Volume 2 Chapter 7: Part 3: Auction

 

Pacing back and forth in his room, Onyx has a frown on his face. Today is the day of the auction. Do I really have enough coins to buy her? He begins to have doubts about whether what he has is enough. But he quickly shakes his head. 

 

Stop thinking so negatively, Onyx Silver! Oliver and Gilbert told you you have more than enough coins.

 

If they say I have enough, then I have enough. Onyx doesn't think much about it anymore. I need to change. He has to get ready for the auction. 

 

He starts changing into the suit he got. And when he did, 

 

It's perfect. What Onyx's wearing right now is a navy blue suit with a silver lining. Tiny sapphires are on the cuffs creating an accent point. On the right is a silver embedding of roses going down. 

 

And inside, he wears a navy vest over a white dress shirt.

 

This is perfect. Not because the design is unique and artistic. It's how the suit fits Onyx's body so nicely. He doesn't have anything restricting his movement. 

 

It's like the suit isn't there at all!

 

Let's go. Onyx walks down. When he arrives downstairs, everyone looks at him in shock. He took the souls of everybody around him! 

 

So handsome! They can't believe someone would look so good!

 

Mary's the first to respond as she praises, "Onyx, you look so handsome! You're like a prince who came out of a picture book."

 

Onyx scratches his head. But Mary adds, "But come here. You can't have your hair messy like that. Let me comb it for you." Even if his suit looks nice, Onyx's messy hair dyes down the look. 

 

Onyx brought his head to Mary, and she combs it up. Finishing it, Mary smiles, "That's much better." Indeed, the peanut gallery nods their heads as well.

 

One side of his hair was slicked back, and the other was combed down.

 

"Thank you." Onyx smile.

 

"So why are you all dressed up today? Are you planning to go on a date today?" The ears of all the women around perked up. The expression on Rebecca's face changes as well. All wanting to figure out why he is so dressed up today. 

 

Onyx gives a faint smile, "Secret." Those are the only words Onyx says as he leaves the inn. And behind him, he could hear screams of agony and horror!

 

Onyx shakes his head. Not my problem. The only thing he has to do now is to go to the guild hall and meet up with Oliver. Along the way, people eye him down as he walks down the street. 

 

Some girls even cat-called him. But Onyx ignores them and continues towards the guild. And there, he sees Oliver waiting for him outside.

 

"Sorry for the wait, Oliver!" When Oliver sees him, his eyes turn wide, "It seems you are going all out today." He's surprised that Onyx would comb his hair. And he could tell his suit was expensive too. 

 

"How much did that cost you?"

 

"Nothing."

 

"Huh?! How did that cost you nothing? My suit cost 2 gold coins when I bought it." His black suit looks good on him. However, it's nothing compared to what Onyx wore.

 

"Jonan asked me to be his model, so he gave me this custom suit for free as a thank you." Seeing the suit firsthand, Onyx wanted to give him money for it. But Jonan refused as he said,

 

"I got a lot of new designs because of you. This suit is something you deserve." And like that, Onyx took the suit. 

 

Oliver's expression turns wry, "Why do you always get the good stuff?" From drop items, looks, and great opportunities. 

 

Onyx was getting everything in the palm of his hand effortlessly like it was handed to him. 

 

"I don't know." Onyx shrugs his shoulders. Even he doesn't understand what's going on. But then he points, "Are we going to ride that to the auction house?" Behind Oliver is a giant carriage. 

 

Oliver nods, "Yeah. We can't walk to the auction house." Nobles will be going to the auction house today as well. What would they think when they walk over there? He can't show them that the guild is weak. 

 

"Understood."

...

"Oliver, how many people will be at the auction today?" Onyx wants to prepare his mind. Just how many people will be there for him to fight for Rena? 

 

"There will be a lot of people coming. The majority would come from the human fraction. But there will be elves and merfolk there from time to time." Oliver thinks about it and adds,

 

"Oh, but don't worry about it. I doubt anybody would be willing to spend 20 platinum coins like you're about to." He has never seen somebody use 20 platinum coins in an auction before.

 

I see. Hearing all of that, Onyx sighs a bit in relief. But then he asks, "Will nobles from the Espoir Kingdom or the Holy Land be there too?"

 

"Espoir kingdom, maybe. Holy Land, those fanatics aren't going to be coming here. They live on the opposite side of us. And they have no reason to mesh with us adventurers." 

 

Oliver's face darkens as he says this. Like Onyx, he isn't on good terms with the Holy Land.

 

I see. Onyx then takes out a mask. It will only cover the top part of his face. 

 

"Huh? Where did you get that?"

 

"From Gus. Albeit complaining, I asked him to make a mask for me." After throwing him out, Onyx went back the next day. And Gus was screaming at him to the ends of the world for breaking the armor again. But he did what he asked. 

