n

n

n

"Dedication to cultivation.. And a bit of alchemical support, Sir.

" Responded Daniel while pretending a bit of shyness.

nThe old man smiled faintly and said

"Well, I've seen the results of your tests.. So I don't doubt your dedication to cultivation. Your discipline is remarkable for your age.. I wonder who your instructors are..?

" He asked while looking at Jerigh.

n

"He doesn't talk much.

" Said Daniel promptly.

n

"I understand. You two are very resourceful.. Keep up your effort and you'll go far in the world of cultivation.

" Said the old man with a satisfied tone. He then looked at the man clad in red armor, and after receiving a faint nod from him, he turned back to look at Heimart and said

"Very well, 'The Aimless Adventurer' is allowed to operate under the name of the legion.

" He then personally handed five medallions over to Heimart and said

"These are your medallions. You may go.

"

nDaniel and the rest stood up, bowed politely to the old man, and left the room.

nOnce out of the room, the old man immediately stood up, and approached the man in red armor.

"Commander, do you want us to keep an eye on them?

" He asked in an extremely polite tone.

n

"Yes.. and report to me if anything happens.

" Responded the man in red armor with an authoritative tone. He then got up as well, and left.

n-----

n

"Do you think they believed us?

" Heimart asked to Daniel.

nDaniel responded without looking back at him.

"I believe he doesn't care what happened. He was only scouting us for the man in red armor.

"

n

"How do you know?

" This time was Alis to ask a question.

nFinally out of the building and back in Drester's streets, Daniel said

"You've all noticed how the old man kept looking at him every now and then.. But I've also felt how the wind around the man's face changed when he nodded at the old man.. He was clearly a superior and the one who actually wanted to see us.

"

n

"What do you think the reason is?

" Asked Heimart in a low and serious tone.

nDaniel shrugged with his shoulders and said

"They either want the essence treasure, or they could be trying to rope us in.. Seeing how the old man mentioned the nicknames that others gave us.. I think the latter is more plausible.

"

n

"What do you guys want to do now? Should we find an auction house right away, or should we wait and let the dust settle?

" Asked Ligart. He seemed to be in a good mood, and couldn't wait to get rid of the source of his last few days of suffering.

n

"We have nothing better to do.. Let's ask around and see if we can find a place to go to today.

" Said Daniel with an excited tone.

nDaniel and the rest asked around for half an hour, and in the end, they had narrowed the choice to three high-end auction houses that hosted events that very night.

nThe first one, was an auction house that dealt in cultivation items. It was called 'A Cultivator's Oasis', and it was the right place to go to in order to stock up on beast cores.

nThe second auction house, was called 'Clear Sky Auction House' and it mostly dealt in alchemical items. Pills, plants, instruments and various other items were easy to find in the clear sky auction house.

nThe third and last auction house worked very differently from other regular auction houses. The auction house was called 'The Warehouse', and it dealt in wholesale deals.

nThe type of auction used by the warehouse was called 'silent auction' and it was a much more genial type of event than a regular auction, as It would usually be hosted during a social event.

nEach seller would describe the type of item, and the amount they possessed to a clerk at the beginning of the night, which would then make a list of all the items put for auction, and distribute these lists to each attendees along with their number.

nThe attendees would then write their bids on the side of each desired item, and hand over the list to the clerk. At the end of the night, the highest bidder would be announced.

nIntrigued by how a silent auction worked, Daniel and the rest decided to go to the warehouse.

nThe auction started at 21:00 sharp, and ended at midnight. The Warehouse location was on the other side of the city, and Daniel and the rest still had to divide the items into even batches.

nAfter a minute of deliberation, the group agreed that Daniel would be in charge of their transportation to the auction house, and that on the way, he would call Alis out once he found a clothing merchant, so that she could help him with choosing appropriate clothing for them to wear during the silent auction event.

nAt the same time, Heimart, Ligart, Jerigh and Alis would have to stay in the castle and divide the weapons into four separate batches. Each batch would be composed by 10,000 decent quality weapons, and 1500 good quality weapons, which they would sell separately.

n-----

nThe Warehouse, 19:25

nThis was the first time that Daniel had wore formal clothes in his life.

nDaniel's clothes were composed of a dark grey suit with a white shirt underneath the jacket, and a pair of black lucid boots.

nHeimart and Ligart wore the same type of suit Daniel wore, but of two different shades of blue instead. Their shoes were also similar, but of a brown color.

nJerigh's clothes were much more noticeable than Daniel's or the two cousins. For him, Alis had chosen a white suit with a white tie over a black shirt. His serious look and short blond hair made him look like the imperturbable young master of a powerful group. At his waist, a brown leather belt held a sheathed ceremonial sword.

nThey were currently waiting for Alis to change, and come out of the pocket dimension.

nDaniel and the rest had arrived early in order to make sure that they would be able to add their items to the list.

