"Good to see you," Beth said as they broke apart.

"Good to see me? Good to see you! We expected you a bit sooner," Alex replied with a grin. "Especially since we heard a nasty rumor that you were on-world and hadn't stopped in."

"We were busy; always busy with something," Beth said, shaking her head.

"I see that you have been busy," Alex said, clearly examining their levels. "Ready for yet another rebirth so soon."

"Hoping to get some materials here, but it looks like we'll have to wait for the open trade time at the end," Beth said with a sigh.

"You know Selene and I are always ready to help…"Alex said.

"And I'm sure we'll be relying on you more," Sera cut in, having joined them in standing behind the chairs. Blood had glanced back at who it was that had entered and then ignored it, not much interested in the goings on.

"It's so good to see you again, miss dragon lady," Alex said in a teasing tone, accepting a warm hug from Sera.

"I'm glad to see you," Sera said. "Someone didn't bring me along last time…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Beth said, rolling her eyes. "But we're here now. Are you going to stay with us here?" The last part directed at Alex.

"Sorry, dears, I have to work," she said with a big grin. "But…I'm sure I'll have plenty of time after the auction and trade hours are over."

"I look forward to it," Sera said, still the somewhat more assertive of the two of them, giving Alex a second hug and a quick kiss.

"I might just buy some more things, then, if you're still playing delivery maid," Beth said.

"Don't be too excessive," Alex chided gently, giving Beth a quick kiss of her own before silently slipping out the door.

"They're both really lovely," Sera said, picking Beth up and walking back over to the couches to resume their seats. "Anything up?"

"Items for you," Blood grunted, pressing the button to bid again. "Void-related materials."

"Excellent. That'll be one less thing to worry about," Sera said with a big, toothy grin.

"We're almost to the home stretch," Beth said. "Looks like we'll have to try for most of it in the exchange section afterwards."

"It'll be expensive," Blood muttered.

"Well then, let's not blow our budget out on random stuff here," Beth said.

"Like weird swords," Blood continued.

"Hey, I needed that," Beth countered.

"Need is a strong word," Blood grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"It's fine," Sera chuckled, playing peacemaker by patting Blood and distracting Beth with a kiss.

Blood continued bidding on the items, which would fill out just one of Sera's requirements for her next rebirth quest, but even getting that handled would be great. They eventually won the lot, rather rare materials, for two mithril coins, which was quite a bit for what turned out to be twenty little black cubes. At least, Beth thought it was quite a lot, but True Perfect Rebirths were difficult for several reasons, finances not least among them.

A few more items passed by with little interest, only enough to read their descriptions and find that they weren't anything the three needed or even wanted. A pile of leather from a level five hundred boss monster, something rather large, judging from the amount of leather on offer, came up, which interested Blood, but she couldn't do anything with it. That kind of material was far outside her current expertise and would just sit moldering in her storage, not doing anybody any good, and in exchange for quite a few coins. Blood let it go after just one initial bid, talked down a bit by Beth and not happy with how fast the price rocketed through the ceiling.

More lots passed, Beth paying little attention, until something she needed popped up, and it was a need. It was a lot of materials she was absolutely sure were close enough she could use them as rebirth materials to cross one item off her list, a box lined in velvet holding fifteen little, glowing spheres. They weren't beast cores, but a kind of treasure that could be found in ancient veins of ore that hadn't been touched in a long time and had experienced rapid shifts in mana density. They were, in some ways, similar to pearls, absorbing energy and excess mana in a specific way that they grew as inclusions in ore veins, sometimes becoming more valuable than the ore itself. Beth engaged in a rapid bidding war with three others on the third floor, likely competing against three crafters as the orbs were very rare and prized crafting materials, able to elevate a crafted item to the next level.

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She won, eventually, at no small sum, having to fork over another ten mithril coins to secure the box and its contents. Sadly, despite their earlier banter, Alex didn't make a second guest appearance in their booth, a very studious, proper young man delivering the box, and he truly was young. Beth's senses told her he was a late teen, and that truly was his age, making her wonder how he had gotten a position, even as a gopher, at such a distinguished firm so young. Well, it wasn't her business, and she dismissed him after staring at him for a moment after he handed off the box, likely making him quite nervous.

That was two of their needs met, but they still had plenty more, none of which were going to be fulfilled by the auction. More items passed with very little interest from them until they got to the finale, early in what would be the next morning, the auction having run from more than eighteen hours at this point, including the intermission. The last several items, which for this auction was a total of ten, would still take some time, however, as the firm wanted both to let people savor in the competition as well as make sure they squeezed every last copper out of the audience.

The first of the ten items was a starship, and Beth noted it was a genuine starship, not some light aircraft mistakenly being called that. The starting item should also give a good idea of prices, considering the base price was fifty orichalcum coins, but Beth knew they were fishing low. The very first bid was over an adamantine coin, which showed how undervalued the set price was. The minimum bid had only, she scoffed a little to herself, only been set at ten orichalcum coins, but the people at the venue clearly didn't care. Beth just watched, idly nuzzling against Sera, as the bids went hot and heavy and didn't stop for a long time. When they did stop, the auctioneers plied their trade more than they had done so far that whole day, clearly extending the time to try to eke out even one more bid in that final trickle that could get just a little more coin out of the audience.

