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Abel didn’t walk very fast, but every one of his steps was wider than anyone else. He has paid many visits to Harvest City by this point. Once he took a few turns at the corners, he was able to find his way into Gary’s potion store–a large potion store selling various kinds of potions.
Gary’s potion store was closed. Maybe it wasn’t in business today. Or, maybe it was because the shop’s owner Darren wasn’t here.
“Hi there,” a stranger said as he tapped Abel on the shoulder, “Sorry, but you’ve been going the wrong way, haven’t you?”
Wait, did he just recognize me?  Abel thought as he turned his head around. Strangely, he saw a man wearing the same mask and hood as him. It was a strange man, but he was very passionate about his demeanor.
“The Chris Auction Stand is over here,” the man kindly showed Abel, “You’ve been going the wrong way, haven’t you?”
Abel stumbled for a bit as he wasn’t quite sure what was going on, “Yeah! I-I wasn’t sure where I was going, you see.”
“I knew it! Those newcomers always chicken out, don’t they? They are scared of being recognized, scared of letting others know what they’ve bought. Come on now. This is just another regular auction! They don’t sell anything special here. We don’t know where the products come from, sure, but that’s only from time to time.”
The man continued on as he closed in on Abel, “Especially this time. They are putting up maids for sale, you see. Not just regular maids, though. They have dwarf maids, orc maids. I’m not sure if they have vulpera maids, but I sure look forward to it.”
Abel finally understood now. Whoever this man was, he was going to the black market sales held by the Kree’s auction stand. Coincidentally, they were both wearing the same costumes. No wonder he thought that Abel was going with him.
“Might as well have a look,” Abel thought to himself. For all the time he’s spent on his own training, now was the chance to open his eyes to the outside world.
“I give you my gratitude, sir,” Abel gave a light bow to the mysterious man, “A thousand thanks for showing me around this place.”
The mysterious man didn’t expect Abel to be this polite. He quickly returned a bow and said apologetically, “Oh, I did not know you were a nobleman. I’m sorry for my imprudence back then.”
The man wasn’t acting so easygoing now. Actually, Abel liked it more this way. He was used to talking to strangers with a polite and distanced tone. Besides, the man was cultured enough to return the favor to him. He must be a nobleman as well, or at least someone was in the same circle.
Abel praised, “Nobles have to be very careful to attend these kinds of auctions, don’t they? You, sir, you hide well under your disguise.”
“Ha!” the man replied with a laugh, “Oh, by the Spirits! You are definitely the most humourous gentleman that I’ve ever seen.”
The two walked towards the front entrance of the Kree’s auction stand. The door was half-open when they arrived, which indicated that the business has just closed. There were still two staff standing outside. However, and they moved out of the way for Abel and the man to come in. They didn’t say anything as they were doing this.
The man advised, “Try not to speak too much here. You might see someone you know here.”
Abel nodded as he kept his mouth shut. The two entered the main hall of the second floor, which was crowded with tens of different people who were all hiding under their hoods. Most of them were waiting in silence, while a handful of them was whispering something to one another.
The man whispered to Abel, “Most of these people are merchants. Do you know why these filthy lowlifes are here? They’re here because they want things that they’re usually not allowed to have. ”
“Oh, dear Spirits,” Abel exclaimed, “Aren’t they afraid to be punished by the royal arbitral tribunal?”
Abel could tell how jealous this man was getting when he mentioned those merchants. While merchants had a low status in this world, they were often much wealthier than a lot of the upper-class noblemen.
The man replied, “That’s why this place exists, no?”
Abel asked, “What exactly is this place? What kind of influence is behind it to make it operate?”
“Come on, who else inside the Duchy of Carmel can do this?” the man said sarcastically, “Surely it can’t be the nobles. Why would they spend the time to do something like this? If you’re really interested in finding out the answers, you might want to ask those royals who spend their whole lives inside their castle.”
