"Mr. Snow!" The short yet corpulent Mr. Edgars called rushing over to Drew with a small metal box. "Here is the Snowstone Core as you requested." 

Gerald accepted the box for Drew to make sure there weren't any hidden mechanisms embedded into the box's system. Of course, the Ozwarth Auction House would never do such a thing as it would ruin their credibility. Confirming that the box was safe, Gerald passed it onto Drew who could feel a slight chill being emitted from the box. Drew tapped a button on the side of the palm-sized box which flipped open to reveal a glowing blue core, the chilly aura growing stronger the longer Drew left the lid open. This was exactly what he had come for. 

"Thank you, Mr. Edgars," Drew said flatly, no emotions could be seen on his face. 

"Not at all, Mr. Snow. Will you be staying for the auction, esteemed guest?" Mr. Edgars asked hastily. 

Considering his question a bit, Drew took a glance over to Heartman and Miranda who were concocting some devious plan. This made Drew smile. A sinister idea popped up in his head. Gerald looked at Drew, he knew that he was up to no good but whatever he was thinking, it might just bring the greatest joy to the both of them.  

"No need." Drew replied placing the box in one of the pockets lining the inside of his coat,  "I got what I came here for but I'll have someone come in and take my place. His name is Drew Li, he'll be arriving in twenty minutes. Also, don't seat him in the VVIP section please grant him a spot in the main section as well as the opportunity to bid on everything, including my own regiment. Don't worry, he'll be purchasing whatever he bids with his own money, not mine." 

"I understand. I'll inform the guards" Mr. Edgars bowed. He didn't quite understand why Mr. Snow would make such a strange request but regardless of the reason, it was not worth prying into. After all, it was best not to know what kinds of things are coursing through the minds of men like him because they may be more wicked than one could possibly imagine. "I'll escort you to the Backdoor 4. Your car is located in the garage on the ground floor, Parking Space 52, in the fifth column to your left. " 

"Much appreciated."

As expected of the Ozwarth Auction House. They sure take into account everything, including having their guest escorted in a discrete manner to evade the eyes of the media. 

>>>

In the Ozwarth Auction House, there are ten backdoors. Each leading to one of five different garages scattered around the vicinity. The only way to access these garages was to either be an employee, possessing the code to all of the garages, which change every five minutes to prevent the media and thieves from getting access to the rides of the house's esteemed guests or through the backdoors of the auction house which also have the same system implemented. Thus, one has to be guided by an employee of the auction house in order to make their way out of it without being notices. In this case, Drew and Gerald were being escorted by the head of the auction house himself, who possesses a master card that bypasses all passwords. There are two copies of this card but they are only used in emergencies and no one knows the location of them other than Mr. Edgars himself.  

>>>

As Mr. Edgars lead the duo to Backdoor 4, Gerald had a curious look on his face. 

"What are you thinking, Young Master?" Gerald asked in a low voice. 

"I'll tell you more once we get to the car. For now, I'll give you instructions. Take the back roads through the Civic Center to Periheim Station. I know the Rolls Royce you possess is a custom model with integrated holographic cloaking to it." 

Immediately, Gerald understood what Drew had in mind. Out of all the Master's he had served in his lifetime, other than the Former Master, Drew was providing him with a kind of entertainment that was intoxicating. It was addicting. The things he couldn't do when he served the powerful yet respected Winter family, he could now do with this Young Master. No, it was more as if he was allowing him to do so. Even though their time together hasn't been very long, this was the best Master he could ever serve in his lifetime! Now, this was fun.

"Of course, Young Master," Gerald responded in a jolly tone. 

Seems the old man caught on quick. Drew smirked as Mr. Edgars lead them through the long passage behind Backdoor 4. 

Moments later, Mr. Edgars opened another door, revealing a rather large dark room. Drew could even hear his own footsteps echo as he exited. With the flip of a switch, the lights in the room turned on one by one revealing rows and rows of luxurious cars ranging from Suzukis, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, and there were even DMC DeLoreans in seven different colors! Most of them could cost up to millions of Kalas! This scene took Drew's breath away. This was the kind of thing seen in movies but to see it before his very eyes, it was unbelievable but real. 

