Only Norton and I head off to the inspection room, leaving our companions behind as we are only going there to check things out. We head down the hallway after exiting our room at the slave auction until we reached the end where a set of snow-white double doors stand. Their is a doorplate with the words "inspection room" clearly written off to the side, indicating we have arrived at the correct destination.

The moment we open the doors, the sound from the auction venue fill our ears, it seems like it was designed this way so we can hear the introduction of the next slave from the auction from the auctioneer while we are here and not miss out on anything.

We take a look at the room to only find one word to describe it, simple.

The entire room was painted white and had barely any furniture or decoration with the exception of a few stanchions around the middle of the room to support a rope barrier to the center of the room.

There didn't seem to be any other guests in the room at the moment, with only staff who greets us we enter and the slave, Zoey, who was just introduced earlier, sitting on a lone chair in the center of the room, behind the rope barrier.

Being up close, I can clearly see her features now but the place that draws most of my attention is definitely the cat ears. Her red shoulder-length hair, similar to that of Faris's, covers the area where a human ear should be and instead, she has two cute cat ears atop her head. Her body has an average figure that definitely showed her feminine side without being over-exaggerated.

I walk closer to her to use my identify.

 

Female Catkin

Age: 20

Magic Levels:   Strength Lv. 1   Stamina Lv. 28   Dexterity Lv. 30   Fire Lv. 1   Water Lv. 1

Unique Magic:   Night Vision

Comparing the results from the ones projected on the tablets, I find that there is no difference at all.

She matches my gaze with a smile.

"Sir, is there anything you would like to ask about me?" Zoey speaks out with confidence.

Her sudden question makes me nervous as my brain scrambles to find a response, having been caught off guard.

"...Umm... Not right now." I frantically respond.

Well, that was a disaster, her easy-going atmosphere overcame me at my moment of defenselessness so I'm going to just treat this as an incident that helped me gain experience.

Good thing I wasn't thinking of buying her or that would've been an embarrassing first meeting. She was really pretty, sure, but she is a dexterity enhancer and I already have Faris for that. Plus, she doesn't really have a part that stands out to me nor would she click with our party.

"Zoey is it? How do you feel about trudging through dungeons every day, would that sound like a lifestyle you are willing to undertake?" Norton comes in to dispel the awkwardness.

"Respectfully sir, I wouldn't be against it at all, it may sound cliche but it is my dream to conquer dungeons and achieve immortality!" The catgirl energetically respond.

"Thank you for your answer." Norton nods and turns to me.

I signal I'm done and we can leave, having become more familiar with how the inspection room works. Having only spent about five minutes in the room, we both exit and head back toward our VIP room.

"What do you think?" Norton asks me as we walk down the hallway.

"The quality is definitely higher than the ones I've seen from Allen's store but I'm going to wait and see for now, she didn't really click with me."

"Don't worry, all the slaves at the auction are high quality so you still have many choices but be sure to not let one that you fancy slip by. Those profiteers at the merchant guild heavily guard the information regarding the slaves up to the last minutes of the auction, it's so we won't save money and give it our all when we come across one that we like."

I nod as we reach our room and a nearby maid swiftly opens the door for us.

We get back in our seats and observe the next slave on the stage being introduced by Allen. While the previous slave is in the inspection room waiting for the bidding to start, the next slave is introduced so that there is always one in the inspection room while bidding is ongoing.

The introduction for the second slave is soon over as they retreat to the inspection room while their status is projected for all to see. Before long, the red-haired catkin, Zoey, once again reappears on the stage as the bidding is finally about to begin.

"The bidding process for Zoey will now begin, the starting bid is one hundred gold coins with a minimum increment of ten gold coins." Allen, the auctioneer announces.

Immediately, the crowd quiets down and someone from the lower gallery starts to bid.

"One hundred and fifty gold coins!"

The guild staff near the bidder repeats the bid loudly for the auctioneer to hear before the auctioneer himself loudly proclaim the current highest bid. Bids continue to roll in as the price climbs to 250 gold coins before slowing down.

All this time, there still hasn't been a single bid coming from the people in the upper gallery where I am as a part of my attention is focused on what these VIPs are bidding on. I doubt I can outbid them if they really set their sights on the same slave as me so I'm hoping they would quickly spend a fortune on the ones I didn't pick.

