Chapter 318: The Auction Begins
As they stepped through the threshold, they suddenly found themselves in a luxurious room that far exceeded their expectations. Both of them looked around, slightly confused.
"Is this... a VIP room?" Serys said in awe.
The room was nearly as grand as the bedrooms in the Valenberg palace, which truly surprised her.
"Looks like that boy really likes you," Daniel laughed. It was clear that Ravon had managed to get a VIP invitation for Serys—or rather, for the fake Celestina.
In fact, they hadn’t even realized there was a difference between a normal invitation and a VIP one, so they hadn’t known theirs was special.
Not that it was a bad thing—in fact, it only made things easier for them.
"Shut up," Serys growled. Daniel turned to look at her face, but what he saw almost made him burst out laughing.
"What?" she asked, clearly noticing that he was trying hard not to laugh.
"Look at your face."
Serys frowned and looked around for a mirror. Luckily, there actually was one in the room. She walked over to it and looked at her reflection.
"What the hell is this?" She looked like she was about to cry.
"Pfft—hahaha!" Daniel couldn’t hold it in anymore and started laughing.
Her face had completely changed into that of a rabbit.
"It’s probably a security feature here, to keep people’s identities hidden," he said after calming down a little.
"Then why didn’t your face change?" she turned toward him. Daniel still wore his black, energy-formed mask.
"Probably because I’m just your companion and not a participant in the auction. Plus, I’m already wearing a mask," he shrugged.
Honestly, he preferred not having his face altered. The last thing he wanted was for his head to turn into that of a rabbit—or anything else.
Serys sighed and decided to let it go. No matter how much she complained, it wasn’t going to change anything.
Instead, she walked over to the large balcony-like window and looked outside toward the auction floor. From there, she could also see the other VIP rooms.
There were rows of seats neatly arranged in front of the stage as well.
A luxurious, noble-style chair was also in the room—clearly meant for her. She sat down and stretched out her legs a bit.
"How disrespectful," Daniel mocked.
"Shut up," Serys didn’t care.
"Looks like the auction will probably start in about an hour. They’re waiting for all the seats to be filled."
"Yeah, seems like it," Daniel nodded.
Time passed slowly as the seats were filled one by one, but like Serys, none of the attendees had a human face—they all looked like different animals.
Also, while they could look out from their VIP room, it seemed like no one could see inside the VIP rooms from the outside.
Even they couldn’t see into the other VIP rooms. Daniel tried using his spiritual sense, but it failed. There seemed to be some sort of array preventing it from reaching beyond their room.
That made both of them frown. It could become a real problem—possibly a major one.
If the weapon was put up for auction, it would definitely be bought by someone in one of the VIP rooms. And if they didn’t know who the buyer was, how were they supposed to steal it?
Their only option would be to steal it before it was delivered to the buyer.
"This sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. If we go that route, we’ll probably have to face more than ten Grand Climbers, and that’s not going to be easy," Seris said with a frown.
"And there might even be a Half Step Divine Climber among them. We have to consider that this will definitely cause a lot of commotion."
"Your escape plan won’t work unless we get our hands on the weapon first. With people like that standing in our way, I doubt we’ll be able to take it."
"Do you have a better idea? We have no choice—we have to get that weapon, no matter what. It’s fine if a bit of fighting breaks out in between. I’ll try to come up with a better plan, but honestly, I doubt there is one," Daniel sighed.
Serys nodded. All they could do was wait and see what would happen. Worst case? A fight was inevitable.
About half an hour passed when several attendants entered the room, bringing them all sorts of delicious foods along with the finest wines and drinks.
They even informed them that if they needed anything else—including a massage—they could use the communication talisman in the room to make a request.
After the attendants left, Serys and Daniel felt a bit grateful to Ravon. The VIP room’s features were truly impressive.
Neither of them—especially Daniel—let any of the food go to waste. They only had two glasses of wine though, saving the rest for when the auction started.
Once they finished eating, they looked outside again. All the seats were now filled, and it looked like the auction was finally about to begin.
"Welcome to the Black Gold Auction," a middle-aged but charismatic voice echoed throughout the hall and even reached the VIP rooms.
A light appeared at the center of the previously dark stage, revealing a single figure.
From his body shape, it was clear he was a man, but his face looked like that of a crow—clearly an identity-masking effect.
As he spoke, everyone’s attention turned toward him. Even the VIP rooms fell silent.
"Today marks the 27th session of the Golden Auctions, hosted here in the city of Crystalgard. I’d also like to give a special thanks to those who helped make this event possible in this city," the charming voice echoed again.
Everyone naturally knew who he was referring to. Who else but the Marquess’s family could have helped organize something like this?
Of course, no one said anything out loud. After all, none of them were here legally.
"I’m sure many of you have attended previous Golden Auctions and know that the items we put up for sale are far from ordinary."
"And most of you have probably already taken a look at the list of items we’re auctioning off today," the host said enthusiastically.
"But what if I told you... those aren’t the only items we’re offering? In fact, we’ve got a very big surprise for all of you!"
"An item beyond mortal understanding. A weapon of incredible power that we came across purely by chance." A smile appeared on his crow-like face.