Auction Begins!

The time for the annual auction had finally come.

Cien, concealed under a cloak, stood in front of the auction house, gazing at the people in their luxurious attire and expensive accessories, each expressing their own wealth.

Nobles, businessmen, high-class adventurers, alchemists, and even craftsmen were present, dressed in their finest clothes.

Cien, with his suspicious outfit, felt distinctly out of place.

The lively laughter of the guests outside the building created a festive atmosphere for the auction.

But Cien knew that once everyone entered, the atmosphere would take a different turn.

Outside, people greeted each other, but inside, they would jostle and compete to obtain their coveted items.

Cien was just someone who wanted to witness the course of the auction.

It's just watching the nobles wearing their friendly masks and greet adventurers or non-nobles like a friend, making his skin crawl.

For Cien, through his eyes, all he saw from these nobles was just pure arrogance.

Of course, not all nobles were the same. Honestly, it was only those with low noble statuses like barons or viscounts who enjoyed flaunting their status.

The higher their status, the less likely they would act haughtily. They didn't need to showcase their wealth because even without doing so, everyone would envy them.

The most impressive thing for Cien was that almost all the royal families appeared humble. Whether it was from Westya or Huntara, for example, Princess Sravati.

Therefore, observing the arrogant behavior of these nobles, regardless of which kingdom they hailed from, always amused him.

As Cien began walking inside, his suspicious attire caused the people he passed to fall silent and watch his movements attentively.

They might be wondering where Cien came from. Does he deserve to be at the auction? Isn't he a beggar?

Everyone has their own thoughts. But they all have one common thought.

They anticipate an interesting show where Cien will be escorted out by the gatekeeper and embarrass himself.

Humans... always delighted to witness the suffering of others, whether they are poor or rich.

It's just a pity. When Cien presents a ticket made of carved wood.

Those who laughed in their hearts, anticipating the interesting show, instantly froze with a smile on their faces.

Not to mention the people around.

Even the five gatekeepers fall silent. They see the wooden ticket indicating that Cien is a VIP guest. On par with the high nobles and even King Mandora himself.

"Is this genuine?" asked one hesitant guard.

He's not convinced that someone who looks like Cien would have a VIP ticket.

"You can ask your superior yourself. He's the one who gave it to me personally."

Upon hearing those words, the guard faced a dilemma. If his superior indeed personally gave this ticket to the person in front of him, then the person with the eerie appearance is someone to be respected.

If he goes to report to his superior and it turns out that the person in the robe is indeed a VIP, the guard is afraid he has already insulted the robed person.

He can already feel his neck on the executioner's block.

The guard swallows his saliva. The other guards around him feel nervous as well. In the end, they let Cien in with one guard guiding him to his VIP seat.

The guard who asked about the authenticity of Cien's ticket went to look for his superior.

When he heard that Cien was indeed a VIP guest, he felt relieved for having let him in. But he was confused about the attire of the person.

'Perhaps it's a hobby of the nobility? Concealing their identity? Ugh, such a hassle!'

At another place. Arrived on one of the indoor balconies overlooking the main stage. Cien was guided by the guard in front of him to enter.

Inside the balcony, there were only three empty seats, along with a graceful female servant who would attend to Cien's needs in there.

Three empty seats meant that Cien could bring two other people with him. Unfortunately, Cien had no one to invite.

The balcony where Cien was located was certainly not the only one.

There were other balconies, where Cien could already see several figures inside. One of them was King Mandora himself.

"Hmm, tt may be fortunate to have King Abayomi here."

Cien murmured, thinking of adding the King to his list of friends.

Not just the King, but everyone in the VIP balcony should be included because they might be useful to Cien in the future.

Did Cien have time to eavesdrop on them? Well, Cien didn't care for now. He just needed to gather as much source information as possible.

Whether it will be useful or not, the future will decide it.

Cien glanced at the servant on his balcony.

He couldn't use his phone in front of the servant. Cien might be seen as behaving suspiciously towards the royal family if he directed the camera towards King Mandora.

For now, Cien would wait until the auction started. He would also wait for all the VIP guests to arrive, so he could take photos without interruptions.

Time passed, the auction was about to begin.

Almost all the seats below were occupied by the guests. The balconies above were also filled, except for one empty spot.

Moments later, that spot was filled by someone who made Cien burst into dry laughter.

Dion Bahman, accompanied by two others, his advisor and a nobleman from Westya, Baron Millard.

"Uncle Raphael... is it alright to leave Edmond alone?" Cien murmured, showing a small smile upon seeing her uncle's pale face.

Not only was he pale, but his eyes also looked tired with growing bags under them.

