Mash’s shoulders tensed as he waited for a response. He didn’t have to wait long though, as Luke ended the silence. Mash was relieved to hear it was Luke speaking.

“I’ve said it before, but your soul has been the same for as long as I’ve known you. I have no reason to doubt you, and if something does come up, I think we can deal with it.”

“Yeah, I mean it sounds like if you had any problems, we would’ve seen them by now. Other than your tendency to do rash things, I haven’t noticed any big problems.”

Jill continued when Luke stopped, and Red nodded her head along in agreement. Mash was happy to see them accept him, but still felt wound up with anger. Their kindness cut through his growing fury, but it was stuck in place like a fungus. He needed to calm down, he felt like he was losing control of himself. Normally, he could handle his emotions easily, and began using his inhuman hibernation. He didn’t go through the whole process of sitting down, beginning the skill while standing in place. It didn’t go unnoticed like he hoped, his friends looking at him with concern. He waved them off slowly, finding it easier to speak clearly now.

“I needed this, otherwise I don’t think I would make it to the auction on time. Let’s just go and have fun.”

Mash didn’t know if he believed his own words, but he didn’t want to further ruin the night. Tonight, should be a celebration, and he would try his best to enjoy the night. He didn’t comment on Jill’s jabs, instead trying to move the subject to something else. Heading towards the guild, he asked Luke about the beastmen city, and what to expect there. Accepting his ploy, they got into a discussion of what to do at the city, both Red and Luke being surprisingly knowledgeable of the city. Well, Luke wasn’t that surprising, but both seemed to have knowledge like someone who had been there.

His meditation’s effect was stronger now, and he felt significantly better. His emotions were tamer all around, and he found it easier to suppress his anger and fear. Considering the risks, he wondered if it would be better if he could keep his skill up all the time. There were a lot of benefits to the skill, the least of which was his improved regeneration. The dulling of his pain and emotions would greatly improve his performance, not to mention improve his concentration for his other skills. He dismissed the idea; hadn’t he just been panicking about losing his mind. Were his class and skills making him more inclined to use them? No, he couldn’t doubt himself so much. That line of thinking would make him question everything. Thankfully he didn’t linger on those thoughts, as they arrived at the guild.

Despite their slow pace, they still arrived a few minutes early. The doors were closed at night, but they could use their badges to unlock it. It functioned with an enchantment that would recognize the metals. Pushing the door open, he was surprised to see a small crowd of adventurers. He recognized only a few faces, most though he had never seen before, and many of them had inhuman features.

On top of the surprising variety of races among the crowd, he also noticed several people with class influenced changes. He could spot a handful of people with scales, but many of them had more subtle changes in their eyes or hair like Jill. The other thing of note was that most of them ignored him, uncaring of his appearance. However, he still thought that he had the most extreme transformations among the group.

Spotting Larkin among the crowd, he was wearing his receptionist outfit. They approached him, unsure of what was expected of them. Mash gave him an awkward wave as he approached, relieved to see the man nod back. Moving close enough to be heard, he spoke somewhat cautiously.

“Are all these people adventurers? How come I’ve never seen them in town, and I don’t think I would forget?”

Larkin broke into a smile and released a rumbling chuckle. He answered through his laughter, sounding very amused for some reason.

“You have seen them; they just typically hide their changes when in the public eye. I tried telling you about this earlier, but you ran off. The guild offers an illusion stone with a basic beautification enchantment. That’s an attuned item that will let you hide any physical alterations, so that you can appear human. There will be one or two higher quality ones for auction, but the guild’s variety sells for 1000 gold pieces. You should be able to afford one after tonight.”

Mash didn’t need to turn around to know that his friends were staring at him. Thankfully, his embarrassment was restrained from the lingering effects of his meditation. Next time, he would listen to everything Larkin said. It seemed to be a wise choice. Choosing to take Larkin’s information seriously, he asked about the auction.

“Is there anything you recommend we try and buy tonight?”

“Other than the illusion items for you, I think you should consider some items to protect a localized space. That way you could sleep safely even when on an adventure.”

He knew his advice was right and spoke with complete confidence. Mash didn’t disagree, if they found themselves sleeping in the wilderness, a secure place would be difficult to find. The others seemed to be in agreement, and they gave Larkin their thanks. After which, he left to talk to a different group, and they looked for their room. Since they were selling tonight, they had been offered a private balcony, and were eager to check it out.

Jill and Red led the way, apparently, they gathered all the necessary information when he went flying. Knowing the process made it a lot easier to find the stairs, and head towards the auction room. The guild was several times larger than it appeared, with several rooms dug beneath it. Heading down the stairs, Mash was impressed by the décor of the underground floors. The walls of the staircase were engraved with light enchantments, which lit the path with the perfect amount of light. They were linked together in an intricate pattern, that was very complex and beautiful.

