Chapter 539: Preparations

Most of his new subordinates were Tier-3 Awakened already. The rest were still at the Peak of Tier-2, but they would advance to Tier-3 in the following months. It was all a matter of time.

Most importantly, the combat prowess of his territory had increased significantly. As long as his subordinates adapted to the environment in the Untamed Jungle and procured some Spirit Armaments from the Relic of Draka, his territory wouldn't have to fear an invasion from the enemies around him.

The Zentika Empire was still busy, which left the regional war in the Savannah Region as the main issue. Maybe, Michael could give the Trilance a helping hand in exchange for some amends.

Now that the Links of Loyalty and contracts had been established, the only issue left behind was to procure 30 Tokens of Transportation. That ought to be a pain in the ass for most ordinary Lords, but the same couldn't be said about the Bartholomew Corporation and the vast majority of High Nobles, Supreme Families and Great Clans.

A Token of Transportation was not cheap even for them, but they had the means to procure them on a larger scale, contrary to Michael.

Fortunately, that problem could be solved with money, or plain-old bartering. However, instead of bartering, Michael told Kraft Viton that he would allow all kinds of bids in the Soultrait Symbol Auction. He clarified that each bidder had to bid a minimum of 10 Tokens of Transportation in addition to whatever they wished to bid for the Soultrait Symbols of their choice.

Kraft Viton accepted Michael's request but he altered it a little bit. He requested a list of materials from Michael - a list with all the valuable items he needed. Michael spent two hours coming up with a proper list with specific items, but he ended up adding vague terms as well. It was only obvious that Michael was in need of exotic potion recipes for Higher Lifeforms, high-ranked techniques, Unique Named Scrolls such as 2-Star Instructors, valuable blueprints that existed in limited numbers, Summoning Cores of all ranks, and so on.

Despite being a Tier-3 Lord with the ability to fight those of a higher rank, Michael hadn't been a Lord for a long time. It was not yet a complete year since he manifested his War Rune.

Once Michael finished his list, Kraft Viton changed a few terms for clarity before he forwarded the list to every participant of the Soultrait Symbol Auction.

"This might sound really stupid...but where will you hold the Soultrait Symbol Auction?" Michael asked Kraft Viton at some point. The preparations for the Soultrait Symbol Auction were about to be completed and the date of the event was approaching, but Michael had yet to hear anything about the venue.

"The ancient capital doesn't have an auction house as you may know. Thus, we decided to use the more modern, and anonymous approach for the first Soultrait Symbol Auction. We will do a live-streamed auction in the Colosseum. Whoever wants to be present can come, but it will be easier, and more anonymous if you make your bids online. Only the Bartholomew Corporation will have each bidders' classified information."

Online auctions weren't uncommon. However, Michael didn't expect that such an important auction would be held online. But it did make sense.

The Bartholomew Corporation was in a rush to release the first batch of Soul Energy Fusion techniques. To do so, they needed to pave their way into the minds of every somewhat influential, wealthy Awakened in the Tritan Alliance. Using the Soultrait Symbol Auction to create a network throughout the entire Tritan Alliance was the most efficient way to ensure that their name would linger in the minds of everyone who desired to purchase a Soultrait. Word-of-mouth publicity would do wonders for them.

Every merchant, family, noble, clan, and guild all over the Tritan Alliance would follow the Bartholomew Corporation to never miss out on a second Soultrait Symbol Auction, and it was only a matter of time before they would receive a notification about the appearance of mass-produced Soul Energy Fusion techniques and Neutral Common Class Soul Techniques.

By the time the mass-produced products reached the market, the Bartholomew Corporation would turn into a formidable organization surpassing Olympus' reach and might. At least, that was what the prognosis stated.

"Though, I'm pretty sure that nobody wants to remain anonymous. They will have their family names stated in their account names to show off their wealth. Nobody wants to give away the honor they can gain from purchasing a Soultrait Symbol."

"Honor from purchasing my Soultraits?" Michael asked, not quite certain what the hell that was supposed to mean. Was there honor to be gained from something like that?

