Chapter 26: Raise the stakes.
Adam’s POV
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“Alright, everyone, no need to fight!” I shouted, trying to rein in the increasingly unruly crowd.
Since I was the one with the goods, I had the upper hand. Without me, they couldn’t get anything. To drive the point home, I calmly put all the items back into my inventory.
The crowd immediately quieted down, watching me with wide, anxious eyes. A hush fell over them as the realization hit: no goods, no deal.
“Yes, that’s more like it,” I said, exhaling a sigh of relief. Behind me, Dara stood with the sign still raised high, her eyes darting nervously over the subdued but restless mob.
There were so many things I still didn’t understand about this world, with alchemy sitting squarely at the top of that list. Sure, I let Nove handle most of it, but it couldn’t be that complicated, right? Still, this wasn’t the time to ponder the mysteries of alchemy. I needed to get everyone out of here—quickly and peacefully—before chaos erupted again.
Looking out at the hundred or so eager faces in front of me, I thought about how to handle this. I had 9 core nodes and 30 potions. The math wasn’t in my favor. How do I do this without causing a riot?
“Alright, before we get to the core nodes, who wants to buy some potions?” I called out, trying to shift focus to the items I had more of.
The response was less than enthusiastic.
“Who cares about potions?”
“Give us the core nodes!”
“Potions are everywhere—we need core nodes!”
Noted. These guys aren’t here for the potions.
“Okay, you know what? You want core nodes?” I said, smirking as I pulled out three of the nodes from my inventory and set them on the table. “Here they are!”
The crowd surged slightly, but I held up my hand to stop them. “Wait, wait, wait. We’re not doing this like savages. Let’s add a little… flair.”
Pulling a small piece of wood from my inventory, I held it like a microphone and turned to face the crowd. “Alright, ladies and gentlemen! I’m your host for today, and we’re about to see who among you has what it takes to walk away with these stunning core nodes!” I shouted theatrically, pointing dramatically at the crowd.
The sheer absurdity of my antics made some people pause, confused, while others leaned in, intrigued.
I grinned to myself. Sure, what I was doing was ridiculous, but honestly, being ridiculous often worked. I’d learned that the hard way. When in doubt, make it so stupidly entertaining that people forget to complain.
“Do you dream of wielding massive, two-foot swords but lack the strength to lift them? Do you want to strike with enough power to shatter boulders? Then this Strength Core Node is exactly what you need!” I proclaimed, my voice booming across the crowd.
The eyes of the masses widened, practically gleaming with desire. They stared at me like starving hyenas eyeing a perfectly roasted chicken. Behind me, Dara stood frozen, her mouth slightly open in shock. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the fervor of the crowd had completely taken over.
“And for those who can already hit hard but want to take a beating like a fortress wall, look no further than the Endurance Core Node! This will turn you into an unshakable tank!” I continued, gesturing dramatically as if revealing legendary treasures.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Their gazes grew more intense, locked on the core nodes like predators sizing up their prey.
“And finally,” I said, raising my hand for emphasis, “for those of you who aspire to dominate the battlefield with magic, to bend the earth to your will, and wield intelligence and wisdom like a weapon—this Intellect Core Node is for you!” My voice rose to a crescendo, and the crowd burst into cheers.
I couldn’t help but grin. They were hooked. “Now, I hope you’re all excited because we only have three of each!” I announced, holding up the nodes. Their eyes narrowed, sharpening like hunters preparing for the kill.
“Which is why,” I continued, “to ensure fairness, we’ll determine the buyers through a bidding contest! Starting at 50 silver aurens—”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Before I could even finish, someone in the crowd shouted, “55 silver for the Strength Core Node!”
For a moment, I was stunned. I hadn’t even explained the rules properly yet, and the bidding had already started. But it didn’t stop there.
“No! That node is mine! 60 silver!” another voice yelled.
“62 silver!” a third shouted.
I stood there, the corners of my mouth twitching into an evil grin. It was hard not to feel like an evil overlord watching their master plan come to fruition. Hehehe, I’ve won.
This had gone better than expected. Actually, scratch that—there was no real plan to begin with. But you can’t blame me for patting myself on the back now, can you?
Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly. The crowd was lively, the bids were climbing, and I could already see silver aurens pouring into my treasury.
And for a brief, glorious moment, I thought to myself: Finally. A day where nothing goes wrong, and everyone leaves happy.
Yeah, as if that would ever happen with my luck.
Before the last intellect node was bidded away, some fat, thick, bald dude walked up to my stall and slammed his axe down, cleaving my stall a bit before his axe got stuck. His body shape was a circle, He had a rough patch of beard, but his appearance just screamed that he was a bandit.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked me as the crowd from before all scattered away instantly as if he was the plague.