 

When Onyx heard that nobles were coming to the auction house, he had to make a plan. Who knows whether or not nobles from the Espoir kingdom would come?

 

Even if Onyx changed his hair color and eyes, that didn't mean his face changed. Well, it did change a bit from the spider lily. But if the Espoir noble saw him, they could recognize him. 

 

That's why he got a mask. It won't hide Onyx completely. But it was more than enough to make the nobles not notice him. 

 

"You came prepared." Oliver could only laugh, "Onyx, you didn't have to worry about anything. If anybody caused trouble, I would just beat them up."

 

"Thank you." Onyx knows Oliver would do it. That's why he didn't want to cause trouble for him. As the two continue to talk, the carriage stops. 

 

They're in front of the auction house now. 

 

"Let's go now." Onyx nods and puts on the mask. The moment the two got out of the carriage, they caught the eyes of everybody around. 

 

It's the guild master."

 

"Look how imposing he is."

 

"He's like a bear."

 

People look at Oliver with respect and awe. And Oliver showed off his imposing figure. His back straightened as he looked up with a powerful aura. 

 

Onyx looks at him strangely? Is this really the same person? He always acted kind of childish. So to see him like this was weird in a way. While he was thinking of this, 

 

"Who's the person beside him?"

 

"He looks so young."

 

"Is he some secret weapon the guild has been hiding?"

 

"He looks so mysterious." 

 

Onyx can hear all the talking coming from the people around. But then,

 

"Kyaa!" A girl comes tripping towards him. Onyx quickly catches her, "Are you alright?"

 

"Y-yeah, I'm alright." The woman's face turns red hearing his words. But Onyx doesn't care as he leaves her there and continues to walk. 

 

"So dreamy." The woman said with a spellbound face. 

 

"How can somebody be so smooth?"

 

"I want to be in that woman's shoes! So lucky!

 

"..." Oliver didn't know what to say. How could he charm girls like that? It didn't even take Onyx a minute to make a girl fall head over heels for him!

 

And it isn't just one. All the girls around look at Onyx with lustful eyes. Oliver felt surprised and envious of Onyx's ability. But Onyx doesn't care much about it. 

 

"You insolent cur! How dare you step on my shoe!" A man shouts out in anger!

 

"Do you know who you're talking to?! You think I will apologize to some maggot like you! I bet those shoes aren't even worth a single bronze coin!" The other guy screams out again. 

 

The two continue to shout out like madmen. The two brought out stacks of coins, trying to show off who had more money than the other. 

 

What are they trying to pull? Onyx can't understand. 

 

"There's going to be people like them when you come here. They want people to see how much money they have. Just ignore them. It's all talk and no bite from them." Oliver saw people like that when he came here all the time.

 

It was just another common occurrence for people to see. 

 

"Understood." Onyx doesn't want to look at them too. The two continue to walk when they spot Gilbert outside talking with his workers. 

 

 Gilbert waves his hand, "You guys have come, welcome!"

 

"Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Gilbert." "Shouldn't the owner of the auction house be inside? Why are you outside?" Unlike Onyx, Oliver is heartless towards his colleague. 

 

"No problem, Onyx. And I came here because I heard from one of my employees that you guys arrived.

 

Now follow me. I'll show you guys your seats." Onyx nods while Oliver grunts as they follow Gilbert. 

 

"So what's with the mask, Onyx?" Gilbert asks. He found it strange that the kid was wearing a mask. He almost didn't recognize him. Well, almost. 

 

If it wasn't for the girl's gazes and Oliver standing next to him, he would have thought of Onyx as another rich noble child. 

 

"Gotta be more careful." Onyx doesn't say much about it, though: Gilbert got the meaning from his words. 

 

"Wow. There's a lot of people here."  As they walk into the auction house, it looks much bigger inside than outside. There are already a bunch of people sitting there. 

 

They all wore flashy clothes, and the jewelry on their bodies was bright and showy. 

 

"This floor here is for nobles and merchants. They can mingle with each other to create more connections. But where we'll sit, it will be better and bigger." They continue to walk up the stairs, and there, they land on the top floor. Unlike the first floor, rather than an open space like the first, the second floor is filled with private rooms.

 

"This floor is where the VIP will stay. There are multiple private rooms for people to stay in and place bids. And here is our spot." Gilbert opens the door. 

 

The first thing Onyx see is a large sofa at the center of the room. And the view they got was a clear shot down at the lower floor. There's a personal bartender there to serve the people drinks as well. 

 

No wonder this is a VIP room. As Onyx was thinking about this, his eyes were then covered!

 

"Guess who?" A pleasant voice comes into his ears. It was seductive and soft. 

 

Anybody would have been charmed by the voice. 

 

But not Onyx. He grabs the hand around his eyes and pushes them down, 

 

"Ms.Michelle, please be more careful."