Past the curtains was a very wide hall about the same size as a concert hall or a medieval ballroom, only much bigger. The hall was not extremely large, but it was still big enough to contain about a hundred people in it, with enough room to move around without feeling cramped.The seating arrangements featured many of those hanging terraces that were commonly seen in opera houses widely distributed around the entire hall and a wide center stage on the ground where a banquet was prepared. There was also a small elevated partition on the far side of the entrance, away from the banquet area, that looked like a stage for presentations to be made.Unlike the previous area, which was more like a waiting room, this was a place that was more befitting for the rich and powerful to mingle and socialize.Arran and his group were not the first to arrive. On the banquet floor, amidst exquisite delicacies and fine wine, there were many people all banding together in little groups conversing about
While Arran and Brianna were discussing with each other, the others were occupied with observing the entire venue. Various aspects of the auction venue appealed to each and every one of them. For Sadie and Jon, they were drawn to the exquisite decor of the room and the expensive and very delicious-looking food that was laid out lavishly on the tables.Unable to resist, the two of them had already moved to the table closest to them and started picking several enticing treats to taste. The wide varieties of foods made it difficult for Sadie and Jon to decide which to take. They wanted all of them, so by the time they were done selecting what to eat, their plates were already filled to the brim and overflowing with food. Sadie’s and Jon’s actions naturally drew the attention of those around them. Under the close scrutiny of the guests of the auction, the two of them would probably not avoid being labeled as bumpkins by the otherwise more sophisticated bunch. But neither Sadie nor Jon ca
“This is what I wanted to explain to you...” Brianna said to Arran. Hearing this, Arran opened his ears and waited patiently to listen to what Brianna had to say. But Brianna did not start immediately. Instead, she turned to address the others and said to them.“You all should listen too. This is important.”The others were surprised when they heard this. Normally Brianna wouldn’t include them in her discussion with Arran and would only talk to him. Feeling that this was important, Sadie, Jon, Trapp, Elena, and Vanna all perked up to listen to Brianna. Once everybody was paying attention, Brianna started.She first asked a question, “Do you know how the bidding in this secret auction works?”Brianna was asking everybody there, but they shook their head in denial. Since they hadn’t been here before, they naturally didn’t know how the bidding was conducted.Only Elena answered otherwise, “I’ve heard it’s done by way of exchange where the various participants offer up something of ben
“The crux of the matter is that there is no place for kids like us to actually bid for anything during the auction. What we can only do is watch as the various groups try to best and exploit benefits from each other.” Brianna said, finally ending her explanation. At this point, Arran and the others agreed with Brianna. Based on the stakes of the bids made in the secret auction, there was really nothing that any of them could offer that would be enticing to the various parties gathered here. Still, it was not a loss. Just like Brianna said, although they couldn’t bid on anything, they could still watch and expand their horizons. At least this way, the group could understand the strength and capabilities of the various powers in the realm.This, on its own, was a benefit that they would pass up on.Right at this moment, as Brianna finished explaining the way the auction worked, the center of the hall brightened once more. The stands where the guests were seated were still dimly lit, b
There was a heavy buzz of activity following the introduction of the first item to be auctioned.Murmurs spread around the room as people discussed the value of the first item. Arran was filled with incredulity. He felt that his understanding of the universe was being tested at this moment. Recalling the description of the higher dimensional disk, Arran for a moment, there was actually a higher dimension in the universe... one that was fully observable but had yet to be discovered. Sure Arran had heard of a lot of speculations about the existence of a higher dimension in the universe, but till now there had never been proof of this assumption. Just like how humans on earth believed there was life in space but had yet to discover any concrete evidence to prove their theory, this too was how it was for a higher dimension. But now, seeing this disk that clearly possessed features that do not conform with the characteristics of the 3d universe, it made one wonder if the existence of th
The auction was still underway, but no one had still yet to make an offer for the first item, the higher dimension disk.Observing as people were whispering silently to each other, Arran impatiently grumbled.“They sure are taking their sweet time deciding whether to bid or not. From how I see it, almost everybody here wants this item, but they are probably not confident enough to get it.”Trapp, upon hearing Arran’s grumbles, said to him, “You shouldn’t look at it that way. It’s true that all of them want to get their hands on this item. But it’s not that they are not confident in getting it because they are afraid of not getting any results after research is conducted. The truth is, even if there may not be any results from studying this higher dimension disk, everybody would be willing to study it based on the slightest hope that they would gain something.”“The reason everybody is taking their time before bidding is that they are considering what benefits to give up to obtain the
The conversation between the Kar people and the host Sloan continued. It was mainly the Kar people speaking in their own language that consisted of strange sounds and tones, with Sloan occasionally responding using similar tones. Arran did not understand what they were saying. Come to think of it, apart from the Aeth language, which was the universal commonly spoken language in the Ether, Arran did not understand any other form of spoken language in the upper realm. This was a blind spot in his knowledge and although it was convenient that he didn’t have to learn another language in order to communicate in the upper realm, Arran still felt it was important to understand other languages. Arran made a mental note to find some time to learn some of the most commonly spoken languages in the upper realm, just like how he was well versed in all the languages on earth. A short while later, the Kar people stopped speaking and Sloan finally addressed the room. “We finally have our first bid
Of the five space sectors, four of them were occupied by different fleets of ships belonging to the various forces invited to the secret auction. Among them, there were also many ships deployed by the space station to oversee the rest of the fleets in order to prevent any mishaps. On the supervising fleet, one could clearly make out the seven-star symbol that was the crest of the Aeth civilization as well as the divine shield star symbol that belonged to the border defense army of the Aeth military. It was clear that this fleet of ships sent to supervise the secret auction was an elite special army of the Aeth civilization responsible for defending the border of the Ether. During his time in the academy, Arran had learned a thing or two about the various military armies of the Aeth civilization, so he was able to recognize them by their symbols. After observing the border defense fleet for some time, Arran checked out the other fleets in the four sectors. These fleets each had thei