?”The hell is going on?” Ning shouted in a frustrating voice once all the customers in the shop were gone.

The shop had a steady stream of customers the last few days thanks to the auction. Sales had been amazing on the day of the auction, and while it had dropped to a fraction on the following days, that was still incredible when compared to beforehand.

They were continuously selling over 100 different items in a day, and that was enough to start causing Ning some problems. Thankfully, he had managed to find a way to make many items in a short period of time.

Simpler items, ones without techniques, were easier to make and took a shorter time. Still, he would have to find ways to get his hands on more items.

The number of items sold would dwindle soon, and he wouldn’t have to worry.

But that was never what he was worrying about in the first place.

It had been 3 days since the auction had ended and no one came to get the Shadow scythes at all. The person had bid 20 thousand Fire Coins and yet not a single coin had come to Ning.

“We were scammed, weren’t we?” Rova asked from the side.

Ning sighed. “Seems like it,” he said with a sigh.

Hadden turned around from where he had been sweeping through the shop now that the day had come to an end.

“What will you do now, teacher?” he asked.

“What I can do,” Ning said. “Someone messed with me, thinking I wouldn’t know. They’re going to have hell to pay.”

He turned to look at the two. “Close the shop for now. It’s time I left,” he said.

“Okay,” Rova said. “Have fun at the party.”

Ning nodded and walked away.

It was only late evening, so the city was still alive, the sounds of people and vehicles making a cacophony all around him.

Ning walked through the city, undisturbed. A paper lay in the pockets of his silk suits, the invitation to the Briggs family party.

His feet made him want to go elsewhere, but he had to go to the party first. He could go to that other place afterward.

The Truven family’s estate was a large walled mansion in the Inner City, with a beautiful garden at the front with a water fountain that ran all day and night.

Carriages of all sorts gathered in front of the palace, dropping nobles and figures high in the government. Every single one of them looked like they belonged there.

Ning wondered if the simple but elegant suit he had asked the system to create for him was good enough now. He slipped through the front gate after showing the invitation and was shown his way to the party.

The party took place inside the massive hall of the mansion, with warm yellow lights shining all around the party.

People stood in groups with a glass of wine or champagne, talking to others in hushed conversations. Ning walked through the party, recognizing a few people.

“Ah! Sir Ning,” one man quickly split off from a conversation he was having in a group and spoke. His words brought on eyes from the group that fell onto Ning. A few of them looked at him with curious eyes, but the others recognized him.

They too came and started greeting him.

These people had introduced themselves before, and even if Ning wanted to not remember, he did. He greeted them back with proper titles and the people were more than happy to be remembered.

“You accepted Lord Truven’s invite?” one of the men asked. “I hadn’t realized you had started accepting invites.”

“I don’t usually, Lord Evan,” Ning said. “But I had happened to meet Lord Truven while I was admitting my daughter to the Institute. Since she is most certainly a friend to young lady Bethanie, I saw no reason to reject this invite.”

The people around him gave him curious looks. “Your daughter is in the Institute too?” one of them asked.

“My Grey barely passed the test too this year. I saw no reason to put on a party for such a result,” the man named Evan said. “Young lady Bethanie apparently ranked in the top 10 for the entrance, so this is very much suitable for her though.”

“My daughter should be trying next year. She will want a rare beast as a gift for her next birthday,” another woman said with a sigh.

“How was your daughter’s result, sir Ning? Did she do well?” the men asked him.

“She—”

“Sir Ning’s daughter came first in the entrance exam,” Trven Briggs walked from the side, ignoring the fleeting glances people threw him and Ning. “As they say, You will always find water around Water Essence.”

“Incredible,” one of the men said to Ning.

“Are you sure you’re not some sort of lord?” another one asked.

“It would be hard for a commoner to get this much knowledge,” another said. “You must tell us where you are from, sir Ning.”

Ning gave a rueful smile. “I’m afraid my story isn’t as good as you are hoping. I just happened to find a few books in an abandoned house in the middle of a forest during my journey through the eastern mountains of the Springwind continent. That’s it.”

“Woah!” one man exclaimed.

“Tell us more,” another said.

Someone handed Ning a drink and started requesting him to say more. No matter how Ning looked at it, they were trying to get him to reveal how he made the artifacts as good as he did.

He couldn’t escape them for nearly 15 minutes, during which time he made up stories one after another about his journey in the Springwind Empire, before saying how he came to the Blueflame Continent.

Once he was done there, another group came and wanted to talk to him. And then more and more. New ᴏᴠʟ ᴄhapters are published on ovel(ꜰ)re.nt

He went through many people until he came face to face with another group of people that he had never seen before.

It quickly became clear who exactly they were.