nWhat was before them, was a huge mansion. The place looked very similar to their castle, but it was slightly smaller and much more illuminated.

nThe sun had started to set in the horizon, turning the sky into a tapestry filled with vibrant colors. The dusky hue shined over the stone walls, making the observers stare at it in awe.

nDaniel, Jerigh, Heimart, and Ligart walked above a cleanly cut rocky path, right in the middle of a well kept yard. To the sides of this path, various bushes covered in multicolored flowers gave those who crossed the rocky path a pleasant feeling.

nThe mansion's large double door was wide open, and at the entrance, a well dressed servant waited patiently for guests to arrive.

nWhen Daniel and the others arrived, the servant bowed politely and said

"Welcome dear guests. The auction will not start before another hour and a half. If you wish to wait inside, you are welcome to enter and enjoy the refreshment.

"

n

"We would like to add some items to the list, if that's possible.

" Said Heimart with a polite tone.

n

"Of course. Please, follow me.

" Responded the well dressed servant before making a wavy gesture with his hand, and taking Daniel and the rest into the mansion.

nThe servant took Daniel and the rest to a side room within the mansion. This room was a large lounge, and inside this lounge, various seemingly unoccupied evaluators interacted amongst each other.

nThe servant turned to look at Heimart and asked

"Dear guest, what kind of item would you like to put for auction?

"

n

"Weapons. A large number of them.

" Responded Heimart promptly.

nThe servant smiled politely at Heimart, then turned towards the group of evaluators and said

"Mr. Robinrek, these guests would like to put some weapons for auction. Your assistance is required.

"

nA large and muscular looking man separated from the rest of the evaluators, and approached Daniel's group. He then stopped right in front of them and said

"Good evening, I am Mr. Robinrek. Please follow me in another room so that I can have a look at your items.

"

nDaniel and the rest followed him into a room that bordered the lounge.

nThis room was extremely well lit, and aside from the entrance and a large robust table, there was nothing else within.

nMr. Robinrek approached the large table and stood next to it, he then waited for Heimart to take the weapons out.

nOut of his expectation, Daniel walked out of the group and instead of approaching the table, he approached the large and empty wall. With a wave of his hand, hundreds of crates appeared, covering the wall completely.

n

"These crates contain ten thousand decent quality weapons, and fifteen hundred good quality weapons.

" Said Daniel with a plain and emotionless tone.

nCompletely taken by surprise, Mr. Robinrek looked at the hundred of crates with a dumbfounded expression. It was only after a full minute that he regained his wits, and said

"This is an impressive amount of weapons. Do you plan on selling them all together, or do you plan to split them into smaller batches?

"

nDaniel looked at Heimart and the rest in a slightly embarrassed way, then turned towards Mr. Robinrek and said

"Actually, this is only one of four identical batches.

"

nOnce again, the poor evaluator fell silent due to the shock.

nHis reaction was understandable. Usually, the only ones who put such a large amount of weapons for auctions, would only be the representatives of the various blacksmith groups. In fact, had he not noticed the legion medallions that hung by the four's belts, he would have believed that these four elegant young men, were a blacksmith group's representatives.

nDespite the experience of Mr. Robinrek, due to the large amount of weapons, it still took him over an hour to finish checking over almost fifty thousand weapons. He then looked at Heimart and said

"Your weapons are acceptable, and will be added to the list of tonight's auctioned items. Please, go back to the lobby and enjoy the refreshment until the auction starts.

nDaniel and the rest nodded politely at the man, and momentarily left the mansion. They then found a bench in the yard to sit on, and observed the incoming guests while waiting for Alis.

nAfter only a few minutes of wait, Daniel felt someone going through the one way portal within the pocket space. The very next moment, Alis appeared in front of them.

nShe was unrecognizable.

nShe was wearing a slim fit cocktail dress of a bright red color. Her shoulders were exposed, and the top of her dress had a v-neckline. The dress was sleeveless, and kept in place by two shoestring straps that crossed behind her back. The lower part of her dress was a wrap skirt that draped just past her knees, leaving her lower legs exposed. On her feet, she wore a pair of golden ankle strap heels that gave her a few additional centimeters of height.

nHer hair were kept in a neat face-framing pieces style, and on her ears, she wore two expensive white gold earrings with blue topaz gems. On her face, she had applied an appropriate and light amount of makeup.

nThe four looked at her with eyes opened in shock. The first to regain his wits, was Ligart, which as always tried to make a joke out of embarrassing situation. But before he could talk, Alis looked at him sideways and said

"Before you say anything.. Remember that I am one thought away from stabbing your leg.

"

nLigart was petrified on the spot.

n

"You look good

" Said Daniel with a smile.

nAlis smiled back showing her white teeth, and responded

"Thank you.

"

nIt was at this moment that Heimart stood up and said

"Well, it's about time.. Shall we?

"

n