What did interest Beth was the finale, the last handful of items of the day quite exceptional for this auction. It was even more delightful for her that the first of those items was the thing she wanted the most, though it wasn't a truly exceptional piece. Nor was it what the massive crowds had been drawn there for, giving Beth quite a bit of hope of securing it. The starting price was also rather reasonable at one mithril coin, with increments only needing to be ten diamond coins. Beth waited a moment and watched the initial bids flood in, but the bidding already slowed by the four mithril coin mark. She directly raised the bid to five mithril, which cause a bit of grumbling to echo out from the third floor, but only two other people continued to compete with her. Beth suspected that only one of those two was at all serious based on the bidding patterns; it seemed the other person, since they bid only right after her or the other person, was just vindictively trying to drive the price up.

  Beth grew frustrated after a minute and jumped the bid by more than a mithril coin to eight mithril, which shook off both of the other bidders. The auctioneer didn't drag the bids out too much, seeing that the reception had been no more than lukewarm after the initial flurry, and quickly closed the last chances to place a offer. Beth had secured the item, a ring that had a storage space about a third the size of her necklace, to give to Neph. A ring wasn't quite as good as a necklace, and the storage space wasn't nearly as big, but it would be more than enough for Neph until they could secure her something better.

  The next item made even Sera sit up and pay attention, as it was a massive mana crystal that was aspected to a hyper-rare element: time. Such a thing was very rare to find, let alone one that had that much energy within it. An item like that could be used to construct something very similar to Beth's gate power, though it would be a massive edifice stuck in one place and not a skill, and it would cost an arm and a leg to activate, but the expenses were worth it. Beth found the item interesting, but she didn't have any need for it, and certainly not for crafting or building anything. She just was a spectator as the price climbed through the ceiling, though she was a bit surprised when Sera threw out a few bids. The price quickly climbed past Sera's budget, the dragon girl sitting back with a grumpy sigh and waving Beth off when she gave her a glance, clearly signaling it wasn't worth continuing.

  After someone from the fourth floor bought the mana crystal, the penultimate item of that monthly auction was next and it did not disappoint. They couldn't even bring the item into the hall as it wasn't just some random little treasure, but was instead a ship. It wasn't just any ship, either, but a real, genuine starship, with all the bells and whistles any small factions or powerful adventuring team could possibly want. The starting bid for the item was an eye-watering five orichalcum coins, and the item was pretty much relegated to the ultra-wealthy third floor members and those on the fourth floor who were interested in increasing their fleets.

  They had seen a starship being sold somewhere once before, and this time wasn't much different. Neph was greatly enjoying watching the whole proceeding, but Beth just had to shake her head as she marveled at the kind of accumulated wealth some people had. Not that she wouldn’t jump into the bidding for something like that if she had the coin, but the getting the coin part was the difficult thing. She had a desire right then and there to go 'exploring' and find some more valuable gems and loot to sell, but she tamped the desire down as she watched the price climb into the adamantine coins range. Neph happily kicked her feet and cheered at the final bid of fifteen adamantine coins, Beth happy for her, but also happy she had the booth set to not broadcast any sound into the rest of the venue.

  It was time, then, for the final piece of the month, the thing that had drawn such a huge crowd and made even the fourth-floor sound lively. This was something that could be contained within the hall, unlike the last item, and it was wheeled out on a small table. The auctioneer talked it up for another moment before pulling the cloth covering the object off and revealing it to the hall. When she did, the whole place exploded, with people surging to their feet, and Beth noticed Selene now present on the edge of the stage, as well as several other senior members of the firm. Seeing that no one was actually going to rush the stage, Beth took her time to inspect the detailed description of the item, understanding then why everyone was going so crazy.

  Life Reaper

  {This sword was forged by a peerless master before the Age of Dreams ended. It has since lost much of its power, but it still possesses the spark to make all life fear it. Whosoever holds this blade should guard themselves well, as its thirst for life knows no bounds.

  400% increased STR

  200% increased DEX

  Mana Physique required to wield the blade.

  Blood fuels thy power.}

  Beth sat back, trying to digest the slew of things she had just learned, or just been given a bit of insight into. She had no idea what the description meant by Age of Dreams, but she assumed that was some rather important time. She also didn't know that a piece of equipment could have a minimum equip requirement that wasn't just level, as this sword requiring a Mana Physique demonstrated. She also didn't know what 'Blood fuels thy power' meant, but it sounded quite ominous.

  "If it weren't a sword, I'd want it," Blood growled.

  "Same," Neph nodded, her bubbly personality replaced by a very serious air.

  "I don't think we can afford to play in these leagues yet," Beth said with a shake of her head.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The minimum price of the unique sword was ten adamantine coins, with minimum bid amounts of fifty orichalcum. That put the minimum bid about ten times their total current wealth, but Beth did ponder what it would be like to have a sword that quadrupled her current STR stat. Wielding that kind of blade, before the end of their current rebirth, she would have into the five figures in STR, and easily, considering the boosts to STR her armor gave her as well. That was the kind of power that would let her cut apart a city block full of reinforced buildings with a single slash on a high-mana world; not something she was expecting to even see as possible for a couple more rebirths yet.

  There were quite a few people interested in the sword, but the people on the fourth floor had clearly come prepared. The bids rocketed through the adamantine coin range and hit the neutronium range, continuing to steadily climb towards two coins worth before most of the bidders dropped out. It left three people bidding, all of them women, from the sounds of their voices, as they taunted each other during the process. The price continued to climb, approaching three neutronium coins before one of the three dropped out. That only inspired the other two to go crazy, shooting the price up by leaps and bounds as they warred with each other. Beth glanced at Sera as the bids were getting to the end, the two slowing down, the dragon girl rolling her eyes.