"I have to get used to this." Drew sighed feeling overwhelmed. His seemingly emotionless face subtly twitching every here and there. 

"You will with time." Gerald chuckled as Mr. Edgars ordered the valet parking employee to fetch the keys to the Rolls Royce. 

"That's assuring." Drew sighed. 

In the distance, Mr. Edgars snatched the keys furiously from the employee before hastily handing them off to Gerald, lowering his head in front to Drew, biting his lips as he did so. It was embarrassing but 'Mr. Snow' wasn't a person who the auction house could disrespect. 'Mr. Snow' was an Alchemist and Alchemist, regardless of their rank, were very rare. The man standing in front of him should be a rather high ranking Alchemist or else, how would've he created something as marvelous as the 'First Snow' which could rival the 'Morning Dew'. Unfortunately, none of his assumptions were correct as the man standing in front of him, a sheep in wolf's clothing, had only steeped into the world of Alchemy less than a year ago. His discovery was merely a fluke. 

Gerald accepted the keys from Mr. Edgars who had an artificial yet seemingly genuine smile on his face. 

"Have a wonderful day, Mr. Snow." He bowed, watching Drew and Gerald departure. 

"Thank you, Mr. Edgars." Drew waved, his back facing towards Mr. Edgars. "Don't forget my request." 

"Of course, Mr. Snow."  

>>>

In the speeding Rolls Royce cloaked as a standard white Nissan, Drew had removed his 'Mr. Snow' disguise, switching back to his Nightengale form, his frosty blue hair fading out into a dark green, as he changed into a cheaper blue suit Gerald had prepared, it was obviously rented as there were some noticeable blemishes on the inner lining of the jacket but it wasn't too bad to the point.  

"I assume you know what I have in mind?" Drew initiated the conversation, buttoning up the rented suit. 

"Hoho," Gerald responded in an English accent. "Please elaborate, Young Master." 

Drew obviously knew that Gerald was aware of his idea but he just wanted him to explain it for the fun of it. 

"I don't need anything else from the auction but after witnessing Heartman about to collaborate with Miranda, I decided that I wanted to toy with them a bit. They've both done things to humiliate me or people I know so I'm justing giving them a taste of their own medicine."  

"I understand," Gerald smirked. "I shall await the results." 

An evil smile crept onto Drew's face as he swept his green hair off to the side, his green eyes glowing a bright hue.

"Good. Now, shall we start the game?" 

>>>

"Ah, shit." One reporter spat, letting his camera swing around his neck while he scratched his stubble. "There's no one else coming in. How boring." 

Suddenly, a hand pats him on his shoulder. 

"Hey, all is good and well as long as we got some pictures!" His colleague reassured holding up his camera. 

"Yeah, but we didn't get any good shots of Mr. Snow." He hissed glaring over to a group of reporters wearing puffy black parkas huddled closely together. "Those bastards from SCN managed to secure some good ones." 

"Psh," His colleague rolled his eyes. "How could we? We, HNN, a second-rate news network! Of course, we wouldn't get the best spots compared to the top news stations in the city." 

As the two gazed at the grand double doors, the saw a figure in a blue suit walk up to the guards but they weren't the other ones. The surrounding reporters had also noticed this, all their eyes glued onto the figure who was conversing with the guards. He didn't seem like he was anyone special, perhaps he was an employee of the auction house who was on break. However, that thought changed when the figure opened his communication device. The hovering holographic screen displayed a golden hue that seemed to illuminate the gloomy area. Everyone knew what it was. It was a VVIP invitation! 

No one could miss this opportunity! Within seconds, the reports snapped their cameras so fast that the shutter seemed to have broken the speed of light. Questions flooded into their minds: Who was this figure? Why did he possess a VVIP invitation? Was he famous? Whoever he was, he must be someone important! This could potentially become a big scoop, and you know, they were right.  

