The auction house was crowded with people. The mixed voices could be heard.
- So annoying.
An extremely handsome man commented from his lounge as he sipped his wine.
4 beautiful girls could be seen standing around him. All of them had their own unique charms and were absolutely top-notch beauties. However, what was queer was none of them were talking and their eyes seemed a bit hollow.
- Hmm?
The young man smiled as a new person appeared in the nearby lounge.
There were only 10 lounges in the auction room, built several meters above the floor. The lounges were small but luxurious and exquisite. The walls were made out of crystal clear glass.
Any single man, who could appear in these lounges had great authority, so Erik was a bit startled when he saw an unfamiliar strange man appear.
The newly arrived was dressed strangely and sat in a wheelchair. He was accompanied by 3 men.
- Hey neighbor, I'll toast you.
Erik gave a friendly smile as he raised the wine cup in Lorian's direction.
Lorian gave the strange young man an indifferent glance and then ignored him.
Erik sighed and downed the cup, feeling bored.
- Early bird gets the worm, bullshit! All this early bird got was a boredom...little flower, can you give me a little massage? This young master is feeling so stiff down there.
The young man laughed in a perverted way.
No objections rose. The young master started having a great time.
* * *
Lorian gave the handsome young master a bewildered gaze.
''He sure knows how to enjoy himself...geez, how shameless, go get a room.''
He cursed in his mind and tension he felt alleviated a little bit.
Looking down, the seats were already crowded, but only 2/10 VIPs have appeared thus far, him and that strange young man.
He wasn't some kind of bigshot to get this seat, but since he was the seller of the most important item of this auction, he was given the privilege.
Soon, even these VIPs appeared one by one. There were 3 barons, middle-aged scholars and fat, crafty merchants among them. The last one to appear was gallant looking city lord with an elongated head and a handful of silver hair. He radiated dominance, confidence, and majesty.
The crowd below rose from their seats and sang their praises, but not everyone was that bootlicking and respectful to the city lord...
- Un! Believable! Morses, you old bastard, irresponsible dog! Is this how you control a city? Every place is full of gangs and thugs. See that empty seat? Ronelle was murdered this morning! How do you explain this, huh? No, I can't leave this be, I'll report everything to his majesty so incompetent, irresponsible people like you can get lost!
The thin old official dressed in scholar robes fumed as he reprimanded in a harsh tone.
Lorian was quite surprised.
''This old thing has such guts.''
City lord Morses remained indifferent as he answered.
- Old rats who can only fart out of their stinky mouth, so what if one or two of you old things die? All you do is brainfuck the palace with your conservant ideas. What use is that?
The city lord cursed with a straight face and calm tone.
Lorian was speechless as he listened to this person of authority curse like a thug with elegant poise.
- You...you...
The old official was livid with anger as he pointed his wrinkled trembling finger at city lord, but he choked on his words from anger.
- Haha, so glad to see you old ones so boisterous even at this age. Even young people would be envious of your liveliness.
Kind looking fat merchant chuckled as fats on his belly flopped up and down. His eyes turned into slits as he smiled.
- What bunch of clowns, so disappointing. You old people don't even care about face. It's nothing unexpected, I guess. How can rural local overlords and ragtag clowns understand the dignity of a ruler?
The young baron mercilessly criticized them. His fearless demeanor was truly something else.
- You know what? I like here. The authorities in the royal capital have their heads held up like peacocks. Even the smallest offense won't be pardoned. It's so stressful.
Another young baron chimed in.
- Humph.
The representative of last baron's house snorted with disdain as if it was beneath him to argue with a bunch of kids.
The other two were unhappy, but even barons had a hierarchy and even if they looked ignorant, they knew where they stood, who can't be offended, who they should distance themselves from and what is in their sphere of influence.
- The auction is starting.
The city lord looked quite calm and nonchalant in face of criticism.
In VIP lounges, some people had more, while others less authority than the city lord. However, even more, influential barons didn't dare anger the local lord too much in his own domain. Their arrogance couldn't help but inflate though, seeing so many people of lower status, so they established dominance from the start.
- Welcome lads and ladies. Today, this old one has the honor to host this auction.
The old auctioneer's magnetic voice calmed the crowd down.
The city lord secretly glanced at Lorian and Erik, coldness in his eyes.
The duo felt the passing fiery gaze, which was gone in a second.
Lorian couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. That man was several times stronger than him and didn't have any good intentions towards him. He quickly got over it though and feigned ignorance. He wasn't here to cause trouble. He would remain low key if circumstances allowed it. Having felt a competitive atmosphere, he couldn't help, but think him coming here held no meaning, but everything happens. In case of emergency, he needs to be here to raise the price.
As for Erik, he continued smiling, as if he didn't feel the ill-intended gaze.
The auction moved at a slow pace. Some decent items - useful herbs, rare medicines, decent weapons and so on appeared. Even 3 first circle magic scrolled made its appearance, which went to the fat merchant in the end.
Finally, after over an hour, the main dish appeared...
The auctioneer coughed and cleared his voice, then announced the following item.
- I guess everyone's been waiting for this moment. Bloodlines! We know how rare and useful they are. Even the weakest bloodline owner can sweep the floor with people at the same level. Today we'll be auctioning a drop of snow wolf bloodline!
The auctioneer intentionally paused. The commotion rose as not everyone was informed of today's main item. They only knew something extraordinary was auctioned off.
The atmosphere visibly tensed in the lounges too. Erik's sleepy countenance quickly disappeared. City lord's eyes flashed with a strange glint. The young barons also revealed excitement from their eyes. How great would it be if their trusted strong subordinates got the bloodline? It would be an immense boost to their house.
- The snow wolves are noble hunters, disdaining hunting in packs. The person who inherits the bloodline will have his physique risen by 20% of the base. Their attacks will also contain rare ice attribute.
Everyone's blood surged as they heard this. Their power level didn't matter. As long as they consumed this drop of bloodline, they would permanently become superior to thousands upon thousands of people.
The auctioneer smiled as he continued.
- Everyone knows how thin normal monster's bloodline is compared to their ancestor's. There's virtually no chance to extract it even after tens of thousands of attempts. The drop of bloodline from low-level monsters is even rarer than bloodline from high-level monsters, but, let's be honest, nobody here can afford the bloodline of high-level monster.
Even the city lord clenched his teeth and tightened his fists after hearing this. It was true. And this drop of bloodline was the best option to permanently raise his strength.
The barons' breathing also got rushed as they heard this. This opportunity was simply too rare and they absolutely couldn't afford to pass it.
The auctioneer was smiling all along.
The alluring young girl entered the stage and handed over the exquisite vial to the auctioneer.
Everyone's breathing got hurried as they stared at lively, slithering drop of blood in the exquisite vial.
- The starting price is 20 gold coins. The smallest bid increment - 500 silvers. The auctioning of snow wolf bloodline...begins!
Lorian was excited as he listened to auctioneer's advertisement. He didn't feel regret selling it as one could only possess a limited amount of bloodlines and his ambitions weren't low enough to consume F grade bloodline. He could give it to his subordinates, but now he needed the money the most.
Lorian looked at formidable auctioneer's smiling face and couldn't help, but wonder as to who was this old man, who could tame the crowd this easily. Eloquence wasn't enough to deal with people. Strength was required. Lorian only knew this auction house had a great background, but wasn't aware of its extent and didn't know which representative they would send either.
He scrutinized the old man with his high perception, but still got the feeling of a normal old man from him. This couldn't help but make him more cautious. There were some people he couldn't offend currently. He had to be clear about this fact.