"Something the matter master?" Faris says as she notices my concern through my frown.

"Don't mind them, they usually only bid on extraordinary slaves like strong combat-ready slaves, potential slaves aren't much to them." Norton kindly informs me, having to see my concern and the direction of my gaze after Faris drawing his attention to me.

I really should work on my poker face... I'm sure it'll be useful in a fight against other humans too.

The first lot of the auction finishes as the final bid for Zoey settles at 270 gold coins. The winner of the bid seems to be a novice adventurer from a wealthy family judging from his young age and top of the line equipment that can be bought outside of the guild stores. It seems you don't receive your slave right away judging from how the winner had not left his seat.

I wonder how they deal with it if that guy actually couldn't afford it?

The auction continues and I make my way to the inspection room, bringing Faris and to use identify on any wom--- prospective candidates for our party I see as well as ask for Faris's opinion of course, though she too didn't find anyone who stood out to her.

The slaves were definitely all talented and varied in race with many who possess unique magic different from their race innate ones, ranging from enhanced vision, strength, mana, magic power, etc. Human slaves were a minority though but it's not surprising considering they are much more common in this kingdom.

To my expectations, the ones who voluntarily become a slave were a vast minority as I haven't heard the auctioneer introducing any of the other slaves as so. But I didn't see the eyes of despair in them, most having seem to accept reality and are looking forward to dedicating themselves in conquering dungeons and becoming stronger. This was especially true to the slaves who received full course training of five years from their caretaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, introducing to you for the last lot before a much-needed lunch break, we bring to you one of the stars of this auction, a potential slave of the high elf race!"

A tall, slender, model-like figure with platinum blonde hair that went down to her waist, steps onto the stage, even from here I can tell she's definitely a beauty.

Oh, the classic elf has appeared! I've seen a few elves before, even used identify but they were all of the elf race, not high elves, I wonder what the difference is.

"Otes, count my coins again," Norton says seriously to his former knight slave.

"So you're interested in her?" I look over to Norton.

Norton nods and continues focusing his attention on the stage. I look around at the other VIPs and feel that the atmosphere has changed, everyone has gone serious.

"You all haven't heard wrong, she is of the high elf race, her name is Aluria Urisys!"

Allen, the auctioneer continues introducing her, talking about topics that I'm having difficulty keeping up with as Norton pays full attention.

"We will now end the morning segment of the auction with this, we will start off the auction again in one hour with the bidding process for Aluria!"

Before long, Aluria is to be taken to the inspection room and the lunch break starts.

I stare at the stone slabs where the light mages are using as a screen for their projections, expecting to see more information about the elf only to see a few staff draw out a large piece of paper like a poster and set it on the former screen. I guess it's lunchtime for the light mages too?

 

Aluria Urisys

Age: 54

Magic Level:   Dexterity Lv. 22   Wind Lv. 23   Earth Lv. 16   Fire Lv. 1   Water Lv.1

Unique Magic:   Diagnosis   Spellbody

Notes:   Noble of the elves   Expert archer   ...

What the hell? She has levels in both enhancement magic and elemental? Two uniques too though it may be just from racial of a high elf. No wonder Norton is so serious about buying her, he'll probably know more about this anomaly.

"I didn't know you had a thing for elves Norton." Seeing the crowd below starting to disperse, I speak to Norton in a teasing tone.

"It can't be helped, she is a high elf after all... sigh, I doubt you know that much about them. Why don't we order some food first? The food here is decent and it beats heading out now to fight for a spot with this many people around." With that, Norton rings the bell to call on the maid.

The maid comes prepared with menus and everyone orders something before heading to the table at the back of the room near the door and away from the veranda where we were at. As soon as we settle in, Norton takes this time before our food arrives to resume our conversation.

"Anyway, back to the high elf. What do you know about them?"

"Pretty much nothing, all I know is that elves live longer but what's the difference between elves and high elves?"

"Hmm, they are similar in appearance with high elves only having slightly longer ears and they both live longer than other races but high elves can live even longer. A normal elf becomes an adult at the age of 50 and can live up to around 500 years old while a high elf also becomes an adult at the age of 50, they can live up to 1000 years." Seeming to already know that I only had a basic understanding, Norton immediately replies.

