Ethan and Bettie walked around the camp area for a bit longer, moving between clusters of students who had set up makeshift trading posts around their tents.
Naturally, Ethan attracted a handful of people who approached one by one with what they claid were "special wares for sale."
A Belsorth student tried to sell him a "lucky coin" that supposedly increased your chances of finding good fortune. Price? Two gold grits.
A Mallory student showed him a set of "enchanted quills" that wrote faster than normal quills. Price? It was 80 silver for one and one gold for the set.
But the worst offender was so Mallory guy who tried to sell an enchanted mirror that made you look glamorous when you gazed into it. He wanted ten whole gold grits for it.
Ethan had stared at the mirror, then at the guy, then back at the mirror.
"Ten gold grits," Ethan repeated slowly.
"It’s enchanted," the guy insisted with a straight face. "It makes you look good in a mirror. It’s a steal, honestly."
Ethan walked away without another word.
Bettie had been right. These students were complete frauds with their pricing.
In the end, it beca evident that most people had just brought whatever trash from ho they thought they could sell for money or exchange for better things.
—
About an hour later, the trading event officially ca to an end.
Students began migrating toward a large canopy that had been set up. Rows of seats had been arranged beneath it in neat lines, all facing a small raised platform at the front.
This was where the auction would take place.
The seats were organized in rows of four across.
Bettie took the left end of one row. Ethan sat to her right. Percival claid the seat next to Ethan, and on the far right end of the row was Aliyah.
Students continued filing in, filling up the rows one by one as they waited for the teachers to arrive and begin the event.
Ethan turned his head slightly and noticed Bettie counting pieces of money in her lap. She had both silver grits and gold grits separated into small piles on her skirt.
He grinned and leaned toward her. "Oh, Bettie’s rich rich."
Bettie turned toward him just a bit and let out a small chuckle.
"It’s money I make from this tutoring job I’m doing," she said back teasingly, still counting.
Ethan smiled. "How much you got there?"
Bettie finished tallying and looked up. "About fifty silver grits and thirty-five gold."
Ethan gave a slightly impressed look. "You’re holding quite a bit."
Bettie shook her head and motioned forward with her chin. "I doubt it. Look at that girl over there. She’s counting too."
Ethan turned his gaze in the direction she indicated.
Yeah, that looked like a lot more than what Bettie had spread out on her lap. The girl in question had stacks of gold grits organized neatly in front of her, and she wasn’t even halfway done counting yet.
But then again, that girl was definitely from a rich family, and judging by her uniform, was from Mallory High too.
At that point, Percival on Ethan’s right side had just finished counting his own money.
He turned toward Ethan with a grin and said, "Thanks for this, man."
Ethan had lent him so money just a few minutes before they stepped into the canopy. Percival was still facing the punishnt of not receiving allowance from his father, Mr Marvin.
But right then, Ethan raised one hand quickly and gestured for him to keep it down. "Shh," he whispered sharply.
Percival had a confused look for a second but nodded. Apparently he hadn’t read the rules too.
But the reason for Ethan’s urgency was due to to this;
Bidding by Proxy and Collusion were directly against the rules stated on the auction list.
Bidding by Proxy ant having soone else bid on your behalf so that you could circumvent the "one item per person" rule.
Collusion ant any form of secret agreent between bidders to manipulate the auction outco, whether by coordinating who would bid on what or by pooling resources together.
If anyone overheard Percival thanking Ethan for lending him money right before an auction, it could raise suspicion that they were working together to ga the system.
Not long after, both teachers entered from the side of the canopy.
Mr. Kieran rolled in a large wooden box on wheels, about waist-high and reinforced with tal corners. It rattled slightly as he pushed it forward onto the platform.
Miss Hana walked ahead of him, dressed for the occasion in a sharp vest over a white blouse and fitted trousers. She looked every bit the part of a professional auctioneer.
Kieran had also dressed up slightly more than usual, wearing a dark blazer over his shirt instead of his typical casual attire.
Hana stepped up onto the platform first and spread her arms wide with a bright smile on her face.
"Welco, welco!" she called out cheerfully.
The students quieted down imdiately as all eyes turnedtoward her.
Hana continued in that sa jovial tone, slipping into the role of auctioneer.
"As you all know from the list distributed earlier, we have fourteen items available for bidding today!"
She gestured toward Kieran and the box beside him. "And after those fourteen, we’ll be revealing four special items that were generously donated by guilds in Grayfort City."
She paused for effect, letting that sink in before adding with smile:
"Now, I know not everyone will walk away with sothing today. But I encourage you all to make the most of it! Bid wisely, bid fairly, and may the best offers win!"
A few students clapped politely.
Hana brought her hands together and turned toward Kieran. "Alright then! Let’s begin!"
Kieran reached into the box and pulled out the first item: a small glass vial filled with glowing blue liquid.
Hana held it up for everyone to see.
"Our first item of the day!" she announced. "A Mana Recovery Potion! Mid-Grade quality! This little beauty will restore approximately thirty percent of your total mana capacity within minutes of consumption!"
She set it down carefully on a small table beside her and smiled at the crowd.
"Starting bid: one gold! Do I hear one?"
The hand of a belsorth student shot up imdiately from the third row.
"One from guy." Hana called out, pointing at him. "Do I hear three?"
Another hand rose from the back. A Mallory student this ti.
"Three from that guy at the back. What about five?"
The original Belsorth student raised his hand again.
Hana acknowledged him once more and with that, it went back and forth until Hana made the final call.
"10 gold grits going once..."
She paused, looking around with raised eyebrows as if daring soone to outbid him.
"Going twice..."
Still nothing.
"Sold!" Hana brought her hand down sharply onto the table with a satisfying smack. "To bidder from belsorth for ten gold grits!"
The Belsorth student grinned as Kieran made a note on his clipboard and handed him the potion in exchange for paynt.
The rest of the auction proceeded in much the sa fashion.
Item after item was brought out, displayed, bid on, and sold off to eager students who raised their paddles whenever sothing caught their interest.
Ethan watched with so level of curiosity but didn’t raise his hand once during the first several items. None of them were particularly useful to him so far.
When Hana called out for bids on the Charm of Swiftness, Ethan gave it so genuine thought for a second despite it being only a Mid-Grade item that boosted movent speed by five percent for ten minutes.
But that interest beca an instant turnoff when Hana added;
"Oh, and just so everyone’s aware, this charm is one-ti use only! Once activated, it’ll fade after those ten minutes are up!"
Ethan leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Yeah, no thanks."
They hadn’t even reached the good part of the list yet, and already half of these items felt like scams.
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