Hope wandered through the mall, using his Dragon Eye skill to scan the various items. Nothing seemed to catch his interest until he noticed an auction house. Intrigued, he walked inside, followed by Rachel and her boyfriend, driven by a desire for revenge.
As they entered, Rachel and her boyfriend felt as though they had stepped into a party for the wealthy. Masked figures, golden lights, and a wide variety of auctions for rare items, potions, metals, and even monster pets filled the room. The staff handed them masks as well, but they didn't spot Hope in the crowd. Their anger simmered beneath the surface, fueled by the humiliation they had faced before.
Rachel: "Baby, look for him. He's wearing a red shirt and black pants. I can't see him anywhere."
Warrior: "I'm looking, woman! Don't anger me. I thought a simple attack would be enough, but if I find him, I'll kill him."
They searched the entire auction floor but couldn't find him.
Rachel: "Let's head upstairs. Maybe he's up there."
Warrior: "The second floor onward is for high-ranked hunters and wealthy families. Do you really think he's rich?"
Rachel: "No! His mother was from the Kang clan. They're a huge family, but they disowned him and his mother after his Awakening."
Warrior: "His Awakening? You told me he absorbs and kills people. Why did you lie?"
Rachel: "I didn't lie! He must have forged his ID card or hidden his skill. Maybe he's a Red Hunter. I heard Red Hunters use some unknown item to hide their identity. Or didn't you see him coming out of the alchemy shop? He must be someone's disciple. Anyway, I know he is hiding something, and I want revenge. I have a plan. Let's go, baby."
Warrior: "I need to beat him up. I trust you. Let's go."
As they approached the upper floor, guards stopped them, explaining that the auction fee was one million per person. Frustration crept into their voices as they tried to talk their way in, but the guards denied their entrance.
Warrior: "They won't let us up. Let's pool our money together. We'll just get it back if we don't buy anything."
Rachel: "You're supposed to treat me after your promotion to D-rank. Do I have to chip in too?"
Warrior: "Just put the money. I'm a little short after buying the subspace pouch. It has a mana lock on it. I'll pay you back soon—you know what's important, so please."
They gathered their money and moved to the second floor, where a saleswoman greeted them.
Rachel: "Hey, did you see anyone wearing a red t-shirt and black pants? If so, which room is he in?"
The saleswoman gave her a cold smile. "We're not at liberty to disclose guest information. You're assigned to Room 8. You can bid for items there, and if your bid is successful, you'll receive the item in that same room."
Rachel scowled. "We don't care about your stupid auction."
The saleswoman's expression darkened. "If you're not here for the auction, leave. You're not allowed to disturb other VIPs, and entering other bidding rooms is a punishable offense."
Rachel: "Baby, let's go to our room."
Rachel led the way, but her mind was already working on a plan as the saleswoman prepared to escort them.
Rachel: "We don't need your stupid escort. We can find our own room."
Warrior: "What are you doing? Let's leave once we get our money back. If we see him outside, we can kill him easily."
Rachel: "Don't you get it? I think he got a large amount of money from somewhere. That's why he's spending like this. If we steal whatever he bought, we can make him pay for humiliating us. Not only that, by losing the money and items, he'll be kicked out again, and we can torture him for embarrassing us."
Warrior: "But we could get caught. Isn't that a disaster waiting to happen?"
Rachel: "I've got a skill for that. I bought a magic book last month and studied for weeks. Watch this."
Rachel activated her skill, transforming her dress into that of an auction house staff member.
Warrior: "You studied for weeks just for a dress-changing skill?"
Rachel: "It's not just dress-changing. The skill's proficiency increases with use. I can change into anyone—it's a pretty useful skill."
Warrior: "Sounds like a thief's skill."
Rachel: "Shut up. I'm going in."
Rachel entered a room, posing as a staff member. "Is everything to your liking, sir?" she asked a couple. When they didn't respond, she left the room and entered the next one, continuing her search until she reached Room 6. Inside, she saw three people.
Man 1: "Hey, servant girl, pour us some drinks."
Rachel: "I'll send someone to do that, sir."
Man 2: "Why don't you do it yourself, beautiful?"
Rachel (thinking): "Creepy old man. Like hell I'm pouring your drink."
After she excused herself, she overheard one of the men speaking.
Man 1: "There's a big shot here, buying items left and right. They must be a high-ranked hunter or from a wealthy family."
When she entered Room 7, she finally spotted Hope's red shirt. He was just leaving for the bathroom. She stole the items from his room and brought them to the Warrior, who was on lookout and got inside Room 8.