"...No wonder I see so few elf adventurers, no need to risk going to dungeons when they already have such longevity. But still, I don't see why you would value them so highly just because they're high elves, are they special somehow?"

"You're correct, high elves are special in that they have the unique magic, spellbody. Combined with their scarce numbers who become adventurers because of their special status among the elves, this is a rare opportunity to complete my party."

"And what does spellbody do exactly? Does it have something to do with how she cultivates in both enhancement and elemental magic?"

"Right, normally someone would only train in two magic from either enhancement type or elemental type because that is how much the body can handle to use at a time. No one trains in both enhancement and elemental either because enhancement magic works like forming a layer of armor around the user from their own mana pool. This layer prevents any remaining mana to be released out of the body or it would throw your entire body is disarray so enhancers use their remaining mana to form another layer, another enhancement magic."

"And spellbody allows high elves to become an exception?"

"That's right, some races possess the innate ability to change this rule, the high elves' spellbody allows them to use enhancement magic and elemental magic at the same time, allowing them to become powerful combatants."

Races? Does that mean they're more races that can use both types of magic or what?

"Are there any other races that possess special innate abilities?"

"...I heard some rumors about dragonkin but to be honest, I don't know. Those races are usually small in number you don't hear about them often, even the high elves are only so well known because they are so many normal elves that has spread the information as they come into contact with other races and even then, I doubt they aren't any more secrets they have kept hidden."

Faris and Norton's companions seem to be quietly listening in on our conversation to the side. A moment of silence befalls the room as the information is digested.

The silence breaks when the sound of knocking echoes throughout the room as the door opens with two maids entering while carrying our food.

"Errr... Sorry, are we interrupting something?" The first maid who had taken our orders ask apologetically feeling the atmosphere in the room.

"Oh, it's nothing, please deliver us our food, we're very much looking forward to it." Norton expertly dispels the atmosphere.

"Yea, time to enjoy a good meal," I speak out to everyone at the table to back Norton up.

I probably won't be able to participate in the fight for the high elf anyway so no point thinking about it, let's just eat and enjoy the show that's about to come.

---

We finished lunch with some time to spare so Norton's group decided to head over to the inspection room to check out their potential ally and I decide to follow along with Faris.

We enter into the same white room but this time, it doesn't feel so empty anymore. There are usually only two or three other groups of other guests in the room at the same time but this time the room is filled with people and the sound of chatter. It wouldn't surprise me if they said all the people in the VIP rooms has gathered here.

Everyone has their attention on Aluria, with some people trying to talk to her but the high elf remains sitting quietly in the center of the room. We manage to land a spot right next to the rope barrier as I take the opportunity to use identify.

 

High Elf Female

Age: 54

Magic Level:   Dexterity Lv. 22   Wind Lv. 23   Earth Lv. 16   Fire Lv. 1   Water Lv.1

Unique Magic:   Diagnosis   Spellbody   Lock-On Target

Hmm? Lock-On Target, it seems like she has an extra unique magic that wasn't in the information the auction provided. Did they not know? I guess I should let my friend know, it's the least I can do after all he's done for me and it's not like my unique spell is some great secret I must keep at all cost anyway.

"I think she's hiding an unique magic that she possesses, you should definitely do your best to buy her," I whisper discreetly to Norton.

"...What? How do you know?" Norton and his party's eyes widen but he quickly recollected himself.

"Just trust me, you don't want to miss out on her." Norton nods in response.

"I won't, wasn't planning to anyway."

Norton gives Aluria one final glance before we start to head back. The bidding is probably going to start soon as the noise from the lower gallery is becoming louder and louder as the guests make their way back into the venue.

We all stay silent the entire way back to our seats as we patiently wait for the start of bidding, and with more and more guests returning to their seats, especially those on our floor who likely are returning from the inspection room, a tense atmosphere is quickly building.

Man the intensity in the air is starting to even get to me and I have no stake in it, I can't imagine what Norton is feeling right now.

Norton suddenly whispers something to Otes, the only guy in his party beside himself, before Otes nods and faithfully exits the room.

Though I'm curious, it's best to give him some space for now, I should do my part and be an unobstructive spectator.

