"Wow, it looks even more impressive compared to the other cities we have seen," Ezekiel exclaimed, looking awed at the huge city.
"Of course, this is a city located at one of the more resource-rich parts of the continent, so it stands to reason it will be bigger compared to those that are less wealthy," Esran said methodically.
"Yeah, but are we sure we can bring Tashirn inside?" Ilina asked in worry, looking at her older brother, who gave her an assuring smile.
"Yes, as long as she behaved, then there is no reason for the Duke to take action," Ryker told her before making them head to the entrance.
Besides, he hopes to use Tashirn as a deterrent for those who will try to do something to them when he goes on a mission.
-x-
Their entrance, aside from being eye-catching, is not much of an issue as the guards allow them to enter the capital. Besides the warning of making sure their beast behaved that is.
He was not bothered by it as he found it logical. After all, a tiger roaming a city would scare a lot of people, not to mention a Spirit Beast. Those would send a lot of people packing.
As they entered the capital, they could not help but gasp in awe, the children that is. For the adults, their awe is more suppressed, but they are still amazed by what they see.
Towering buildings towered the buildings of the capitals they had visited, not to mention how large it is compared to the other capitals. If he had to guess, it could fit both Kilrun Capital City and Miraz Capital City and still have room to spare.
"Let's find a place to stay first," he decides.
-x-
Thankfully, the Elkom Capital City possessed a lot of areas dedicated to visitors. And so, there are a lot of inns and houses that could be rented. Ryker decided to pick a big house in a less energy-rich area.
It's not he did not want to live in those mansions with the richer lot, it just the prize is too much for them. Only those that have wealth of peak Genesis Sea and above could stay at those lots, which have only 10 mansions.
Though the house he chose is smaller compared to the mansions, it is still big enough that even 25 people and 2 beasts sharing it will not be bothered by the lack of space.
For today, they had bought some food from a nearby tavern. After dining in and feeding Tashirn a lot of meat, thankfully she did not mind if it was just regular meat though she consumed more as a result, they went to sleep.
-x-
"I'm heading off," Ryker told the others. He decided to travel alone this time, as he did not want anything to happen to them. After all, Tashirn would maul anyone who threatened the others easily.
He is currently headed towards the Elkom Auction House, the biggest auction house in the entire city. There are other auction houses, but this one is the most famous and biggest, with a lot of treasures being displayed and sold in each auction.
He went towards the counter before looking at the one managing, "I would like to auction some treasures here," he told the man, who gave him a disinterested nod.
"Please follow me," he said in a monotone voice, before leading him to one of the rooms.
"Please put the treasure you wanted to auction here. Do know that anything below Grade 8 will not be accepted," Ryker could tell the man was looking down on him, and so, take out the best treasures of them all.
"Th-that's a Spirit Giant Tiger Skin!" the man exclaimed in shock.
"Is this not worthy to be auctioned? If not, I will have to go to another auction house," he then gets up.
The man quickly used his aura to restrain him but Ryker easily blocked it before pushing him to the ground, "Please don't do anything, or you will regret it," Ryker growled, making the man shiver as he nodded.
"Call your superior, I think they are the ones that can determine this thing's worth," Ryker said. The man nodded before taking out a communication token.
Soon, a portly man entered the room. Ryker could tell that the man was at the Genesis Sea, though his cultivation should be at the 6th Stage, someone he could handle.
"Let me see," the portly man observed the skin with great interest. The man took almost an hour inspecting it before shaking his head.
"I am sorry, this skin is fake," Ryker knew immediately the portly man was trying to scam him.
"Is that so, in that case, I have to take this elsewhere," the panicking look on both men told him they were shocked by his declaration.
"Don't be hasty," the man tried to stop him, "even if it's not the skin of a Spirit Giant Tiger, it is still a treasure, belonging to a Giant Tiger at the 9th Tier, at least. So you can still earn a great sum if you sold it here,"
"Is that so," Ryker pretended to be interested, the man nodded like a woodpecker. "But I am not interested in selling to this place," he cut them immediately.
"After all, I was there when I saw my superior cut this beast down with ease," his words caused them to freeze. After all, for someone to kill a Spirit Beast needed to be in the Spirit Grand realm too.
While Elkom Auction House has the backing of the Duke of Elkom, it is still an independent party, with only a low-rank Noble realm expert overseeing its management.
"I-is tha-that so," the portly man stuttered. After all, his lies are easily discovered by the young man, and with a mysterious backing, he does not dare to push it further.
"If you try to lie to me, why should I use the service of this auction house," Ryker said, his aura growing wild and blanketing the area.
The two people tried to protect themselves but his aura easily overwhelmed theirs, before forcing them to kneel.
'How! How can a brat at the Genesis Lake realm suppress me!' the portly man could not help but exclaim in his head.
He tried to stand but the aura was too strong. The other man was in an even worse position, being weaker at the Genesis Lake. His head already drilled the ground, the suppression too strong for the man.
"What is going on over here?!"