Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Arthur didn’t linger in that square and headed off to the inn along with Saly and Lucy, after all, just seeing Veronica’s face made him angry, he barely managed to control his boiling rage or else he would have already ripped her head off .
She was very different from Mary, who even though she betrayed him, she apologized in the end, but this slutty elf had a disgusting attitude and was always against him, just by seeing her behavior towards that poor guy was enough to know she’s conceited and evil .
He even began to suspect her race, I mean, how the bloody hell can an elf act like that? He thought they were supposed to be peaceful and kind . . . or maybe she’s an exception? Or she’s pretending to be an elf . . it’s certainly one of the two .
Soon enough, the three of them reached their room, which was pretty decent, it was actually in a big tree which surprisingly was the Inn .
From the outside, it may not look that good, but when Arthur entered it, he was fascinated, although it’s only made from wood, the interior was decorated with natural grown plants and flowers, with some furniture here and there .
It didn’t look like an inn but strangely it was, even the reception was different, a young female elf was at the reception desk, she spoke politely to all customers and smiled brightly at them .
Arthur could only sigh as he stared at that beauty, the elves really deserve to be known as one of the most beautiful races, however, his stare didn’t last long as Lucy pinched his waist .
In response to that, he could only smile wryly, he merely stared at the woman for a couple of seconds, but Lucy was already jealous, must be hard being a husband . . . . but it’s not like he regretted marrying her, in fact, it was the happiest moment of his life .
. .
The room they were staying in was large, way larger than the ones from the Human continent, the difference is just too big to compare them, even the decorations, the beds, etcetera .
It was literally on a whole other level, the treatment here was considerably better, even though Arthur looked human, no elf insulted him or treated him unkindly, however, if he was an elf in a city full of humans, they would surely either enslave him or treat him as a lower being, it’s just how humans are, Arthur had seen enough from them to know that the bad things they did outweigh the good things they did .
Saly soon fell asleep so Lucy put her on the comfortable bed, as for Arthur, he sat on a nearby chair and began thinking about how to handle Veronica .
There is just no way he will let her off, now that he knows she’s here, no one can save her, not even that elven chief .
It’s really too bad he can’t possess a living being, that would make things much easier, it’s not like he can’t kill her in a flash with anyone knowing, it’s just that possessing her than showing her what hell truly is seeming more fitting for a revenge .
This thought really troubled him since he evolved, I mean, isn’t he a parasite? From what he knew, parasites should be able to any possess any living being, heck! They can even possess plants, trees, anything, so why can’t he?
It’s truly a confusing thing, it’s not like he never tried possessing plants, however, when he did that, nothing happened which made things even more perplexing .
The only logical conclusion he could come up with is that his LVL is too low or he screwed up when he evolved into a humanoid parasite, just thinking about the Soul parasite made him drool, as it was able to gain double the stats of the possessed being, if he had chosen that evolution then he would be more powerful than he is now . . . It’s really too bad but having his own body is the best thing, he didn’t want to rot in someone’s body, perhaps having his own body and possessing other bodies may be good, but not having a body is a no-no for him .
While Lucy and Saly stayed at the room, Arthur headed out at night to check Veronica’s status in this city and her residence if possible, a simple fast kill would not subdue his thirst for revenge, oh no nono, he wanted to make things more interesting .
Of course, the elves didn’t know his intentions so they answered him honestly, which made things easier for him .
Apparently, this Veronica is the granddaughter of the first elder, one of the 4 elders who are under the elven chief, so it’s no wonder she’s acting high and mighty even here .
As for her house, she is currently staying at her grandfather’s house, which was a giant black tree at the northern part of the city, it was decorated with lanterns which made it look beautiful at night .
Arthur made his way to that tree with a few teleports, he may be very fast but with teleportations, he was assured there won’t be any noise to alarm any guards patrolling nearby .
In just seconds, he was already next to the black tree . Although it was just a tree, when Arthur touched it, he felt how sturdy it was, its defence can be considered decent, however, it was a pity as he can destroy with but a punch, but it’s not like he was going to do that, he only came here to check if she’s here or not .
The good thing about [Faster than Death] is that you can teleport through walls, it may be not as instant as teleporting to a nearby place, but it is doable, it just takes 20 or so seconds as Arthur needs to focus a bit so it can work .