Ten minutes went by that felt like an hour but the distinct figure of Allen, the auctioneer, returns onto the stage along with the high elf with her easily identifiable platinum blonde hair that.

"Welcome back everyone, I'm sure you were all looking forward to the auction to resume so let's not wait any further! Let the bidding for the high elf, Aluria, begin with a starting price of ten platinum coins with a minimum bid increment of one platinum coin."

Immediately, they are some gasps and sounds of disappointment from the lower gallery when they heard the minimum bid, evidently many who did not do their homework on the value of high elves.

Though the venue is getting fired up, no one places a bid immediately as everyone in the VIP rooms are calmly assessing their competitors. The lack of bidding is causing the gossip from the people on the lower gallery to grow in volume.

At this moment, someone finally places a bid, a familiar voice loudly echoes throughout the hall as I turn to the origin of that voice beside me.

"20 platinum coins!"

The staff members who somehow picked up Norton's voice through the crowd, repeats the bid toward the stage, prompting more staff to join in, silencing the crowd.

"We have a bid of 20 platinum coins right away from room number 2! Is there a bid higher than 20 platinum coins from anyone?" The auctioneer skillfully takes control of the venue and ignites the brewing tension that was taking hold of everyone on the VIP level.

With Norton starting off it off, bids start to come one after another, as the other guests start to take action.

"...We have 25 platinum coins, 25 platinum coins, anyone higher? 26 platinum co...30 platinum coins..."

After making the first bid, Norton stays silent and does nothing but observe. Seeing how I don't even have enough for the starting bid, I quietly enjoy the show as well and wonder at the amazing economic strength of the people embroiled in the bidding war.

As the bidding becomes more intense, the audience in the lower gallery is barely able to contain their voices as they gasp at the intense bid war despite the price.

The bidding war finally slows down as some bidders reluctantly drop out one after another, either no longer able to afford it or simply judging the slave not to be worth the price.

"The highest bid right now is 55 platinum coins, is there anyone willing to go above 55 platinum coins? 56 platinum coins, any other offer higher than 56..."

They are only two other parties bidding against each other, both on the same floor as us, the VIP floor. One to the left of us, and the other to our right. I look over to Norton to see his unchanging neutral expression that he had at the start.

"70 platinum coins!"

Suddenly a deep and strong sounding voice booms out, to everyone's surprise, the voice originates from the lower gallery, a man seated at an inconspicuous corner in the lower gallery where many novice adventurers are seated as the ticket prices for those seats are cheaper.

Everyone at the venue turns quiet and turns their attention to the man but his face is covered by the hood of his plain-looking robe, hiding his face and identity from the scrutinizing gazes.

"70 platinum coins, we have 70 platinum coins! Is there anyone with a higher bid of 70?" Allen the auctioneer declares without bothering to hide his elated voice.

The last two remaining parties who were previously still bidding remains silent but I can clearly see from my view their displeasure as I spot one of them slamming his fist down onto the table beside him.

"70 platinum coins going twice, are there any higher bids?" The auctioneer clearly talking upwards toward the VIP rooms.

At this moment the door to our room slams open as the figure of Otes, Norton's party member returns and nods his head in my direction. Seeing his knight's affirmation Norton steers his gaze back onto the stage before loudly declaring.

"75 platinum coins!"

The staff repeats Norton's bid once again as the sound of people furiously whispering fill the auction.

"80 platinum coins!"

Before the auctioneer even have a chance to finish stating the new bid, the man from the lower gallery instantly raises the price once more.

"85 platinum coins!"

As if to retaliate, Norton instantly increases his bid, stunning the crowd into silence as they wait for the show before them to continue.

The man now falls into silence having been instantly outbid, contemplating his next move. He stands up and looks over direction in my direction with determination before his voice one again ring out in the hall.

"90 platinum coins!"

Norton stares straight back at the man and immediately takes action to once again outbid his opponent.

Who knew watching an auction live could be this exciting, Norton seems to be really determined to win.

"100 platinum coins!"

As if receiving the signal, the moment 100 platinum coins sound out throughout the auction, the crowd goes into hysteria.

"100 platinum coins, I repeat, 100 platinum coins. Is there anyone willing to offer a higher bid?"

The crowd quickly settles down and all attention returns to the man on the lower gallery, who is still locked in a staring contest with Norton.