11 Titanium

"Uhh," said Brook in a deep voice. "My head hurts."

Brook, who tried his best to get up, fell on the floor from constant turning and procrastinating. The hideout that he was in was more of like a wide mansion in some unknown place that had bedrooms specifically for each sponsor. A large thud was heard in the room as he fell on the floor.

"God," he whined. "What a day."

Yesterday had been too overwhelming for Brook who just picked up the information Deirdre dropped. Nobody in their right mind would not be bothered by the impending danger you could possibly be in. He scratched his head as he sat down on the floor, fixing his current state.

"I still have to go to the shrine today," he reminded himself.

Today was the day that he was attempting his class change, and for some reason, he didn't want to go through it. He was skeptic of the gods and wouldn't want any association with them for now because he had no information on them. He thought that Deirdre might be right, and of course, he also remained doubtful of Deirdre, but seeing that contracts were laid out, he trusts her more than the gods for now.

As loopholes are also present in every contract, he's still cautious around her and David. His alignment was casually revealed to David, who could choose to betray him and become the whistle blower for humans and gods.

"Brook?" A feminine voice outside the room said. "You there?"

"Yes," I replied. "What is it Pearl?"

Pearl, the blonde beauty, was a mage around the level 25 and was widely renowned in the Bonum cities. She and her team of three allegedly raided the Viper's Range, a mountain range that's home to an artifact. Recent gossips even in the Malum cities were that they had successfully taken the yet-to-be-publicized artifact.

"Can I come in?" She held the knob outside and turned it.

"Of course," he answered and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hi," she politely greeted.

"A little feisty girl is all over news, huh?"

Pearl grinned like a devil, revealing a proud smile from the fame she brought to herself. Who wouldn't be proud of invading a high-leveled area with only three people in the team?

"Nice conquest. Bring me along sometime after I finish my class quest," Brook proposed. "Will ya?"

"You're already level 30?!" She shouted from excitement. "You never fail to amaze me, dude."

"What can I say?" I bantered with her.

"Pft, right," she laughed.

"What you gon' do today?" She asked.

"I guess do the class quest."

"Do you have time? I need somebody to take with me at the auction in Lovenderry City in the Bonums."

"Right now?"

She said yes and I went ahead to change the configuration of my identity in the interface.

Name: Brook Pfeiffer

Age: 23

Alignment: Neutrum Allegiance (Bonum Faction)

Guild: None

Level: 30 (Class Change pending)

HP: 1199

MP: 72

Physical Damage: 10.3

Speed: 3.7

Defense: 3.2

Magical Damage: 1.2

"All done," he shouted across the hallway after changing clothes. "Where are you Pearl?"

"Down here," she shouted back. "At the kitchen."

After taking everything they needed, they entered a portal with the coordinates of Lovenderry City. As they got inside the city, everything was almost the same except the blue banners hanged on walls.

"They could've done more changes in the designs, you know?"

"It's almost the same as the Malum cities," Brook snickered.

They entered the auction house located on the east wing of the city, where business thrives. The east part of the city was filled with shops and restaurants, circling the auction house. Brook had been in couple of auctions, but only when he needed items.

The auction house was elegant. It had a high ceiling with gold and silver chandeliers hanging from it. There were a couple of sculptures dating back to the earliest eras done by some of the well-known artisans. The receptionist and staff were also pretty, handpicked by the publicist. They wore long ancient white gowns that exuded an untouchable aura.

People noticed that Pearl had come inside the place, and even the staff greeted her with utmost respect. Brook followed her while the staff guided them to the auction room itself. There were five VIP rooms at the top, and we occupied Room #1.

"Ooh, fancy," I said as we sat down on the chairs.

"You don't get treatment like this in Pertruse City? Aren't you the highest leveled in the whole world right now?"

"I stay low," he said. "I don't want attention, it might kill me."

"Might as well live basking in fame rather than dying alone," she smiled.

The auction had already started and there were already a couple of items that were sold such as potions, skill books, and equipment. Currently, we were on the middle of the auction and an odd medium-sized silver cube appeared on the stage.

"This cube is said to have powers that could improve one's luck. Its functions aren't known but this block of cube was found in the depths of a canyon not far away from here."

"Price starts at 1 gold coin!" The auctioneer shouted.

"One gold and two silver," a man from the common area said.

"One gold and ten silver."

"One gold and ninety silver."

"Two gold and ten silver."

The price had risen to three gold coins at most because of its unknown origin. It would've been higher if people knew its functions. Brook, on the other hand, knew exactly what it was – titanium – the metal of the gods.

It was said that Hephaestus, one of the forerunners in metalworks used the titanium to kill his enemies; however, when other blacksmiths found out about its use, the metal titanium was almost gone. Worse news, a couple of old gods had the titanium weapons destroyed to prevent any deaths done by mortals.

Deirdre had told them about this specific information as she was also holding titanium in her body. Everything they had needed was given out by her, a grand gesture from her for the contracts they were about to sign.

"Four gold," said plainly by Brook.

"Four gold for the man in Room #1. Higher?" The man shouted across the room.

"Going once," he started counting.

"Going twice and sold!"

The titanium was given immediately to Brook, and he paid four gold coins for it. He was delighted with the abundant amount of titanium.

"Why'd you buy that?"

"I'm going to research about this," he lied. "It's intriguing."

"You do you," she said.

The auction was about to end as the last item was presented in front of everybody. Mind you that entry to this auction was only available for rich individuals.