Buying and selling.

He was fifteen minutes late to biology, not that the teacher cared much. Mr. Stone was the type that didn't really pay attention to who showed up to class; if they did some work, he'd pass them regardless. In fact, he barely took a glance at John before continuing his lecture. It was kind of a wonder that anyone got an education at Ashcroft, between the literal witch of a history teacher, their sadistic dodgeball-fetishist coach, the militant-feminist sociology teacher...

Actually, if he considered the Academy as a cover story for whatever Mrs. Wentworth did... it made a lot more sense. The students were already wealthy, aside from a few charity cases and the occasional upper-middle class student like himself. Money opened doors. Who cared what you knew if you could throw enough cash at a problem to make it go away?

The teacher droned on, something about nucleotide formation, and John zoned out. For the first time in almost two days, he opened one of the many games on his phone. Sorting through login rewards gave his fingers something to do while he whiled away the time. It was a nice aside compared to the ****, drama and stress of the week so far. He tried to enjoy it while it lasted.

A notification popped up at the top of his screen, disrupting another mindless farming run.

Unknown (13:41): Mr. Newman, your credentials are now complete.

It was the same number that had sent him the offer to join the 'Abyss Auction'. There was a link attached, presumably the web address to the auction's front-page. John couldn't have asked for better timing. He copied the link and backed out to the main screen of the app, only to be faced with six other notifications... the messages from Erica he'd been ignoring. For a long moment, he stared at the screen. Eventually, he'd have to answer them... but not now. He still wasn't ready.

John plugged the web address into the internet application that had replaced 'Expedition'. The new app had taken a few minutes to find, and like everything else in GorbachevOS, it used an icon of an eye. He made a mental note to tell Tricia that her labeling system really needed work. The page loaded almost immediately, displaying a spinning emblem of two intertwined 'A's for a second before a message appeared on screen.

'Welcome to the Abyss Auction,

It has come to our attention that this is the first time you are using our services, and we would like to give you a brief explanation of who we are and what you are entitled to as a VIP member.

We at the Abyss Auction provide a discreet platform for you and other like-minded individuals to buy, sell, and transfer articles of a unique nature. Know that we prize discretion above all, and will take every step to keep your identity, personal information and purchasing habits confidential... however, that same principle applies to all of our clients. Should you prefer to sell articles only to individuals of a particular moral alignment, we cannot ensure that.

The Abyss Auction accepts any form of known currency, including dollars, yuan, pesos, euros, Zimbabwean billion notes, favors and soul shards. Yes, we will even accept the misnamed 'crypto-currencies'. Similarly, we will attempt to pay you for any sales made in whatever form you prefer. At the time of any sale, you may request the payment be made to a bank account, vault on a reachable plane of existence or in hard currency*. To ensure client security, all transactions made will be untraceable.

As we are a reputable organization, we would like to warn you that any offers accepted are binding. Unless you intend to pay with the blood of an infant, do not offer your 'first-born child' as payment. We appreciate your sensibility and presence of mind in this matter.

In addition to facilitating your purchases, the Abyss Auction would like to take the opportunity to offer you the chance to sell any items you may acquire. As a VIP member, the auction charges a 10% fee on any sales. That fee includes shipping by any of our available methods, including quantum tunneling, as well as a guarantee that any agreed upon price will be honored. Furthermore, at no extra cost, we can also appraise any item you wish to sell and list it for a reasonable market price.

Should you at any point require further assistance, feel free to contact us at 1-664-AA-1382. We are here to help.

With respect,
The Abyss Auction

Disclaimer: The Abyss Auction is not responsible for any illnesses, mutations, misfortune, curses, banishment, **** or other negative effects of items purchased through our network. Please shop responsibly.

*any transactions in excess of thirteen million dollars may only be physically paid in the form of soul shards.'

As their name implied, the auction appeared to be a supernatural version of Gbay. It wouldn't hurt to take a look at what they had for sale, though he kept the buyer's warning on his mind. He'd avoid any sellers that had... unorthodox pricing.

The Abyss Auction's main page was quite barren, featuring only a search bar and two buttons, 'buy' and 'sell'. John wasn't sure what to make of it. Experimentally, he inputted the first magical thing that came to mind, vampire fangs, and hit 'buy'. Without a wasted moment, the system threw up a hundred listings of various items.

There were collections of molars and canines, several weapons that boasted vampiric capabilities and even a throne made from teeth. He browsed the listings. 11,340 dollars for a single fang! Moira's wealth made way more sense now.

