Scarlet Blood Stronghold Invitation

The next couple of Hybrids were immediately bought by the guy beside Kazuichi. He was surprised that such a man had incredible wealth, and he didn't think twice about spending it.

The man was old, at least in his fifties, but Kazuichi could tell that behind his oversized suit and pants, he wore pure muscle around his bones. He didn't have any weird scent though so Kazuichi could tell that he was human. His grey hair really matched his ashen grey-colored eyes and his grey mustache that perfectly wrapped around his chin. Every time his bid was successful, he would rub his beard as if he just did something justifiable.

"You're... what's your name kid?" The old man asked, nudging Kazuichi when he had bought his eighth Hybrid.

Even though Kazuichi was caught off guard when the man called out to him out of nowhere, he didn't lose his composure. Instead, he let out a huff before he smiled at the man. "Pardon me, but shouldn't you be introducing yourself first before asking my name?" It took Kazuichi his every being to just force that question out of his mouth. As a shut-in, he still found it a bit intolerable to speak to a stranger.

"Pardon my rudeness, my name is Smith. You can just call me Mr. Smith or Smith-san, whichever suits you." The old man said, extending his hand. He spoke in a whisper since it is frowned upon to speak out loud in an auction unless one is pointing out their bid.

"I'm Kazuichi, Takemi Kazuichi." Kazuichi returned.

"Well, Kazuichi-kun, it may be imprudent of me to say this... but I'll get to the point." Smith continued with slight concern written on his face. "Aren't you going to bid?"

The man's indirect words shook Kazuichi awake. When he looked to his side, he noticed that most of the VIPs were already staring at him. He was too focused on contemplating his current situation that he didn't realize he overlooked one important aspect of the auction. Even if he wasn't going to buy anything, it is a requirement for someone to bid on something. Up until now, Kazuichi hasn't raised his hand, not even once.

If this goes on, not only would Kazuichi's reputation be tarnished, but there's also the possibility that he won't be welcome to the next auction. Furthermore, he was the holder of the number one, at the very least he should raise his hand and bid.

"The next product is what everyone was waiting for. Merc Blood." As if on cue, the auctioneer announced the product that everyone was waiting for: Merc Blood.

Since the Merc Hybrid is much rarer compared to the Hound, or the Bulwark, its blood is worth more. That's why the auctioneer placed the first batch of Merc Blood right in the middle of the session. As soon as it was announced, everyone perked right up, waiting for their bid.

When the product finally appeared, everyone including those who were seated on the second floor raised their hands. They all wanted to take a chance at bidding.

"Merc Blood huh... I guess I should bid on this one." Kazuichi muttered to himself, also raising his hand. While he had no idea how much he should bid for. Regardless, he raised his hand— a little bit too early.

"Number one?" The auctioneer asked, extending his hand towards Kazuichi who was a tad bit faster than everyone when he raised his number.

Kazuichi choked on his saliva as soon as his name was called. Overwhelming pressure pressed on him as everyone glared at him with their eyes of judgment. He almost panicked due to the attention he attracted.

The auctioneer wore a somewhat concerned expression when he realized that Kazuichi was silently coughing, he nodded his head, signaling that Kazuichi's right to bid was almost over.

Just when the auctioneer was about to call the second person, Kazuichi spoke. "Five hundred million." He called out.

"All right, starting bid of five hundred million... calling once, calling twice..." The auctioneer was going faster than usual, alarming the other bidders who were beginning to doubt if they could match the bid with their current funds.

"HAHHAHHA!" Smith suddenly burst out laughing, slapping his knee before he slapped Kazuichi on the back. "That was a good call, kid. Five hundred million and five hundred thousand." Smith offered.

Another VIP bidder raised his hand, simultaneously raising the bid by an additional fifty million. Another one called out his bid— five hundred and sixty-nine million.

"Going once... going twice." The auctioneer trailed off as soon as he said the word 'twice' he could tell that there were still other VIPs who were indecisive with their bid. That's why he slowed down the countdown in order to give them a good push to the back— give them a little bit of pressure.

"... going thri—" The auctioneer slowed down the final countdown, and just as he did, the woman who was staring at Kazuichi raised her hand. "Number seven?"

"Five hundred and ninety-nine million." The woman responded.

"Going once... going twice?" The auctioneer raised an eyebrow since the woman didn't have a shred of hesitation in her when she called out a bid. "Going thrice... sold!"

.....

In the end, Kazuichi didn't get any product in the auction. But then again, he already took a girl under his wing, not to mention he got vials of animal blood and hybrid blood as freebies. That's not the only reason why Kazuichi left the auction empty-handed though, it was because the woman who took a liking to her kept on matching his bid. Whenever he wanted to buy something, the woman would simply bid ridiculous amounts for it.

The two guards who were by the entrance nodded at Kazuichi and the little girl tagging along. For a brief moment, Kazuichi could've sworn that the guards smiled at him in a weird way but he wholly ignored them.

"Wait up!" A familiar feminine voice called out to Kazuichi, prompting him to turn around.

It was the girl with striking red lips. Before Kazuichi could ask her what she needed, she held out a package in her hand... well, it was more like a sack considering that the parcel was large. "Here you go." She continued.

"What is it?"

"It's a gift. I hope you consider joining our faction someday. If ever you need anything, just ask around for the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. We're situated there. Give us a visit sometime." The woman said before waving her hand as a farewell. She then turned around and headed in the opposite direction just when the two of them got out of the Underground Stronghold.

Kazuichi couldn't help but get a whiff of the woman's scent. "So she was a hybrid, I didn't know." He muttered to himself, tugging the little girl's hand. "Come on, we'd best be on our way."