Chapter 8: Auction

Finally, the day had come when he could get the medicine.

“Excited, master?”

The voice came not from the babysitter who was driving the car, but from the boy who was watching him earnestly.

The Donovan boy was wearing a purple shirt and trench coat ensemble, with a pair of black dress pants that fit him perfectly.

He had finally got some style.

—It’s been four hundred and sixty days since I’ve been in this prison of flesh. It’s normal for me to be excited. —He replied, calming his excitement.

Were the medicines being auctioned at the auction house going to be useful? He hoped so, as he had heard that those medicines known as genetic enhancements worked miracles.

And turning a normal human into a dolphin or a monkey-man could be considered a miracle.

“Remember, we have to go home early, young master. Today, your parents will join you for dinner,” the babysitter said, driving from ahead.

The boy’s expression quivered subtly as he heard the term ‘parents’ and he gave him a glance before looking ahead.

Both jailers were busy and while sometimes they were all in the house at the same time, at other times, only one of them was present.

—They are my jailers. While they may not be the cause of my condition, they are my jailers and torturers. —He growled, emanating a hint of his mental strength.

The female jailer scared the boy from the moment he saw her, and Zack had to admit that this barbaric woman was scary.

She was someone cruel who tortured him even though the boy was watching and... He didn’t want to remember that day, so cruel and tough.

Becoming a mindless beast looking to drink that drug was one of the lowest points of his existence, even lower than soiling his diapers.

—Forget what happened that day. —He ordered, tilting his head suddenly, startling the boy.

“I understand, master,” the child replied, nodding obediently.

An obedient child who understood what was best for him and accepted orders immediately.

It was good not to have to wipe his memory of the day they increased the babysitter’s savings.

Seeing that the babysitter was heading to the outskirts of the city where some important mansions were located, he looked at the boy.

“You may occupy my body if you wish. I have put on the outfit you recommended,” the boy said obediently.

Zack seeped into the child’s mind, who didn’t resent it and then controlled the body by looking at himself in the rearview mirror.

He had to admit that the child’s body was that of a respectable adult and now the purple outfit matched his purple eyes, which revealed that he was the one in control.

The boy’s connection to the Astral Realm was fully used when he occupied the body, allowing him to wield greater power than the boy could.

It was also a good way to educate the boy, whose mind remained conscious while he controlled the body.

The boy would learn how he used the mental force and once he regained his body, he could at least try to imitate it.

“Pay utmost attention to the connection to the Astral Realm,” Zack commanded from the boy’s body.

—Of course!

The boy’s mental response was immediate, and he sounded excited.

Zack liked this type of enthusiastic child and while, as a transcendental, he had met other children who were talented; the enthusiasm was also commendable.

Seeing that the babysitter was entering the grounds of a mansion, he used the baby carrier and moving his prison of flesh with telekinesis, settling his baby body into the carrier.

“This is style,” He muttered, catching sight of himself in the rearview mirror.

The purple trench coat matched his eyes and, as if that wasn’t enough, on his chest was the main body, also wearing a suit.

He had a big head, but there was no better way to show the might of an overdeveloped mind than size.

“Looking good, young master,” the babysitter said as he drove the car through a front garden.

It was not a simple garden, but a complex maze controlled by some kind of external force guiding the cars.

It wasn’t a mental force; it looked like....

“¿Magic?” He hesitated aloud.

—Yes. Since that day we met, the underworld has been shaken by ‘that’ event. —The Donovan boy said.

‘That’ event? Did he mean the bank robbery? He hadn’t imagined that a robbery could cause so much trouble.

“You don't need to think about it too much. The city’s underworld gets shaken up from time to time and this time it was the turn of the Big Monkey who led the city. However, business never ends,” the babysitter said, looking in the rearview mirror.

The babysitter was also connected to the same mental connection, allowing him to hear the boy.

So after he ordered the bank robbery, the Big Monkey, who was the boy’s former boss, got into trouble? Zack had to admit that security was tight.

In the end, he paid no attention to that issue and focused on the maze that was opening up.

This time, the babysitter was wearing a device similar to the glasses jailers wore to hide their appearance.

Zack distorted the face of his real body and left Donovan’s face uncovered, only revealing his glowing purple eyes.

“Looks like there’s some security,” Zack muttered under his breath as the maze ended.