"You might not understand this because you're already in possession of various powerful Soultraits, but imagine you have only one more or less powerful Soultrait. Your Soultrait's mastery reached perfection and all you can do is experiment with it, trying to break the Soultrait's natural limitation - for decades, maybe even centuries. All of a sudden, someone appears, offering your Soultrait Symbols and the power to do what you sought for the vast majority of your life. What would you think of it?" Kraft Viton explained, "Of course, it will be an honor for them to gain a new Soultrait, or grasp the opportunity to strengthen their Soultrait, unraveling untapped potential."

"Not only will it be an honor, but it will bring back the joy of life within many old fogies," Kaleb added, experimenting with the Neutral Ice Soul Technique Michael created on a whim.

Kaleb, Alice, Lincoln, Zeke, and a few other friends of Michael were currently in Kraft Viton's office. They were curious about the Soultrait Symbol Auction, which was why Michael told them to come over and listen to Kraft Viton instead.

"These old fogies are probably also the reason why you'll earn a vast fortune, and a huge overpay, for every single Soultrait you're going to sell tonight," Alice said right before pointing at her crystal watch, "Allowing everyone to bid for your Soultraits will be great for you as well. If you were adamant about holding a traditional auction, only a few people would have been able to rush over to the ancient capital, especially human powerhouses. We're in a different Stellar System, after all."

Michael agreed silently. It was much easier to auction his Soultraits in a more modern and hassle-free way, allowing more people to bid for the Soultrait Symbols.

"I suppose that your families will bid for the Soultrait Symbols. Did you come to ask me what types of Soultraits I'm going to sell, and what I decided to give to each race of the Tritan Alliance?" Michael asked, hitting the bulls-eye.

It was not that weird for Kaleb to be here. Michael asked him to test out his newest version of the Ice Bullet. But he was not so sure about the reason for everyone else to arrive with Kaleb. They looked uncomfortable as if they were hiding something. Their attempts to hide the truth were miserable, making them likable. Michael wouldn't want his friends to be good at lying. That was a rather unwelcome talent.

"Our families told us to find out more about the Soultraits you're going to offer...yeah..." Lincoln answered truthfully, his gaze lingering on the ground. All of a sudden, the floor looked so intriguing. Everyone looked down.

"It's fine. I'm not mad," Michael chuckled lightly, "Either way, I'm not going to tell you anything about the Soultraits. That wouldn't be fair."

The others agreed silently with Michael, but they couldn't help but frown. Their elders wouldn't be happy about their failure.

"All I may say is that everyone should prepare to pay a lot. Winning the bid for the Soultrait Symbol won't be the end of the negotiations with me. If anything, it will be a new start."

Michael's words took everyone, except Kraft Viton, by surprise. They stared at Michael in confusion but Michael wasn't willing to say anything else. He'd already revealed more than he appeared supposed to.

At the end of the day, the auctioned Soultrait Symbols were only 1-Star. Their power appeared highly restricted and purchasing them like this wouldn't be that helpful. That was why one had to rely on Michael's service to increase the Soultrait Symbol's star rating right after they'd purchased the Soultrait Symbol.

Michael appeared willing to give a discount to the early birds, who successfully bid for his Soultraits. The discount could allow the bidders to purchase his services to upgrade the purchased Soultrait Symbols to 4-Star. Of course, the price would be hefty, but Michael was willing to generously improve six Soultraits to 4-Star to prove the power of his Soultrait.

Rumors had spread about his power. Most of these rumors were bad, saying that he appeared exaggerating or blatantly lying and that his power didn't exist. Of course, that was nonsense, but Michael wanted to remove possible issues by plucking out the root of all problems. Furthermore, he could make a fortune by selling the Soultrait Symbols right before offering a discount on his Power-Up service.

It appeared all a commercial stunt to increase the importance of the Soultrait Symbol Auction and guarantee receiving higher bids and more interest from all over the Tritan Alliance.

Michael appeared not a businessman but as the Lord of an expanding territory, he had to learn how to market his products well. He had a lot to study and learn, and it was only fortunate that he had Kraft Viton by his side.

The old man supported him unconditionally, and it looked like he appeared growing younger as he spent more time with an aspiring Lord overflowing with youthful spirit.

"Let's earn a fortune!" Kraft Viton winked at Michael, who broke into a smile.

It appeared about time that the Soultrait Symbol Auction started.