Draco wanted to say yes to the 17 million, that would be a life-changer for him and his mother, and it wasn't guaranteed that the next two would be any better, however when he was about to accept, one of the three bit his neck, hard enough to leave a mark. Draco, figuring it was the Goat that must have known something, steeled himself.
However, when she said 2 was less money he faltered. He was going to take it, cut his losses and just take the 11, however as the thought was about to be voiced, again he was bitten, only this time it was enough to draw blood. Draco couldn't help the flinch that came with the pain, but he got the message and decided to go all in. If Sophos believed the 3rd one was worth it then he was willing to sacrifice for it.
Inside Draco's mind, the three were watching through his eyes. They heard the first offer, and they each got their own opinion of it. "He could buy a new blade that's better at killing people." "He could buy abilities that he could Absorb or Devour to improve his other ones." "He could protect his mother and himself if he bought a better house and those Protection Orbs."
Both Sophos and Thanatos agreed with Pride's suggestion of better protection. All was going well until she said the staff was hers no matter what. When she said that, something in Pride changed. The thoughts about just giving in and taking the money came in and Pride quickly manifested on Draco's neck, biting it enough to tell him to change his thinking. When he returned and heard Draco's thoughts thinking Sophos was the reason behind the bite, the whole dark room went silent.
Thanatos spoke. "You didn't do that simply because of your stubbornness… did you?" Again the room was silent. "That's what I thought." When option two was said, the room went even quieter, if Pride could blush he would have been doing it currently. Then she asked if he wanted to know number three, and the hint of a condescending tone caused Pride to lose it. Thanatos voiced out in a breathless tone. "Oh boy."
"She is taunting us, US!" again Pride manifested only this time he accidentally bit hard enough to cause blood to fall. The other two started yelling at him for hurting Draco, however, Pride's efforts paid off as Draco's thoughts came flowing into the room. "Screw it, Sophos must know something about what is happening, all in." Pride let out an awkward-sounding laugh as he heard his thoughts. However, the other two just sighed. "Pride is a good name for you." "Agreed."
Draco's vision went black before he was looking up at a bunch of stars. Quickly, he got up and looked around. They were currently in a small village that was overflowing with a bunch of people. The people were all running around doing various things. However, one thing was the same no matter where he looked. Every single one of the people here had gold and blue patches on their shoulders.
"Welcome to the Auction House." Draco looked over at the lady, who was now not an old lady, but rather a middle aged woman who was almost the same height as him, and instead of the dark robes she was wearing inside the shop, she was now wearing a robe that was an icy blue color. Not only her appearance changed, as when he looked up at her Title it was no longer the one he had seen before, but it now said (Ice Queen).
Draco was astounded. he had heard about the Ice Queen, as she was a famous S-rank mage that had complete and total control over Ice. She was said to be more powerful than any other Strikers, given her Title allowed her to take on every role a normal hunting party would normally consist of, not to mention her ruthlessness towards anything not from earth. Draco looked over at the Ice Queen in bewilderment.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The Ice Queen laughed, putting her arm around Draco, and leading him towards the village. As they walked, everyone turned and greeted her, some even bowed their heads. Draco was so overwhelmed that he just continued to walk along with her. They kept walking until they ended up in front of a large building that had 'AUCTION HOUSE' in big bold letters above the door.
"So I guess I should give you the rundown about this place, seeing as we are already here. This is the Auction House. It's a place that allows you to buy and sell items of high rarity or importance to a select few that know about it. Mostly it's only people with merchant Titles that we trust that can come here and sell. However we have built a network of people, be it collectors, sellers, or just plain old Strikers from all over the world. Those people are allowed to buy, however, they are not able to sell.
"This is your 3rd option. You are now welcome to come here whenever you want to buy from the auction center. However, be warned. If you are not able to pay for an item you are trying to buy...well just be able to buy it. Now, about the way to return here after I take you back to the shop." She handed Draco a skeleton key, which he instantly put into his inventory.
"All you have to do is put it into any door, and that door will connect to this place. It will only allow the person that used that specific key to go back through it, so don't think it's an easy teleport. Also to anyone that isn't holding that key, they will see a normal door, even here, as we speak there are hundreds upon hundreds of Doors in that field we just came from, however, due to us not holding their key, we can not see them or their door."
She paused for a minute to make sure Draco was understanding everything before she continued. "Think of it like everyone currently here is on a different plane of existence. However, once you enter the Auction House you will go to the same plane. Never mind it's better to show you." She pulled Draco into the auction house, then doing as he was told, signed in on a tablet that was just lying there on a table, his name popped up with a number beside it. Remembering the number as he was told they walked into what could only be considered a theater. They found their assigned seats and sat down. As soon as he did, a window appeared in his vision.