Many were confused by Zaine's revelation. Why on earth would they allow lower grade crystals to be used in the purchase of such high-tier items?

It was like auctioning a 1-million-dollar item and asking the buyers to pay using quarters only. Did such a thing make sense?

However, many others were clued into Zaine's grand plan. Including the top powers. They finally got the confirmation that yes, those crystals that were sold to them earlier were from Draco.

So, he had discovered a cache of Aether Crystals, more likely a huge mine with many top-grade crystals and below. This was how he managed to create that Aether rich city called Vita.

It was as if many things had finally linked together. He had built his settlement over a rich Aether Mine after extracting some crystals, allowing it to become Aether rich when upgrading it, possessing unheard of benefits.

The remainder he had sold to them in the Divine Auction, and the top-grade ones he had used for this device. All of it was in order to collect all their Aether Crystals of different values through mercantilism.

In other words, this was an elaborate scheme to take back the crystals he gave them and more. He must - in fact - be aiming for every single one in their possession, yet they had actually presented something worthwhile enough for them to fall into the trap willingly!

Many young ones among these powers cried out in anger. How dare these clowns play games with them? They should be taught a lesson!

However, the adults among them were silent, a thoughtful look on their faces. These were wily old foxes who could pierce the veil and even keep their greed in check when dealing with others, like before.

They realized that there was more to the scenario than their initial assessment of the situation. After all, if he had built his settlement over an Aether Mine that was richer than any of the ones discovered so far, then that meant his city was also tied to the energy.

These NPCs were people who originated from this world, so they understood how things functioned just as well as a reincarnator like Draco, perhaps even more.

After all, Draco was still discovering many things he hadn't found out in the previous timeline, limited to the collective knowledge the players had unearthed and decided to share while these fellows were the top powers here who had survived for millennia.

They were able to reason that if this was the case, then the City-State the fellow had created would require vast amounts of Aetheric Energy if he wanted to upgrade it into a kingdom.

If this was true, then everything neatly wrapped itself in a bow tie. It would explain this weird pricing method, because really, who the fuck needed 1 billion low-grade Aether Crystals?

These NPCs were extremely close to the truth. Draco could make high-grade and top-grade ones aplenty if he stayed in Vita City-State, with mostly medium-grade and occasional high-grade ones if he was anywhere else.

What the hell did he have to gain from gathering so many of them? After all, by the time he went for the Refinement God's Treasury quest and came back, he would have piles of crystals on his person.

Unless he was crafting crazily, he wouldn't be able to spend them all, especially if he stayed in Vita City State for a month. He could have decided to just sell the crystals occasionally and do nothing else for the rest of his life, profiting greatly.

However, just like these fellows predicted, he would need mountains of Aether Crystals to upgrade Vita City State into a kingdom. This was primarily because he could not use a token to circumvent that.

A token allowed him to jump many levels while paying only coins, and the Aether requirement was much lower.

Nevertheless, everything had a limit. Just like Tradeskill experience wouldn't allow anyone to jump from Master Rank to Grandmaster Rank, that hurdle had to be overcome in the normal way.

In this case he would have to kickstart the upgrade himself, and it would need a lot of energy.

In essence, it was the difference between fueling a Bugatti Veyron and a fighter jet. The quality and quantity of fuel needed was vastly different between the two. Draco was also hoping to use quantity to emulate quality.

So once these powers came to this conclusion, they silenced their juniors and felt their hearts still. Any thoughts they had about Draco or Vita City State vanished at that moment.

After all, it was clear that while the City State offered many benefits, its upkeep and 'capital' also reflected this. None of them were willing to take on the burden themselves any time soon.

When Draco raised it to a Divine Empire, then they would strike if it was still feasible. If not, they would humbly rent the land and enjoy the increased benefits after he slaved to upgrade it.

Zaine spoke again. "If everything is okay, you may start bidding for the first item on the list."

As she said that, those in the VIP rooms began.

"1,001,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,002,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,003,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,004,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

As the bids increased steadily, the crowd felt their minds quake. Who could possibly have so many low-grade Aether Crystals at once? It was possible for them to have maybe a million, but a billion?

One would have to buy at least, 10,000 every month for 83 centuries… that was almost 9 millennia! Many people started to reach the same conclusion as Zaine had, and everything seemed to click together.

What was truly heartbreaking was that these top powers didn't care if all of the spectators learned this secret. By the time the next Great War came around, almost everyone here would die anyway, so there was no harm done.

As for the Immortal Adventurers, there were the farthest thing from a threat since most were still bumbling around at Rank 1. Even the almighty Draco was stuck at that Rank, much less the others.