Meanwhile, Drew, in his original form, who had shown his VVIP invitation he 'received' from Mr. Snow to the guards could hear the snapping of cameras. At least now, he didn't have to worry too much about keeping up appearances. The anger and annoyance could clearly be seen on his face. The guards pushed open the double doors, as Drew walking into the auction house for the second time that day not as Mr. Snow but as himself, plain old Drew Li.

Making his way into the grand hall, he felt glares, as sharp as knives piercing his body. The first time he entered the auction house, people feared him and admired him, keeping their thoughts to themselves as they watched 'Mr. Snow', keeping their distance away from him. Now, for the second time, these people were looking at him with mocking glares, criticizing him superficially in his face instead of behind his back but that didn't matter.

The doors to the main auction were open, one by one, the guests showed their tickets as employees guided them to their seats. Following in kind, Drew showed his ticked to one of the employees. The employee was initially shocked to see this plainly dressed lad possessed a VVIP ticket but returned back to his respectful behavior. As he read the invitation,  he found that this lad was Mr. Snow's guest who was attending the auction in his stead. Weirdly enough, on the invitation, it requested that his guests were to be seated amongst the crowd rather than in the VVIP section. This has never happened before in the auction house's history but no matter the request, an employee must always fulfill it. 

"Row 9, Seat F." The employee pointed into the distance as he looked at the seating catalog on his holographic screen. "I'll guide you there-" 

"It's okay," Drew interjected before patting the employee on the shoulder. "I'll go there myself, saves yourself a bit of energy."

What a strange fellow. The employee thought as he watched Drew walk away before assisting the next guest. 

It was not hard to find the seat since it was flat in the middle of the main auction hall but it was interesting that the hall itself didn't have many seats despite being such a large enclosed space. Then again, the only people who ever attended auctions were those of the upper class which accounts for a very small fraction of Ozwarth's entire population. Drew took a sit down, letting the comfortable leather chair absorbed him into it like a large pillow. Drew felt as though he could fall asleep in it at any moment but right now, wasn't the time. 

From the corner of his eye, Drew could see Heartman, with Miranda arm wrapped around his arm, heading towards the VVIP section towards the front of the auction, closest to the main stage. They did even turn an eye to the people around them, showing how pompous and arrogant they both were. To them, no one in this hall was their enemy, only Mr. Snow.

If they could obtain the regiment today, which was going to happen anyways, it could be counted as a huge victory until they perform research on it and realize that they can't find anything on it. Drew wanted to make it look like the regiment contained some huge secret that could be found easily so his plan was simple, to bid on his own regiment. Even though he knew he would lose the bid, the point was the embarrass Heartman and Miranda as much as possible, as they would do anything to obtain the regiment. Anything. Aware of this fact, Drew knew this game would be an easy one for him to win.

Time passed, and the auctioneer finally came up on stage. The show was about to begin. 

"If I may have your attention," The auctioneer coughed. "We will now begin the auction. Our first item is..." 

At that point, Drew just dazed out. All the items so far were just precious gems carved into elegant pieces of jewelry or some 'priceless' pieces of art from before the Interstellar Era. To be completely honest, those pieces were made with a messy array of scribbles that even a five-year-old could replicate.  The jewelry was understandable but why would these wealthy people spend their money on pieces of art that they could even make if they had a Sharpie and a piece of white paper? It's ridiculous how they think they could find some sort of artistic meaning from a bunch of scribbles called 'abstract art'.  Then, the moment everyone had been waiting for came. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the final good of the day!" 

A cart was rolled out behind the stage to reveal a glass display case with the 'First Snow'. It's blue captivating everyone in the hall. There was only one thing they could think. Marvelous. 

