Once I deposit what I got from Henrietta last night my balance is over fifteen million. That means I should be able to buy just about anything I want in the auction. Of course, doing so will earn me more enemies, but I am leaving tonight anyway.
Besides, if anyone knew that Lin was leaving with me I would instantly become public enemy number one. The entire city would riot and I would end up being torn apart by an angry mob. However, as long as Lin keeps quiet about it there is no way for anyone to find out.
The problem is that I don't really know Lin, although I do have a good impression of her. Other than her amazing beauty, I know she is intelligent, ambitious, and has a great deal of self respect. Henrietta said that she has a good reputation, but I don't really know for sure if I can trust her.
If she does keep quiet, then she will be leaving with me tonight and I will have plenty of time to get to know her. The elves are probably not going to be happy about me bringing her on the ship. However, they should trust me enough to not make a big deal about her.
Her idea of me teaching her shapeshifting isn't bad, but it would take some time to teach her. I don't want to delay my return to the ship until she can learn to shapeshift. So, I will just take her with me and hope the elves don't react too badly.
When I head up to the VIP box I find that Henrietta and her merchant friends have already arrived. Other than Henrietta giving me a quick smile they ignore me as I take my seat. It is only about a half an hour before the auction begins so I just wait patiently.
When Lin comes out to begin the last day of the auction she is obviously a little different. She is smiling more than usual and she has more energy about her making her even more attractive. The lower seats are completely packed today and the crowd also notices the changes.
From my elevated position I can see most of the crowd and a lot of them are staring at her. There is a lot more conversation going on amongst the crowd and I can hear some of it. Most of what I can hear is about Lin, with many people theorizing that she has fallen for someone.
It is fairly amusing to listen to the conversations, those who believe that she has fallen in love seem to be in the majority. For those who think it is true, there is a lot of rage and jealousy directed at the mystery man. It makes me glad that no one has seen me talking with Lin, just a hint might get me killed.
I am tough and have a strong defense, but that is a chance I wouldn't want to take. I already know that enough numbers could eventually wear me down and kill me. However, since this is the Magic Kingdom a lot of those attacking me would be mages.
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While I can counter spells with my mana, I have yet to try countering more than one spell at a time. Against multiple spellcasters my mana abilities probably wouldn't be fast enough. Countering a spell with mana takes a lot of precision and concentration, it wouldn't work against a lot of spells.
I think the most I could do right now is counter two spells at the same time. Beyond that I couldn't be precise enough to counter the spells coming at me. Countering the spell before it is launched, like I did to the lich, is even harder.
Being able to ignore fire and lightning spells would give me an edge, but not enough of one. Especially since I wouldn't be able to recognize all the spells that would be used against me. My knowledge of human magic is still too shallow for me to recognize spells easily.
To be honest, even though I have the books, I haven't really been interested in studying them. There are always more interesting things to do than sitting and studying dry magic books. Besides, I don't use human magic so studying it is even more boring for me.
All the conversations suddenly come to and end as Lin begins her opening speech. With it being the last day, her speech is a little more extravagant than the previous ones. However, it still only takes a few minutes before the auction of the first item begins.
Lin says "Let's get things started shall we? Our first item today is a pair of swords forged by Grandmaster Smith Rolanx himself! They are heavy war swords, yet are perfectly balanced for dual wielding! One is enchanted with fire while the other is enchanted with ice. We will start the bid at one hundred thousand!"
I am slightly interested in the swords, especially when I see them on the stage. They are quite beautiful and I feel like they would suit me well so I kind of want them. Besides, I have tons of money to play with so I calmly wait for everyone else to finish bidding.
Lin says "The bid stands at three hundred and seventy thousand! Are there any higher bids?"
"500,000!"
When I bid Lin turns and flashes a smile towards my box, which makes me slightly nervous. If she keeps acting like that I might end up facing an angry mob after all! She should know that her every move and action is being observed in detail.
If she keeps smiling at me like that people are going to start thinking I am the one she has fallen for. The fact that she offered and I refused wouldn't be believed by anyone. Even if I tried to convince them, that would be enough for them to kill me anyway.
The more I think about it the more worried I get, but then the swords are delivered. It is the perfect distraction to pull my mind out of its downward spiral of worries. The swords are made from excellent materials and are wonderfully crafted.
Whoever made them definitely deserves the title of grandmaster, but I can't say the same for the enchantments. Whoever did the enchantments would be an apprentice in my opinion. However, that is something that I can easily fix later, for now I put them in my pouch.
Lin says "Now for our third item which is a little special. Normally we display the item on the stage for everyone to see. However, this item is far too large to fit so we will instead display an image."
Just after she says that an image of an island appears above the stage. It isn't too large from the look of the image, but it is still an entire island being sold. What grabs my attention is that from the image, it looks like the island is floating.
Lin says "As you can see in the image, this is a small floating island. It is currently a few miles outside the city, waiting for whoever wins it to claim ownership. We will start the bidding at one million!"