"Hmmp." Karyn coldly nodded and dodged the succubus' embrace. She then tactfully sat next to her new mistress without saying a word.

"Why are you so cold? Are you angry? Come on, say something. You should at least present yourself to your new mistress," continued Venus as she took the empty seat next to Karyn. She smiled happily as she leaned toward the elf.

"I only answer to my new owner. Not you," proudly said Karyn without even looking at the succubus.

Finally, unable to withstand the bickering of her monsters, the woman spoke, "It's fine. We will arrange everything when we return to the dungeon. Before that, please behave yourself until the end of the auction."

Karyn closed her eyes and did not react. She completely ignored her surroundings but at that moment, she felt something wrap around her thigh.

Venus pulled onto her tail, pressing onto Karyn's reddened thigh as she quietly spoke, "It is fine if you ignore me but you better correct your behavior with the mistress. You should forget about being a ruler for a while. Let go of your pride or else, I'll make your life a real nightmare." Her eyes shone threateningly as she licked her lips. Venus did not care about being the villain. Monsters bought at the auction had a very high tendency to rebel. The fact that her mistress did not receive any system prompt about her allegiance was the proof of Karyn's rebellious mindset. If she did not directly put the elf in her place, then all the DP spent by her master would be a complete waste.

The woman ignored her two monsters and focused her attention back on the platform. Almost all of her DP had been depleted in this purchase but she was very satisfied. With the number of dungeon masters present, she would be lucky to go out with an item. It would be too late if she waited for the last items; those ones would be way too expensive for her.

The auction went on and as she expected, she did not find any crucial items. The prices fluctuated a lot and generally, the monsters had a slightly higher price. Although the monsters could also be unlocked in the dungeon shop, the ones purchased at the auction were much more powerful. Dark Elves could be unlocked for a reasonable price in the dungeon shop but none of them would have a powerful t.i.tle like [Exiled Ruler].

She briefly checked her inventory. She currently had 340000 DP left to spend. With that amount, she would not even have been able to purchase the first item. 'Sigh... The rest of the day is going to be long.'

She did not have a lot of expectations for the rest of the items but when the 65th item came up, she immediately noticed that the bid of the item was not going up.

"240000 DP!"

"250000 DP!"

Compared to the previous items, the bids were only rising at a snail pace. 'What is happening? I thought it would be one of the most coveted items. With it, all those who joined the alliances would be able to break free while still benefitting from their resources. Could it be that they are bound by their contracts in some way?'

The woman briefly observed the neighboring dungeon masters. "Looks like I'm right. It should be a golden opportunity for me! If I obtain the Void Contract, I should at least triple the DP generation rate in just one month!"

As Amour was about to announce the sale of the Void Contract, the woman hastily placed her own bid: "270000 DP!"

However, not even one second had pa.s.sed that another dungeon master had already placed another bid: "280000 DP!"

The woman frowned. She knew other dungeon masters would also not miss the opportunity. The bid was already very high for her but she placed yet another bid. In the back of her mind, the woman knew she needed to save some DP to rearrange her dungeon. The latest mini-update would inevitably affect the dungeon and some DP needed to be invested to counter its effect.

"300000 DP!"

"310000 DP!"

The bids steadily increased by 10000 DP each time. The other dungeon masters could only watch the slow bidding war taking place. Although they were all tempted to directly place a bid, they were unable to do so due to their contract.

The woman bit her lips. She was ashamed at having to only make the minimum raise on each bid. The amount of DP she had was very limited and it was clear that her opponent noticed that she was close to her limits as he too was only making a minimum raise each time.

Eventually, she could only stop as the other dungeon master bid 340000 DP for the void contract.

'If only I did not get tricked by those imps, I might have been able to put a few more bids,' said the woman to herself as she painfully looked at the stack of talismans in her inventory.

...

Five brightly smiled as he looked at the Void Contract in his inventory. The bidding war lasted forever but in the end, he obtained the item. He was surprised that very few dungeon masters were aiming for it. At the same time, he also understood that the Void Contract was a very niche item. It would only be useful when dealing with the races surrounding a dungeon. Its value could vary significantly from dungeon to dungeon.

He was very satisfied. At the very least, he was not going home with empty hands. Now, he only had 120000 DP left but he did not think much of it.

The rest of the auction was rather uneventful. Occasionally, a few arguments would break out between competing dungeon masters but would quickly be peacefully resolved by the intervention of the winged devils.

The items' effect varied but they all paled in comparison to the last ten items. The effects of the final items could literally bend the rules of the game.

The 91st item was a white scroll.

[Appeal to the court]

When used, nullifies the outcome of a dungeon's trial and immediately triggers another trial within one week.

The effects did not seem to be very useful but when used properly, it could cause the downfall of any dungeon. At worst, the scroll would cause the targeted dungeon master to waste a few DP. Since the first trial was completely negated, all the DP the dungeon master would have obtained from killing the monsters involved would disappear, resulting in a waste of monsters.

However, the best way to use the scroll would be when planning to invade a dungeon! Not only would they have an additional army to help take over a dungeon, but during trials, the dungeon shop and several other functions were also locked! The dungeon would be significantly weakened during that period of time.

The 93rd item was a metallic gauntlet.

