Max and Sophia were guided to the front stage, where they would be standing later that evening as the hosts of the auction house, representing the island lord.
The moment they stepped onto the stage, they were struck by how enormous the auction area was. Max was amazed to see that the venue could accommodate thousands of people on the first floor, all with comfortable seating and ample legroom to move around.
Iris noticed Max's doubts and chuckled, catching both Max and Sophia's attention. She explained, "Our alchemy master specializes in space runes, so I asked him to make the auction hall large enough to accommodate thousands. Thanks to the space expansion runes, the interior is far larger than it appears from the outside."
Soon they realized they were in the way of the workers busy decorating the auction stage, so they hurriedly stepped aside. Max, spotting a seat with many buttons on the side in the front row, quickly sat down and began exploring.
As soon as Max sat down, he felt himself sink into the seat and thought it was nice to sit on the chair. Then he picked up the booklet from the armrest and noticed it contained instructions for the auction and for the buttons on the armrest.
The booklet explained which button is used to display the screen for viewing item details from the seat, as well as the button for placing and canceling bids on items.
It also described the button that can be pressed to call the maids for free beverage service during the auction.
Seeing Max enjoying himself while seated, the others also took a seat and soon understood why Max showed no intention of getting up from the chair.
Soon they got up reluctant as they have to inspect everything in the auction house.
The manager led them to the second floor, where private rooms were arranged. Each room could accommodate four members, with nearly a hundred rooms on the floor. These rooms were protected by inscriptions to ensure privacy and featured puppet service, providing food, drinks, and entertainment before the auction began.
These rooms are for VIPs who have demonstrated sufficient wealth to be invited as guests. The auction house also offers them the service of reserving an item in advance for a price ten times the initial auction price if they wish to purchase it. The manager explained.
Soon he took out a token which has inscribed with runes and placed it on the grove next to the door which made clicking sound and slowly opened the door.
They were welcomed into the room by a puppet that came to life as soon as the door opened. Inside, they discovered two large sofas with a table in between, adorned with an assortment of fruits for the guests to enjoy.
Soon Max sat on the sofa and rest of the followed and found they can see the stage clearly from the seats even though they stage is far from the room.
Even though he was far, Max found he could clearly see the workers working, with a clear view of their facial expressions and other item details.
"The front glass of the room is fitted with special lenses, allowing guests to clearly view the items with the naked eye. Speakers installed in the sofas enable them to hear the auctioneer clearly, while ensuring that no outside noise enters the room and no inside sound escapes to be heard by people outside."
"They can bid on the items using the special device on the table, which allows them to have the item brought to the room instead of going back to the stage to retrieve it." The manager explained after seeing their confusion.
Then Max took the special device, which resembled a tablet with a touchscreen, and spent a few minutes fumbling around to get the hang of its operation. He began testing its features and tried out the bidding option. As soon as a bid was made, golden-colored fonts appeared on the screen on the stage, displaying the auction item, the bidder's room number, and the bid amount.
What the auctioneer needs to do is announce the bid out loud, ensuring others take notice, and then proceed with the auction.
Max closed the bidding option, found the food ordering section, and began selecting drinks. This prompted the puppet to bow to the guest, slowly open the room door, and exit. Within a few minutes, it returned with a tray holding four glasses filled with lemon juice and orange juice.
The puppet politely placed the drinks on the table, then carefully picked them up and handed them to the seated guests.
Max was once again impressed by the puppet's performance, feeling thoroughly satisfied with the service, and left a glowing 5-star review.
They reluctantly left the room and headed to the stage, where the manager spoke with the workers to give instructions. Max, Iris, and Sophia listened from the side before leaving the manager to his work. They slowly exited the auction house, hailed a vehicle, and made their way to a nearby restaurant.
Iris, who was beside them, fumbled for a moment before putting on a necklace. She handed them two more rings and explained that they were anti-recognition alchemy items.
As the name implies, these items cloud the judgment of passersby, allowing the wearers to blend in effortlessly. This makes them unrecognizable, enabling them to move around freely without revealing their identities.
Soon, Iris activated the necklace, and Max and Sophia saw her transform into someone they didn't recognize. Sophia, standing beside Max, hurriedly wore the rings, which allowed her to escape the illusion and see that Iris had returned to the way she perceived her.
Iris laughed at Sophia's caution but noticed Max watching them with interest. Soon, he lifted his hand and started pinching Iris, making her yell at him. She realized even her voice had changed how he perceived her, which made his eyes sparkle.
Iris, suspecting Max was up to no good, quickly scolded him to behave and demanded he wear the ring or she would confiscate it. This made Max hastily hide the ring, but under Iris's threats, he finally put it on and discovered that both Sophia and Iris were back to normal.