The Tower Lord smiled genially up at the stage after his bid. It was the same dame smile he had worn since coming into the auction room.

No one replied to the bid at first. Ray figured that, like him, they were all a bit stunned really. The Tower Lord had entered the room saying that he didn’t want to interrupt proceedings, yet he had done that as soon as Ray and his team had started off their auction. He had ground the whole thing to a halt. With just one simple action that wasn’t even really against the rules.

While no one actually said anything after the bid, they were still reacting of course. Several auctioneers shifted uncomfortably. A lot of them looked like they something to say, most likely holding their bids at the tip of their tongues. But the Tower Lord’s bid had been high and no one dared to go against him.

A real messed up situation.

At least the organizer eventually acted. “Well, that is a magnificent starting to bid.” He smiled at all the auctioneers, after receiving an almost imperceptible nod from the Tower Lord to proceed as normal. “Does anyone dare to raise a higher offer? Are two hundred Mana pearls the true worth of what our third team has to offer?”

There were no more bids. Ray swallowed. While 200 pearls weren’t a huge loss, it was still less than half of what Sameer’s team had left with. Ideally, he wated to earn at least over 300. But if no one spoke up, 200 was the best would get.

“No?” the organizer said. “No more bids?”

“We believe that our treasures are worth more!” Marcus said all of a sudden. “The ability of the crystal to protect yourself no matter what you’re hit with, the ability of the Carver to place that skill on anything you want.” He splayed his hand. “That’s incredible!”

Several people glared at him. It wasn’t just the fact that they were angry they couldn’t bid and go against the Tower Lord. Marcus, and anyone else from the team, weren’t supposed to speak up during the bidding phase. They’d already had their chance to show off during the presentation. Now, it was time for the organizer to conduct the bidding process.

But Ray was glad that Marcus had spoken up. Because he agreed. Their work, their treasures, were worth more.

So, Ray sent out his will to the first Imitator construct waiting for his signal among the crowd of auctioneers.

The fake Kredevel rose to his feet and cleared his throat. “Three hundred Mana pearls.”

Another round of shock naturally passed through the entire crowd. Everyone was surprised that not only had someone dared to stand against the Tower Lord, but that it was a Sylvan who had done it.

The Tower Lord, credit to him, never lost his cool or that ever-pleasant smile of his. “Three hundred and ten mana pearls.”

“Well.” The organizer laughed a little nervously. “It seems we are having an unprecedented little showdown. Are there any further bids?”

He sounded like he really wished there would be no further bids. Unfortunately for him, Ray had another Imitator construct waiting in the wings. Though, this one was going to be even weirder, if he was being honest.

Fake Maya got to her feet and said, “Four hundred Mana pearls.”

Another round of shock. Honestly, at this point, Ray had to push down the temptation to laugh. The way everyone stared with google-eyed expressions at a human putting forth such a huge bid in the auction. An unknown human at that to boot. It wasn’t like fake Maya was a known face who had won her own dungeons in the Immortalizer tournament.

Even Gritty and Marcus looked a little troubled. Was Ray pushing things too much? What if the Tower Lord called their bluff? What if there were no more bids after this and they were found out—

“Five hundred Mana pearls,” the Tower Lord said.

Ray smiled back at the tattooed Sylvan. Was he detecting the tiniest hint of forcedness in the Tower Lord’s smile and voice? The first hint that he was annoyed, that he was being pushed in a direction he really didn’t want to go?

Whatever it was, Ray didn’t really care. He had achieved his objective.

Although, it was concerning just how much the Tower Lord clearly wanted to possess the combination of treasures that Ray possessed. There had to be a strong reason for it, and Ray figured there was something about the flesh aspect of the crystal that had made the Lord go for it so hard. Something to do with the Fleshcrafter that the Sylvans in the Tower were aligned with.

In other words, Ray had to be careful. While he wanted to win the auction and help himself get stronger via it, he also knew that handing his enemies exactly what they wanted wasn’t ideal.

Though, first, he’d need to find out what exactly the Sylvans planned with the flesh-studded crystal. Somehow.

“Since there are no further bids,” the organizer said, partly relieved and partly hopeful that no one would dare to interrupt him. “We will conclude the auction here. The team of Ray, Gritty, and Marcus have sold their combined two treasures for a whopping five hundred Mana pearls!”

There were a lot of murmurs running through the crowd. It was definitely a weird auction.

Ray didn’t wait for anything further to go weird. Weird could very easily become wrong. It was time to get out and claim everything he and his team had earned. Plus, he kind of wanted to see the look on Sameer’s face, though he could already guess what it’d be like.

Oh, yes. As soon as he followed Marcus back into the side room, Sameer tried to leap at Ray. Anger had turned his head red as a tomato, veins bulging and pulsing on his neck and forehead.

Thankfully, Karkatrix had a many-armed grip on his teammate to restrain him.

