Arriving at the auction hall, Raze knew the right person to go to, as he had been here before with Reno. When he was with Reno, though, he still had the specially made hoodie that covered his face, so he doubted the auction man would recognize him.
As he was walking ahead, though, and went to enter the auction house, there was a man at the gate, a guard meant to check everyone's credentials. After all, they didn't want a bunch of people to waste their time.
"Stop, do you have an appointment inside? If not, then you must make an appointment before you enter. If you wish to get your items assessed and in the auction house, there are plenty of assessors based outside," the large man said.
"I hate these types," Graft replied. "But I guess we have no choice."
Or so he thought. Just as the two of them were about to turn away, they could see Raze continue to walk forward. Barlan was watching, wondering what he was going to do.
"Don't tell me, is that kid going to… attack him, but using magic is forbidden when we're not in a dimension!" Barlan said, although it was more of a general rule. Most mages in Alter knew how much magic they could use before it would attract attention, and what people didn't see didn't hurt them.
When Raze approached the man, he moved his hand rather quickly, holding the back of his head, and pulled it close to Raze's face. The man was too slow to even react to his hand.
"I don't have an appointment, but I wish to see the Auctioneer. Is that okay?" Raze asked.
The man was a Pagna warrior himself, a 3rd stage warrior given the task of guard duty, so he could tell instantly that he was no match for this person. So he could do nothing but smile as he answered.
"Please, go ahead."
The three of them carried on forward, and Graft looked at the man, who was covered in sweat. It was quite clear that he had received a fright.
"Right, I almost forgot that you also knew how to use Pagna warrior skills," Barlan commented, now that they were inside the auction house. "Although, I'm not so sure if us agents of Alter should be just brazenly going into places like this."
"I wasn't meant to be an agent that was in this place anyway," Raze answered. "So I am just acting like any Pagna warrior would."
Graft knew Raze was right about that. In a world where strength meant everything, one's stage level was their status, which allowed them to get more access to whatever they wanted in this world.
Still, there were things that both Graft and Barlan were realizing that didn't make quite any sense to them, but they kept their thoughts to themselves for now.
When Raze met the man he was looking for, a frail man with rounded glasses, he called out to the Auctioneer.
"I wish to do some business with you. Do you have three level 3 power stones at hand by any chance?" Raze asked.
The auctioneer was startled for a bit, but he quickly regained his composure. It was more often than one would think that a powerful warrior or rich merchant would force their way into a meeting with him.
"I do, but I'm afraid that they have already been listed. If you want those items, you will have to wait until the auction."
This wasn't the answer Raze wanted. He needed to get out of the Demonic Faction, so the quicker he dealt with this other issue, the quicker he could leave. Reaching into his special pouch, he then pulled out three gold coins and chucked them over to the Auctioneer.
Treating them like the most precious gems in the world, the auctioneer quickly grabbed them, careful not to drop them. Held in his hands, they were reflecting off the glasses he was wearing.
"This should be over anything you would get for those crystals if they were listed. That should cover it, no?" Raze asked.
"Certainly, sir!" The auctioneer nodded. It was his lucky day. It didn't make sense; those who were wealthy enough to overpay for level 3 crystals by such an amount would easily be able to get their hands on it through other means.
This type of thing would never happen, but it was all because of the circumstances being right. Raze needed them, and he didn't have time to go hunting in a dimension or patiently waiting for them.
"I'll fetch them for you right away." The auctioneer was only gone for a couple of moments as he handed the crystals over in a container to Raze. After taking the crystals out, Raze handed the container back.
It was clear by the way he handled them that these weren't precious power stones to him. He had handled things like these all the time, which led the auctioneer to wanting to ask a question.
"Sir, may I please know your name? If I do, I can place you on our VIP list; you won't have trouble getting into the establishment, and if you ever need something, we can reserve it for you. We can even send a list of items that we receive."
Raze thought this might come in handy, but it couldn't be him. He would need Fixteen to become a member of the auction to get things, and that was if he wasn't already.
"My name, the money I gave you, part of it, is payment for me not to give my name. I was never here, and I never bought these items," Raze answered and turned around to walk away.
The auctioneer knew when to keep his mouth shut, so he gave a polite bow and walked away. Now Raze had all the items needed to help Shing use his powers; it was time for them to head back.
While walking back, Raze was walking at a fairly fast pace in front of the other two, and Graft and Barlan couldn't help but look at each other as they wondered what they had just seen.
"Hey, have you ever seen a kid act like that before? I mean, just walk in and be so demanding?" Barlan whispered.
"Actually, I have. Many Pagna warriors, due to being raised by high clans and their family status, get this young master syndrome. They believe they can walk in and have anything they want in this world," Graft answered. "Although, the way he did it was completely different.
"He was forceful and got straight to the point; he didn't ponder nor use a name. Instead, he was direct with what he wanted and just got out. It wasn't like a young master but more like a master himself."
"Right," Barlan nodded.
"Not just that, but I am curious. How can he just use three golden coins like that? Sure, the payment from Alter is good, but not that good, and he hasn't been in Alter for long."
"And that's what I wanted to say as well," Barlan commented. "How has he become such a good Pagna warrior and learned their skills in such a short amount of time? How long did he say he was here? Two, maybe three months? Things aren't adding up."
