Saiyan Gamer
Chapter 17: The Auction
I rose out of the grogginess of sleep reluctantly.
That bed was the best thing that I've ever slept on. It was hard to want to get out of it, even though I wasn't tired in the slightest. After a few minutes of sitting up, I swiveled to the side to let my legs hang, and took a look at the room around me.
The place I brought us to stay wasn't the best I could afford, but it was enough. Now that I knew the value of money, I didn't want to spend what I had. Thankfully, the money that I stole from the Juggernaught wasn't a small number. I paid for a room for Zaria and Leeku, and Turles and I stayed in the other.
The receptionist checked my blood with a DNA tester, and it came back the same as before, which is why we were allowed to stay here without trouble. I doubted they would have let us stay if they knew that we were all Saiyans.
A sliver of sunlight broke through the curtains, illuminating the room in an orange hue. Turles slept peacefully, undisturbed as I got up, threw on some clothes, and walked out of the sliding doors which led outside.
The room I chose was high in the hotel, and from the balcony view I could see a large chunk of the city. It was nice to look at, so I sat up on the edge and pulled out one of the five books I'd picked out from the library.
After looking, I realized that there were far too many interesting books that I wanted to read, so I just picked five random books that piqued my interest. They were titled, 'Basic Maths', 'Anatomy For Dummies', 'Dictionary of Law', 'How To Defend Yourself', and 'Mossgrove City: A Story of Survival'.
I admit, after reading the brief history of Mossgrove city, I wanted to know more about it. That was the first book I pulled out of my safe place and began to read. It was a lot bigger than the other four books, and strangely, that excited me. Before I started it though, I pulled up my stat sheet and looked it over.
I'd just levelled up after killing Visharr, but I hadn't yet manually accepted the reward for the Trouble On The Juggernaught mission. Once I accepted that experience, plus the extra 3000 for killing Vishar with my bare hands, it almost gave me enough to level up again.
My intelligence stat was only four away from twenty, so I put four into it and the remaining two in endurance. My power level jumped to 938, putting me right below second class. Intelligence wise, I didn't feel too different. We'll have to see. For now, let me finish this book.
By the time I finished the book, I'd discovered a great many things about the city. While the previous book mainly spoke about the current city, this book went deeply into how it began, and what led it up to it's current state. Centuries of development and growth held in one book.
Mossgrove was one of the first cities formed after the Tuffles arrived on the planet. The exact date wasn't specific, but it was a very long time ago. The founder was a Tuffle that went by Willow Beezle, and he was a 'ruthless Tuffle' as the book called him. To me, it just sounded like he was an ordinary person, but to whoever wrote the book, he was violent and reckless.
Still, that reckless intelligence helped him to convince the native Plantians to let him have the land without paying a single coin. A very large part of me wanted to know what a Plantian was, and where they were now if they were the natives of this planet, but that was unfortunately the last the book mentioned them.
After acquiring the land, he began to build it up, and before his death it was the capital of the baby Tuffle empire. He gave it to his kids, and then to their kids, and so it kept on for years. The city expanded to cover the entire island, and it's design was the basis of all of the Tuffle cities that spread across the entire planet. The Beezle family's success eventually led one of them to rise to the very top of the Tuffle social chain; becoming the King.
It gave me a new understanding of the title: King. I'd heard the word plenty. Raphalos was the King of Avross Mountain. There was a Queen of the Meta-Wolves. But not until now did I realize the magnitude of the title.
A King, or Queen, was at the top of their species food chain. They controlled everyone below it, and everyone had to listen to them. They had the most money, social power, and most importantly, the strength. Strength that could be used to crush whatever they wanted. No one looked down on a King, because everyone knew that they stood on top.
Who is the Saiyan King? If there was one, I hadn't heard of him yet. I paused and considered the possibility, no matter how outrageous it sounded even in my head. But the more I dwelled on the idea, the more my skin crawled in excitement. I was already trying to get strong, so why stop there?
A small smirk spread over my face, but I stopped those thoughts. I'm still a long way from having a goal like that. I slowly closed the book and put it back in the safe place. The rest wasn't as interesting. After that it spoke about how Mossgrove city fell out of good grace when it was discovered that it was becoming a hub for a host of illegal activities. That was when it changed from the capitol and slowly, over many years, it became detached from the rest of Tuffle society.
Eventually the Tuffle government gave up trying to keep them in order, which ended up being bad for them when the Great War ended. The Tuffle government didn't bother to extend the shield bubble enough to cover them, leaving them exposed. And that was where the book ended.
It gave me a new view of the city before me. Before, it was foreign, but now I knew it like the back of my hand. A view that could only be achieved through reading. As I pulled out my next book, I realized that I enjoyed reading and learning almost as much as fighting. Almost.