Arthur just did that and appeared in that tree, he already activated simple skills he got from all the corpses he possessed such as [Sneak] or [invisible presence] which by the way were already maxed and can be effective in that kind of situations .
As a matter of fact, Arthur has hundreds if not more of skills, they were just not that useful to him except a few ones which can be used in situations similar to this, though he never used them, they were still there and can be used at any time .
The interior of the tree surprised Arthur a bit, how can I say it . . . it was a bit extravagant?
There were just too much furniture and decorations, golden paintings, vases, weird tables and even some naked statues, one would think it’s a house of a noble and not an elf, to be totally honest, the inn he was staying in looked way better even though it contained much fewer decorations, after all, sometimes simple things can be better than complex ones .
No one was in the room he just teleported to, however, Arthur could hear voices coming from upstairs, though it was a tree, inside, it was like a goddam mansion .
It really hard to believe he was currently inside a tree .
Arthur didn’t go upstairs, he could hear the voices rather clearly, as he heard the sounds for a couple of minutes, he came to guess they were dining together .
"Grandpa! Today, that trash Sebas came begging me for marriage again . . . he’s so annoying!"
"Ha ha ha, little lass, I remember when you were young, you used to like that boy"
"Hmpf! That was in the past, I never thought he would become a useless weak dogshit, I don’t want to marry him, dad, mom, why aren’t you stopping the marriage . . "
"Veronica, you must understand that Sebas is the second elder’s grandson, and that geezer is going to help me in my plans, we can’t stop the marriage, however, no one can do anything if that boy were to die ’accidentally’ after marriage . . . "(the grandpa)
Then Arthur’s head began to ache as he heard the evil laughter of that bitch, though he heard that, it didn’t concern him, he just wanted to eavesdrop as maybe he will learn a thing or two, but I guess not . . . As these idiots were talking about some boring things, that Veronica girl was complaining non-stop about that Sebas boy, it’s like hearing a bad song on the radio over and over again, how can it be not annoying?
Arthur gave up on eavesdropping as it became needless now, just hearing more would make him rush out there and murder that woman, if it was the past him then she would be already dead .
However, just as he was going to teleport away, something interested came up and he paused, he heard something that caught his interest .
"Little lass, it should be time now to go to that auction right?"
"Um! Ever since that crazy day, my right hand cannot use any skills, it must be that weird magic those bastards used, hmph! If it were not a surprise attack then I would have killed them all!"
"Hahaha, no doubt about that! You should have enough money or treasures to obtain the ’Rebirth Elixir’, it’s a rare chance so don’t miss it"
"Yes, I know . . . . I’ll go prepare myself"
Then Veronica apparently left that room and headed to hers .
Arthur was still there, lost in thought, not only was he fortunate enough to meet her again, he also got a chance to get that Elixir, he never thought a chance would come .
It’s indeed true he was going to heal Saly with the world tree’s powers, however, Belic and the others may take some time, and since an opportunity arose, why not grasp it?
If he can get his hands on that Elixir, then the deal with Belic would no longer matter, the only reason he cared for that deal is that it will heal Saly, but if he can heal her using that Elixir then screw that deal! It’s not like he needed anything else apart from curing the little girl .
He had a loving and caring wife who loved him and enough money to live the rest of his life comfortably after he finishes the matter with the Ma Clan and the holy church, he wanted to continue traveling and maybe just maybe establish some kind of academy or something similar .
. .
Arthur also guessed that the auction must certainly be an auction made by the people from the black market, so he was pondering on how to enter it .
He teleported out of the black tree but didn’t leave the area, he planned to follow Veronica so he can find where the auction is held .
Soon enough, that woman came out of the black tree, she was looking around as to see if there was anyone following her then she sneakily dashed between the buildings, she wore a mask which covered half of her face and some luxurious black clothes .
Someone like her, who was previously a council member of the Nemia Academy, surely doesn’t need any bodyguards, she had enough strength to be able to defend herself, however, even with her current strength, she still couldn’t sense Arthur, who was following closely behind her .
With some skills activated and his high stats, there is just no way she can sense him or hear him, that would be impossible .
After 30 minutes of running through alleys and circling around, she stopped at a particular alley, nothing was special about it except it was too dark, no normal person would be able to see .