"It seems that Edmond's treatment is not going well. Well, it's not that important. For now..."

Cien glanced at the young man in his early twenties who stood beside Raphael. The man was the son of Duke Bahman—Dion Bahman.

Cien observed the figure who was said to have changed 180 degrees.

Unfortunately, Cien didn't know what kind of changes had taken place. He didn't know Dion well. He couldn't even recall if he had ever met Dion Bahman or not.

For now, Cien only saw an ordinary noble youth with a relatively calm demeanor.

He didn't talk much or flaunt his wealth. It was only the gaze of the Duke's son that made Cien somewhat uneasy.

His eyes seemed empty but not the same as what he saw in Lilinette.

"Hmm..."

Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung!

As Cien was pondering his strange feelings after seeing Dion's gaze, suddenly the sound of music with fast drums resounded throughout the room.

The colorful lights flickered and danced on the main stage.

A presenter ascended the stage in a tuxedo. Accompanying the male presenter, ten women began to dance gracefully on the stage, enlivening the auction event.

The auction commenced. The music stopped, and everything fell silent as the presenter began to explain the auction rules.

Cien didn't pay much attention. He glanced at his servant.

"Hey, what food and drinks do they have here?"

The servant smiled and approached, handing him a piece of paper containing the menu along with an explanation of each item.

The servant explained the ingredients used in the menu and their origins.

Assuming that this auction was attended by important people, the organizers were very careful with the cuisine to be consumed by the guests.

Cien pondered over the dishes he wanted to eat while listening to the servant's explanation.

After the explanation was over, he chose several small dishes and one main course, accompanied by water from Duke Bahman's spring.

"Very well, sir. I will bring it right away. If you need anything, just ring this small bell. I or another servant will come immediately."

"Ah, thank you. Take your time, no rush. The auction has just begun, and the night is still young."

Cien uttered those words and then watched as the servant left the balcony to bring his order.

As soon as the servant left, Cien took out his cellphone.

He carefully observed the people on the other balconies. They were all focused on the main stage, which had already started presenting the first item up for auction.

The item was a magic weapon belonging to the late nobleman of Mandora.

Cien observed the magic weapon, which was a shield with the skill [Earth Wall].

"Hmm... not bad."

Cien thought, feeling that he could create a better shield.

The shield down there had a fairly good skill, but its own durability did not satisfy Cien. But well, the shield was not important to Cien.

Instead of paying attention to the auction, Cien preferred to start taking photos of each person on the balcony.

He took advantage of the fact that everyone's focus was fixed on the events below.

The first person Cien photographed was, of course, the number one person in Mandora.

The King of Mandora himself—King Abayomi Bes Tahoma!

Snap!

Without arousing suspicion, Cien managed to take a photo.

He wanted to quickly add to his friend list without reading the status and then move on to the next target.

However, when he tried to scroll down, searching for the button to add a friend, his thumb instantly stopped.

"Huh?"

Cien, who had no intention of reading King Abayomi's status, now found himself forced to repeatedly look at the name in the status.

Cien even looked back and forth between the screen and the King's face on the balcony.

He just wanted to make sure. But, he realized there was something wrong, Cien suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

"What the fu*k?!"

____________________

[Status]

Asmodeus

Demon General of Abyss

Rank: Rank Queen Low Class

Skills: Prince of Lust (Master), Hormone Control (Master), Disguise (Master), Poison Master (Expert), Abyss Gate (Competent), Hypnosis (Expert), Puppet Manipulation (Competent), Fire Magic (Master), Earth Magic (Competent), Wind Magic (Expert), Dark Magic (Expert), Mana Manipulation (Master), Poison Resistance (Master), Fire Resistance (Master), Thunder Resistance (Competent), Holy Resistance (Novice), Dark Resistance (Master), Basic Devil Martial Arts (Master), Underworld Sword Art (Novice), Abyss Spear Art (Novice), Demon King's Bare-Handed Combat Art (Master), Speed Amplification (Expert), Physical Amplification (Master), Magic Amplification (Master), Immortal Body (Novice), Psychokinesis (Expert), King's Aura (Competent), Beast Master (Competent), ??? (???), ??? (???).

____________________

Cien looked at the long list of skills displayed on the screen.

He also noticed many skills with the mastery level of Master, which was the highest level.

From the Rank to the mastery of techniques, everything was far beyond what he had ever seen. Cien truly did not expect to discover the origin of Duke Bahman's condition.

Unfortunately, Cien didn't feel grateful for this finding at all. On the contrary, he cursed his luck.

"Damn! This is a nightmare..."