'A hundred thousand credits is the start of the bidding?! There is no way anybody would pay that large sum of money, right?!' Zaroth felt insulted just hearing the price.
"Here!" a man far from Zaroth's view raised his hand.
"One hundred twenty thousand?" the man at the center of the arena spoke.
"Here!" a woman shouted from another place in the arena.
"One hundred fifty thousand here!"
"One hundred eighty thousand here!"
"Two hundred thousand here!"
Zaroth would have massaged his forehead if it wasn't hidden behind the mask he was wearing.
These people were willing to pay so much for the minotaur? Even if it was a Rare beast, he found it hard to believe how they could afford to bid so much without batting an eye.
'Should I ask Elysia for more credits?' he wondered. This wasn't something that he enjoyed doing, as it probably gave the impression that he wasn't smart with his money. Since he wanted to court her, he knew he had to appear mature, and being irresponsible with his money was the complete opposite of that.
Deciding to see how the bidding would end, he gritted his teeth and waited.
After two minutes passed, it seemed that the deal was made.
"Sold for four hundred fifty thousand credits!" the man in the middle of the arena proclaimed.
Afterward, the everyone began to clap, so Zaroth did as well. Were they celebrating the successful bidding? He wondered. It was hard to understand how the rich thought.
"This was less than I expected, honestly," the woman whispered to the knowledgeable man.
"Well, it's only natural. During the fight with the panther, the minotaur took several hits, making the beasts bleed. Even if they aren't serious wounds, they are still wounds nonetheless," he explained.
'So the beast strength isn't the only thing they consider before buying, but its current condition as well,' Zaroth thought, paying attention to the conversation
"I see, then tell me how much do you think the panther would sell for?"
Hearing the woman's question, the man scoffed.
"Honestly? I doubt that anyone would bother to buy it. The beast is dead, and unlike the others, this one doesn't really have much value to offer. The only thing that may be desired is its black fur, but considering how much the body of the beast is damaged, no one would want to buy it. It is simply trash."
Zaroth didn't know how to feel hearing the words of the knowledgeable man, that was until he noticed that the body of the panther was giving a certain type of energy.
A second later, he realized that he would be able to resurrect the beast.
Suddenly his heart rate quickened, at the thought of acquiring the panther.
If what the knowledgeable man said was true, then wouldn't that mean Zaroth could buy the body of the dead beast, since nobody would bother to bid for it?
"The bidding for the body of the panther shall start for twenty thousand credits!"
Deadly silence fell upon the arena. No one seemed to want to buy the panther as the knowledgeable man had predicted.
Which, while good news for Zaroth, didn't mean that he would be able to buy the beast, as the bidding had started at twenty thousand, while he had just nine thousand.
The man in the center of the arena coughed awkwardly. "Seeing that there isn't interest, let's lower the price. What about fifteen thousand?"
There was still silence in the arena.
"A pity," the knowledgeable man sighed. "Nobody would buy the body of the beast, and in the end, they would either burn it or give it as food for the other ones."
Zaroth couldn't help but grimace. They were going to get rid of the body of the beast that had so much potential?
While he did understand that he was the only one that would be able to use the body of the panther to its full potential, as he doubted that there was anyone else capable of reviving the dead, that didn't mean that he didn't find the situation weird.
These rich people who were ready to throw hundreds of thousands of credits into buying the minotaur didn't even think twice when it came to the body of the panther.
While Zaroth desperately hoped that they would decrease the price so he would be able to buy it.
Was this what they called one man's trash is another's treasure?
"Twelve thousand, anyone?" the man reduced the price again, but no one called out.
A few seconds passed as he sighed, "Last offer, eight thousand credits."
Zaroth raised his hand so quickly that he wondered if he had ever moved with such speed in his life.
The man at the center of the arena smiled a little as he saw Zaroth's hand, most likely glad that they were going to make some profit from the worthless body of the beast.
The knowledgeable man threw a glance backward at Zaroth as he muttered,
"Well, I guess somebody did buy it after all."
*****
After the bidding was done, Zaroth was escorted to a small room where the body of the panther was placed on a table like some kind of object… Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire
Well, considering that it was dead, it was probably counted as an object.
Nevertheless, Zaroth paid with the credits.
"Thank you for the successful bidding. Do you wish us to transport the body of the beast somewhere?" the man asked.
Zaroth smiled as he replied, "No need."
The man was surprised a little, as usually, everyone that bought a beast, dead or alive, would require it to be sent to their home, which was how they managed to charge even more money for the transportation.
"If—if you say so, sir," the man bowed a little as he exited the room.
Zaroth, watching the man leave, took a deep breath as he approached the body of the panther.
Stopping an arm's length away from it, he couldn't help but gasp a little.
He hadn't realized it before, but the beast was giving off incredibly strong energy, most likely testament to how much it wanted to live. It probably had things that it still wanted to achieve.
"Well, if you want to live so much, then join me. Let me become your master, and in return, I will grant you your wish," he spoke firmly as he placed his hand on the beast, Its body didn't have any warmth, it was cold.
He had already granted the wish of Silverfang, making him evolve from Uncommon to Rare, so Zaroth was pretty sure that if the panther had some kind of wish and he managed to grant it, there was a real chance for the panther to evolve from a Rare beast to an Epic one.
He held his breath as he listened to the words of the system. Even if he had bought the body of the beast, it didn't mean that the panther would want to serve him, so it was now all up to luck. Would his purchase turn out to be meaningless, or would he hit the jackpot?
[Nightclaw Panther judges your soul]
[What is your purpose?]