  "Not impressed?" Beth asked with a slight smirk.

  "Oh, I'm well impressed," Sera replied with another eyeroll. "I just think they're crazy, bankrupting themselves and likely their entire clans for a single item."

  "Yeah, but it's an impressive item," Beth said, still smirking.

  "That's true. If it weren't for that kind of price, it would be worth it," Sera said. Seeing Beth's expression, she continued, "Look, it's not really that expensive, but that's conditional on a couple things. Despite how mighty they sound, most of the people up on that fourth floor are still Ascended. They're taking out more wealth than they have to buy that sword. If it were someone like Laselle, she could take out that kind of wealth without tapping into her family or business. It's a huge risk, to put not just your money, but also your family or clan or company's money on the line for something that only affects your strength."

  "I guess that's true," Beth replied with a nod, the rest of what she wanted to say interrupted by a knock at the door. The door was pushed opened and Selene herself entered, bringing a ring over to Beth and handing it to her.

  "Your prize, miss," she said with a grin.

  "Her prize, really," Beth said, handing Selene eight coins and tossing the ring to Neph.

  "Really? For me?!" Neph asked, excited and happy but also a bit conflicted.

  "Don't worry about it, Neph. You're part of the team and the family. Just make sure you get all your stuff from Blood's storage," Beth said with a smile.

  While the two handled that, Beth turned back to Selene, saying, "That was quite a finale for a monthly auction."

  "It certainly was," she replied with a sigh. "I wish it hadn't been so, but the consigner insisted it must be sold immediately, so we complied."

  "The starship was impressive as well," Beth said with a grin.

  "We get them from time to time," Selene said with a shrug, moving closer to Beth and Sera when they stood. "They are expensive products, but they are not quite so rare as high-end equipment."

  "Why is that?" Beth asked, glancing between Selene and Sera.

  "Starship production facilities are rare but consistent," Selene explained. "Compared to that, how many even Grandmasters are there out there? Well, a decent few, but many of them will never surpass that. The items they produce are not necessarily exceptional. Thinking further, how many Sages or Divines are there? Particularly in a poor galaxy such as ours? Something that would exceed the skills of most Sages? Of course it's going to be extremely rare, making it extremely valuable."

  "I understand," Beth nodded. "Starships are expensive and difficult to make, but really good equipment requires a crazy rare person to make. There are a lot of people that could afford pretty good equipment and not a lot of crafters; there's few people that can afford or even want a starship and a modest supply."

  "Basically, exactly right," Sera nodded behind Beth.

  "What's our next move?" Blood asked, interrupting their conversation now that she and Neph were sorted out.

  "We're going home," Beth said firmly. "You two can wait at the Hall or even head back home first."

  "We'll wait at the Hall," Blood replied drily, pulling Neph along.

  "I'm hungry," Neph said as they left, Blood growling something about big eaters in response.

  "You want to stay for a while?" Selene asked with a smirk, looking at both Beth and Sera, but Beth could see her shift just slightly. She realized that the gorgeous, immensely powerful demoness was nervous now that it came down to the point of asking her more directly.

  "I certainly wouldn't mind," Beth replied, seeing the smirk bloom into a massive smile on Selene's face.

  "What about you, young dragon?" Selene asked, beaming at Sera.

  "Of course I'm staying," Sera said with a laugh, stepping up to Selene and wrapping an arm around her waist.

  "Come on," Selene said while still smiling. "I'll take you somewhere rather nice."

  Beth stepped up to Selene and was surprised when, instead of walking out of the room, space twisted around them and they teleported away. When the sensation, which Beth reveled in, disappeared, they were standing in the foyer of an incredibly lavish house. Looking out the windows at the front of the small room, Beth observed a forested area in front of them, though it was below the level of the house. The house was sitting on a hill somewhere outside of the city, and Beth wasn't even sure they were still on the same planet. Selene interrupted her thoughts, placing a hand on the small of Beth's back, as well as Sera's, and escorting the two of them deeper into the house.

  The house was opulent without being tacky, the floors of a dark wood, the walls of a polished wood panel, and the furniture exquisitely crafted and carved. Selene led them to a seating arrangement, sitting between the two of them, Beth suppressing a grin as the demoness looked between them. It was clear that Selene, despite her usual confidence, was a bit out of her depth, and the two immediately went to work. Beth pulled Selene’s attention to her and started kissing the demoness, getting absolutely zero resistance, while Sera began caressing Selene's body, also receiving no resistance.

  Things definitely didn't slow down from there, with clothing flying off at a frightening rate. Selene was even more beautiful than Beth had first given her credit for, the body that the clothing had concealed even more perfect than she had imagined. Selene also had her multiple sets of wings for them to contend with, but they were quite flexible and she was very good at keeping them in positions where they wouldn't be in the way. It was Beth's first time with more than one person at once, and she had to say that the experience was fantastic. There was a point shortly after they really got going that Selene grabbed both of them and brought them to a very luxurious bedroom with a massive, insanely comfortable bed. Beth had a feeling that the bed probably cost more than most people made in a lifetime and she had to say that it was worth every single copper coin.

  She sent a garbled message to Blood at some point that she shouldn't wait up, getting an eyerolling emoji in response. After that she didn't remember a whole lot other than pleasure, being pressed between two tall, hot bodies with massive breasts the thing that took up most of her focus. Selene couldn't quite compare to Sera's technique and experience, but the demoness was clearly quite eager and did understand more than a bit about how to pleasure others, especially women. Beth found herself falling into a role she greatly enjoyed, making sure both of the others involved in the encounter reached the greatest height of pleasure. It was even better with Sera as she was totally laid back and would go along with basically anything, working to make whatever the others wanted even better.