“Bully for me,” Ray said, grinning as he walked past.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Sameer spat. “Bullies like you only win when things are unfair, when you cheat and take advantage of nepotism, because you know that on a level playing field, you would fucking die!”

Before Ray could say anything, it was Gritty who spoke up.

“Will you just shut the fuck up?” Gritty said. “It already sucks that you’re an asshole, but you have to be a sore loser too? Why don’t you try winning instead of crying like a little bitch all the time, you snivelling punk?”

She stalked off. Her snapping words had actually shut up momentarily Sameer, who looked like he was too stuck in some combination of apoplectic anger and disbelief to reply.

Ray decided to take advantage of the opportunity and make his exit with Marcus. He breathed a sigh of relief once he was outside. Then he exchanged grins with Marcus and Gritty.

“We did it,” Ray said. He laughed. “We actually beat all of them!”

Marcus smiled widely. The excitement of the auction was still in his eyes. “I can’t believe that plan worked.” He lowered his voice. “The fluffer idea was brilliant.”

“I mean,” Gritty said, looking at them both conspiratorially. “We had the Tower Lord himself bidding on our stuff. Of course we were going to win.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

With triumph soaring in their hearts, the three of them headed to the auction office to claim their winnings. Apparently, team Albatross had already left after taking their spoils.

At the office, they were welcomed by the accountant Sylvans with congratulatory smiles. The three of them decided to split the winnings such that Ray got 200 Mana pearls, while Gritty and Marcus each got 150. Ray was grateful both his friends were okay with getting an equal amount, which was also lower than his own. He resolved to spend the extra 50 on them.

Not that they discussed what they would be doing with the Mana pearls. Marcus looked down at where his sleeve and arm ended abruptly, so Ray had a decent idea of what he was going for. Gritty was more of a mystery.

What Ray wanted most of all, however, were more training crystals. It was their most reliable way of levelling up in their current circumstances.

The other two agreed about getting more training crystal as well, although, they weren’t as keen as he was. Nevertheless, they decided to contact the guy and get a hold of several crystals with their newfound funds, along with paying him back for the ones they borrowed, of course.

Lyvanse still wouldn’t take off his hood for them, despite having already conducted business once. “Congratulations on your resounding auction success.”

“Shouldn’t you be congratulating yourself too?” Ray asked.

Lyvanse laughed. “I suppose your success does mean we can continue our deal.”

Marcus gave up the required number of Mana pearls to get a bunch of training crystals from the Sylvan. They didn’t hesitate to spend any of it.

“Say,” Ray said before leaving now that their deal was concluded. “You wouldn’t happen to know why the Tower Lord was so determined to get his hands on our treasure, would you?”

He didn’t need to explain what exactly the treasures were. If Lyvanse knew about Ray’s victory, it was pretty much a given he knew exactly what had been sold and how much they had sold for.

Lyvanse’s face darkened. “They seek flesh. I assumed you of all people knew that already.”

Huh. So Lyvanse had looked into Ray’s past, one way or another. And he was familiar with the Sylvan administration’s ultimate goal in the Tower of Forging as well. All helpful info that Ray catalogued in the back of his mind.

“I was just curious how much you knew,” Ray admitted.

The Sylvan smiled briefly before turning to leave. “Be careful what you get mixed up in, Raymond. And if you do, always keep your eyes peeled.”

“For what?”

“Why, for the unexpected, of course.”

With that cryptic little message, Lyvanse left them with a chunk of training crystals. Shaking his head, Ray parted from the rest of his team and headed to their hotel to start working with the crystals immediately. Marcus and Gritty had other priorities, apparently.

Back in his hotel room, Ray got ready. It was a good thing that the crystals transported him into a different space to reenact his memories. He could go all out without worrying.

Like before, Ray used Mottling Spiritguard on the crystal. As soon as the sparking orb of chaos connected with his target, he was sucked into another dimension.

This time, Ray hunted through the chamber with the mirror walls until he found the specific one he was looking for—the Lostcaller. Or rather, the first time he had fought the monster on one of those gigantic spires on the Second Floor. Ray grinned, diving into the memory to re-engage a powered-up version of the monster in battle.

It was hard to tell how much time passed within the crystal space, but Ray didn’t stop until he had broken down all the mirrors within and the crystal spit him back out into the real world. He ignored the fact that it had grown much darker.

Because a notification had lit up, his eyes fixed on a few specific words.

[Level Up!]

Reward

* +5 Intellect, +5 Spirit, +2 Vitality +2 Agility, +10 allocatable free stats.

* 1 Class Evolution Point

Essence to Level 51: 13,840/262,000

Yes. It was finally time for his class evolution. He almost hesitated. It felt like it had been a long while since his last class evolution. So long that he was almost afraid to see what options he’d get.

But unable to hold himself back any longer, Ray took a look at what Ascension Class options he could evolve into.