Another thing was the fact that these pinnacle powers were 'borrowing' from the lower ones. This was what Gentle Flower had meant when she told Yui that Zaine needed these lower powers to possess a lot for the finale.

If these top powers could not even afford these items, everything would crumble into ash. As it were, they had directly claimed everything from these fellows, greatly increasing their count.

Many of the fellows and factions here with Aether Crystals were subordinate powers of these top ones, or wanted to become such powers. As such, they had to pay the price.

Heh, in life, be careful of what you take from others, because there will come a time when the one giving becomes the one taking. When that happens, you won't even be able to cry for your mother.

Of course, some were unaffiliated, but they willingly gave theirs upward for other benefits that would directly benefit them. While Aether Crystals were valuable, it was mostly to the right person.

It was highly doubtful that they could ever earn a higher price than right now when those illustrious powers were highly willing to buy.

As such, the bids quickly climaxed into scary amounts.

"1,015,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,017,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,019,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,021,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals."

The powers currently bidding were the weaker of the pinnacle ones, like the Refined Star Abscond Faction that had once tried to recruit him when he had made the Dragon's Blessing potion.

As for the Assassin's, Mercenary's, Merchant's and Adventurer's Guild, they were silent.

Some even lent their lower crystals down in exchange for higher crystals, using the same rate Draco provided. This was exactly what Zaine wanted them to do, and was another facet of her plan.

As stated before, every power or individual had differing amounts of Aether Crystals on them, and of differing grades. This fellow here might have more low-grade than medium-grade, while that fellow there might be holding high-grade only.

As such, it was feasible to trade up their crystals in order to get more. That was to say, a bidder who was vying for the device in low-grade Aether Crystals would sell their medium-grade and high-grade crystals to the powers who planned to bid using medium-grade or high-grade ones.

So, they received crystals that these powers did not plan to use, increasing their purchasing power, while those higher powers received the crystals they needed for their own upcoming bid, increasing theirs in tandem.

After 1 whole hour if bidding, the final bid was called at 4,500,000,000 low-grade Aether Crystals. This was 4.5x the base price, and the winning power wasn't even alone.

That was right, they had come to an agreement with four other bidding powers to pool funds together. When they device was used, they would split the new realm into five.

They were even currently discussing how many resources they would put into the realm to fuel its growth. For as long as it could sustain life and be expanded harmlessly, there was no need to hog it all.

In fact, five powers jointly coming together to pool resources for its growth would see it grow far faster and more wholesomely than if one power were to claim it for themselves.

In other words, the Advanced Spatial Creation Deice was in the same category as Aether Crystals… it was an item that could be shared!

This was a terrifying thing to realize, because it meant that its value would skyrocket. Once an item was agreeable, and it possessed enough value for bidders to pool funds, its final value would soar to prohibitive heights.

"Next, we shall begin the bidding for the second device. Please go ahead." Zaine prompted.

"1,010,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,020,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,030,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,040,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

The same thing happened here. Medium-grade Aether Crystals were either 'borrowed' in exchange for favors or they were traded with the ones who planned to use high-grade crystals.

One should note that these bidders were the middle tier pinnacle powers, like the various Continental Councils.

The kind of benefits they could give out was far stronger than those at the bottom rank of the pinnacle powers, so its value was higher too. This was why they could trade them out for medium-grade Aether Crystals.

"2,000,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

"2,050,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

"2,100,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

"2,150,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals."

Soon, the bids began to climb to high heights. Once again, almost an hour of intense and progressive bidding occurred before a final price was called out.

At this point, the crowd had grown used to this. They felt like they had understood everything there was to understand about life, like frogs that had been dragged out from their well to see the true world.

Interestingly, this bit ended at 4,500,000 medium-grade Aether Crystals. It was unknown whether this was the limit of their funds, or that these fellows were unwilling to pay more than those who bid with low-grade Aether Crystals.

Even more interesting was the fact that the powers that had pooled funds together also numbered exactly five. This lent more credibility to the fact that these powers were using the same method as the ones who bid earlier.

Whatever the case, the bid was over and the auction had to move on. As such, Zaine prompted the crowd to begin the next round of bidding once again.

"1,100 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,200 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,300 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"1,400 high-grade Aether Crystals."

Now, every power except the Church of Light and War Maniac Pavilion were bidding. This meant that the Assassin's Guild, Thieves Guild, Mages Association, Merchant's Guild, Adventurer's Guild and Mercenary Guild were the ones bidding.