A few minutes after finishing Anatomy For Dummies, Turles began shuffling around in the room. I placed the book back in the safe place, before opening the door and watching Turles finish getting dressed.
"Those beds are great," I commented casually, alerting him of my presence.
"That was the best sleep I've ever had," He yawned and stretched. "I wish I could sleep like that every night."
"Same," I replied. I probably could make a comfortable bed if I knew what the bed was made of. An idea came to me out of nowhere, and I slowly made my way over to the bed that I'd slept on.
"What are you doing?" Turles asked curiously, watching me from the corner of his eye.
Once I got to the bed, I put my hand out towards it and concentrated. If I could craft things together, was it possible for me to uncraft things? I waited for a few seconds, and then out of nowhere the option popped up in front of me. I accepted it, and in an instant the bed was gone and in its place, several items.
The frame of the bed became a big block of metal. The mattress split into a bunch of other things, but I didn't know the name of most of them until I used Observe on the individual pieces. I was sure that I could make certain things with purely metal, like the springs, but some of the other stuff I wasn't sure. I'd have to buy it. But at least now I knew what to look for.
In the blink of an eye, the bed formed again and I turned back to a startled Turles. "I had an idea and it worked. Turns out I can un-craft things to see what they're made of."
He looked surprised as he replied, saying, "That's pretty insane."
"I guess," I hummed, before standing up and heading to the door. "Let's go see if the girls are awake. The auction is about to begin."
POV Switch
"How many items will you be auctioning today?"
Zaria stood in complete silence behind Sprout as he spoke for the group. To her left stood an aggravated Leeku and to her right Turles. She couldn't see the expression on their faces due to the plain masks of smooth bone that they were all wearing. Sprout had made them for everyone once she informed him that auctions were meant to be anonymous.
Watching him create objects out of lesser objects was still shocking, and as she stared at his back, her mind was still reeling. Magic was her first thought, but if he could use magic too, why was he confused when he found out about hers? It didn't make sense. Nor did the fact that his magic was so limited.
'But then again…' She pondered to herself. 'Who am I to say his magic is limited? I don't know the true limits of magic myself.'
She could barely remember her past before the Juggernaught, for a reason she couldn't pinpoint. In fact, the majority of her childhood was simply gone. At times she'd get glimpses of her parents' faces, and the village that she used to live in, but those were rare. The only thing that she solidly could remember was how to use her magic, and even that was limited to the spells she knew. She could feel an entire world of new things she could do, but wasn't sure how to to reach out towards them. It was entirely possible that Sprout knew some other sort of magic that she was unaware of.
Whatever it was, she was intrigued by it. After creating the masks, he went on to fix their ripped clothes with ease. They were a little smaller now, but that didn't matter to her considering her previous shirt and shorts were way too big anyway. She'd gotten used to them over the years, considering it was one of the only pieces of clothing she'd been allowed to own since being taken.
'But now I'm free.'
The feeling in Zaria's chest blossomed and filled her with intense warmth. She was free, and all thanks to the Saiyan standing in front of her. Words couldn't describe the emotions that flowed through her concerning him. She owed him her life. No. She owed him everything.
Even now, his soul sparkled like nothing she'd ever seen before.
The soul of any given person or animal was small and travelled freely throughout the body. For as long as she could remember, she could see them. They changed often, depending on the mood and personality of the individual, but despite that, they weren't all that different. Or well, that was what she thought until she saw his.
Even despite its small size, Sprout's soul was so bright that it may as well have covered his entire body. It flashed through dozens of different colors every second or so, flawlessly transitioning in a beautiful display. Incredible didn't describe it, and it was one of the reasons why she felt she could trust him back on the Juggernaught. It spoke to her unlike any other had.
Even now, while Turles's soul was anxious and afraid, and Leeku's was a simmering anger, Sprout's soul was calm and collected. Despite being in a Tuffle city, she'd never felt so safe.
"Hey, you there?"
She snapped out of her thoughts to Sprout turning around to face her while the group walked ahead. Their eyes met, her heart leapt, and she smiled. Despite not being able to see that smile, he nodded his head and turned around. She followed quietly.
'I will do anything to stay by this light.'
As a rather old Tuffle, Barco knew a thing of two. One thing that he knew for certain was that no one of nobility had stepped a foot into Mossgrove since the barrier went up at the conclusion of the Great War. Normally, that would be a discouraging thing, but for the business in Mossgrove to thrive, it was a necessity.
Which was why, when Barco saw four expensively dressed people walking into his lobby, with one of them proudly showing off the symbol of the royal family on his arm, his heart dropped to his feet. Did they come to shut down his business?