[Class Evolution]

Light Sovereign [Tier 5] [Mythic]

The brilliance of light is your ally, and the shifting mirror of reality is your domain. You can manifest the reflection of anything in your surroundings, mimicking its abilities and transforming the very nature of your existence. Nothing escapes your gaze.

* + 60 Intellect, +40 Spirit, +20 Vitality, +10 Agility

* Direct access to Light Mana and Mimic Mana.

* All creations using Mimic Mana are raised by 2 Tiers.

* All light can be converted into Light Mana.

* Prioritized: Offensive and Utility spells.

* Perk: Translucence [Partial phased existence means all physical damage and most magic damage is reduced by 30%].

* Starting Spells: Light Mimicry [Utility], Darkshine [Offensive]

Chaos Harbinger [Tier 5] [Mythic]

Embrace the pandemonium that churns beneath the fabric of existence. You are a living conduit for the unpredictable forces of the universe, bending the rules of reality itself. What is certainty to others is but a fleeting illusion to you.

* + 70 Intellect, +30 Spirit, +20 Vitality, +15 Resilience

* Direct access to Crucible Mana.

* All damage inflicted incorporates a chaotic element.

* Integrate 10% of all non-physical damage received into a chaotic element that can then be wielded.

* Prioritized: Offensive and Buffing spells

* Perk: Affinity Mastery [Mastery over chaos grants mastery over multiple Mana variants, doubling Mana core capacity]

* Starting Spells: Chaos Field [Utility], Darkshine [Offensive]

Lifeweaver Exarch [Tier 5] [Mythic]

Command the ancient currents of cyclical time and the weave of creation itself. As an Exarch, you transcend the limits of mortal understanding, drawing on the primal energies of life and death. You stand as the living embodiment of nature’s balance, a guardian of existence whose every breath shapes the fate of the world.

* + 50 Intellect, +60 Spirit, +30 Vitality

* Direct access to Aeon Mana

* Assimilate abilities as well as stats and other innate physiological functions of summons.

* Presence of both life and death in your vicinity improves all spell damage and all stats.

* Prioritized: Offensive, Summoning, and Utility spells

* Perk: Reversion Charge [All spells can be imbued with Aeon Mana to temporally revert them to a prior state]

* Starting Spells: Life Cycle [Utility], Aeon Surge [Offensive]

Please select the evolution for your Ascension Class.

Ray stared for a moment, then laughed out loud. Yes, finally. He had his class evolution in front of him. All he needed to do now was make his choice.

He looked over all his options again, carefully going through them and trying to compare what he had been offered. It was nice he wasn’t pressed for time just that moment. He had needed to be very fast during his first one thanks to having to deal with the Floor Lord.

Thankfully, there was no such issue now. Instead, Ray could take his time.

The choices were all good, honestly. Though, strangely, they were all at the same Tier and rarity.

What was more interesting were the different themes he had gotten. One was clearly influenced by all the times he had used Mimic Mana via Lifeblood Soulform. The next was apparently chaos itself. And finally, the last option sounded like a direct upgrade of what he was already capable of doing but with some potential time shenanigans going on?

Ray wasn’t quite sure. He resolved to look at each possibility deeper.

Light Mana… didn’t tell him a lot. Would he get cool laser powers? Or was it more illusion and trickery based? It was difficult to tell. At least it was open about offering Mimic Mana directly. The perk was also incredible. He could be partially not present? As in, could he phase his hand through things?

It was, frankly, an amazing prospect. Whether that was what would actually happen was the main question. Plus, he already had an effective teleportation spell and a phasing spell with Spectral Step and Project Presence. Did he really need phasing specifically?

Chaos Harbinger felt much more straightforward compared to his other options. That didn’t mean it was bad, however.

After all, if he was reading right, he would be getting access to other a bunch of other elements. Chaos would be literal. Ray was imagining throwing out fire and lightning from both his hands at the same time, perhaps calling up other, more esoteric elements like how the Lord of the Second Floor had manifested the cosmos itself.

He just wasn’t sure how exactly the other elements were supposed to come into play. It was interesting how the perk would create extra Mana slots in his Mana Core.

But again, was that even needed? He had gained a second slot and placed Origin Mana within. And while it was powerful when he found opportunities to use it, he wasn’t sure he wanted to add several more Mana variants on top of the Crucible Mana he would get access to.

Though, speaking of, he was interested in finding out what exactly Crucible Mana could offer him. How was it different from what he was already doing despite not channelling that Mana directly?

And last but not least, there was Lifeweaver Exarch. Aeon Mana sounded like some kind of time-manipulating Mana. Could he do whatever craziness Eliza was capable of? That sounded too far-fetched, but there were a lot of other possibilities.

Especially, if he read deeper, it sounded like something to do with cycles. Life and death. All in all, it sounded vaguer than his other options, but also, potentially more powerful too. At least in a way he couldn’t already access via the spells and skills he had at the moment. Plus, it was the only one that focused on three different spell types instead of two.

Ray closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Alright. It was time to decide.