Chapter 429: Warrior Shake, Sold! The king’s eyebrows rose with keen interest. "More powerful than the Luxury Fruit Smoothie?" "Comparable in total value, but different focus," Noah confirmed. "Heavy emphasis on combat enhancement and permanent attribute gains. It would be invaluable to any serious warrior or practitioner." "I see," Aldric said thoughtfully. "And what role would you like the crown to play in this auction?" "Publicity and venue," Noah replied. "I want this handled with proper ceremony to emphasize the item’s value. But here’s where the real benefit to Esta comes in, after this initial auction establishes the market price, I’m planning to offer the same item to the kingdom at ninety percent discount for wholesale distribution." Aldric’s eyes widened. "Ninety percent?" "That’s correct," Noah confirmed with a slight smile. "The auction price will be whatever the market will bear, probably extremely high given the effects. But once that anchor price is established, Esta’s government can purchase these items at ten percent of that cost for distribution to your military, guild champions, or however you see fit to use them." The king sat back, his mind clearly racing through implications. If the auction established a price of, say, Ten thousand golden coins, that would mean Esta could purchase the same items for one thousand each afterward. That represented transformative military capability at accessible cost. "That’s... remarkably generous," Aldric said carefully. "What’s driving this decision?" "Long-term thinking," Noah replied honestly. "I want Esta to become the strongest kingdom in the world. Your strength is my security and my business environment. The better Esta performs, the more stable my operations become. Besides, I have other revenue streams now that make maximizing every transaction less critical." He didn’t mention the billion dollars in Earth assets, but the implication was clear—Noah was operating from a position of such wealth that strategic relationships mattered more than squeezing maximum profit from every sale. Aldric studied him for a long moment, then nodded decisively. "Then let’s make this auction something memorable. I’ll arrange for it to be held in the castle’s grand hall this evening. We’ll send invitations to every major noble house, wealthy merchant, and guild master in the capital. This will be an event that establishes exactly how valuable your products have become." Noah smiled with satisfaction. "Perfect. Let’s make some history together, Your Majesty." *** The castle’s grand hall had been transformed for the occasion. Hundreds of candles illuminated the space, casting dramatic shadows across the assembled crowd of Esta’s elite. Every major noble house had sent representatives, wealthy merchants occupied premium seating, and guild masters stood in groups discussing what the new item. Noah stood on a raised platform at the front of the hall, the single crystalline bottle of Warrior’s Protein Shake displayed prominently on a pedestal beside him. Lola stood nearby, her presence adding an exotic element that reminded everyone of Noah’s mysterious connections beyond Esta’s borders. King Aldric sat in a place of honor to the side, watching with keen interest as Noah prepared to address the crowd. Noah raised his hand, and the hall fell silent immediately. His reputation and the anticipation of what he might offer commanded absolute attention. "Thank you all for attending on such short notice," Noah began, his enhanced charisma making his voice carry clearly to every corner of the hall. "I’ve brought something truly exceptional to auction today—a consumable that represents the pinnacle of what I currently offer." He gestured to the bottle. "This is a Warrior’s Protein Shake. Its effects include doubling all attributes for one hour, increasing weapon learning speed, granting critical strike chance on attacks, and providing temporary mastery with any weapon type. Most importantly, it permanently increases both Agility and Strength by fifty points upon first consumption." Gasps rippled through the crowd. Fifty permanent points to two attributes was staggering—equivalent to years of dedicated training compressed into a single drink. "The starting bid will be ten thousand golden coins," Noah stated clearly. "Each increment must be at least one thousand golden coins. And to be clear—golden coins don’t necessarily need to be the currency traded. Anything that has equivalent value can be offered instead. Items, materials—I’ll consider all proposals based on their worth." A moment of stunned silence followed as the assembled elite processed the starting price, then hands began shooting up across the hall. "Eleven thousand!" called out a Marquess. "Twelve thousand!" countered a wealthy merchant. "Thirteen thousand!" shouted a guild master. The bidding escalated rapidly as nobles and merchants competed, each recognizing the transformative value of permanent attribute gains. The temporary doubling effect would be invaluable for critical missions or tournaments, but the permanent increases represented genuine advancement that normally required years to achieve. "Fifteen thousand!" "Sixteen thousand!" The price climbed steadily as competitors dropped out one by one, unable to justify spending their entire liquid assets on a single item no matter how valuable. "Eighteen thousand golden coins plus multiple master-rank beast cores!" offered a Viscount, trying to sweeten his bid with rare materials. "Nineteen thousand!" Duke Ashford called out, his voice firm and confident. He’d already experienced the value of Noah’s products firsthand and wasn’t about to lose this opportunity. A tense pause followed as the remaining bidders calculated whether they could justify going higher. Duke Ashford declared decisively. "Plus a collection of rare alchemical herbs from my private gardens, and two tier 4 items." The hall fell silent. Several nobles who had been considering counter-bids did quick mental calculations and reluctantly shook their heads. Duke Ashford’s combined offer was substantial enough that matching it would require liquidating assets they couldn’t afford to part with. Noah waited a full thirty seconds to ensure no further bids would come. "Sold!" he announced with satisfaction, gesturing toward Duke Ashford. "The Warrior’s Protein Shake goes to Duke Ashford for twenty thousand golden coins equivalent value." The crowd applauded politely, though many faces showed disappointment at missing the opportunity. As the applause died down, system notifications appeared in Noah’s vision: [Warrior’s Protein Shake sold for 20,000 Golden Coins ($2,000,000)] [New Daily Income Stream Established: $2,000,000] 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦 [Total Daily Revenue: $4,153,000] [Auto-WarriorShake: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 5/100 EXP]