"As everyone in this room is aware, this is the 'First Snow'! Even though it is only considered as an F-Class regiment, it is the first guaranteed breakthrough regiment ever created in the galaxy and verified by the Ozwarth Medical Facility. The initial bidding price for this regiment will be 500,000,000 Kalas. All bidders wishing to bid on this regiment, raise your sign, and the price of the regiment will raise 5 million Kalas. If the bidder wishes to add more than 5 million Kalas, please change the white sign under your seat to the red sign. On the red sign, you must display how much you are willing to raise the bid." 

This is it! Drew smirked, pulling the red sign from under the seat. 

Most of the guests around Drew didn't pull out their signs. 500,000,000 Kalas was something only the top families in Ozwarth could afford as most of these smaller families could only afford things within the 100 million to 200 million Kala range. If this were the Drew of the past, he would've fainted after just hearing a million Kalas but things were different. With virtually unlimited wealth at his fingertips, 10o Kalas was the same as tossing ten Kalas. Of course, Drew didn't have 'unlimited wealth' but he had enough on his hands to rival those of tycoons in Ozwarth plus, Drew knew he wouldn't be losing any of his wealth from this bid since the final winner had already been decided a long time ago.  

The auctioneer's gavel smashed hard against the rosewood sounding board, gathering the entire hall's attention. Tension rose in the hall as the guests gripped on their signs. 

"Let the bidding commence!" 

A large 500,000,00 was projected onto the screen behind the auctioneer. The game had finally begun. A white sign flew up into the air from one corner of the auction hall. The price had increased to 505 million Kalas. Another sign flew up but this time, it was red. The price rose to 525 million Kalas. Two signs flew up into the air. They were from the people in front of Drew. The price skyrocketed to 570 million Kalas. 

Good. Drew thought. The higher it goes, the better it is for me.  

The price kept increasing. As it grew higher, Drew noticed the number of signs dropping exponentially. Three signs. 700 million Kalas. Two signs. 720 million Kalas. One. 800 Kalas. Heartman had finally made his move. His red sign illuminating the entire hall. All attention had averted to him. The stern yet elegant expression on his face secretly implied that he had declared victory. His increase? 200 Kalas. The price of 'First Snow' had now reached a billion.

"Heartman is the winner here." A person in front of Drew murmured to her companion. "No one can go against the second wealthiest man on Kraus." 

"It was foolish of me to bid on the regiment when the outcome was already clear." Another person mummered in the same row as Drew. 

"I just wanted to test my luck." A lady laughed a few rows over. 

Drew smiled. The time was now ripe. 

"Anyone else would like to place a bid?" The auctioneer asked politely, holding his gavel in one hand, despite knowing that no one had the guts to go against Heartman. "Going once. Twice. AND SO-" 

What happened next was completely unexpected. Drew who had sat quietly in his seat for the entire duration of the auction suddenly held up his sign. The red sign flashing its desired increase. 

"10 million Kalas" Drew interjected the moment the gavel was mere centimeters away from the sounding board. 

All eyes shifted onto Drew. He was now in the spotlight. Heartman who had seen Drew raise his sign was completely baffled. How audacious! Usually, when Heartman participates in bids at the auction house, no one would dare bid after he placed his own but this green-haired boy decided to bid right after him. Was his dumb or was he just ignorant of who Heartman was? Regardless, this infuriated Heartman but he couldn't lose his temper, not in front of all these people plus, this was a small matter. As long as Heartman won the bid, nothing bad would occur. Boy, was he wrong.  

Then there was Miranda, her hand clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her pasty white skin. Her beautiful face contorted into a hideous expression. The veins on her forehead on the verge of exploding. It was him! The Low-Class kid that humiliated her in front of everyone. What was he doing here? Questions flooded her mind as she watched the green-haired piece of shit raise his sign high in the air with a smug look on his face. This made her even more pissed.

"Is he one of your enemies Ms. Dutchfang?" Heartman asked in a sugar-sweet voice.  

"Yes. He is a Low-Class student from Star Military Academy. He humiliated me just because I 'offended' that 'exception'. I did nothing wrong. I was just putting her into her place." 

