Where's the Cart? Caravan? Why Do You Have to Use a Wardrobe?!

Izhak was a manager who oversaw the auction in Ashur.

The auction was sponsored by the ruler of the city, Duke Bahman.

Decades ago, the grandfather of the current Duke Bahman built a large auction house in the center of Ashur. He constructed the place to further develop the tourism sector of his city.

Before the auction house was built, Ashur was only known as a water provider city.

However, after its construction, traders and tourists began to flock in, leading to the continuous growth of the city's economy.

Over time, the money obtained from the auctions was used as funds for the development of Ashur. Eventually, the city became a hub of entertainment and paradise in the Land of Sands.

Ashur became increasingly famous as time went on, making it one of the most frequently visited tourist destinations by the residents of Kastia.

Culture, food, entertainment such as gambling establishments, large markets, and even the black market could be found there.

But, of course, what the people of Kastia awaited the most was one thing: the Annual Ashur Auction.

This auction was held only once a year and featured the most sought-after items in the world.

Auctions in Ashur usually took place every month. However, this annual event was different.

The quality of the items and materials up for auction was far beyond what was offered in the monthly auctions.

That's why during this time, when the auction was about to take place, many people from all over Kastia could be seen wandering the streets of the city.

From those common people who want to earn extra money to those who are high nobles from kingdoms all over Kastia.

Izhak had been the auction manager for the past five years. And this annual auction was no stranger to him. The planning and auction items were already prepared.

He had imagined that the upcoming auction would be a success, just like the previous years.

At least, that's what he thought before the bad news came to him. The materials to be auctioned from Huntara hadn't arrived yet.

Izhak was aware of the conflict in the north. But due to the distance being too far, he didn't know how bad the situations were in the northern kingdom.

As the time for the auction approached, the people he had sent to Huntara to retrieve the important materials hadn't returned.

If the materials didn't arrive by the last day, and his messengers still hadn't come back, Izhak would have to substitute the rare materials with the ones usually auctioned off at the monthly auction.

The value of those materials wouldn't be comparable to the eagerly awaited items from Huntara. But he had no other choice.

Izhak sat in his office, rubbing his temples, feeling like the problems were never-ending.

This time, he had just received news that King Mandora had arrived in Ashur. That meant the King would also participate in the auction.

"Ugh, should we reduce the items to be auctioned this year? If their quality isn't up to par, it will reflect poorly in the eyes of His Majesty the King. But if we do this, the profits will greatly diminish... sigh... the VIP room also needs to be rearranged if His Majesty the King is present."

Two days before the auction began, Izhak had to make numerous modifications to his plans. This was starting to give him bags under his eyes.

Knock, knock!

The sound of a door knock could be heard. Without turning his face away from the list of materials in the warehouse, Izhak instructed the person knocking to come in.

"Manager, there's someone who wants to meet you."

Without lifting his gaze, Izhak replied, "Who?"

"He claims to be a traveling merchant. He came to propose goods to be included in tomorrow's auction."

Izhak's face instantly furrowed. "Huh? Is that person insane? Who does he think he is, submitting his goods at a time like this? Does he own this auction? Why should I be bothered with dealing with this crazy person? Just chase him away!"

"..."

The young man remained silent and unwilling to leave. It was evident that he was somewhat nervous.

"Why are you still here? Chase that person away!"

"Um, Manager, the thing is, the merchant is offering Mana Core. I thought maybe Manager would be interested..."

"Interested? Just Mana Cores won't make me intere—" Izhak abruptly stopped, his eyes blinking as he recalled the materials mentioned by his subordinate, feeling uncertain. He asked again, "What kind of goods did he offer?"

"Mana Core, Manager."

"Mana Core! Not Mana Stone?"

The subordinate nodded repeatedly, "Yes, Sir. Mana Core!"

"Have you seen the goods?"

The person shook his head quickly, "No. He said he would only show them if he could meet the auction manager."

"Hmm... tell him to come in."

"Yes, sir."

Mana Cores were a rare commodity. They were in very limited supply and rarely appeared in the market.

The source of Mana Cores was the Mana Stone mines, which were exclusively controlled by the royal nobles.

This monopoly by the nobles made the circulation of Mana Cores in the market almost non-existent. The nobles hoarded this precious material for themselves.

The nobles usually hired alchemists or craftsmen to create magical items according to their desires, be it weapons or accessories.

The problem was, this actually closed off access for craftsmen to manage the Mana Cores as they wished. As a result, innovation in magical items didn't develop much.

The majority of the nobles only desired magical weapons. Even then, most of these weapons were just redesigned magical weapons. Creating entirely new magical items was very rare in Kastia.

Why was this done? Because of the scarcity of Mana Cores, the nobles were reluctant to innovate. They feared failure and wasting valuable materials.

So, what about the circulation of magical items? It was almost impossible to find.