“It’s a normal thing. This auction house is the most important in the city and has multiple enemies. And many who don’t want to pay for the items,” the babysitter replied.

So if he had failed to raise the babysitter’s savings and had gone the way of a thief, would he have had to face this security?

The labyrinth seemed magical, and it was annoying when the energy of the Astral Realm was opposed to the magical energy used by the magical beings.

It wasn’t as if the magical beings ended up winning over the mental beings like him. They just countered each other and made everything annoying.

The babysitter finally parked the car and when Zack got out, he could tell that only the customers looked at him from time to time.

Most of the workers behaved professionally and kept their seriousness impeccable.

However, even they occasionally glanced at him.

Was it because of the purple eyes that denoted the presence of a transcendental of great power? Or was it because of the purple outfit that suited him too well? Whatever it was, to Zack, the looks were normal, and he gave a smile as he adjusted his trench coat.

The babysitter came down beside him and led him forward, following the other guests as he settled his main body into the baby carrier.

Each worker at the auction house had a similar uniform, and they were attending to people, taking care of people, and even answering questions.

After the babysitter presented the invitation, the workers allowed them to enter.

The first room of the mansion was a reception room where several visitors were chatting among themselves or drinking while waiting or watching who entered.

“Oh, demonic beings,” He said as he saw some red-skinned demonic beings and then, seeing some hooded ones, he muttered. “Heavenly ones too? Quite an event.”

Even though those beings were wearing hoods that hid their presences and faces, he was looking at the mental power and could identify them.

The Demonic Beings were a race that was present on multiple planes that he had come in contact with and on this plane they were like others with their red skins and large horns.

Unlike the Heavenly ones who were hidden, the Demons were fully revealed.

“This auction brings together all those who wish to buy. Be they supervillains or superheroes... Or any being who is interested in buying items,” the babysitter informed quietly as he invited him to continue.

They both moved down the aisles and then entered what looked like some sort of giant theater.

Stairs led down, with several seats between them, while at the bottom was a currently empty platform.

High on the walls were balconies covered with barriers and other protective devices.

Mostly, they were magical, preventing people’s normal sight, though in his case, being in the boy’s body, he simply had to strain a bit so that his eyes could see the figures inside.

Then, after checking and seeing nothing interesting, he halted and turned down the hallway, noticing a mental presence that stood out from other inferior beings.

“Is something the matter, young master?” The babysitter asked, stopping beside him.

The cloaked figure sensed his gaze and hid, moving to another area, leading to him ignoring her.

“She’s just a girl,” He replied, smiling as he followed the babysitter.

—She was hiding well. —The child said in his mind and after a second, he revealed. —We of our kind are rare among the super.

Was it that way? The truth was that among the normal population there were many supers and while most were weak, even by the standards of the mortals of this world, they were still numerous.

However, he had only encountered two children since he had come to this world, and that figure was one of them.

Zack didn’t look for the figure and followed the babysitter sitting where his place was as he scanned the surroundings with his gaze.

Most of the buyers were individuals wearing expensive masks and costumes, but others wore hoods to protect their identities.

There were several supers, though not all of them were strong.

“Aren’t those the monkey-men you were working with, kid?” Zack asked, as he felt the gaze of one of the many monkey-men who was serving as security.

The monkey-man watched him intently, as if recognizing how amazing he was.

—The Big Monkey’s organization was weakened. It is possible that he is taking this job to regain his strength and status. —The boy replied and calmly added. —Don’t worry. They won’t do anything. They have lost too much to seek revenge and must follow the orders of the boss of the auction house.

So the monkey-man was looking at him not because he recognized his majesty, but because of the boy’s body he was occupying?

“...”

Zack threw a mental wave at the monkey-man that stunned him enough to make him drool.

Not hiding that little warning, some looked at him, including the organizers, but in response, he gave a smile.

If they attacked him, he would have to retaliate and then ask for compensation by taking all the items he wanted.

However, unlike what he expected, the small provocation simply attracted a well-groomed old man.

“I apologize for the actions of the security team,” the old man said calmly.

He was an old man with a full head of graying hair and a wrinkled face that revealed that the passage of time had taken its toll on his body.

However, the straight back showed that he was still in good shape.