Dara was surprised but took out a small black device and pressed the button in the middle of it before hiding it away, It was the emergency plan we had made, if we met anytrouble, Dara would call dix and dix would call the local authorities to deal with the issue.
I looked at the axe and then looked up to him from my chair, “Huh, I was gonna axe you the same question, yet here we are.”
His eye brows raised, “Oh, we have a funny kid huh?” He took his axe out of my half-cut stall, trying to intimidate me. “Get rid of this stall and never come back. Your appearance alone has created a big distraction for everyone else.”
“Hey,” I shrugged my shoulders as I put my legs on my half cut stall, “If they’re getting a loss because of a kid like me.”
I already knew about this guy because I did ask Dara for all information of this place. So I knew who he was and the rules of this place. This guy was hector who took care of the security of this area, but there’s news that he would also take bribes to… do what he’s doing to me.
Getting rid of bad apples. So the good ones can soar.
Right now, I just had to stall for enough time. Until authorities arrived.
Before the final Intellect Core Node could be auctioned off, a towering, fat, bald man stomped up to my stall. His thick frame practically screamed bandit, and his scruffy patch of beard only added to the look. Without a word, he slammed his massive axe down onto my stall, cleaving into the wood before the blade got stuck.
The force shook the stand, and I leaned back slightly, raising an eyebrow. His whole body shape was like a circle, but his imposing presence sent the once-lively crowd scattering like frightened pigeons. Within seconds, the bustling market turned eerily silent.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he growled, his voice deep and gravelly, as if trying to intimidate me further.
Dara, standing behind me, flinched but didn’t panic. Instead, she quickly pulled out a small black device, pressed the button in the center, and tucked it back into her pocket. It was our emergency plan: Dara would call Dix, who in turn would alert the local authorities.
I leaned back in my chair, looking down at the axe embedded in my stall. Then I slowly glanced up at the man. “Huh,” I said casually. “I was just about to axe you the same question. And yet, here we are.”
The man’s eyebrows shot up in surprise before furrowing into a scowl. “Oh, so we’ve got a funny kid here, huh?” he said, pulling his axe free from the stall with a dramatic flourish. The half-cut wood creaked under the strain as he lifted the weapon. “Let me make this simple. Pack up your little stall and get out of here. Your presence is distracting everyone and ruining business.”
I shrugged, resting my feet on the damaged edge of the stall. “Well,” I said, feigning indifference, “if the other vendors are losing business because of a kid like me, maybe that says more about them than me.”
His face darkened, and he gripped the axe tighter, clearly unamused by my response. I, however, remained calm. I already knew who this guy was. Before setting up shop, I’d asked Dara for all the information she could gather about this place and its players.
This was Hector, the so-called “security” of the area. Officially, he was in charge of keeping things orderly. Unofficially, he was infamous for taking bribes and bullying vendors into compliance. Right now, it seemed I’d become his latest target—a “bad apple” to be plucked so the “good ones” could thrive.
I smirked internally. Too bad for him, I wasn’t planning on being plucked today.
For now, all I had to do was stall until the authorities arrived. Keeping my cool, I leaned further back in my chair, casually adjusting my posture to look as unbothered as possible.
“Anything else?” I asked lazily. “Or is this where you try to convince me you’re just doing your job?”
Hector shook his head, his smirk twisting into something far more sinister. “You made me do this, kid,” he growled. The air seemed to grow heavier as his grip tightened on the axe. “And you know what? I’m gonna enjoy this.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he raised the axe high, its edge glinting menacingly in the sunlight.
“Adam! Dodge!” Dara’s voice rang out in panic as she leapt to safety. But I didn’t need the warning—I was already prepared.
With a quick flick of my hand, I activated my Web skill, shooting sticky threads straight at his face. The webbing splattered over his eyes, blinding him, and I rolled away from the danger just as the axe came crashing down.
The force of his swing sent a cloud of dust billowing into the air. My stall—crafted from Dara’s unpaid hard work—was obliterated in a single blow, reduced to splinters and debris.
For a moment, it was just the two of us, standing amidst the wreckage, tension crackling like static in the air.
Or so I thought.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps, and Dix came skidding onto the scene, his face pale.
“Dix!” I called out, relief briefly washing over me—until I saw his expression.
“They’re not coming!” he shouted, his voice laced with urgency.
I froze. “What?”
“The security! They’re not coming!” Dix repeated, his tail flicking anxiously behind him.
I groaned as all three of us raised our fists.
Why does it always turn out this way.