The city’s walls greeted them not long after, tall and wide, as though it could truly protect the millions of residents if beasts came to attack. Yet, it was not the city’s walls which truly protected the city, but the great families which lived within, whenever they decided to act loyally to protect their homes.

“Elder Yan!” the driver gasped, daring to hold the beast core within his hand. He stared up at the Elder Alchemist, wondering if he was about to die. He, who had seen the wicked invention which the Elder Alchemist had made, tiny beads which exploded.

“You have driven us to the city carefully,” Elder Yan said, smiling down at the driver.

“I couldn’t possibly accept,” the driver said, cautiously.

Mika glanced around, and the Elder could feel it too, the gaze of the urchins which stared hungrily at the core within the driver’s hand.

“I have some business with the auction, so why don’t you accompany us?” the Elder Alchemist offered, understanding that the driver’s life was at risk. If they could get to the Auction House, then the driver could auction or sell the item and the coin could be directly deposited into a bank.

“As you wish, Elder,” the driver said, tipping his hat. “Would you like to take the carriage?”

“That would be lovely.” The Elder smiled warmly.

They made their way through the main road within the carriage, those ahead making way for them. There were a few who muttered between one another, wondering who would dare to travel through with an unmarked carriage through the city. There were only two kinds of people who travelled through the city with an unmarked carriage, those who were nobodies, and those who were somebodies. Sometimes, nobodies would travel in such a way to act as though they were somebodies, though when they were caught…

Fortunately for Mika, no one troubled the carriage, even when it veered down a side road which was for the rich to use. The driver didn’t want to shame the Elder, even if it meant he’d have to pay a large amount to use the parking.

‘The money from the core should be able to pay for it,’ the driver thought as he assisted the pair of Alchemists out of the carriage.

“What are you-,” the worker began to ask, only to realise that the riders within the carriage were Alchemists. “Greetings, Elder Alchemist,” the young worker called, glancing at the token which hung at the Elder’s side. It stated that the man was an Elder Alchemist, though he was definitely not their Elder Alchemist.

“Good evening,” Elder Yan called, smiling at the worker. “Please take good care of this carriage, I will be using it to return home soon.” The Elder held out the golden talon, a deposit for the carriage to remain until he needed it again.

“As you command.” The worker carefully accepted the golden talon, which was the size of his finger, into his palms, before bowing and leaving.

“Please remain at the nearby inn, and I shall come and pick you up when I will be returning home,” Elder Yan said, before holding out a pouch of coins for the driver. “When we return, I will hand another, equivalent pouch.”

The driver stared up at the Alchemist, before bowing his head. “Thank you, Elder Alchemist!” He accepted the pouch with both palms, noting the glint of gold within it. He had never been paid so much for his services before, noting that there were at least several strings worth of gold coins wrapped around a golden talon.

Elder Yan paused for a moment, thinking deeply. He raised another golden talon towards the driver. “Stay within the Silver Wood Inn, I hear their wine is exquisite.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The driver wondered if this expensive taste would get him killed, but seeing the golden talon, and then the pay he had received, he realised what the Elder wanted him to do. “I thank you for your benevolence.”

They made their way to the Silver Wood Inn, which was not quite silver, more white, but it was certainly one of the twenty inns within the city. It was the kind of inn that met the minimum standard for the Elder, but too much for the likes of the driver, who was mesmerised by all the exotic furnitures, as well as the beautiful workers which escorted the guests.

The driver dealt with his stay and returned to the Alchemists, who had ordered a table’s worth of food.

“Come and eat,” the Elder said, offering the driver the food. His smile pressured the driver into sitting down and eating.

‘Father, mother, thank you for birthing me into this world,’ the driver thought as his tongue tasted food from one of the top twenty inns within the city. ‘Darling, forgive me for eating this all without you.’

Once the meal was over, with the trio leaving half of the food untouched, they made their way out. The driver could feel his heart ache, wondering if this was what it meant to be rich. He led the Alchemists out to the Auction House, wondering if he could really live so well for the next few days.

The Auction House wasn’t quite a house, but more of an estate. Its outer walls spanned across for hundreds of metres, and at least a dozen guards remained on duty for the outer wall. Mika noted that each was as strong as the Experts of his family, and these were just the typical guards of the Auction House.

‘Who would dare bother the Auction House?’ Mika thought, his eyes glancing around, as though he was taking in the sight of the numerous gardens and pavilions within the outer estate. He had managed to find at least a dozen hidden guards, which were hidden within one of the many formations of the Auction House. His eyes glanced up towards a statue of the founder of the Auction Houses, a beautiful woman who held a string of gold coins in one hand, and a scale within another.

‘Not a bad formation,’ Mika thought, glancing around at the large rocks. He figured the one who had made this formation had been a Formation Expert, considering the few mistakes they had made. ‘I can’t blame them, since the formation was probably made after the other formations, though if it was made before, then…’ He couldn’t help but judge the Formation Expert who was no doubt long dead.

Many guests were allowed within the outer section of the Auction House, but the inner estate, with walls which stood much taller, was far more heavily guarded. As the Elder approached, the guards noted his token, one approached him.

“We greet you, Elder Alchemist Yan,” the guard said, greeting him in the way of a cultivator. “The Young Head is currently with another guest, but we have informed her of your arrival. Would you care for some tea?”

The Elder bowed his head, motioning a hand to Mika to allow him to leave. Mika bowed his head and made his way away. He didn’t need to ask for permission, but it was for the sake of the Elder’s face.

‘Should I mess around with the formation?’ Mika thought, glancing around the area. He made his way to one of the outer pavilions, which sold all manner of goodies, though nothing special. There were martial arts manuals for sale, but all of them were worse than the worst manuals of the Black Hand library, but they were good enough for vagabonds and the like.

‘We need to make a splash in the city, but how should we do it?’ Mika’s eyes glanced around. He thought about making the formations better, but since it was a ridiculous idea, he decided to dismiss it. ‘Should I get some dessert and think about it?’

Mika walked around the estate, following the smell of the food, before someone walked into him, and he crashed something behind him. ‘Wait a second.’

“Hey! You little brat, what do you think you’re doing?” called the gruff voice of the thug, who was wearing fine attire which revealed he was an affiliate of a family.

‘It can’t be,’ Mika thought, blinking. ‘There’s no way something like this is happening.’

The ruffian waited a moment. ‘Is he not going to apologise?’ “You damn brat! Are you ignoring me?” He stared down at the boy, who was like a deer in headlights. ‘A perfect victim.’ He tried not to smile.

‘This entire time you decided not to do what was obvious, but now you decide against it? Are you messing with me right now? The one time I decide to put away my token to hide that I’m a Page and you do this to me, world?’

For all these years, Mika had been waiting. He waited for his family to die in a gruesome manner, as they always had. When he found out that it wouldn’t happen, he decided to help them into becoming powerful. Once they were powerful enough, he would certainly refine them to empower himself, and he would certainly conquer the world, that which he refused to do in this life.

‘Is he slow?’ the ruffian thought, before raising his hand. “You little brat! You dare to ignore me?”

Mika inhaled deeply, filled with annoyance. Mika bowed his head deeply and exclaimed. “This one apologises!” ‘You annoying bastard, watch how I deal with you!’