—Due to what happened with the Big Monkey, the underworld is wary and very few important individuals are coming out. The boss of the auction house is at a loss and doesn’t want any trouble. He knows about the conflict I have with the Big Monkey.

The boy gave a brief explanation and Zack, who was receiving the old man’s gaze, saw the old man avert his gaze.

The purple eyes were shining too much, so it was normal that it affected him.

“We understand,” the babysitter replied, and in a flat tone, he requested. “However, keep an eye on them. We don’t want to cause any inconvenience.”

“Of course. I will order them to stay away from you,” the old man replied, and after telling them to enjoy the auction, he headed for the platform.

Zack leaned back on the seat as he settled the head of his real body.

The boy escaping, leaving his old job with the Big Monkey, caused a conflict and the other party would seek revenge or retribution.

Mortal beings were more likely to be vengeful for their short and ephemeral lives, something that rarely happened among the transcendental.

—I apologize for causing you trouble.

“That’s alright. I’m not worried about a monkey, even if it’s a big one,” He replied calmly and settling into the seat, he gave the babysitter a look and pointed. “And you don’t need to take care of it either.”

The babysitter, who was listening quietly, watched him and then gave him a smile.

“I understand, young master,” The babysitter said, nodding comfortably.

Sometimes the babysitter was too naïve, as he worked more than he should for the same pay.

However, Zack respected that sense of responsibility.

It was probably the babysitter who was one of the many who caused trouble for that Big Monkey and while he didn’t blame the boy for kidnapping him, others looking for him surely made him upset.

Zack ignored the babysitter, not to mention it was easy to read, and he focused on the old man climbing the platform.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the auction and thank you for choosing our Thorn Auction House,” the old man said, and smiling as he bowed. “I, Hugo Dumont, will be your host today.”

Clapping his hands suddenly, the lights went out, leaving only the platform illuminated, and the old man, who stood in the middle of the light, gave an order to bring the items.

“We’ll start with an ancient sorcerer’s grimoire and...”

Zack ignored him, watching the old man talk about the sorcerer’s grimoire and how it would help them learn rare spells with rituals to connect to various planes and a lengthy, boring explanation.

Since it was a magical item, he didn’t even care and the price of the book increased in a way he didn’t know... Literally didn’t know since he had not yet learned the value of local money.

Mortals and their currency were just as annoying as magical beings and their spells.

Though the only thing that mattered when talking about auctions was that the zeroes of one bid had to exceed the zeroes of another.

“A cursed sword...”

“A meteorite of unknown metal...”

“The cybernetic implant that...”

“Two bionic arms...”

“Conscious artificial intelligence...”

“An alien weapon extracted from a starship of...”

The items continued to sell, and the auction began to bore Zack, enough so that the idea of eliminating the artificial abominations popped into his mind.

The metal beings were abandoning the possibility of transcending by becoming abominations that deserved to be eradicated from existence.

However, he restrained himself as best he could, for he wished to have the medicine and instead of wasting time, he taught the boy.

How to use mental power to sense the minds of conscious beings, detect mental defenses and strength by that means.

Then he taught him to use the vision of the mind, allowing everything to blur, leaving only bright figures denoting living beings.

Such vision allowed him to observe the inside of the balconies, as the walls became translucent, and then as he was showing him the boundaries, he stopped as he saw the floor.

—Did one of the minds just disappear?

The boy asked mentally, and Zack, who watched the floor, saw how three minds whose glow was intense were moving, eliminating the minds of those monkeys that acted as security.

They were moving and getting more and more excited as their thoughts filtered through and....

—We will soon reach the vault.

Zack sensed the mind of one of them and, while it was superficial, the main idea was clear.

“Is it normal for you guys to get robbed?” He asked aloud, observing the old man who stopped suddenly upon hearing him.

“Excuse me?” the old man asked, not understanding the line of thought of a transcendental.

Tension immediately rose, and all was silent as Zack felt some minds become unsettled with nervousness.

Diverting his gaze through the crowd, he located the hooded figure whose mind revealed nerves, and he smiled at him as his eyes flashed.

“Die!” shouted that hooded figure using what looked like some kind of firearm.

Bullets went into his chest, aimed at the main body, but they all stopped in front of him.

The mental force field was not something that puny weapons could get through and that criminal was not the only one who noticed, as others stood up and started attacking everyone.

Starting a battle.