Rachel: "Hide them inside your subspace pouch and stash it somewhere. After he screams and lures the auction house staff, they'll search us. When they don't find anything, we'll walk away with all his items, and there'll be no proof to hold us."
Suddenly, loud voices echoed down the hallway.
Rachel: "It's starting. Hide it, baby."
The Warrior stashed the pouch in the bathroom. Moments later, a merchant burst into the room, followed by the saleswoman.
Merchant: "That's them! They're the ones who stole my items!"
Rachel and the Warrior froze.
Rachel: "Us? We didn't steal anything, old man. We were here watching the auction."
Warrior: "Yeah, we didn't leave the room. Wait, you're not him—"
Merchant: "Him? It's them! I know I saw them steal from me."
Saleswoman: "Sir, these are our highest bidders. They've bought nearly every item."
Rachel: "What? We bought—"
Merchant: "I saw her! Someone knocked me out. Maybe it was him, and the woman stole from me. I saw everything."
The saleswoman shook her head. "They've bought 13 items. There wouldn't have been time for stealing and bidding."
Merchant: "There are two of them—one could bid while the other stole. They are tricking you. I didn't see the big one earlier, but that's how they did it. They thought I was knocked out, but I saw everything."
Screams from another room echoed in the distance. Rachel's nerves were fraying.
Rachel: "Old man, we told you we didn't steal anything. If you want to check us, after that we need to go."
Merchant: "I'm the Area 12 leader of the Merchant Association, and you call me 'old man'? You stole from me—I saw it with my own eyes!"
Saleswoman: "Sir, we have cameras. We can check the tapes."
Rachel's heart sank. "Cameras… There were cameras!"
Before they could act, an uproar erupted from the other rooms as more people began shouting that their items were missing. The leader of the auction house entered the second floor, his aura silencing the crowd. As he stepped into Room 8, all eyes fell on Rachel and her boyfriend.
Auction House Leader: "Let's settle this. I don't tolerate thieves in my house. Check the cameras!"
Rachel's face turned pale as footage revealed her, dressed as an auction staff member, entering every room and stealing from the merchant. The footage from Room 8, however, was unavailable due to broken glass. She realized Hope had set them up.
Auction House Leader: "How dare you steal from my auction house? Where are my items?"
The Warrior tried to defend them. "We were trapped! This is a setup! We don't have your items. Just search us!"
Auction House Leader: "Girl, we know you stole from us. Tell us where the items are."
Rachel knew all the evidence was against her, and if she wanted to get out of this situation, she needed a scapegoat.
Rachel (pointing to the Warrior): "It was him! He made me do it. He told me if I didn't steal, he would kill me. That's why I did it. I don't have any items on me; he has it all."
Warrior: "Me? It was your idea! You planned everything!"
Rachel (crying): "I don't have the items. He has a subspace pouch with a mana lock—it's all in it, and the mana pouch can only be opened by his mana, so it's him, not me!"
Warrior: "You bitch!"
He aimed an attack skill at her, but the auction house leader deflected it, throwing him into a corner.
Auction House Leader: "Tell me where the items are."
The Warrior pointed to the bathroom, but after a search, nothing was found.
The auction house leader turned red with fury. His angry voice could be heard from the first floor as Hope exited the auction house, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face, the darkness of his past momentarily lifting.
Master: "I must say, that is sweet revenge."
Hope: "I didn't do this for myself. I did it for my mother. After my awakening, when I was at my lowest, she dumped me, saying she didn't want me because I am a failure. At that time, I distanced myself from everyone, and when I saw her on the street, I walked away in opposite direction. But she followed me with her ex-boyfriend and said I was a stalker and beat me up with her ex-boyfriend. At that time, I thought it was my fault and did nothing. Not only that, she told everyone I would kill everyone at my sight, even my clan believed that and those who helped my mother ,our clan members everyone disowned us and removed from the clan. At that time I didn't know all of this was happening and my father suffered a lot and he sold everything we has in our name for mothers hospital bill, even though my mother fell in an eternal sleep if my clan helped my mother would still be fine today . It was all because of her; my skills were the problem. Why did my mother has to suffer for it?"
Master: "You're changing. If I were you, I would have finished them off in an alleyway. The Warrior had a good skill."
Hope: "I don't want them dead. I want them to suffer, just like they made my mother suffer."
Master: "Well, let's get the boot and go home."
Subspace Pouch with Mana Lock - The owner must channel their mana into it to open and close.