章 18: The Auction (Pt 2)

We were already hours into the auction, and I had just one word to say about it. Unimpressive.

Most of the items up for bid were relics and rare objects. Of course the crowd ate it up, but as for me, they were not in the least bit attractive. Unfortunately, my grand prize would be the last item to be up for auction since it was the main object for today's event. This meant that I would have to sit through the entire boring session.

"I have to say though, it's a bit awkward not buying anything" I thought aloud.

I looked towards Talia, who was watching the auction in earnest. I suppose the anticipation of obtaining her wings was her motivation. Unlike her, I didn't really have a personal interest in this auction. But, who knew. Something interesting could happen. The night was still young.

"And now, we move on to the next bidding session," the auctioneer announced.

Suddenly and slowly, one after the other, I saw people appearing from the backstage. They were in chains, and from their appearances I could tell.

"Slaves" I said.

Talia looked uncomfortable at the sight. Who could blame her? Had it not been for my intervention she would have been one of them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the slaves and a major attraction for today's auction." The man announced.

In total there were 7 slaves. Five males and two females. However, as I would expect from Imperius, they chose quality over quantity. Of the seven, four were beast folk, two were elves and finally the last person... was that...?

"We have seven of the best and highest quality slaves for bid here. We'll start with Slave A," the auctioneer announced, beginning the bid.

Of course the bidders competed amongst themselves for the slave commodities and bid as much as they could.

"Do I hear fifty million?" The auctioneer asked, on the matter of the elf girl who was next.

Everyone would definitely love to have an elf as a slave, and so they all jumped into the bid. Both of the elves were female, so the appeal was through the roof. Elves were natural beauties and were usually considered pure. The perfect prey for rich men with sadistic tendencies or very strong libido.

"Buzzzzz" A sound echoed through the room.

"Hundred million coins" Someone declared.

Hundred million? Who would spend so much on a single elf girl?

I looked towards the source of the sound, it was someone in his own exclusive bidding room, just like mine. He must also be a Royal Member at Imperius.

"Hundred million, any one bidding higher?" The auctioneer said.

"Going once, twice..."

"Sold!" The auctioneer said, confirming the sale of the first elf slave to the royal member.

Well, that was no surprise. I doubt anyone in their right mind would waste that much money on a single slave. Not unless he was a royal, like that guy.

"Now, for the other elven beauty" The auctioneer said with a smile.

"Hundred million," the same bidder said.

There were grumblings and murmurings made by the other bidders, but there was nothing anyone could do about it. In the end, money and power were the things that mattered the most in the world, and the auction house was no exception.

"Going once... Twice... Sold!" The auctioneer declared.

After that, it was clear that the audience was displeased.

"Now, now. There's still one more slave to be sold" The auctioneer said, trying to reason with the audience.

Of course this didn't make the crowd any happier. The last slave wasn't a female or an elf. Just some random dude. Or so they thought.

"Please everyone calm down," the auctioneer said.

Suddenly, the crowd stopped their murmurings and anger and started to let out chuckles, some even burst out laughing.

The auctioneer was happy about this and took for granted the sudden change of heart among the audience. But for those of us who were watching the auctioneer and the auction, we knew what was really happening.

"Look behind you," one of the bidders said, laughing even more.

The auctioneer turned back only to find the last slave, who was supposed to resemble a teenage boy with tattered clothing and unkept hair, but what he saw was something else entirely. He was looking at... himself.

Not only was the slave now identical to the auctioneer, but he was making weird poses and dancing in a funny manner. It was funny to everyone because it seemed like it was the auctioneer who was doing it. His fat and short figure dancing all around cracked everyone up.

It turned out that the final slave was a shapeshifter, a breed capable of changing their appearances to whatever suits them. One of the most notorious and haughtiest races in this world.

The auctioneer blushed with so much embarrassment. He was now mad.

"Y-You! How dare you? Who ordered you to turn? Change back! Change back now!!!" The auctioneer shouted at the slave.

The slave, still with the appearance of the auctioneer finally stopped his silly tricks. He then cracked a mischievous smile and then changed his head back to his original form, but left the physique of the auctioneer and laughed, continuing his silly antics.

The audience laughed even more at the silly sight. The auctioneer was red with anger and reached within his pocket to bring out some sort of scroll. The scroll glowed and suddenly the slave started screaming, kneeling down and holding his head.

"I said change back!" He commanded.

The slave immediately complied, still screaming and groaning. I looked closely and saw the reason why.

"Slave Crest" I said.

It was only natural that slaves had one. It prevented a slave from going against their master and also allowed the master to command the slave to do anything or simply punish them. Normally, as the original owner of a slave, no scroll was needed to enforce the slave crest. However, since the auctioneer was not the original owner, he needed a scroll to act as a medium for enforcement.

Needless to say, the slave wouldn't be disobeying the auctioneer or pulling any other funny tricks anytime soon.

The audience booed the judgement of the auctioneer and some still let out some chuckles.

"Now then." The auctioneer cleared his throat to regain his composure and command decorum.

"Let us proceed." He smiled.

"We'll begin the price from five hundred thousand coins. Any takers?" The auctioneer asked.

No one responded.

"Any takers?" He repeated.

No one wanted the slave.

The auctioneer had a conflicted look. The slave he was supposed to sell. No one was interested in buying him. At least, that's what everyone thought.

A buzz was sounded, and a voice came forth.

"I'll take him"

Everyone turned toward the direction of who had said that. It was none other than me.

I had to say, I was interested in this shapeshifter. Not just because of his little stunt earlier, though that had relieved my boredom for a bit, but there was something else. Besides, he seemed like an interesting character.

"Any higher bid?" The auctioneer asked.

No one responded. Of course, who would be interested in a troublesome sneaky little shapeshifter. It would most likely cost them more to maintain such a slave than to actually use him. Besides, it was a general rule that shapeshifters could not be trusted. They were one of the most scorned races. And, after that stunt the slave just pulled, no one would like to have him as their slave.

"Going once... Twice.... Sold! The last slave has been sold." The auctioneer announced, a sense of relief was in his voice.

I can't say I blame him. That particular slave must've been a handful.

"Now then, ladies and gentlemen. The moment you've all been waiting for." The auctioneer declared.

Everyone's voices could be heard at this point. It was finally time to bring out the main sensation of today's auction.

"I hereby present to you, the fairy wings" The auctioneer declared.

Everyone cheered and marveled at the wings which were brought to the stage. Even I had to admit, they were indeed beautiful, a perfect fit for Talia. The wings were a combination of many colors, brimming with purple and red hue, with blue trimmings around the edges and it emanated a bright low glow.

I looked beside me to see Talia's reaction to this sight, she was crying. I saw the longing in her eyes, the craving she had for what was once hers. I smiled, within a matter of minutes, those wings would be mine. I guess it was time for me to now actively participate in the auction, because from then on, things would start to get very engaging.

"This should be fun" I said with a smile.