"What a coincidence. I just happened to also find that 'exception' a nuisance to the War of Royals. A dirty girl like her doesn't deserve to be called a Royal. Only strong, purebloods like ourselves are worthy of such a title." 

"I'm glad we share the same view Mr. Heartman." Miranda smiled licking her plump lips. "Do you mind helping me put this insolent guy into his place?" 

"I would be happy to assist you."  

Heartman raised his sign, the price of the regiment rose to 1.5 billion Kalas. 

"There is no way he could win no-"

Suddenly, Drew's hand shot up into the air. This time, he wasn't holding up his red sign but his white sign.  The price rose to 1.505 Kalas. Drew still retained a smug look on his face. 

Miranda felt the blood rushing to her head. Her veins were seriously going to pop from rage. Not only had this guy gone against Heartman once but now twice!"  

"How could this peasant have so much money?!" 

One of the rules of the auction house was that couldn't bid on an item unless you had the means to do so. This meant that you could only bid on items that were within the range of your assets. For instance, if a person possessed only 100 Kalas, they could only bid up to that much on an item. This meant that Drew possessed the means and the assets to bet on the 'First Snow'. 

Heartman's mind raced. This kid seems too poor to be someone from the upper class that could only mean he has the backing of someone powerful. First Snow now him...I have to get rid of him! 

Well, Heartman was half right. 

"Be careful. He's not someone you can deal with. He's backed by someone powerful." 

Miranda bit her nail. 

"No wonder why he had the guts to offend me..." 

Heartman panicked. He couldn't make this beautiful lady next to him upset. "I'll focus on the bid. If we manage to obtain this regiment, we can humiliate him."  

"You better win." Miranda snorted. 

Heartman rose his sign for the third time. This time, his increase was 200 million Kalas. His budget for this bid is 2 billion Kalas, anything beyond that would be digging into his Foundation's assets. Initially, he had predicted that no one would bid after he places his in but this green-haired kid ruined his plans. Heartman was known to be able to win bids by a landslide but this kid is now providing him a challenge. He couldn't accept the fact that this kid was pushing him to his limit. If he couldn't win by a landslide, this would show everyone in the hall that he wasn't all that powerful. The kid should be reaching his limit but why did he still have a smug expression on his face. 

Once again, Drew rose his sign. For the third time in the hall, Heartman had been humiliated by this kid. Once was passible. Twice was foolish. Three times was infuriating. The price had risen to 2 billion Kalas. Heartman couldn't concede. He had to obtain this regiment by all means in order to defeat Snow but he had to sacrifice his pride in order to do so. Heartman had lost yet another battle that same day. 

Heartman sighed before raising his sign. It wasn't red but white. The people in the auction hall gasped. Never in Heartman's auction history had he ever held up a white sign! From the corner of his eye, he saw the green-haired kid smile tilting his head off to the side before mouthing. 

'Congratulations, Mr. Heartman' Drew clapped before facing towards the stage. 

At that moment, Heartman realized what scheme was working in this auction hall. That kid was Snow's assistant. With the VVIP privileges, he gave the kid the authority to bid on his regiment, not for the kid to actually buy it, but to toy with Heartman knowing that Heartman needed the regiment in order to defeat him. This whole time, Snow had manipulated him from the moment he stepped into the auction hall.

How embarrassing. Heartman thought gritting his teeth together. His blood boiled with rage. 

"Well played, Snow. Well played..." 

"Anyone else would like to bid? Going once. Twice. SOLD! Congratulations, the auction is over! Anyone who had purchased an item from this hall, please head to the backroom once the auction ends!" 

The double doors opened back to the lobby as guests picked up their things before heading out for the day.

This day had gone extremely well. Drew smiled as he peered at Heartman who was glaring at him intently. 

"Snow will be waiting." 

With that, Drew left laughing to himself like a maniac as Heartman glared at his departing figure. 

"I'll be waiting," Drew chuckled silently. "You fool."