11 Auction House

"We've been walking for a while now and it's getting dark, can you tell me now where we're going?" Ai seems to be dragging Nin to a dangerous place.

"Just relax. We just arrived. I've been here many times that I've lost count. Don't worry, this place is legit and everyone here is anonymous. They will hide everyone's identity so we're safe when entering and going out." Ai's pretty confident of the place.

"It says... "Auction House". Are you sure we're supposed to be coming here... Not to mention, we don't have the money to spend nor something to sell... oh, wait..." Nin finally realized what was going on here.

"I accepted your deal for paying the expenses so I somehow need a way to earn some money. And now we're about to earn a shitload of money." Never she had thought that Ai would do something like this. Well, it's not entirely wrong considering the Academy gave those for free.

"So, are you coming?" Ai seems to be enjoying it.

"Fine... let's just go and get over it."

-Black Fist Auction House-

"I told you, the heirloom has a sentimental value to me. Someone stole it from me before and I got a piece of news that it was sold here. Please, is there a way you could tell me who you sold it to?" A middle-aged man begging a chubby looking middle-aged man, wearing a long golden gown and a headdress showing how wealthy he is, to give such information.

"No, you know the rules of the Auction House, we can't do that. And even if you say it was really yours, there's no way to prove it. I will give you one more chance to get out of this place or you'll pay a heavy price." The middle-aged man couldn't accept the fact that the heirloom his mother has given him before passing away was stolen from him and was sold here, but still, he couldn't do anything.

After the middle-aged man walked away, one of the Auction House guards seems to have an urgent matter to report.

"Sir Deboko, the kid is here again..."

"Ugh... Seriously. I will handle it myself." Deboko is known as the Leader of the Auction House and yet, he has to go and meet this someone himself.

Upon reaching the front gate, he saw a familiar annoying face and a young lady. "You're here again... I told you, you're not allowed here anymore. You even brought your girlfriend." He's talking about the two young petals.

"No, he's not my girlfriend... yet... but hey, I've got something to sell and I swear it will be a huge profit for both of us this time!" Sparkling eyes of Ai didn't seem to amaze Deboko.

'Ugh... gross...' Nin just let out a disgusted expression.

"You also said it last time and the only thing I've received is the tears of a poor guy hoping to get a family heirloom you stole. If it wasn't for your father, I swear, I won't be even talking to you now. Seriously, is there anything you can do other than cause trouble and waste my time?" Deboko has all the rights to be angry with young Ai but it seems Deboko has huge respect to the young petals' father.

"Give me one more chance, at least let us talk to your room first and I'll show you my merchandise. If you won't take interest on the items then I swear I'll leave you alone forever." At some point, it was a valid deal considering Deboko can finally make the young idiot get out of his hair forever.

"If you put it that way then I guess one look couldn't hurt. Guards, let those two youths enter. Seriously Bahura, what's with your kid?" Deboko is really not enjoying this.

'So it seems this old man knows our father, he must know some info about the assassination of my father and the fall of Black Petal. I should give him a visit later.' Nin is secretly doing investigations.

"Why are you serious all of a sudden, let's go. We're supposed to earn money here so cheer up." Ai is filling uneasy about Nin, thinking he only knows her for a few days. He thinks that there are lots of things to know more about her.

"I didn't know you used to be a thief. Is that a profession now?" How low can Ai be?

"It's not that hard to understand, I live in a city with nothing since I was 10 years old. I just had to do what I have to do to survive." With those words, somehow, Nin understood. Unlike him, she has her teacher since she was a kid so... she can't really judge him for what he became.

Both of them entered Deboro's room and as a Leader of the Auction House where the money comes and goes, he sure has lots of shiny things inside his room.

"I can say the business is booming. You've got more sparkling trinkets than the last time I visited here." Ai, trying to sweet talk his way in the action.

"Shut it. So show me what you've got. Make sure it's interesting or I swear to your father's grave, I will not let you in here forever." Ai sure gives this chubby man a headache.

