They missed the noon auction because Zil'lak wanted to make sure that the effects weren't just a prolonged version of the regular Potion of Mighty Strength. He couldn't in good conscience put forth this product with the frankly outrageous claims attached to it without at least being relatively certain that it was true.

Naturally, the fact that the item was sponsored by Andihar Dayarunar of the house Dayarunar and that he himself could verify the legitimacy of the claims went a long way. That is why Zil'lak agreed to let Eik's Legendary Mystery Medicine appear at the evening auction—which had been Andihar's intention from the beginning anyway, as it was usually by far the more visited show between the two time slots.

Almost nine hours after Zil'lak's initial consumption of the pill, he was ready to admit that it did in fact seem feasible that it was permanent, given his own experience on top of Andihar's assurances.

"If my daughter had just half the talent for aura manipulation that you have, I would be over the moon with happiness. Not only is she not particularly talented, she barely has any patience for practice at all. I always try to get her to sit down an concentrate on it—at least sometimes—but she just doesn't have the temperament for it, unfortunately," Andihar said as Eik sat cross-legged on the soft, fluffy rug, focused deeply on his practice.

Andihar had been kind enough to give him a few pointers and offer some constructive guidance. Since his own daughter apparently was less than inclined to follow any of his directions whatsoever, the man seemed to just be glad to have someone who wanted to listen.

Ever since Eik witnessed Andihar create a literal barrier of aura to block the sound of their voices from reaching his friends a few meters away, it had become obvious to him just how far ahead the elf truly was in his aura control. He was an S-ranker, of course, but it was still an astonishing feat to witness first hand.

Making aura do what one wanted it to do was mostly a matter of will, but for that will to have an impact, the control and sense of the Ak'ki needed to be polished. That's what Andihar helped with.

"I was simply lucky that the sensation of controlling my primary ability overlaps almost perfectly with the sensation of manipulating the Ak'ki," Eik answered.

Using his own aura like a gentle, guiding hand, the elf nudged and pushed Eik's aura to circulate and flow more effectively. The flow of aura was intuitive in the same way that doing a back flip was intuitive.

Just getting around and landing on your feet could be achieved by most people relatively easily provided they had the guts to go for it, but the moment you see a professional athlete stick a perfect landing with the smoothest of rotations and more grace than you could muster in a single step forward, you would suddenly realize just how much better it could be.

That was how aura flow was. Eik's aura was a crude back flip on a trampoline where you almost fall over the side. Andihar's was a flawless performance. Perfection of sense and technique. Eik could essentially feel his aura improve as they worked on it together.

"It's no wonder you're seeing so much success with your alchemical endeavors. For your age and rank you have absolutely incredible control, although you could work on the intensity of your aura."

"How?" Eik asked.

"Just use it more. And try to push it past its limits as much and as often as possible. How long did it take you to reach this level of control anyway?"

"I don't know. Five months or something like that, I suppose."

"Five months? That's very impressive! I suppose you haven't had a place to learn aura until recently, so it makes sense that you've only been practicing for five months. But to think that you could reach a level like this in such a short time… How long did it take you to first feel it? That is often the most difficult part of getting started."

"Uuh, maybe like three days," Eik said, knowing what was coming.

"Three days! Did you say days? Sorry, Eik, I think the translation might be misinterpreting you. I heard three days as in three cycles of day and night. Did you perhaps mean months?"

"No, yeah, I meant days. Cycles of day and night."

Based on how his jaw went slack, if Andihar had been holding something in his hand, he would have dropped it. "That's… monstrous. That's unbelievable."

"I was just lucky that my controlling my ability overlaps so well," Eik said with a shrug.

"No, that might have contributed, but that's not all. You have real talent, Eik. The more I learn about you the more interested I become in your future."

"Great." Andihar was nice and seemed full of goodwill, but every day a new pair of eyes seemed to turn his way.

The big man stood up and collected the peels of the various fruit they had been eating to throw out. "Let's get going then, shall we? One of the other interesting things about you is about to be revealed to the world."

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"Where? Aren't we going to be watching the show from here?" Eik asked with an eye on the screens in the center of the large, round table.

"From here?" Andihar asked incredulously. "What would be the fun in that? The mood and the excitement is the best part of it!"

"Hey, by the way there's something I'd like to ask you," Eik said hastily.

"Yes?"

"Uuh… Why… are you really helping me with this?"

Andihar chuckled at the expression on Eik's face, so full on uncertainty. "Well, as you know, I'm grateful to you and I like you, Eik. But more selfishly, using this to proclaim myself your benefactor in public will do more for my own business and reputation than you might imagine. Just think! Andihar Dayarunar, the man who brought the creator of this amazing pill into the limelight!"

Eik nodded along but didn't interrupt.

"What you have invented here is absolutely bewildering by the standards of what should be possible in the Unified Mass. And just by being your support in the unveiling of it I will gain so much. Not to mention that I hope to be able to invest even more into your growth in the long run."