She knocked on the wooden door 5 times, then a muscular man came out, he looked around suspiciously than he turned his head to look at the masked woman .
"Password?"
Without hesitating, Veronica instantly said
"O-Ohh those thighs . . . "
The muscular man nodded then stretched his hand as if expecting something from her .
Veronica passed him a magical bag which probably had some money in it, actually, even though she had a special status in here, the black market had nothing to do with it and anyone would have enough money can participate, in this auction, her background doesn’t matter, only money or treasures do .
. .
’What the hell is wrong with that password? . . ’
Arthur, who saw what just happened, stood there stupefied for a second, they used a password, and a weird one at that, so how could he not feel surprised, he really thought that one needs an invitation or some kind of letter to enter and not just a password and money, anyway, it’s not like it mattered, in fact, if it’s like this then it’s for the best .
Arthur waited 10 minutes before he came in front of the wooden door and knocked 5 times .
He wore simple clothes, he already wore that metallic mask, with dark clothes from head to toe and Makaze unsheathed at his waist .
Just like earlier, the muscular man came out, he looked around to confirm there were no guards or anyone suspicious then he turned his gaze to Arthur .
"Password?"
"Ohh those thighs"
Arthur immediately responded, it’s a bizarre password but that didn’t matter, he was a bit worried about the magical bag, he didn’t know what he was supposed to put in it but he assumed it’s money so he took out a magical bag containing 1 . 000 gold coins and handed it to the muscular man before he could even stretch his hand .
He can forcefully enter and wreak havoc here, but there is a slim chance that they would flee with the Elixir or maybe it’s not even here yet, being careful would be better than acting recklessly .
The muscular man held the magical bag and injected some mana to inspect it .
Normally, those magical bags would contain minor money for the participation in the auction, it would range from 10 to 500 gold, so when he saw those 1000 gold coins, he was a bit startled, however, he soon regained his professional look and invited the black-clothed man in .
. . .
Arthur was brought to a relatively large room, there were no decorations, just a small stage, and some wooden chairs, there were already several masked people sitting on the chairs, while there were what appeared to be guards standing at the entrance of the room and at the edges of the room, they were monitoring the places, wary of ambushes as it happens a lot in those sort of occasions .
He was given a number by the muscular man then he took a seat next to a random person, he noticed that every person holds a number just like him .
By the way, his number was ’31’, he just sat there and waited for the auction to begin .
Arthur specifically took that seat because of it exactly behind Veronica, he already knew her clothes and mask so he discovered her the moment he entered the room and he purposely sat there .
She was happily chatting with some people as if they were friends, perhaps they were but that may not be the case if they are competing for the same item .
Half an hour passed since Arthur came and the room became crowdy, not all seats were taken but most of them were .
There was some chatter here and there, but nothing too big or noisy .
Finally, someone came on stage, it was a woman . . . in a bunny suit, no don’t get me wrong, it’s not that bunny costume for kids, but the one that is sexy, and alluring, the figure of the woman’s round butt swaying left and right as she moved attracted a lot of attention from the men .
She was a beauty in the true sense of the word, long dark hair accompanied with deep dark eyes which made her look even more enchanting .
Everyone held their breath as they saw this woman get on stage .
"Good evening everyone! I’m Bunnie and I hope you are ready for tonight’s auction, it will hold a lot of precious items! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed"
Just as she finished, some people from the front rows began whistling and shouting her name as if they were her fans .
"You are as beautiful as ever Bunnie!"
It was actually a youth who didn’t have a mask on, he stared lecherously at Bunnie and he couldn’t take off his eyes of her .
"Mister Klaud, thank you for your words, well then let’s begin . . "
Bunnie didn’t fully answer him as he would always come here and pester her so she got used to it, he had a somewhat powerful background so she didn’t want to offend him, she could only thank him for his praises .
Two other beauties walked on the stage, carrying a covered item, it was the same process as a usual auction except for the items in here are very precious and rare, of course, the cost would be sky high but all the present people have special backgrounds or are filthy rich with nothing better to do than collect precious items or wasting their money .
Bunnie uncovered the item and said
"The first item is . . . a dungeon core . "
What was under the cloth was a jet black orb, it was quite big but apart from that, nothing was special about it .
