"May I have your attention, please?"
A sudden voice erupted in the room, and a man with his face covered entered the chamber. The place got quiet, and the only sound was the subtle tap of his polished boots on the stone floor.
Every eye in the room followed him. When he stopped at the dais and turned toward the gathered crowd, placing a crystal ball before him.
Silvermane...
Zhang Ying looked at the man and sighed. If there was someone he didn't want to get involved with after Alana, it would have to be the man before him.
The man wasn't royalty, but someone even the royalty wouldn't dare mess with. Renovo Silvermane, or as most people called him... the sin of greed. He was perhaps the richest man in all the Otherworld.
From the finance guilds to the smallest shops, nothing in the Otherworld operated without his consent. Where there was money, there was Silvermane and he was there to make money off the summoned warriors.
Saying that he's fulfilling his sadist urges would be more accurate.
Silvermane was one of the strongest people in the Otherworld. As such, he didn't need to indulge in auctions. He only did it because it was his hobby, which fulfilled the itch in his hands to rule over someone's life.
"When your name is called," he announced, "you will step forward and place your hand upon the sphere. The bidding will begin once all products have been graded."
"Liang Mei," Silvermane called out.
A soldier dragged Liang Mei to the dais and placed her hand on the crystal. At first, nothing happened, but then the crystal turned black.
Zhang Ying couldn't believe his eyes. The black shift in the crystal meant the worst class and talent. If the golden glow was S-class, the black would be the FFF-class.
That's why Zhang Ying was taken aback. In his last life, Liang Mei had an emerald or A-class of a sword maiden. But then he realized she only took the class because of his insistence.
Even in Zhang Ying's last life, Gao Rong wanted Liang Mei to pick some other class. Without Zhang Ying's interference, he might have succeeded in his attempts.
Serves her right... but man, I wanted a better revenge than this.
Meanwhile, Silvermane noticed the glow and gestured for the guard to take her away. The whole point of the deadly trial was to get rid of any defective products. But somehow, one had slipped through.
The Silvermane Zhang Ying knew wouldn't allow any blemish on his reputation. He would fix the mistake by eliminating the problem. It looked like Liang Mei would die before Zhang Ying even got his chance to get revenge on her.
"Swinging Bard," Silvermane quietly announced Liang Mei's class.
Zhang Ying could barely hold back his laugh. Swinging Bard was nothing but a glorified prostitute class. The only way they can gain experience and level up is by having intimate relations or doing degrading acts.
But the exp gained would decrease over time with repeated acts.
In other words, to use her class effectively, Liang Mei would have to sleep with different people and commit stranger acts every time she gained experience.
It was unlikely, but Zhang Ying would like to think Gao Rong intentionally made her pick that class. All of that for the sake of bedding her. Well, it didn't matter, because Silvermane would likely eliminate her.
"Mr. Silvermane, I would like to make a special request," someone spoke from the crowd.
Zhang Ying turned to see another familiar figure and clenched his hand.
Minister Rowan...
The fat bastard was supported by five females but still wanted to add Liang Mei to his collection. But Zhang Ying wasn't angry because of that. He was raging because that bastard was the one who put the bounty on his head.
"I would like to buy—"
"Declined," Silvermane cut him off.
"May I know why?" Rowan asked, his face twitching.
"I don't like your face."
"..."
That's the Sin of Greed for you.
Quite a few people snickered around Rowan. Zhang Ying practically saw the sack of potatoes turn into tomatoes with embarrassment as Rowan left the auction.
Here's another change.
Zhang Ying let out a sigh. He had only been back for a few hours, but everything he remembered about the past was already so different. First, there was Liang Mei. Then, Rowan left the auction without taking him, Liang Mei, or Gao Rong along.
"I want to remind everyone," Silvermane said, taking a deep breath. "The auction will begin after all products have been reviewed. If anyone has any issue with it, you can leave now."
After a few minutes, the auction resumed. But thanks to Rowan's interruption, changed his mind about Liang Mei's execution. She looked pretty enough, so he would have her use her class to the best of her abilities in one of his establishments.
After a few minutes, it was Zhang Ying's turn. He took a deep breath and walked to the stage, ready to have his talent measured. He placed his hand on the crystal ball and then... nothing happened.
Silvermane raised an eyebrow, staring at Zhang Ying. Usually, no reaction in the crystal would mean that the person being measured had no talent. But that would be a lie. Everyone in the chamber must have a class and, hence, talent.
"Interesting," Silvermane mumbled.
The old man snapped his fingers, and someone brought another crystal to the stage. This one was much smaller than the other one, but it had better detection capabilities.
Once again, Zhang Ying placed his hand on the crystal. But this time... it reacted, unlike anything Zhang Ying had ever seen. The crystal emitted a golden light, but that wasn't all. It began floating in mid-air before shattering into dust. It didn't break into parts, but into literal dust.
Several of the masked figures gasped. They didn't even care about his class or abilities anymore. Even Silvermane couldn't hide the glint in his eyes when he saw the crystal shatter.
"A man doesn't go back on his word," he said, taking off a glove. "But a businessman does. Auction of the rare commodity, Zhang Ying, will start now!"
The room erupted into chaos the moment Silvermane's gloves hit the floor. The rich, the noble, and the resourceful no longer cared about trivial things like etiquette. All that mattered was claiming the price before them.