While holding auctions wasn't illegal, in the last few years, a lot of the items that went on display were far from legal. He calmed himself down quickly as he hurried his way from his office down to the lobby. No, they wouldn't shut down the auction. A few things assured him of that. The main being the fact that they were wearing masks, which likely meant that they were planning on participating.
Then why expose the fact that they were royalty? The answer came to him quickly, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. It was a power play.
When he walked into the room, he put on his best smile and clapped his hands together. The group turned to him, and he was able to get a better look at them. In the front of the group stood a tall woman with flowing green hair that reached her lower back. Her body was covered mostly by an orange dress, but what little was shown was muscular. On her arm was the royal family insignia.
Even through her leviathan inspired mask, he could feel her eyes piercing his. Immediately, he offered a short bow, but before he could rise, a rough voice interrupted him.
"Is that all?" The voice was low and gravelly, and it almost made Barco flinch. After a tense second, the man continued. "Such little respect for royalty. Disgraceful."
Barco, now sweating, lowered himself further, before looking back up at the group. Immediately he knew that the one who had addressed him was the man standing directly behind the royal. He was much taller than the royal, which was impressive to say the least. His clothes did little work to hide the muscular body underneath it, and his ape mask seemed very fitting.
"I meant no disrespect, your…" He paused, not entirely sure how to address whoever was standing in front of him.
"Your Highness," The woman informed him, only intensifying his unease. She wasn't just any nobility.
"My apologies, your Highness," He offered another short bow. "And what do I have the honor of hosting a child of our magnificent King?" Barco asked, the smile not moving from his face. As he waited for a response, he scanned the rest of the group.
There was another woman and another male. Both had vibrant blue hair, matching cat masks, and stood at the back of the group. While the male stood in complete silence, the woman was silently spinning a large ring around her wrist. The neon blue glow at its sharp edges left no doubt that it was a weapon.
"We are simply here to observe. There's no guarantee that we will purchase anything," She informed me, much to the owners dismay. He wanted to ask more, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Don't worry."
A voice spoke from right behind his left ear, sending shivers running through his spine and into his toes. He stumbled forward and turned around, wide eyes and alarmed. Standing where he was just moments ago, a black haired boy watched him with a curious expression on his face.
"W-What?" Barco asked instinctively, not sure when this fifth member even entered the room. On top of that panic, when Barco's eyes fell down to the pre-teen's arm, he found another royal insignia.
"I said, there's no need to be worried. We don't plan on taking down your business. We are here for one reason and one reason only..." He informed Barco, who stared at him in disbelief. "I had a feeling."
"A… Feeling?"
"Yes," He responded, a small, mysterious smile appearing on his face. "They're rare, but when they come around, something very important usually follows."
"That's enough, My Lord," The Ape masked Tuffle interrupted before the enthusiastic child could continue. Barco was more surprised that he had willingly ordered someone of nobility, but when the boy simply smiled and walked over to the side of his sister, he just stared.
"What did your sister and I tell you about taking off your mask when we're being incognito?" The male in the cat mask grumbled under his breath.
"Do you have to be such a stickler to the rules? It was getting hard to breathe," The boy rolled his eyes playfully, before grinning. "Besides, he won't remember what I looked like in a few minutes anyway."
Before Barco could question that statement, the green haired woman took a step forward and the atmosphere in the room shifted. He gulped and looked up at her.
"Now, be a good host and show us to our seats."
"This is… Incredibly boring…"
Leeku's words mirrored the sentiment of the entire group. My head rested on my palm as I stared with half lidded eyes at the stage far ahead of me. On said stage, someone wheeled away a random, seemingly useless object away that was just sold for a little over a million. Nothing about it was impressive, and that described the majority of objects that had already been shown.
I wasn't sure what I had expected, but it wasn't this. Thoroughly unimpressed, I turned to Turles who was sitting to my right with crossed arms.
"Did you know that, apart from our tails, Tuffles have the same anatomy as Saiyans?" I told him a fact that I'd discovered from the anatomy book I'd read in the morning. I couldn't see his face, but the stuttered gasp revealed his reaction.
"W-Wha-Why would you mention that?" He replied after a few seconds of sputtering.
"Just a fun fact," I said. "I mean they're also shorter than most Saiyans, but apart from that, and the tail, everything else is the same."
Turles silently stared at me for a few seconds, before asking, "So?"
"So, what would happen if a Saiyan and a Tuffle had a baby?" I asked, getting to the point. The lack of information about half-Saiyans with Tuffle parents was fresh on my mind after having hours to think to myself. If I was half-Tuffle, was there a way of me knowing besides trusting my parents?
"I don't know, but I don't think it's possible," Turles hesitantly answered.
"Why don't you think so?" I pressed.
"Well, uh," He turned away from me awkwardly. "Saiyans are really strong and Tuffles are really weak. It just wouldn't work."
