"The last item is th—"
"5 million, just get to the good part already," Amara interrupted him, taking the item along with the black box for herself.
The auctioneer looked down in disbelief and reluctance before sighing and heading to a room in the back. "Yes, give me a moment."
Neraxis sat back and simply enjoyed the show. There were only two of them present in total. The rest had left when the fight broke out, while the others had backed away once she started bidding 5 million crowns for the simplest items.
A G-Ranked hair comb which heats up your hair... and she bid 5 million on it. She really is crazy. He observed and waited for the auctioneer to come back.
However, this moment of silence was pretty uncomfortable. She was staring toward the stage while at the same time fiddling around with the hair comb she had bought.
Out of all the items she bought, it seemed that one was her favorite.
Just as he thought the silence would last, she spoke—startling him.
"So, who are you anyway? I have never seen you before," she said as she leaned backward, meeting his eyes.
"An F-ranked awakened who managed to withstand my pressure and go unnoticed by most people present. I wonder—are you a spy sent by Valthor?"
Upon hearing those words and her accusatory tone, he widened his eyes in surprise, immediately answering her, "Of course not. I am just passing by."
[That doesn't sound very convincing. You do know she isn't a child, right?] Evangeline remarked with a soft laugh, causing his brows to twitch.
As the tension grew fierce, she suddenly smiled before sitting straight, taking her eyes away from him. "You can drop the act with me. I won't do anything to you."
"However... I do want to know—why are you here?"
Neraxis stared at her side for a moment before sitting straight as well, matching her posture. He seemed to be a head taller than her.
"I'm here for the same reason as you," he said before turning his gaze toward the stage. "Am I wrong?"
"I suppose not," she chuckled before lying down in her seat once again. This time, however, Neraxis could feel the air around her shift.
Much like when the fight against Valthor started—she had set him up as a rival, or something similar.
He didn't doubt that she knew of his identity prior but just wanted to play around with him nonetheless.
But Neraxis was different. He was a variable that had not been here previously—just like the woman before him. It was the first time he had heard of someone like her.
An ethereal sword summoned from seemingly nowhere—he had never heard of someone like that ever existing.
Two variables that seemed to completely change the outcome of the entire auction.
I just hope my little gamble works... he thought inwardly. His plan was pretty simple.
The auction system seemed to work on a trust basis, you get the item first, then pay afterward. Since he had no money to his name—none he could remember—he would just come up with random numbers until eventually, Amara forfeited and backed away.
He just hoped that she wouldn't cut him in half, like she did with Valthor's clone.
After a few minutes of complete silence, the auctioneer returned, holding a golden box. An excited expression was plastered all over his face.
"I hoped to make a bit more from this, but your earlier bids more than made up for it. My commission is going to be huge." He gave a thumbs-up and proceeded to dramatically open the box.
A glowing red book began levitating out of the box. Its appearance was pretty plain, aside from the fact that the skill it contained was anything but simple.
Is it supposed to be red? Neraxis looked on as an ominous feeling began rising in his heart.
"This is a skill book—one that dropped from a decently high-ranked rift. The executives were practically screaming when they saw it," the auctioneer stated, trying to build excitement despite only two people being present.
However, it did not have the desired effect, as the bad feeling in his heart grew even more.
And sure enough, his suspicions were promptly confirmed.
"Astral Blade, C-Rank. It's a skill that doesn't have a very long description, but it came out of an S-Ranked rift—so naturally, it can't be bad." He chuckled, but upon meeting the glare from Amara, seemingly asking him to explain, he continued.
"Err... It says, imbue the wielder or weapon with the Astral Blade's essence."
Both Neraxis and Amara waited for the extra details, but as seconds passed, none came.
Noticing their confusion, he spoke, "I understand your concern. Frankly, we were cautious about such a skill as well. Who knows what kind of effects it could give you? After all, it is possible to get negative effects from positive-looking skills."
"And what's the starting bid?" Amara said, clear annoyance in her voice. She viewed the skill book as something less than the hair comb she was still fiddling around with.
It was the same for Neraxis. His disappointment was immeasurable. He was expecting to come in and get an extremely strong skill, yet here was an unknown skill that barely served a purpose.
The fact that its description was encrypted didn't help him either.
Guess that's that—a waste of fucking time... he sighed inwardly. At least he didn't have to try fighting against Amara for it.
But just as he was prepared to throw in the towel, Evangeline's urgent voice resounded.
[You have to win that no matter what.]
Hm? Is it good?
[It's better than good. It's incredible. The mana that book is letting off is similar to one of the strongest people I knew. It can't be a coincidence.]
And if you are wrong? he raised an eyebrow, his excitement that had previously died now reigniting.
[I'm not wrong. If anything, that skill might be even better than what I think. One thing is for certain—I would put this above the regeneration skill you were so desperately drooling for earlier.] Evangeline added in a serious tone.
He considered her words for a moment before nodding. If she was that confident, then there was no way the skill could be bad.
"Starting bid is only 100 million crowns. If we knew more about the skill, we would certainly ask for more," the auctioneer announced, causing Neraxis to furrow his brows in response.
Even though he knew he wasn't spending his actual money, that amount was still a lot—even in the past.
"100 million," Amara stated confidently from her chair, but before she could revel in her triumph, Neraxis made his bid.
"1 billion."
His calm voice shocked the auctioneer, who, for a moment, looked in his direction but seemed unable to find him.
However, that was not the case for Amara. With a soft smile, she raised the bid.
"2 billion."
But not even a second later, he raised it even higher.
"20 billion. Give up already." Neraxis taunted, believing that if he didn't, she would suspect him even more.
"Hmm... no." She replied mischievously before matching his price increments.
"40 billion."
She is either rich... or my perception of money is distorted, Neraxis thought with a headache.
"100 billion."
But like before, she countered, "200 billion."
Fuck... this better not come back to bite me in the ass.
"1 trillion. Do you seriously want to keep going? This is only a C-Ranked skill, you know?"
"Why not? 2 trillion," Amara said nonchalantly before leaning her head back and whispering, "We are indeed both here for the same reason."
As her words fell, the gears in Neraxis's mind finally fell into place as he stared back at her with widened eyes.
"You..."