The ship eventually sold, not something that could be brought to the purchaser, or even stored backstage, though said purchaser didn't rush to leave, clearly at the very least interested in the remaining items. And the items only got better going forward, as the next item up was a level one thousand, Relic-tier sword that could ignite anything it was swung at. The weapon might not be quite as impressive as a starship at first glance, but the rarity, level requirement, and overall bonuses made it extremely valuable, as the final price of seventy adamantine coins pointed to. Beth felt a bit better about getting a level three hundred sword for a few mithril coins after seeing the level one thousand one go for enough to buy a small planet outright.

The third item was a bit of a disappointment for Beth, as it was just a special engraving tool for enchanters, though the place went wild on seeing it. That item eventually went to one of the immensely powerful figures of the fourth floor for a staggering neutronium coin, which Beth thought was a bit crazy for a tool, but Sera insisted it was a very important tool that would be a massive boost to a skilled enchanter. The next item also was a bit boring, being a ring that increased magical damage and magical regeneration. The ring also gave several boosts to manipulating rare mana types, but none of them were void, blood, or space, so Beth didn't really perk up on reading the extended description. The ring was very powerful, she had to admit, and there was another feeding frenzy and long, drawn out bidding process thanks to the hosts, but the ring went for fifty adamantine coins after much to-do.

The fifth item, however, had Beth sitting up straight in Sera's lap, cursing herself for being poor as she saw the initial price. The piece was a set of gauntlets, extremely heavy and thick with angled spikes over the knuckles but still having the fingers all separate and fully articulate. They were level five hundred and of Mythic tier, with not just mass adjustment, but additional control over space that allowed the wielder to more easily manipulate space around them and attack through or using it. The gloves were basically perfect for Beth and her style, even if she couldn't wield them for a few years, but the starting price was set at an eye-watering ten adamantine coins. Someone on the fourth floor was determined to have them and eventually outbid everyone else for a price of ninety-five adamantine coins. Beth knew the end of the auction was still too rich for their blood, but to see such an incredibly useful item that she really wanted get away because they were way too poor still stung.

The sixth item was something Beth hadn't seen yet for sale, but Sera explained that it was a bit more common than one might think. A Divine-tier alchemist offered a favor, similar to the one Beth had for a smith right down to it being a special card that the person could use to exchange for the favor. There was even more excitement for this item than anything yet so far, and it was the second item of the auction to break through the neutronium coin mark, settling at one and a quarter of those coins. Beth thought it was a bit extreme, but again, Sera assured her that the price was well worth it, making Mortaine's reward even more valuable. If people were willing to pay that kind of money for such a favor, she was definitely going to make sure they made the most of it. Looked like smithing practice had just jumped to the very top of the priority list.

That was six items down and four to go, with over an hour passed just getting through those items, though that wasn't a surprise, with the prices involved. Item seven, while cool, Beth could certainly admit, wasn't anything they were interested in, being another starship, and a more luxurious one, at that. The thing looked and flew just like what Beth imagined a futuristic battlecruiser might but was appointed on the inside like a floating palace; luxury wood, marble, multiple state rooms, two parlors, and every amenity she could imagine, plus a few she couldn't. She supposed, if one wanted to cruise a galaxy entirely under their own power and go wherever one wanted, they might as well do it in style, but it seemed a little excessive to her. Not to the audience, however, as the bids were some of the most intense, certainly from the fourth floor, with dozens of different participants in the initial bids. She had thought an hour for six items was bad, but the competition drew out that time even further, taking twenty-five minutes to settle on a bid of three neutronium coins from a fourth-floor personage.

Item eight was much less interesting, some kind of set of throwing knives that always returned to the person. Beth didn't really get how it worked, and while they were rare and interesting, it wasn't something she or the others could use. Hell, none of the people in her extended network used throwing weapons, so she turned her attention to Sera and ignored the item going up to dozens of adamantine coins. Item nine was similar, at least in that she was not particularly interested in the item despite its power and rarity. That was not the same for the rest of the venue, their collective heads exploding at the unique natural treasure, pushing the price once again into neutronium coin territory.

That led to the final item, which was something that Beth was quite interested in, though again, she had nowhere near the coin to purchase it. It was a full set of level five hundred armor, with set bonuses that increased STR and END as well as created a force barrier around the wearer that could shed very strong attacks while barely flickering. The set was the work of at very, very least a Sage, likely even a Divine, and it wasn't something that even a rebirth forty-four monster could have smashed off her body, let alone a feeble little rebirth sixteen one.

She watched the bids with great interest, not because she could jump in, but because she wanted to see just what people thought a set of that kind was worth, though the auction atmosphere would lend a little extra pop that wouldn't be there in buying direct. Watching the set, which was Transcendent tier as well, go for just about three neutronium coins, the same as a very advanced, very powerful starship was a bit of an eye opener, but then again, a suit like that could be used for centuries, even millennia, well into Ascended and even into Exalted. The price was, in all considerations, more than worth it.

The last official item had sold and now it was time for the trading and exchange portion. Unlike the monthly auctions, the yearly auction would host a section after the main auction where people could barter and trade resources and goods, with the Seven Lights firm taking a modest processing fee, of course. Beth had already pre-entered their demands, sending them out into the system once the armor suit was taken care of. She got several hits immediately, but it was all people wanting to sell the few beast cores they lacked. Disappointing, but they were needed, and she engaged in some quick, hard negotiation to get the cores while spending the least she could. They had quite a bit saved up before the auction, in terms of beast parts and random various goods from the last handful of subjective years, both their grinding and the events before that, what they hadn't dropped off at the Seven Lights firm months ago. She was able to trade some components and beast parts for the cores, thinking she did pretty well for herself, though it was still likely more expensive than it might have been at other times.

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