The hall was boiling like a sea of suppressed sounds. The red lights reflected on the stone walls gave the place a look more like an ancient temple worshiping gold and blood together. Despite all the noise, Adam sat quite quietly, his little hand on the armrest of the chair as if the hand of a king watching his throne.
Talia sat right behind him, slightly tilted forward, her eyes moving with each transaction, but she was not so much interested in the goods as watching the features of her master. She knew that any small smile, or a long look, meant that something important had entered his calculations.
Beginning of performances
The auction began with ordinary goods: decorative weapons, ancient amulets, the remains of low-ranking monsters. The voices of the bidders rise and fall, like endless music of greed.
Adam turned only a little, as if sitting in a boring theater, until one of the servants lifted a metal box containing a small vial of silver moon wolf blood.
Something flashed in his eyes. Raise the number assigned to him.
— "One million union coins."
The hall was silent for a moment. No one dared to bid. This black-eyed boy has become a ghost that everyone avoids.
Rare materials
With the passing of an hour, the auction entered its serious phase. The objects that Adam is looking for have already appeared.
One by one, the shadow treasures rose up on the platform, and with each piece, Adam would unhesitatingly raise his figure. There was no competition, as if everyone was content to leave him what he wanted.
1. Shadow Dragon Fang – 10 million union coins.
2. The heart of the dawn bird-beats even after its death, 8 million.
3. Petrified Medusa teardrop-enhances resistance to curses, 5 million.
4. The fragment of the Royal ogre bone-as cruel as a sword, 7 million.
5. Black phoenix feather – used in rituals, 15 million.
6. The Kraken horn is small – 12 million.
7. Dark Mana Stone-a compact of countless souls, 6 million.
8. The liver of the Blue Night Wolf – a stimulator of Mana, 3 million.
9. The blood of the heart of a sandy giant – a hot liquid is running in it, 9 million.
10. The bone of an immortal fighter-from the cemetery of Heroes, 4 million.
11. Burning Spirit Tree Oil – very rare, 11 million.
12. A bottle of blood from the insect Queen – the ability to control groups, 14 million.
They all became his property. No one discussed it, no one asked.
Talia leaned towards him and whispered softly:
- "Sir... these materials... they are the tools of great masters, nothing is usually used except in major rituals."
Adam didn't answer. His gaze remained fixed on the podium, as if not hearing her.
The black paper
A little later, Adam pointed a finger at one of the side guards. Hand him a small, tightly folded sheet of paper.
The guard cautiously took it, passing it to the main organizer.
As soon as the organizer opened the sheet and read what was inside, his place froze. His face turned pale, drops of sweat dripped on his forehead, and his voice when he announced the next deal came out unusually stuttering.
Talia noticed this, turned towards her master:
- "Sir... what did you write?" Why is he so scared"
Adam did not comment. He didn't even move his eyebrows.
He smiled lightly, resting his chin on his palm, as if it didn't matter to him.
Talia bit her lip but didn't ask any more. Since her master woke up this morning and he is very strange, strange even for her.
As the end approached, the land stage began. Most of them are remote areas that have no value except for traders and investors.
But when the servant held up a small map and read in a monotonous voice:
— "Abandoned rocky land... twenty million."
Something inside me shook in Adam.
While everyone looked at her with disdain, his black eyes were observing what no one had seen: in the center of that Earth, a black dot... beating slowly, as if a heart was hiding. Seed a gate.
He raised the number without hesitation.
— "Fifty million."
The hall exploded with whispers. No one dared to enter into a bid against him.
Talia couldn't hide her surprise:
- "Sir... this land is nothing but rocks. Is there something special about her"
He turned towards her for a moment, and a small smile parted his lips:
— "We'll find out soon."
After many hours of blood and gold, the curtain came down on the auction. The staff bowed deeply in front of the black-eyed boy, out of respect or fear, it makes no difference.
Adam stood up, his black robe quietly following his steps. Talia followed him silently.
Just before he left, he caught sight of a small painting of an abandoned mansion in the East. For a moment, features that Talia had never seen before were reflected on his face: a mixture of nostalgia and darkness.
— "Why... is he smiling like that?""She whispered to herself.
Outside the Hall, the gray clouds were still heavy, but a weak ray of sunlight penetrated them, momentarily illuminating Adam's face.
He raised his head, his smile faded, but steady:
— "The real beginning... has not yet come."