The magical items that would be auctioned were not new magical items.

They were rare magical items made decades or even centuries ago. These magical items were usually found by adventurers.

If the visitor did indeed bring Mana Cores, Izhak could already imagine the faces of the alchemists, craftsmen, and blacksmiths who would fight over them.

"If this is true, where did this person get the Mana Cores from?"

There was no need to wait long. The sound of a knock on the door was heard again. Izhak instructed them to come in.

The young man returned, followed by a man who concealed himself with a hooded robe, making it difficult to see his face.

Izhak was taken aback by the arrival of the person.

What surprised him was not the man's attire, which seemed to cover himself and lacked decorum, but the large wooden box he was carrying.

The man seemed to struggle to enter the room, causing him to walk awkwardly. It was as if he were pulling a wardrobe with a unique posture.

Izhak couldn't believe his eyes witnessing the actions of his guest.

'Could it be... that he's actually insane?!'

Izhak exclaimed, staring at the large wooden box resembling a wardrobe. He snapped out of his reverie when his subordinate called out to him.

"Manager!"

"Ah! I apologize for being a little stunned by your arrival. Ahem! I am Izhak, the manager of the auction in Ashur."

Izhak stood up and walked towards his guest to introduce himself, extending his hand to Cien.

"My name is Cien. As you know, I've come here to offer some of my merchandise for auction at your place."

"Yes, yes... I just heard," they shook hands. Izhak then turned his attention back to the large wardrobe brought by Cien. "Why are you carrying a wardrobe with you?"

Cien understood what Izhak meant. He looked into the Manager's eyes and could only force a stiff smile. No matter what, his coffin would always stand out wherever he went.

"This is my bag, Manager Izhak. My merchandise is inside."

'Your bag?! Why did you turn a wardrobe into a bag? Where is your cart or caravan?! Don't tell me you're traveling around selling things with a wardrobe. Are you crazy?!'

Questions and complaints kept swirling in Izhak's mind after hearing the response from his guest.

It was the first time in his lifetime as an auction manager that he had encountered a merchant like Cien.

Izhak could only force a bitter smile and said, "Well, what can I say... you're certainly a unique trader."

"Hahaha, not really. I'm just a small-time merchant. Thank you for the compliment."

'I wasn't complimenting you!'

Izhak took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then he gestured for Cien to take a seat.

Returning to his own chair, Izhak went straight to the main point. Engaging in small talk with his guest would only make his head explode.

"I heard that Mr. Cien wants to auction off the Mana Core at our place. Is that true?"

Cien opened his hood, revealing his white hair.

"Yes, but it's not just Mana Cores. I have two other materials that might interest you, Manager Izhak."

"Oh~ is that so? Let's see what interesting things you have brought."

Without further ado, Cien opened the wardrobe/bag/coffin he had brought, revealing its contents filled with weapons.

As Izhak looked at those weapons, a gleam appeared in his eyes. He saw high-quality weapons and some weapons whose base materials couldn't be identified.

'This merchant... is no ordinary person.'

Looking at the weapons inside Cien's wardrobe, Izhak was extremely interested.

He even began calculating the funds needed to buy them all. However, his thoughts were shattered when Cien pulled out three wooden boxes from the so-called wooden bag.

The three boxes were placed on the table. One box was opened, revealing a Mana Core that, by Izhak's standards, was considered large.

"This is real, this is indeed a Mana Core..." he murmured, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful gem in front of him. "Mr. Cien, are you really willing to auction this?"

Cien nodded confidently, "I came all the way here to liven up the auction. And as I mentioned earlier, it's not just the Mana Core that I want to offer."

Without waiting for the Manager's reaction in front of him, Cien opened the second box, revealing a shiny brown stone.

Seeing the object, the light in Izhak's eyes grew brighter. "A Monster Core?!"

"Yes, a Monster Core from a Rank 6 monster, Blackwood Stag."

"Blackwood Stag?"

Izhak had never heard of that type of monster. But a Monster Core was still a Monster Core. It was a valuable item coveted by many.

In the upcoming auction, he already had two Monster Cores to present. With Cien's item, this would be his third Monster Core.

Izhak's smile widened as he imagined the profits he would gain.

"Yes, Blackwood Stag. A monster from Death Valley."

"Death Valley!!! Hahaha, are you serious?"

The cursed place that people avoided. Izhak found it hard to believe Cien's words this time.

"I am very serious. And this is the third item..."

Cien slowly opened the last wooden box, revealing a tube containing half a liter of blood.

This time, Izhak furrowed his brow. He couldn't tell what item lay before him. At least he knew it was blood, but what kind of blood?

"What is this, Mr. Cien?"

"Blood from a Lesser Earth Dragon."

"Drag-Drag-DRAGON?!"

Izhak couldn't help but gape in astonishment. His face wore an idiotic expression as he stared wide-eyed at the tube of blood.