As the topmost powers in the human world, their voices were like the clap of thunder in the ears of the crowd, despite them speaking normally.

As for the borrowing or trading, the lower powers didn't even dare to think too much about it. They just silently gave up their crystals upwards, hoping that these powers would deign to give them something afterward.

Just a 'lesser item' from their treasury that they let the demons 'loot' during the Great War would be enough to set them straight for a good while. Of course, this was only towards the normal fellows in the crowd.

As for the other Hidden Powers that were weaker, they traded normally. They were all in the same category after all, and could not go overboard, regardless of whether they were the topmost powers or not.

This was putting aside the fact that these pinnacle powers bidding had already shared Draco's crystals, as well as possessed the most of these crystals in the whole human world.

As such, was it shocking when the price reached 3,000 high-grade Aether Crystals? It was not, but it still showed that when it came financial dongers, size did matter.

"3,500 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"3,700 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"3,900 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"4,100 high-grade Aether Crystals."

Soon the bids began to reach the climax, and one couldn't help but wonder who among these powers would win it. Would the price end at 4,500 high-grade Aether Crystals, making everything equal to the previous bids, or would it surpass it?

"4,200 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"4,300 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"4,400 high-grade Aether Crystals."

"4,500 high-grade Aether Crystals."

Unfortunately, it stopped here like it was choreographed. Zaine smiled as she called out the bid, because this closed only the second stage of her plan.

Now came stage 3.

Interestingly, the powers that won this time around numbered only three. They were the Merchant's Guild, Mercenary Guild and Thieves Guild. The other three, which were the Mages Association, Adventurer's Guild and Assassin's Guild seemed to have lost this round.

After this bid was called, Zaine's eyes gleamed with dark intent. It seemed like they had seen through her plan so far, but what she would do next was not something they'd easily expect.

Zaine gestured to three of the four remaining Advanced Spatial Creation Devices as she began speaking, "The next three will be priced in the same manner as before, with differing grades for each of them."

She tapped her lip and smirked. "However, the base price for the first will be 4.5 billion low-grade crystals, the second will be 4.5 million medium-grade crystals and the third will be 4,500 high-grade crystals."

BOOM!

The moment she finished speaking, a wave of malevolent air swept over the auction, blowing millions of people from their seats while others were forced to lie on the floor like dead dogs.

All of this was concentrated on Zaine, who felt significantly overwhelmed this time, but she remained firm in her demeanor and stance. If she faltered here, everything she had done so far would crumble.

"You are playing a dangerous game, girl. Pray that it doesn't lead you into a pit." Came a threatening voice from the room with the Mercenary Guild.

The others did not speak, but it seemed as if they felt the same way. They were not amused by Zaine's little ploy that she thought was so extraordinary.

However, no matter how you felt about it, it was truly brilliant. She allowed them to set the maximum price point for the items using the three grades of crystals, or rather compelled them to.

Everything hinged in the first bidders who were using low-grade crystals. The price point they set at the end would not be crossed by the powers that came later.

After all, they were bidding for the same item. Why should they pay more for the same thing? If anything, there were four more after these three, and they could probably get it for a cheaper price than those who bid earlier.

So, everyone had stopped at the same amount - in terms of the conversion set by Zaine - not even bothering to go further. This was something Zaine could reason based on the character of these top human powers.

Next, she had announced the very same conversion amount after the low-grade Aether Crystal bids had come and gone. This meant that no one had spent more than 99 low-grade Aether Crystals on anything except the First Sin potion and the Bag of Holding, but the powers who won it hadn't used lower grade crystals to convert.

As such, there were far more low-grade crystals in the collective bidding pool than the other grades by the time the Advanced Spatial Creation Device was brought out, allowing those fellows to bid greatly.

And to Zaine's pleasure, the price ended up 4.5x the base one. If things followed the plan, the other ones should end around the same amount, and they did.

Now, the beautiful thing about pooling funds together was that in such a situation, it would always boil down to two parties who held the funds of around half off the bidding powers each.

For example, in the Divine Auction, the crystals had sold at 70 or so million platinum. This meant that the losing party would have around 69 or so million platinum on hand.

When they lost, these funds would be returned to their owners and could not be collected, while the party that won would be broke, unable to buy anything henceforth.

In the Divine Auction, Zaine had not dared to pull something like this off because she wasn't in charge. So, they had left after swallowing the funds of one side while letting the other side escape with their stuff.

However, Draco had given her the freedom to act, and this was their home turf, so she could set the rules. This was the fruit of her labor and the coalescence of her plan.

This time, Zaine was determined to swallow the entire cake without leaving the visitors with a single bite!