It clicked instantly, but the realization didn't last for too long. "Well yeah. If it was a really strong Saiyan then they'd probably kill the Tuffle, but what if it's a weak Saiyan? It might work."
"I mean…" Turles turned back to me. "Yeah I guess so."
"Also, there are these things that can suppress your energy and strength. They can even make a strong Saiyan much weaker," I said.
"Okay, but where are you going with this?"
I flicked my eyes to the side, where Leeku was sitting with her arms crossed and her legs up on the chair in front of her. I watched her for a few seconds, before turning back to my friend.
"I'll tell you later," I promised. He nodded his head after his eyes left Leeku too. "Anyway, besides that, who was that Tuffle guy you were talking to?"
Turles looked back at the stage as something else was wheeled in. "Just someone I met when I was looking for the auction."
"Hm, okay," I said. "And that brown drink you had in your hand when you came back?"
"Oh! That's coffee! I'll have to show it to you later!" He said enthusiastically. "But we've been away from home for a while. If we don't get back soon, Mom might just kill me. Maybe we could come back?"
"We'd have to bring Zaria again to sneak you in, but I don't see why not," I said. I didn't need long to think about it, really. There were shops that I wanted to explore, things I wanted to buy, and there just wasn't enough time on this trip.
We continued speaking about the city, before finally, all the lights in the building focused on the stage and dramatic music began to play.
"And now, the feature item of the day!" The announcer called out as the item was reeled in, hidden underneath a sheet of fabric. "All the way from Avross mountain! This item is so rare that only two of them have been on this stage in the last 100 years! It can be used for a great many things, including but not limited to, providing a self-renewing energy source, or making an incredible breakfast! Behold; The Golden Egg of Atross!"
"The Golden Egg of Atross!"
The auction house went into a frenzy, with people throwing up money that most Tuffles didn't see in a lifetime. Sitting quietly, the group of Tuffle elite watched as the announcer circled the egg and continued describing it's benefits.
"I guess your feeling was right," The green haired princess turned to her brother, who smiled lightly back at her.
"Always is," He replied. "Although, something is telling me that there's more to it."
"What we should be concerned about is who acquired the egg in the first place," The ape masked man interjected. "What Tuffle would be foolish enough to steal a Heir egg; especially the one closest to the barrier?"
"An incredibly selfish one," The cat-eared woman added.
"Or a Saiyan," The man growled under his breath.
"Whichever is the case, we'll handle it after we acquire the item," The princess spoke up, silencing the group. "The money exchange is done in person, so if it's a Tuffle, we'll give them the money and then thrown them in jail for the Wyvern raids. And if it's a Saiyan, we'll kill them on the spot."
The majority of the group nodded their heads in agreement, with only one of them frowning. As a collective, they all turned back to the stage, and cast a price that ended the entire auction..
"A billion…"
I repeated the words again in a dream-like stage. Even with my fresh knowledge of money, I knew that was a ridiculous amount. I could literally buy anything I wanted with that. Even splitting it between Leeku and I, that was still 500 million each. My head was spinning at numbers, and I could literally see Leeku glowing too.
Honestly, I didn't know that the egg did half of the things that the announcer described, and that probably raised the price considerably. Even still, before that final pitch, the price was still on the lower million side, inching towards 500 million. Whoever made that final pitch was very rich, and not afraid of showing it.
"Let's collect it!" Leeku practically shouted, jumping to her feet. I followed quickly, and so did the rest of the group.
"What room did he say we have to go to agai-"
"10," I replied without hesitation, resisting the urge to run to the room. Leeku skipped ahead of me and reached the room first. She didn't hesitate in opening it, but the moment she did, I realized that it was too good to be true.
Sitting in the center of the room was a large black box, which I assumed had the money in it. However, the people surrounding the box were what concerned me.
Sitting on top of the box was a green-haired woman wearing a scouter, who fixed us with a fierce glare. Around her, four others stood in a semi-circle, all with the same intensity as the first. In front of them, four empty seats waited.
Instinctively, I stopped myself right outside of the door, and Turles wasn't far behind. His hand wrapped tightly around my arm, and I could feel as the pressure increased. Where Zaria was before the door opened, empty space remained.
"Don't be shy," The green-haired woman spoke, her voice leaving no room to argue. "Take a seat. We have things to discuss…"
"Saiyans."
I hope you enjoy this chapter! I was writing way ahead and realized that I should probably edit and update a chapter. Let me know what you think about the chapter in the review and if you have any questions or predictions. I'm going to be posting Sprout's Power Level at the end of every chapter, for all those who have been asking.
Level 14
Sprout
Species - Saiyan/?
Gender - Male
Age - 14
HP - 7,191
Ki - 10,318
Power Level - 938