“Oh, so that’s what it is,” Abel exclaimed in his mind, “there’s no concrete evidence behind, but it could be Middleton George, the seventh prince’s idea. Why else would this place be right next to Gary’s potion store?”
A thin middle-aged sudden came out and walked towards the auction stage. Judging from the fancy suit he was wearing, he must be the host of today’s sale.
“Good evening, everyone! Welcome to the Kree’s auction stand!” My name is Hopper, and I’ll be the host of today’s auction. Thank you all for coming today!”
There wasn’t much of a reaction coming from the crowd. Apart from the few who clapped their hands, most just looked at Hoppy in silence.
They were obviously more interested in something else. Hopper knew that, so he waved his hand around and got to the main part right away. Soon, the staff brought a plate that was covered in a red drape.
As Hopper removed the drape, everyone could see that a knight’s heavy sword was underneath. The more Abel took a look at it, the more familiar he seemed to be with it. If he wasn’t mistaken, this piece was something that he himself had made.
“Our first item is a knight’s heavy sword, crafted by none but the pride of Harvest City, the legendary Master Blacksmith and the Lord of his own domain. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this masterpiece here is forged by Master Abel’s own hands. Based on what we know from our network, you wouldn’t find more than ten of these blades on sale in the market.”
The crowd suddenly got quite rowdy after that. Apparently, Abel’s sword seemed to have captured a lot of attention from them. Hopper was really glad to see that. He was the one who proposed to have it as today’s first item, and the plan has worked out exactly the way he had hoped it to be.
“As some of you may know, Master Abel’s magic weapons have always been very popular. Ever since Master Thorin Oakenshield has labeled them to be around 50,000 gold coins in their worth, it has become difficult for them to be sold in most regular markets. Because of this, we had to move this piece right here all the way from Bakong City.”
Hopper continued on with a very dramatic tone, “The bottom price will be 1000 gold coins! 100 gold coins for every time someone raises the offer. I repeat everyone raise is 100 gold coins! We will now begin the auction with a knight’s heavy sword that Master Abel has forged!”
Abel could tell for sure now. It really was a sword that he has made. It wasn’t his finest work, but it was a sword of a hundred skills. It was strange to see it here, though. It was a knight’s heavy sword, something that could only be wielded by a knight or a nobleman. Most people couldn’t even lay their eyes on something like this.
“1000 gold coins!” a low voice came over. Whoever called it out, Abel could tell that he was trying to hide his real voice.
“1100!” Another raised his left arm and shouted.
“1500!”
“1800!”
That was already twice the normal price they would sell in an ordinary market. These people were simply mad. Abel couldn’t find other ways to explain this.
“Anyone wishes to bid higher? Remember, this is a sword that Master Abel has made himself! Whether you want it for a collection or for training purposes, this is about the best option that you are going to see in a very, very long time!”
As Hopper continued to tempt the crowd, the price was finally raised to 2,200 gold coins.
Hopper decided to call stop here, “2200 gold coins now. Does anyone want to raise? Okay, then. 2200 gold coins once.”
“2200 gold coins twice.”
“2200
”
A voice suddenly called out from Abel’s side, “2300 gold coins!”
“What the hell?”
Abel turned his head around. He didn’t see this coming at all, but the man who brought him in was the one who called out 2300 gold coins.
The man laughed as he saw Abel looking at him, “It would be a disgrace towards Master Abel if his work were to be sold to a merchant. I can’t allow that to happen, can I?”
“The price is now raised to 2300 gold coins. 2300 once.”
“2300 twice.”
“2300. Thrice.”
“Congratulations, Sir. You have earned yourself a knight’s heavy sword made by none but Master Abel himself.”
As Hopper congratulated the man, a staff approached him and received a bag filled with the sum that was called out.
“Nothing less coming from a prodigy!” the man scanned the sword’s blade as he revealed a part of it from the sheath.
Abel really liked this man now. Whoever he was, a man with such a good taste in weapons, must also have a great character to him. If Abel’s got the chance, he’d love to be friends with this strange fellow.