In the dimly lit auction hall, two strikingly beautiful young girls with nearly identical features were dragged onto the stage, bound in chains.

They wore deliberately torn prison uniforms, their exposed fair skin resembling exquisitely carved jade statues, emanating a soft radiance. Despite their tattered clothing and faces smeared with dirt and grime, their beauty remained undeniable.

Both girls possessed deep, clear blue eyes like the ocean, cheeks as white and delicate as pearls, and soft cherry-red lips that tempted one to kiss them. Their ice-blue hair cascaded like shimmering waterfalls, captivating all who beheld them.

The young girls clung to each other in fear, their pointed ears trembling incessantly. They saw the people below, those whose breathing intensified at the sight of them, eyes blazing with desire behind their masks, like animals in heat.

(So these are elves?)

Siegfried was also taken aback. He had thought Kriemhild was the epitome of beauty, but now he realized how naive he had been. This was, after all, another world.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, stunned by the elven maidens' appearance. This calm before the storm was quickly shattered by a tsunami of frenzied bidding. The nobility and wealthy, who usually prided themselves on their elegance, now showed not a shred of dignity.

The men among them surged towards the stage, holding up their number plates like a tidal wave, trying to catch glimpses of skin through the tears in the prison uniforms.

Just as Kriemhild and the others had said, this was a feast for beasts.

You might wonder, are two pretty elves really worth such madness?

The answer is complex and requires an explanation of the magic system in the Qilan Continent.

As mentioned before, magic in this world isn't easily accessible. It requires three elements: magical power, intelligence, and elemental affinity. Among these, elemental affinity is undoubtedly the most crucial.

Every creature in this world possesses elemental affinity, and the level of this affinity directly determines the tier of elemental magic one can use.

Taking humans as an example, each person has affinities for the four basic elements: earth, fire, wind, and water. However, most people's affinities are low. No matter how hard they study magic, they can only manage minor tricks like shooting water or producing small flames.

Such people are everywhere in the kingdom, their abilities more akin to parlor tricks than true magic. Siegfried affectionately dubbed these people without elemental affinity as "muggles."

The small percentage of humans with higher elemental affinities are recruited by various factions and sent to magic academies to become mages.

While humans rely on luck for high elemental affinity, elves are different. Every elf is born with an extremely high affinity for a particular element, making them natural mages.

Not only do they possess affinities for the four basic elements, but also for higher elements like lightning, forest, and ice - affinities impossible for humans to attain.

Their elemental affinity is so strong that it manifests in their hair color. For instance, the ice-blue hair of these two elven girls likely indicates they are kin to the Ice Elf King from the Far North Ice Forest.

While there are various methods to increase magical power, ways to enhance elemental affinity are almost non-existent.

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Elemental affinity is so rare that any elixir or method to improve it would cause adventurers to fight tooth and nail for it.

And elves are one such "elixir."

Don't misunderstand - this doesn't mean cooking and eating elves. It refers to the offspring produced by mating with elves, known as half-elves.

Half-elves possess both human creativity and elven elemental affinity. In fact, the three "Elders" among human nations, known as super-tier mages, are all half-elves.

Our dear little brother Darren is one of them, a sixth-tier mid-level mage at a young age, surpassing 80% of human mages. His light green hair is proof of his high-level wind elemental affinity.

Imagine what would happen if a family kept an elf captive.

With their long lifespans, elves could produce generations of half-elves. After a century, an entire magical army of half-elves would emerge.

At that point, not only could they dominate a region, but they could even establish their own kingdom.

Moreover, elves are universally beautiful, eternally youthful, skilled in both magic and archery. They're ideal whether as playthings or trained as bodyguards. These twin girls, being young, would be even easier to mold.

Now you can understand why these people are so frenzied.

The so-called other world isn't something to be envied. Unless you're the protagonist, you'd likely end up like these elven girls, at the mercy of others.

Fortunately,

Siegfried is the protagonist.

"Two billion!"

An ice-cold voice echoed through the auction hall. The farce had gone on long enough, and sufficient evidence had been gathered. It was time to act.

From the shadows emerged a man in a black suit with a hood, walking slowly. The crowd instinctively parted, creating a path for him. He stood there, as if he were the protagonist of the world.

The host's face contorted, but maintaining professional composure, he suppressed his anger and reminded:

"Mr. Loxier, I mentioned earlier that reckless bidding would be punished. Did you not hear me?"

"I said, two billion. I want these two elves."

"Are you insane? The kingdom's tax revenue for ten years doesn't amount to that much! Where did you conjure up such money?!"

The host was so enraged his nose seemed to twist. He had never encountered someone so unreasonable. Did this person have a death wish?

"Heh, is that so? I don't know about the kingdom's tax revenue.

But I do know that today, you won't earn a single coin."

"Enough! I've had it! Guards! Guards, drag this madman out of here."

The double doors on both sides of the auction hall burst open as two squads of fully armed soldiers rushed in, grabbing Siegfried's arms to haul him away.

Being "dragged out" meant being taken outside and executed, followed by a thorough purge of this person's influence in Count Konstantin's domain.

Amidst the intense struggle, the black hood slowly slipped off...

Exposed to the light was a head of jet-black short hair, dark as the night sky.

Silence fell.

The host who had been fuming moments ago fell silent. The crowd that had been mocking Siegfried fell silent. The soldiers gripping Siegfried's arms fell silent.

The entire world fell silent. No moment tonight had been as quiet as this.

The black-haired man was like a black hole. He stood there motionless, yet he absorbed all sound, all gazes. Even the dazzling radiance of the two elven girls was crushed to dust beneath this black hole.

Siegfried slowly removed the mask from his face, revealing the delicate features of a smiling young man.

It wasn't the face of the merchant Loxier. No one here recognized this smiling youth.

But they recognized that black hair, those black eyes now filled with mockery and derision.

They watched as the gentle smile on the black-haired youth's face twisted uncontrollably, gradually transforming into an intensely cold sneer.

"What exactly... do you think you're doing?"

"""