Aine was at the ninth level of Integration, and at the very least could escape from the elders with her life by relying on the Swift Steps movement skill that Nyla had taught her. Even if those men were at the Genesis stage, doubling her current maximum speed would doubtlessly ensure her escape.

“Let’s just wait until your things are auctioned off and then head back,” said Aine, a bit nervous. “You don’t have to buy me anything here, I’d rather we not make any bids so that we don’t draw anyone’s attention.”

Esteban didn’t feel as relieved as he thought he would have after hearing that he wouldn’t have to do any of the unnecessary spending he had been dreading. Aine had clearly been looking forward to it, but it wasn’t worth the risk of drawing unwanted attention from people that were very likely hunting them down.

The two of them kept quiet over the next half hour or so, during which time hundreds of people continued to make their way to the amphitheatre. By the time the auction was about to begin, the venue was filled to capacity. In fact, there were so many people now in attendance that the area around the stage was crowded with hundreds of stragglers that had missed out on booking one of the surrounding seats. Because of this, those in the floor-level seating area were forced to stand up from their chairs in order to properly see the stage.

It was around this time that the server girl dropped by to give both Esteban and Aine a stick attached to a circular cut-out of painted wood, black numerals on a grey background denoting the number of their booth.

“If you want to bid on something, call out your offer and then hold up this marker for the host to see. If you need anything from me, I’ll be in the hallway just outside.”

A short while after the serving girl left the booth, a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties walked out onto the stage dressed in an electric blue set of robes that bore the standard of the CMA on the beast area, a black treasure chest that was bordered with golden trim. Almost every part of her body that could house jewelry was gleaming with star gold, including her ankles and toes, her presence commanding the attention of everyone in the hall.

As the woman introduced herself and began to list off the rules and the catalogue for the night, Esteban momentarily shrunk back as he could have sworn that one of the three elders of the Falling Rain Sect had glanced in his direction. Sending a glance of his own at the bald, grey-bearded man as soon as he looked away, Esteban wondered if his identity as a member of the Earth Sect had been discovered.

“Without further ado,” continued the woman on stage, “I’d like to announce the start of the auction.” That being said, she produced a small chest of ornamented rosewood and opened it to reveal a strange red herb that gave off a hot, suffocating aura. “The first item up for auction is a 300-year-old crimson dragon leaf, which was found deep in the most dangerous parts of the Dragon Tail’s eastern fringes. Anybody that consumes this rare treasure will become more resistant to simple flames, though its true worth lies in its ability to help those with natural affinities for the fire element to strengthen said affinity by a great degree. This crimson dragon leaf is also an extremely high-quality alchemy ingredient, and is a necessary component in many famous pill recipes.”

A wave of mutterings swept throughout the auditorium, the people in the surrounding booths all lamenting on their inability to compete for such a treasure.

“The starting bid for this item will be 200,000 spirit stones! As a reminder, increases must be made in increments of five percent of the current item price!”

T—that much? Even though he had agreed not to make any bids, Esteban had still been wondering if such an impressive herb was something that he could afford. As over a dozen bids were made within the following moments, he was astounded to see that the price of herb had already risen to over 310,000 spirit stones.

“325,000 spirit stones!”

Much of the fervour over the herb was lost as the elder of the Falling Rain Sect that had glanced at Esteban suddenly stood up from his seat and rested his hands on the short balcony of his suite to address the room at large.

“The three of us have travelled a long distance just to buy this crimson dragon leaf, and we absolutely must have it. Our sect has a lot of dealings with your association, so I hope out of respect for our mutual relationship you all can save us some face.”

After a hesitant silence, the host began to call out for any final bids. Just when she was about to conclude her countdown, a familiar voice suddenly rang throughout the amphitheatre with intentional force.

“Oh my god! That’s a crimson dragon leaf? That changes everything. I’ll bid 350,000 spirit stones!”

Everyone’s attention turned toward Esteban and Aine, or rather, to the people that had rented out the suite above them.

The elders, who were the only mask-less individuals aside from the woman on stage, also looked in their direction with displeasure. After talking it over for a while, the bald man raised his bid to 370,000 spirit stones.

“Stop being cheap!” yelled the voice from above, penetrating into the silent, observing crowd. “I’ll raise to 400,000. If you really want this red dragon plant, then be ready to spend some real money!”

All sorts of reactions interceded with one another amidst the audience, ranging from laughter to shock to curiosity and even solemn mutterings of pity.

“To think that there was somebody here that would actually try to provoke the Falling Rain Sect,” came the voice of the man in the neighbouring booth. “To do so with such blatancy, they must not come from a simple background.”

“They must be quite rich, too,” added the unseen girl that was with the first speaker. “400,000 spirit stones isn’t just some small amount. Do you think that…?”

Esteban tuned out the inconsequential, villager-B conversation and turned to Aine with a knowing look. She had on the same expression, one of mixed relief, surprise and amusement.

They spoke up at the same time, exclaiming, “That’s Nolan!”

As the two of them straightened up in their seats to watch the situation play out, the elder that had spoken up turned around with a click of his tongue and sat back down without another word.

“…Going three times. Sold, to the gentlemen in suite fifteen…”

The host appeared a bit taken aback by the immediate outbreak of tension during the first round of bidding, but proceeded on with the auction in a calm and professional manner.

The four items that followed weren’t nearly as alluring as the opening one, two swords and one pair of gauntlets that all had the same essence fusion effect of hardening to withstand the strikes of anyone in the Integration stage. These sold fairly quickly, though nothing of note happened between the bidders this time around and the audience ended up settling into its previous air of leisurely anticipation.

“The next item on our list is a valuable, life-saving treasure. This life-rejuvenating pellet can heal any injury no matter how fatal, so long as the user is still alive and the body is at least mostly intact. It can also serve as a near-universal antidote for the majority of poisons under the sun. The starting bid for this pellet will be 500,000 spirit stones.”

The moment the woman stopped speaking, a hailstorm of wealthy voices assailed her from all sides. Before the minute was out, the price had already reached one million spirit stones. Esteban was shocked at how many people had been intent on acquiring the pellet, as this told him that dozens of those present could easily afford to offer up at least half a million stones without second thought. Noticeably, all of those making the offers sported the sigils of the CMA, a testament to the wealth of the organization and its members.

“I’m surprised that Nolan didn’t try to buy that,” said Aine. “Wouldn’t it be useful to have life-saving medicine like that?”

“It would, but for a million spirit stones? That’s almost half of all the money our whole group has."

“Don’t you think that’s worth it to save a life, though?” She nodded at the people in the top level of the seating area, where all of the heavy bids were coming from. “They certainly do.”