After descending two flights of stairs, they found their way to a long semicircular hallway. The walls were all the same style as the stairs. There were even a few tables set up in front of the doors, which he guessed would lead to the balcony rooms. Jill led them to a room near the end of the hall, and he could hear voices in some of the rooms as they passed. He didn’t pay particular attention to any one conversation, instead listening to the general thrum it produced.

Their room was marked with the number 17, Jill using a small key to open the doors. Grazing the doors as he entered, he felt the many enchantments on it but couldn’t tell what they did. The door itself was made of some high-quality wood, and he could feel it producing a small amount of mana. Mostly it was used to power whatever enchantments were on it. The room though, took his breath away.

It was enormous, bigger than his own bedroom had been. The actual balcony section was lined with tables and chairs so that they could sit while looking over the room below. There was a couch and another set of tables towards the center of the room, each of the tables lined with food and drinks, and he heard his stomach start rumbling. Caving into his desires, he grabbed some of the pieces of meat and placed them in between slices of bread. He wanted to get something in his stomach.

He started munching on it as he made his way towards the balcony, the others having already lined up there. He almost dropped his food when he looked out over the room. It was designed like a theater and was several times larger. A large central stage was laid in front of a sea of seats, most of which were filled with adventurers. Jill had told him that some merchants could get in too, but the majority would be adventurers, or nobles that had adventurers in their family. Red’s own family was among the crowd if they didn’t have access to one of the private balconies. It was his understanding that they held auctions weekly and was surprised to see hundreds of people sitting below. The most interesting group he noticed, were the guards. It looked like a small army had taken up a section of the hall, and he wondered if his father was among the crowd.

“What are guards doing here?”

Mash barely heard Luke’s question but felt the dislike in his voice. Guards tended to be unfair towards beastmen, and he could understand Luke’s anger. Red seemed ready with an answer, but Jill superseded her.

“Guards aren’t able to enter dungeons as freely as adventurers and have access to less magical items. This is their primary way to acquire some items. They end up paying ridiculous amounts for even basic items, so you should be happy to see them. It means that they are getting ripped off in a major way. Plus, we can mess with them, my father has told me of some tricks I could use tonight.”

She was grinning wickedly as she spoke, her eyes curving to match her smile. Mash looked away, a little disturbed by the insect eyes when she smiled like that. They talked a little about the items they wanted but made sure to get their fill of the food and drinks. Everything on the tables were high quality and they strove not to waste any, despite having eaten dinner just before arriving. Mash ended up eating most of it and would continue to do so even as the auction began.

“Welcome to the auction!”

He could hear the words clearly, and it was the most enchanting voice he had ever heard, a perfect mixture of harmony and melody like a beautiful song. Mash looked over to the stage and stopped listening. Staring blatantly, he looked at the two most attractive people he had ever seen. There was a man and a woman, each were an embodiment of perfection, and he couldn’t stop his eyes from wondering over to the lady.

She had beautiful brown hair, that extended down her sleek figure and reached her legs. She wore a dress that revealed nothing, not the tiniest amount of bare skin but clung to her in a way that made it irrelevant. Despite all of that it was her face that drew his attention. It was unnaturally perfect, and he couldn’t believe that anyone could look like that. How much charisma did that take? Or did she have a class that made her inhuman, maybe an angel or a fairy?

Contemplating the questions, shook him from staring and he noticed that the others were doing the same. He touched their shoulders and broke them out of the trance. Jill spoke as she came to her senses.

“That felt surprisingly dangerous.”

Mash agreed, there was a strange danger to looking at them, as if he was falling for some kind of trap. Despite his better judgment, he looked over the man. Like the girl, he was a model of perfection, although his clothing revealed a lot more skin, showing off his muscles and body. He had golden eyes that were matched by his hair, and he gave off the impression of divinity. Even at this distance, Mash was surprised to find how easy it was to see them. There was a lot of magic in this place, and couldn’t decipher what each enchantment did, but he could see the results and appreciated them. Mash was paying more attention to his surroundings now but snapped back to the auction as the first item was brought out.

It was the unique sword that they found, and the man and the woman sparred lightly to show off its effects. After which they proclaimed loudly that the item was unenchanted, and the attraction was a natural property of the weapon. This got a reaction out of the crowd, and the first bid was already over their estimate, set at 3000 gold. Receiving a follow up that was 500 gold higher. Mash couldn’t help but smile as the number rose. It was turning out to be an alright night.