"Huh…" Eik mumbled as he followed the elf out of the door.

Ten minutes later they sat in a spacious booth elevated above the crowd that had begun to collect on the main floor below. Comfortable, high-backed chairs had been prepared for them and the nine other high status individuals in the booth.

Seven other such booths flanked theirs, opaque glass ensuring that nobody from below could see the occupants. Considering the crisp and clear view they had of the raised auction stage, the dark glass was a one-way feature.

About half of the individuals taking up seats in the booth had bodyguards or servants standing at attention behind them. The sound of hushed conversation between the other occupants flowed through the booth as Eik and Andihar sat in silence, waiting for the show to start.

The murmuring crowd quieted down as a robed woman walked onto stage. She took a few seconds to regard the around two hundred people before speaking. Numerous beams of light from several points on the ceiling made colored patterns on her robe glow radiantly.

"From wherever you might have come, I welcome you. It is my pleasure to host the auction this evening. I hope you have brought your credit slabs because with some of the objects up for grabs tonight, you are going to need them," she said with a playful smile, chuckles rolling through the large room.

"Now, just in case some of you haven't been here before, let me clarify. Once the starting price has been announced, I will accept bids. A simple raising of the hand will suffice as indication of a bid. Please make sure that you have enough funds to pay the amount in full here tonight or, alternatively, clear and verified proof of the capability to pay," she said as a section of the floor silently slid away to give way to a pedestal that rose up behind her. "And finally, if you are mistakenly registered for a bid you did not intend to make, please make sure to alert us as quickly as possible to ensure correct procedure and a smooth event."

She turned to the pedestal and ripped away a cloth covering the center with a theatrical flourish.

"And now," she shouted with a voice that carried easily through the crowd and into the viewing booth Eik was watching from. "for the first item of the evening we've got a primitively carved figurine which was uncovered in the ruins of an ancient civilization on an unknown world. It has no apparent value beyond decoration, magical or otherwise."

Plenty of people seemed interested enough in the figurine although the final price ended up being pretty reasonable, eventually going to some guy on the main floor.

For some reason, Eik had expected everything sold here to be of ridiculously high value, but it would seem that wasn't the case. It made sense though. Daily auctions probably couldn't be justified if they relied on the extremely expensive only. Maybe they presented the items in ascending order of value or rarity.

It would seem that they did, and after a little over an hour and a half of a continuous stream of objects that sold gradually more expensively, with the primary participation shifting from the main floor to the obscured booths above, the event finally appeared to be nearing its end.

"Thank you for your bids!" the host called, her energetic demeanor never wavering for even a moment throughout the event. "The Warhammer of Volcanic Domination has been sold! To the bidder in booth number four!" she shouted with a gesture toward the balcony as she placed the weapon back on the pedestal, the platform descending back into the floor.

"Next up…" she said and briefly glanced off to the side, nodded twice to someone. "Oh boy, folks, do we have something almost unbelievable for you this evening! When I was told of this item just minutes before the event began, I actually could not believe my own ears. But fear not, everyone, our auction house's own appraisers have vouched for the legitimacy of what you're about to see."

Murmurs rolled through the crowd as the pedestal reappeared from the floor yet again. The other occupants of their booth also spoke quietly among themselves as they watched the scene below intently.

"And just as an extra precaution, because we are aware just how groundbreaking and frankly fantastical this is, we would like to reiterate the possibility to complain if you are dissatisfied with any purchase you make with. We anticipate no such dissatisfaction, but we want all of our customers to feel safe and secure in their dealings with us. Please bid on the next item knowing that we have vetted the item as well as the seller."

Andihar's reputation must have been stellar if they were willing to go this far on his word and a nine-hour testing period. While nine hours confirmed that Eik's Legendary Mystery Medicine certainly lasted longer than your off-the-shelf Potion of Mighty Strength, it by no means proved its permanence.

"Behold!" she shouted as she ripped away the cloth, revealing the chromatic pill lying on a velvety pillow. "A real object that can genuinely increase your stats like a Potion of Mighty Strength—permanently!"

Abruptly, the crowd erupted into agitated chatter, the people below practically stumbling over each other to get a closer look. Guards who could barely keep their own eyes off the pill had to be brought in to keep the throng at bay.

In the booth, too, what had been quiet whispers suddenly shifted to unsuppressed babbling as they all individually ordered their servants to immediately find out just how true this claim could be, who was responsible, and, most importantly, how to get in contact with them, not knowing that the one responsible was currently shrinking into his seat a few paces away.

As all of this was going on, Andihar looked on with an unsettlingly easy smile. At once he made to get up, muttering something that only Eik could hear. "And now starts the real strategy, my boy."

With a movement so grand and theatrical that all eyes in the booth were drawn to him, he stood and spun around to face the others. "If you're looking for the creator," he announced confidently in his deep baritone. "he is right here!"

With a sweep of the arm he gestured to Eik. Although it was barely possible, Eik sank even deeper into his seat.

What the hell was this lunatic doing?

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