Auction house. A concept of bidding that was targeted toward premium goods, luxury, art and dumb things; was now reduced to mere slaves. There was no art that was being sold and and there was nothing that screamed "rare".
This was just a slave market trying to be premium.
A young boy around the age of fourteen stood at the far end, happy to just look at the beauties being displayed like cattle. Some were the most gorgeous ones he had ever seen while the others were for a different purpose.
Male slaves, ones that could put any regular man to shame with their extraordinary looks stood beside the females. This market aimed at both male and female patrons for the best profits.
'One day, even I will buy a slave!' the young boy declared in his mind as he looked at the females while ignoring the males. That was until two women in coats walked beside a blonde.
She was different from others on the stage. While everyone else was dressed to accentuate their charms, she was covered by plants and flowers like they were growing out from her body. It wasn't pleasant to the eyes, especially with the flowers that looked like they were drooling, with fangs showing as they snarled at random times.
'Who even is that? Ugh disgusting…' he thought as he turned his head to he side, right on time to find a handsome young man staring at the disgusting thing on the stage.
"That's her right? Hmm…. I was expecting her to be completely dressed up but it's the opposite. Like… they don't want her to be sold." the young man said before looking up at the sky.
That was when the teenager saw something he had never seen in his entire life. The dark sky was blotted with shimmering dots, one that he could have never imagined. He had heard about such a beautiful sky but that was only in stories… in stories of the time before the apocalypse.
"St…. Stars!!" the teenager yelled as he pointed his hand up, making the people nearby look straight up into the starry sky.
Amon who was standing right beside the kid, revealed a slight smile and took a step forward, and another and… another.
The teenager and the ones around him stared up in disbelief. The sky had gone back to normal, to a depressive dark grey.
Amon walked as much as he could until he found no space to push himself into. The density of humans here was way too high, especially the closer one got to the stage.
Seeing that he couldn't do much at the moment, he paused and just stood where he was while waiting for the auction to start. At the same time, he pulled his stream chat to the front to see what his viewers were talking about.
CuckMaster69: Perfect chance boy! Do it! Steal her and claim her! Ruin her for this king.
AjummaLovesBL: Can someone please shut this disgusting man?
MoonGoddess: He treats women like they're snacks to be passed around. I wish he dies.
[Emperor Goldflake donated 50,000 coins.]
Emperor Goldflake: As a man of honour, save her from his vile clutches, oh hero.
Emperor Goldflake: You have the support of everyone from my divine kingdom.
[Ding! Beast Warrior has joined the Stream!]
[Ding! Black Rose has joined the Stream!]
[Ding! Gold Rose has joined the Stream!]
[Ding! Broadblade Masochist has joined the Stream!]
[Ding! Dual Hammers has joined the Stream!]
.
.
.
A crowd suddenly joined the stream, prompting Amon to look up at the night sky. He was expecting a dazzling scene but the sky wasn't adorned with more than a hundred stars.
It just had a few more stars than before.
'Hmm… so not everyone who can join the stream can be represented as a star?' he mused as he shifted his focus back to the stage. The girl covered in plants and flowers had her face out for everyone to see but most didn't pay her much attention.
Her blonde hair could be seen but most of it was hidden by wines and flowers. Her eyes were serene as she looked at the crowd in disinterest until her small nose twitched a little.
She moved her gaze immediately, her eyes locking on to a man in the front row. One of the VIP's and also one of the many people who knew about her already.
She pursed her lips and did not voice out her thoughts. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from clenching her fists. Her nails pushed against her skin, leaving marks but not hard enough to draw blood.
'Please… not him. Please…' she begged in her heart, knowing that there wasn't much of a chance for her prayers to be heard by the supreme being.
She took in a shaky breath as one of the ladies in a suit grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her forward.
Another one on the side took out a scroll and began reading it's contents.
"Everyone!" she said, her voice magically enhanced to the point where every single person in the crowd managed to hear her, "Welcome to the Red Baron Auction House!!"
The people roared, excited to get the auction going.
"It took a lot of work to set up this auction, to get the rights to officially do our trade, to give you all what you need!" she said before raising one of her hands and walking towards the edge of the stage.
"Without further ado! Let's begin!"
Amon stood silently as he watched the elf girl being dragged to the front. Her serene, emotionless face had undergone a change in the past few seconds.
She stared at a man Amon couldn't spot from where he was, but he could tell that she was afraid. A small tear rolled down her cheek as she stood between the bidding hosts.
"Our most inferior slave! A cursed elf girl with no origin. You can start bidding with a hundred coins!"
The moment she finished talking, a voice pierced everyone's ears.
"One Thousand."
Amon, who had spotted his biggest threat and confirmed his doubts when he saw the change in the elf's expression, chuckled as a mask appeared on his face.
'What a nice time to farm some points.'
"Ten Thousand."