All the guests were surprised, the only known item is the Rebirth Elixir, apart from that, all the auctioned items are unknown so when they saw the first item, most of them were a bit surprised .
"As you may know, a dungeon core is a very rare drop, and on top of that, this is a dungeon core for a medium dungeon!"
Bunnie breathed some fresh air then resumed with an excited voice
"A dungeon core would increase a random stat for the user, a basic core would give 1 to 100 as for medium it’s from 100 to 1000 and the high dungeon core it’s from 1000 to 10000, however, the latter is nearly extinct"
The participants were astonished but they didn’t raise their hands to bind haphazardly, one must be wise, first, they waited for the beginning price, because if they bid a high price from the beginning then they may be losing a bit .
Bunnie so the dumbfounded looks of the participants, a smile was formed on her mesmerizing face .
"Hehe~~ the beginning price is 100 . 000 gold coins"
For an item like this, it was a reasonable price as 100 stats are considered goods for normal people .
Arthur appraised some of them but they were all low leveled with only Veronica being the highest, compared to commoners they sure had decent LVLS but for him? It’s nothing, even if someone with a LVL of 500 showed up, Arthur would still feel calm as he can defeat Yamak who had a LVL over 600 .
Soon enough, the bidding began and people began raising their hands non-stop .
"110 . 000!"
"125 . 000!"
"128 . 000"
Only after a minute or two did the bidding almost stopped, the price reached a whopping 243 . 000 gold coins which is a really high sum of money, but for people like them, it’s nothing .
Arthur wasn’t that interested in anything except the Elixir, however, the orb piqued his interest so why not try it? If he’s lucky then he will get a bonus of 1000 stats, maybe it was very little but it still strengthened him .
The youth, who was previously praising Bunnie, raised his number and calmly said
"Friends . . . why don’t you give me some face and let me have this?"
There were already few people who were still bidding for the orb, however, when they saw this youth talk and ask them to let him, they could only clench their teeth and accept his request, he had no weak background, just the fact that he doesn’t hide his face is proof that he fears no one, most of them cursed him but none dared to oppose him, there were also some who didn’t care and were just not interested in the orb .
One must not judge by appearance or LVL, there were hidden tigers and crawling dragons in here, they won’t show themselves until the item they were waiting for comes out .
As for Arthur, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the youth or others, it’s a competition of bidding, so what if he wanted the Orb? Everyone wanted, they just didn’t have the guts to compete for it once he talked .
The number ’31’ was soon raised and was followed by a voice
"260 . 000"
The youth who was delighted and was going to bid the last price, was surprised, he turned his head to look at the man who just bid and glared at him with piercing eyes, however, that didn’t seem to affect the man as he was leisurely sitting on his chair, not even glancing at the youth .
"Hmpf! 270 . 000!"
Klaud snorted and bid then he stared at Arthur yet again, but he saw was the masked man raising his number and bidding again without a care in the world .
"280 . 000"
Klaud was truly enraged, but he restrained himself, smiled at Arthur and said
"Friend, I really need this orb . . . how about this, let me take this orb and I, Klaud, will owe you a favor"
To have someones like him with a powerful background owe you a favor is surely a good thing, but such a thing is useless for Arthur, he raised his number yet again and said
"300 . 000!"
The youth’s eyes flashed for a second before he turned around and just acted as if nothing happened, he didn’t come here for the orb but it’s interested him, however, this man didn’t give him any face and bid anyway, furthermore, he can’t spend more than 300 . 000 gold coins for an item like this .
After some time passed without anyone bidding, Bunnie softly said
"300 . 000 going once . . . twice . . . thrice . . congratulations to the number ’31’ who won this item"
The items bought will be given at the end of the auction, unlike a normal auction, so just like that, the second item came and the third, etcetera . . .
All the items were sold at a high price, but most of the people came for that Elixir, except a few ones, so they eagerly waited for it .
After 40 minutes of bidding, the time has finally come and an Elixir was shown to the participants, it contained black liquid and was quite small, it looked ordinary apart from that liquid .
When Arthur saw it and hear Bunnie say that it’s the ’Rebirth Elixir’, he was truly flabbergasted
’What the fuck . . . . . HEY! Loli, answer me!! Isn’t that . . . . ’