Damon's Ascension-Chapter 65: Grand Auditorium

Today was an important day among the many that had come and passed in the long history of the IUAS, as the newly crowned 5th ranked species, the human race, were about to launch a private auction featuring items and services that were said to be what many businesses dreamed of.

Among them was the license to contract human species members for ability hiring, which was the most important to the various factions universe-wide. Whatever else that Damon hinted at was taken lightly by them because, apart from their racial talent of awakening no less than A-grade abilities, what else could the human race possibly have to trade?

Well, they were about to find out.

...........

After only about three days, Damon had returned to the Business and Legal Virtual Reality world. It was naturally exactly the same as when he last came, bustling and very focused, with people moving about with measured steps full of the intention to battle... but not with the sword, but rather the tongue.

Damon himself came wearing a tuxedo as usual and adjusted his tie as he picked a taxi in the virtual realm. This time, his driver was a familiar creature, being that of a Rabbeum, one of the other two races that had joined in the same time period as the human race.

Seeing Damon, the Rabbeum Driver smiled enthusiastically, but there was a heart full of hidden bitterness. Only the Hifers and Rabbeum that were initiated along with the blasted human race knew how they suffered during their initiation.

Sometimes, just being in the proximity of someone dazzling was enough to put you on the spot. After research, it was found that compared to typical new races of their level, their treatment in terms of public and private deals were less than 50% as good, likely because the other businesses were furious at being outmaneuvered by the human race and took their anger out on them.

So, unlike Damon’s previous driver who was slightly chatty, the Rabbeum Driver maintained a kind smile the entire time but was tempted to turn his steering wheel sharply, driving them into the nearest building. However, as this was a VR world, such an act would yield nothing and only make his already tough situation even tougher.

Finally, they arrived at the Grand Auditorium of the Business and Legal VR world. When Damon stepped down and out of the vehicle after paying with the little Essence Coins he seized from Ambrose under the guise of a loan, he looked up at the large establishment before him.

As was typical of the Business and Legal world that had existed before the discovery of the human race and featured every creature from the universe, the architecture was distinctly alien despite having some common ground with human construction and design.

The Grand Auditorium was huge, almost surreal in design. Unlike human buildings that had clear walls and doors, this one looked like it was made from a single, seamless material that shifted colors and textures depending on the angle.

Smooth metallic surfaces blended with glowing energy panels, forming a structure that looked both solid and... alive?

It had no clear entrances, yet people moved in and out without stopping, passing through what seemed like walls of shimmering light.

This was the Phase Gate, the high-tech security system that checked every visitor in an instant. No guards nor scanners were necessary at this level, just a silent, invisible force deciding who could pass.

When Damon stepped forward, the gate flashed for a second before letting him through without issue. Behind him, others had to wait as their credentials were verified, some even getting rejected and forced to turn back with unhappy expressions as they were not qualified to attend the event being held here.

Looking back outside, Damon now noticed that there was no ’normal’ parking lot.

Instead, floating Drift Bays extended from the building like metallic petals, taking in arriving vehicles before pulling them into hidden storage.

Unlike human systems that relied on traffic control, this one had no delays, no congestion as everything was handled by the Intion that managed this world.

Even the registration and handling of the auction was done autonomously by the Intion, Damon hadn’t even done much to prepare for it. He just announced it that day during the valuation of the human race and the Intion in charge set the date and even chose the location. freёwebnoѵel.com

This was the benefit of status, which the human race now possessed.

Focusing on the inside, the corporate luxury was just as overwhelming as Damon could see that the main corridor leading to the auction hall was wide and polished, the floor adjusting slightly to each step, making every movement effortless.

There were holographic panels hovering in the air, displaying real-time market trends, contract deals, and legal updates from across the universe. Some of them changed the moment Damon walked by, adjusting to show data relevant to his status as the Prime Representative of the Human Race.

He noticed small areas along the hallway where sound completely faded away, which indicated the use of Privacy Veils which Damon had learned of while he was brooding on his ’failure’ on earth before talking to his father.

Within such Privacy Veils, which could be opened anywhere for free in this VR world, important figures could talk freely without worrying about being overheard by others, though the Intion in charge would naturally hear everything.

As Damon walked further, the atmosphere changed subtly as the outer halls that were filled with casual chatter and socializing became quieter as he moved deeper. This was the area for high-profile guests, the ones who didn’t just come to watch but to control the flow of the auction.

Finally, the main auction hall came into view as Damon stood at its wide entrance, glancing inward.

Instead of normal seats, there were floating platforms arranged in a massive circle, giving everyone a perfect view of the center. There was no need for a stage, nor for an auctioneer given that there was a vast, open space where holographic projections of items and services would appear, fully interactive with live data.

The bidding system wasn’t manual where one would roar their bid and then shout ’give me some face’ to try and win the battle since every guest had a bidding interface linked to their neural feed, allowing them to place offers instantly, without speaking.

Damon then walked to the back of the auction hall, being scanned by the routines here and being given access as he was the initiator of this auction. This allowed him to enter the control room where the entire auction’s details would be handled, including putting up items on sale, announcing things to the bidders, and setting prices.

Damon sat down in the main seat, leaning backward as he closed his eyes. The auction was scheduled to start in the next hour and he naturally came early as he wanted to make sure that everything was in order, giving him a brief period of rest.

This also allowed him to tally up the Worldly Essence he gained from his recent foray into the Kumasi Fort instance, which had truly bolstered his stocks.

He had taken down 403 soldiers during the Siege on Kumasi Fort, of which 397 of them were normal soldiers or civilians and 6 were officers, which netted him a total of 4,270 for that battle. Unfortunately, for the purpose of high completion rating, he had to leave Sir Hodgson alive for the Ashanti to use as a bargaining chip.

During the guerrilla fighting, his first attack took down 12 soldiers and his second attack was even crazier, taking down around 354 normal soldiers and the 20 officers that surrounded Colonel Hastings, including the pathetic Adjutant Morris.

The amount from this? 4,660 units of Worldly Essence, showing how lucrative the localized Essence instances were compared to the actual ones.

Damon had not taken down Captain Pembroke in his first Fort James instance, nor Sir Garnet in the second Pra River Instance and left Sir Hodgson alive, so he hadn’t taken down any ’final boss’ characters before... until Colonel Hastings.

So he was surprised to see that the kill awarded him a whole 200 units of Worldly Essence on its own, which was twenty times that of a normal soldier and four times that of an officer. If compared to a video game, normal soldiers were common monsters, officers were elite monsters, and the commanders were the bosses.

This made it such that Damon earned a total of 9,130 units from the Kumasi Fort instance, his highest so far, surpassing the battlefield in the Pra River Instance, not counting the free 200 units given at the settlement screen.

So in terms of overall total, Damon now had 11,760 units of Worldly Essence on his person, but his 32-hour cooldown had not yet elapsed, so he still couldn’t level up. This Worldly Essence gained from instances could not be shared like his Devour ability, so it could only be used to level up or for items like the Golden Stool.