John decided to try a different approach. Backtracking to the front-page, he pulled up his inventory and entered: Nightgaunt Eye, the loot from his earlier encounter. This time, he hit 'sell'. The interface immediately offered him a choice, to list the item price himself or to use the auction's trained appraisers to do it for him. He chose the second option, and a map appeared on the screen. It showed his school in precise detail, with every classroom outlined. The biology room was glowing red, with a pin representing him at his seat. 'Too many civilians present, please move to an isolated area.'

He put the phone back in his pocket and held up a hand, attracting the teacher's attention, "Mr. Stone? Can I go to the bathroom?"

The teacher grunted an affirmation, immediately resuming the lecture.

John left as quietly as he could, and once he was in the hallway, he checked his phone. The layout of Ashcroft was largely red, including the men's bathroom on both the first and third floor, but the second floor was highlighted a pale blue. He headed for the stairs.

Pulling the door to one of the bathroom's stalls shut behind him, John checked his phone. The message had changed, now reading 'place device on a flat surface'. He did as asked, putting down the toilet's lid and resting his phone on it. When he did, the map vanished, replaced by an inscribed circle that glowed green and began to rotate. To his surprise, it lifted off the screen of his phone, hovering in midair and spinning slowly. Around the rim, text appeared. 'Please place the item you wish to sell into the translocation array.'

Neat trick.

John pulled up his inventory and withdrew the eye. When he'd cracked open the silvery loot orb he got from the nightgaunts, the contents had been surprising: a small, slimy, purely black sphere. Observe's cryptic analysis had revealed little more of substance than it's name.

Nightgaunt Eye
Retrieved from the lining of a nightgaunt's brain, these eyes look inwardly rather than out.
[Tainted]

Right. That's totally how eyes work. Creepy alien fuckers...

He placed it in the center of the circle. It hovered for a second before the magical runes lit up. The array deformed, wrapping around the eye and into itself, vanishing from existence. His phone chimed.

'Item received, processing estimate.'

Whoever ran the auction clearly had powerful mages at their disposal; John had to admit, he wondered just who they were.

'Processing complete. Estimated value is approximated at $22,013 USD, or 2.2 soul shards. Transaction fee will come to $200 USD.'

Beneath the largest sum of money John had ever been presented with were several questions. Would he like to list the item for sale, what currency would he prefer to be paid in, how would he like the payment delivered? His fingers shaking slightly, John selected $10,013 USD and one soul shard, to be placed into his bank account and delivered via quantum tunneling respectively, before hitting 'yes' regarding selling the Nightgaunt Eye.

The page switched to a momentary loading image, before confirming the transaction. A buyer had already been found, and the amount was being deposited into his account. John's curiosity demanded he check his banking app, and sure enough... the money was there. He was instantly the richest he'd ever been, and all for selling just one monster eye.

A second later, he received another message to place his phone onto a flat surface, but this time the translocation array produced something out of thin air. It was a crystal, maybe as long as his index finger, tinted a pale ghostly grey. No matter how he tried to angle it, the thing never caught any light, and it was slightly chilly against his fingertips.

Achievement Unlocked! - "Questionable Currency"
Obtain a soul shard.
+66 Experience

Strange. He put the soul shard into his inventory. To his surprise and immediate panic, instead of filling up an inventory slot... it just vanished! He searched the sheet to no avail, hunting for the missing item. Only when he checked the sidebar on his Character Sheet did he realize where it had gone. There was now a 'currencies' tab, listing $10,336.04 and 1 Soul Shard... for a total of $22,336.04. Huh. It could access his bank account. Well, he was rich now.

John slid his phone into his pocket and walked back to class in a bit of a daze.

After biology came physics, which, to nobody's surprise, consisted of Mr. Antov discussing the thermal energy of a molotov cocktail made with pure, Russian vodka... plenty of time for John to use his phone and browse the auction. He made note of a few things to purchase, like $150 healing drafts or a relatively cheap set of magic rings, $55,000 for three. The auction's systems adapted to his searches, steadily populating the first results with things he was interested in. If only he could afford them...

He did a quick price-check on the various hydra parts he had at home. The skulls were surprisingly valuable, at almost $30,000 per... fangs would net at least a hundred each, and the scales were almost as valuable. He probably had half a million dollars sitting in that chest. When he got home, he'd put some of it up for auction, though it'd be difficult to avoid immediately spending that money right away, considering some of the things he'd found were dangerous temptations.

By the end of class, he'd bookmarked over a dozen relatively cheap items that'd help fill some of his immediate needs... mostly magical jewelry. Relatively being a key word. Even if he sold the entire hydra corpse, it would barely be enough to afford all the things he'd picked out. John wasn't sure what else he might need it for, but the idea of returning his bank account to empty didn't sit well with him.

Regardless, he'd have time to think about it... there was still his last class to attend, and he wasn't looking forward to it.