"Well, my father won't like what you think but I'm sure he'll understand but what about this?" Showing 6 pieces of Epic grade skill books. Deboro seems to be surprised by it.

"Seriously, where did you get all of this? If the Academy knew that you stole this from them, they will take action and I can't let that happen. I told you, no more stolen items! Huff!" Deboro is getting angry now trying to breathe properly.

"Oh, I didn't steal those. I was accepted to enter the academy together with this young lady here. They said we can have those books for free but they never said that we're not allowed to sell it, right?" And somehow, both Deboro and even Nin lost their hope to the young petal for scheming something like this.

"I hate that you wasted your precious chance to learn good fighting techniques but oh well, this could really sell great. Most of the Skill books are quite expensive considering the skill books disappears once the reader mastered the technique so think about Epic ones. I'm sure we will rip good money here. Seriously though, young lady, is he really telling the truth?" As he can't trust Ai, so Deboko asked Nin. Both of them wearing 1-Star uniforms, it still doesn't change the fact that Ai used to steal so stealing the uniforms as well won't be hard for him.

"Yeah, he's telling the truth. I am as well uncomfortable of this as you are but it will be only a waste of skill books considering this guy is pretty weak." Deboro somehow thinks she has a point and there's no point on arguing with Ai. So, without a choice, he accepted the items.

"As the seller of these rare items, you may enter and here, take these." Both of them received some kind of cloak. Ai is aware of the use of it but not Nin.

"I can say this will be your first time, those cloaks can conceal your identity. and those numbers are needed so you be identified as a buyer. Those are pretty rare cloaks so make sure you return it... Ai... Borrowing those are not allowed like what you did last time." Deboko must have suffered too much trouble from Ai.

"Ha ha ha... Fine..."

"Now get out of here before I change my mind."

-Auction Hall-

"2000!"

"2100!"

"2500 Gold coins!"

"Who else is going to beat my bid?! Come on now?!"

Walking towards the Auction Hall, Ai and Nin are overwhelmed by the bidders' aura. They're fighting over items in exchange for money and that's intense as it gets.

"The "Magic Treasure Salamander's Fang Sword" sold to number 159 for 2500 gold coins!" A magic treasure for 2500 gold coins. That means a single Magic Treasure can buy even half of a clan. But to them, that was a fair trade considering there are only limited numbers of Magic Treasures and how powerful those are.

"Damn, talking about rich people. Well, those books we gathered in the library were unidentified so I had chubby to identify it for us. We can't really know how much we can get but expect more or less than 200 gold coins each. Still, lots of money, if you ask me." Ai seems to enjoy this kind of events. He visits here much often hoping he could somehow find what he was looking for.

"Yeah, if I only knew that I will be needing those high-ranked beast cores up until now, I should have eaten it. I only got one left for my breakthrough one day." No wonder, Nin got strong so fast. Beast cores possess a great amount of Qi depends on the rarity and power of the Beast.

"Yeah, those are pretty expensive here as well. So what could be the next item?" Ai is pretty excited for his books to be sold.

"Our next item is a rare slave!" Nin, after seeing the person locked up into a cage with chains on her neck, felt extreme anger. What sick cruel realm to live in.

"The same age... but it's not her as well..." Ai, felt pain and disappointment knowing that the one on sale is not what he was expecting.

'What does he meant by that... he must be... waiting for me hoping I could show up here.' Thinking that his brother was weak and powerless, he couldn't do anything to find her sister and if by any chance that her sister is still alive, she could somehow appear as a slave and be sold to the auction. All this time, Ai's dream was not to avenge but to find her sister and yet, her sister's only dream was revenge.

"How is she rare?! We already have better slaves than that thin and weak girl!" Everyone was right, she is sure weak and it seems she's sick and might die in a few months.

"She's still pure and not only that, she's a survivor of the Plack Petal Clan. How about that for being rare?!" Both Ai and Nin's eyes were filled with anger and hatred... both of them didn't expect to see another survivor of their clan.

"WOAAAAAAH!" But everyone didn't feel the same, instead, they wanted to have her to torture and have a painful death.