[Challenger Gauntlet]

Can be used to challenge another dungeon master. The dungeons of the involved dungeon masters will be transported into a separate realm and would be connected to each other. The challenged dungeon master is unable to refuse the challenge. The winner will be awarded the surviving monsters and structures, DP and Dungeon core of the losing dungeon master.

The 96th item was yet another scroll.

[Relocation Permit]

Can be used to relocate the dungeon and dungeon core without suffering from any penalties.

Usually, dungeon masters would only have one chance to select the location of the dungeon. But with this item, not only could they relocate their dungeon to a better environment after draining their previous one of resources, but they could also use it as an escape means during attacks! If the dungeon was bound to be destroyed during a raid, using the [Relocation Permit] would instantly put the dungeon core out of reach of the attackers.

But out of all the items, the most game breaking one was definitely the 99th item:

[Sub Core]

Can be used to create a second dungeon. The DP and dungeon shop will be shared with that of the existing dungeon.

To be able to create two dungeons instead of one. Not only would it mean doubling one's revenue, but it also meant controlling a much larger territory and having a much larger army!

All the final items were sold for more than 5 million DP. A single dungeon master would be unable to purchase these items; it was only after pooling resources together that they managed to do so.

Five could only look at the items with envy. He knew very well how useful they could be. The lucky dungeon masters getting these items would definitely pull ahead. 'I am so far behind them. I need to work harder to attract more people. The barbarians are not enough. If I want to be able to compete with the others, I need the players to come to my dungeon.'

Then, came the 100th item. To everyone's surprise, the monster stepping onto the platform was actually a human! Furthermore, its stats were terrible, to say the least, but the effects of its t.i.tle were enough to make it a priceless monster.

Name: Bach

Race: Evolved Human

Type: Humanoid

Attribute: None

Level: 20 (0/10000)

t.i.tle: E26 Carrier

HP: 280/280

MP: 200/200

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 18

Vitality: 28

Intelligence: 20

Wisdom: 24

Special Skills: None

[Information]

[E26 Carrier]

Effect 1: t.i.tle holder does not generate DP over time like other monsters.

Effect 2: Absorbs 1000 DP per minute from any dungeon except the owner's dungeon

Effect 3: Transfers 50% of the absorbed DP to the owner of the t.i.tle holder.

Effect 4: If killed, returns all the DP absorbed during the past hour to the dungeon.

Effect 5: t.i.tle can be transmitted to Humans through s.e.xual contact.

Effect 6: Significantly reduces the lifespan of the t.i.tle holder

Five froze as he read the t.i.tle's effect. 'D*mn... They are asking people to create a pandemic. That's a broken effect! After some time, only Bach's owner would be able to generate any DP if the entire human population obtains the t.i.tle.

Five could feel the reckless atmosphere. All the dungeon masters were aware of the value of Bach. Whoever would own him, would easily be able to dominate an area over time. However, it is also clear that the owner would also make himself an enemy of the entire dungeon community.

'If only I had enough DP...' inwardly exclaimed Five as he watched the bid rapidly reach 10 million without any sign of stopping.

Eventually, Bach was sold for 16.3 million DP to the Hurricane Alliance. Five easily recognized Clark, Duke Shercliff's discipline, sitting in the middle of the group who purchased Bach.

The auction had come to an end, the 100 items had all been sold but to everyone's surprise, Amour did not announce the end of the auction. Instead, he brightly smiled and said: "Ladies and Gentlemen. I know you are all eager to return to your dungeon. But, we have an unexpected surprise. We have one last item to auction. It was gracefully given to us by the G.o.ddess Gaia. Unfortunately, we have nothing to present; the G.o.ddess' offer is not a tangible item. But why don't we let the G.o.ddess herself explain it to you?"

A dazzling bright light erupted on top of the platform as a crystal ball appeared. "Dungeon Masters. I am happy to see so many of you still alive." The crystal ball's light pulsed as Gaia's voice sounded through the auction hall.

"The last item to be auctioned this time would be Answers! I am willing to answer three questions that you might have. Regardless of the topic, whether it involves the future events or the secret mechanics of the game, or even if you just want to know the best way to improve your dungeon. I am certain that after being thrown into this environment, you must all have a lot to ask. I am willing to answer the three questions of the highest bidder!"

The bidding war once again started and in a matter of seconds, the price jumped from 10000 DP to 300000 DP.

Five sighed. He would have liked to be able to obtain an answer but clearly, he did not have enough DP to partic.i.p.ate. The value of those answers naturally varied significantly but there were several burning questions that have been on Five's mind for quite a while. He wanted to know about whether he would really be affected by the choice of monsters around him. He wanted to know what exactly was hiding in his dungeon core after the repeated warnings of Dreidus and Harriet. And finally, he also wanted to know the path to take to meet his enemies, the Penmark family.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Five could do. He could only stare as the price jumped to 450000 DP.

'If only Harriet and Dreidus were able to raid the second dungeon in time. I could have obtained a lot more DP,' thought Five.

And at that moment, as if the game was responding to his wishes, a system prompt rang in Five's ears.

[System prompt: One of your monsters have conquered 'Tinyland'. Half of the DP owned by the defeated dungeon master have been transferred to you. Please bring the defeated dungeon core to the Core of Madness for further rewards.]