orb of a great mage that everyone wanted?
‘Hmm… maybe it’s only natural.’
A great mage wasn’t called great for nothing.
The pinnacle of magic, capable of wiping out armies single-handedly with high-level magic.
Naturally, the Orb they used probably wouldn’t break easily either.
Who else could destroy worlds besides the Invaders?
Even knowing the reason, my head still hurt just the same.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no way for me to obtain that Orb with traces of the Invader.
Even the miscellaneous items auctioned off just moments ago went for amounts unattainable after years of work.
And this Orb, usable and valuable for collection? There was no telling how much it might go for. Direct auction was practically impossible.
Steal it, then? In this hotel full of Pixies, any reckless attempt like that would surely fail.
Even if successful, they’d likely chase down the thief relentlessly using every means possible. Just imagining it was terrifying.
“Wow, amazing. I never expected to see an Orb here. How much do you think it’ll sell for?”
“At least, it seems like it’ll be the most expensive item so far. Maybe a few apartments’ worth?”
“Haha… since it’s broken, maybe it won’t fetch too much?”
“….”
Alice and Sabrina next to me whispered amongst themselves.
It seemed even for them, seeing an Orb was quite rare.
Hmm, it seems others also think it will be expensive.
I tapped my finger on the auction device attached to the armrest of my chair.
Without taking my eyes off the Orb, I quietly asked Tesseract hanging around my neck.
“Tesseract, do you feel any familiar sensations from that item up front?”
“Huh? …No idea! Only Mama can do that!”
“What about Echo?”
“Well, I don’t really know… Is it?”
Seems like neither Tesseract nor Echo had any clue.
Could it be that only I hear these ear-tickling voices?
Certainly, it was strange. Being able to hear Tesseract and Echo’s voices.
Previously, I detected an Invader Fragment unknowingly stuck in Raven’s pants.
How should I interpret this? Perhaps the curse on me is…
“Then let us begin the auction for the eighth item, the ‘Great Mage’s Orb’! The starting bid is 100,000 credits!”
While I briefly pondered, the preparations for the auction seemed complete.
The large screen on the stage displayed the bidder numbers and amounts.
As soon as the host finished speaking, the auction devices on the seats activated.
The amount on the screen began skyrocketing at an unbelievable speed.
This Enigma Auction required masks for anonymity.
Bidders were identified by seat numbers rather than names.
Perhaps thinking this was their only chance to get it easily,
especially the magic-related non-humans appeared eager to acquire it, even if it meant emptying their pockets.
“Wow, dangerous. It already surpassed 1 million. Are all these people except us rich?”
“At this rate, 10 million will be reached quickly.”
Whispers emerged from the audience seats at the alarming speed of increasing bids.
Not only had it already surpassed the highest bid in previous auctions, but the numbers kept rising further.
Soon, surpassing 10 million credits—enough to buy a top-tier sports car—elicited shocked admiration.
‘Do they really have that much money? Well… whatever. I need to focus on what I have to do.’
While people stared at the screen showing the bids,
I subtly slipped my hand into my pocket.
Taking out Echo discreetly, I gently placed him on the auction device.
“Echo. Can you hack the device to find out who got the Orb?”
“Not a difficult task.”
“I’m not too worried, but absolutely don’t get caught. Be careful.”
“Understood.”
My target was ultimately the suspicious object embedded in the Orb.
Therefore, I planned to somehow extract it when the Orb was handed over to its new owner.
However, first, it was crucial to identify who the Orb was going to.
Echo could hack the device and uncover the anonymous bidder’s identity.
Considering various hackers were already on high alert to detect intruders,
I felt glad once again about acquiring Echo on the black market.
– Seat 276 / 26.9 million credits.
– Seat 1 / 28.5 million credits.
– Seat 33 / 30 million credits.
“Wow… no joke. Roughly calculating 1 credit as 100 won, that’s already 3 billion. And it’s not stopping anytime soon?”
Just how much money do these people have? Am I the only poor one here?
The dizzying increase in amounts made my head spin.
Still, perhaps there is a limit to human wealth after all.
The skyrocketing auction price finally began to slow as it approached 300 million credits.
Probably because it wasn’t in perfect condition.
Buying an Orb with something embedded and cracked seemed burdensome.
Imagine deciding to use it, only for it to break after ten uses—no place to complain.
Anyway, 300 million credits. This is serious. Are they all tycoons?
Shaking my head in disbelief, I quietly asked Echo.
“Who is seat 33, who just bid 300 million?”
“Ara, yes. Let me check… Found her. Rakiya Olivier. Age 27, female. She is the eldest daughter of Olivier, a leading military industry company. Not a non-human but a human, so her purpose is likely collecting rare items. According to her asset information, 300 million credits is her current spending limit.”
So, someone willing to pay such a high price isn’t a non-human but a human.
Wait, Echo, can you tell if that’s her spending limit?
While marveling at Echo’s usefulness, rivaling David’s,
surprisingly, the bidder number on the screen changed, and the amount increased once more.
– Seat 276 / 310 million credits
“Ugh…!”
A faint groan from a woman signaled another jump in the auction price.
Is this a battle of the wealthy? The staggering amounts widened my eyes.
“Echo. What about seat 276?”
“Yanagi Tamamo. Age 17, female. An exceptional case selected as the student council president of the International Academy as a freshman. Known as the strongest magician in school, boasting skills surpassing many adults. Her purchase intent is likely curiosity as a mage. Favored by the Yanagi family, she can afford more than 310 million credits.”
“What, she’s bidding?”
I recalled the lavender-haired woman I met earlier at the hotel entrance.
Alice’s childhood friend, a magical genius with a complex past.
Being both a top-tier magician and a noble family’s daughter,
she certainly had the ability and intention to purchase the Orb.
“Hmm, this is troublesome. If it goes to her… how am I supposed to retrieve what’s inside the Orb?”
Tamamo was a prodigy whose talent ranked among the top even in Pixie standards.
If it were a regular person before, sneaking in at night to steal might be feasible…
But sneaking into the room of someone like the student council president of an international academy?
That difficulty level was just too high.
“Three, two, one… Sold! Congratulations to seat 276 for acquiring the Orb at 310 million credits! Seat 276!”
Clap clap clap clap!
But there was no twist. Seat 33 lacked the funds to exceed 300 million.
Thus, the Great Mage’s Orb was sold to Tamamo for 310 million credits.
All that followed was loud applause filling the auction hall, appreciating the good show.
Well, most people wouldn’t stand a chance against 300 million credits anyway. Watching was fun enough.
But for a high school girl to casually pay that much…
It felt unreal. Honestly, I was a bit envious.
“Wow… impressive. That seat 276. 310 million credits… must be a big tycoon, right?”
Alice, unaware that seat 276 was Tamamo we met earlier at the hotel entrance, muttered to herself.
On my end, retrieving the item inside the Orb became exceedingly difficult, giving me a headache.
However, the situation changed in an instant.
From the darkened auction floor, smoke suddenly began to rise faintly.
Was it part of the act? Naturally thinking so, I heard thuds of people collapsing around the audience seats.
“Ugh… gas?!”
“Aaaah!”
“Everyone, get up!”
I reflexively stood up, quickly scanning my surroundings.
Suddenly, a group without masks entered from somewhere hidden.
People collapsed motionless on the floor, while others screamed in confusion.
This was unmistakably an obvious abnormal situation for anyone with common sense.
[!– Slider main container –]
