[What is it you are looking for anyway? What is so important that you would risk your life again?] Evangeline asked with slight amusement.
He still had a bit of time to kill; after all, the hallway was unusually long, so he answered, A skill book.
[Okay? Elaborate?]
Noticing her impatience, he sighed. It dropped from the boss of a B-ranked rift. It's the Regeneration skill, a C-ranked one.
[You are risking your life for a mere C ranked skill? Are you serious?] She replied, disbelief clear in her tone.
Regeneration is very uncommon. At most, people manage to get their hands on an F-ranked one. That skill never appeared at such a high rank, and I can assure you, it was a pain in the ass to fight against. A shiver crawled down his spine as he explained.
Noticing this, she teased, [Oh? Please tell me, I'm curious now.]
Neraxis hesitated for a moment. After all, he did say he would explain everything later. But since it wasn't a particularly lengthy topic, he could compromise.
Imagine slashing someone in half, only for them to regenerate within seconds. You chop their head off, they don't die. You stab them through the heart, they don't die. It was such a pain.
[Hahaha. Try fighting against someone who hurls a meteor at you every time she sneezes.]
He raised an eyebrow. Are you trying to make this into a competition?
[No... Well, maybe. But besides that, I can sense some people ahead. My concealment will make it so that people pay less attention to you—as though you were blending into the crowd, literally.]
I see, thank you.
As their banter finally subsided, he arrived at what seemed to be a more open space, the hallway ending.
Walking closer, he noticed it was a seemingly abandoned theater, illuminated only by the dim stage lights.
However, there were a bunch of people seated all around, but there were just as many open spots.
The groups that had gone in earlier had at most 8 people, some came with only 3.
In total, he could count around 124 people present—including himself.
Their strength was a mystery. But from the pressure they were giving off with their mere presence, Neraxis could tell they were strong.
Aside from a few passing glances that never lingered on him, he went fairly unnoticed.
Before he left, he had put on a sweater with a hood that covered his hair, just in case.
There didn't seem to be any seating arrangements, so Neraxis found a seat where the least amount of people were and made himself comfortable.
It didn't seem like it would start yet, so he had a bit of time to analyze the surroundings, even prepare an escape plan.
So far, he wanted to wait for the person to buy it. It was some rich old guy, and this particular skill had kicked off his life of terrorism.
But since things had changed, the whole scenario was unpredictable. The only assurance he had was that if he acquired the skill, he would be nearly immortal, only killable if his entire body got incinerated in an instant.
That's how the previous fight turned out anyway. He snickered inwardly and took note of a few key places.
Despite this auction house being inside of an abandoned theater and possibly secured by some important organization, the exit points seemed pretty straightforward.
If he wanted to, he could simply dash toward his left and jump through the window through which the sun was shining brightly.
It was still midday. He had been sent out of the academy shortly after Celina and William left. Classes would officially start on Monday, so he still had a few days left to kill.
After scoping out all the areas he could think of, Neraxis lay down in his seat—it was one of those seats with leg extensions.
It takes a bit for the skill to be processed and appear in the system... I need to acquire it in that time. He thought with resolution and proceeded to wait for the auction to start.
A couple more groups entered, each finding their own seat. After all, the theater was massive.
Just as he thought it was taking too long, the dim lights shut off, replaced by the sound of someone stepping forward and climbing onto the stage.
The lights flickered back on, and Neraxis saw a man in a rabbit mask and tuxedo standing in the center of the stage, microphone in hand.
"Ah. Testing, testing. Can everyone hear me? Great." The man remarked in an overly hyper voice before continuing.
"I am glad all of you were able to make it. Sorry for such short notice, there was a little trouble procuring a certain item. But now that everything is in order, I announce the start of the 581st auction."
I'm sure that item is the Regeneration skill. Neraxis scoffed inwardly while cozying up further.
However, as he leaned further back, he noticed a figure right next to him who was looking directly at the stage, not paying attention to him.
When did she get here? He became fully alert and sat up straight, getting a good look at her in the meantime.
She had long, flowing golden hair that contrasted beautifully with the lights of the stage below, emphasizing her features even further.
But what stood out the most were her eyes—pale silver, adding to the allure she already exuded.
As he was momentarily lost in thought, watching her, she turned to face him, flashing a soft smile before turning her gaze back to the stage ahead.
The way she carried herself, with smooth, graceful movements, was captivating. His heart raced—he could tell that the woman before him was dangerous even before he got a good look at her.
After all, who could sneak up on someone without even alerting them? Him, especially, as he was concealed by none other than Evangeline.
[Out of everyone present, she is the strongest. Seems like your little plan won't go as you planned, huh?] Evangeline remarked. However, her tone was much more serious than before.
It's too early to tell what her intentions are. For now, I'll just remain quiet. Neraxis decided and stared straight at the stage as the announcer in a rabbit's mask began bringing up some black boxes from the side.
He tapped on the microphone a few times before speaking. "Not sure which item is which, but I saved the best for last. Bids happen as per usual; see anything you like, raise your hand."
As he said those words, he opened the first box before raising its contents into the sky.
"A ring of... something... Give me a moment." The announcer fluttered the ring for a moment before pulling out a magnifying glass and staring right at the ring.
"Ring of Momentum! D rank. Grants the wearer a burst of speed when in motion. Every 5 seconds, your speed increases by 5%, up to a total of 15%." He said and took his eye away from the magnifying glass before inquiring,
"Starting price is 50,000 Crowns. Any takers?"
As soon as his words fell, a few arms were raised—not a bunch—enough to start a bidding war.
"50,000."
"55,000."
The numbers kept increasing until, eventually, an alluring voice resounded from beside him. It was the woman who had snuck up on him.
"200,000, deliver it here, now." She said, seemingly uninterested; however, a small smirk was clearly visible.
"Just a moment, miss." The announcer said, looking overjoyed, before packing up the ring back into the box and throwing it in her direction.
It flew slowly toward her as the chair before her folded, revealing a neat little table that fit the incoming black box perfectly.
Neraxis stole a glance at her growing smirk before returning his gaze to the stage. The auction had resumed.
"Now then, the next item is..."