The Styx Auction House was a steel and glass building that towered over all other buildings in the Under City. According to Tiffany, the Agent of Jealousy, it was the only place on Pandora where anything could truly be bought and sold without fearing any repercussions.

Whereas the Undercity was characterized by its diverse population, its ad hoc agreements, and its non-lethal violence, the Styx Auction House was a place of order and authority. Just a brief scan of the establishment confirmed the place to be a death trap fueled by death-aligned mana.

The proprietors weren’t even subtle about the open threat, and as a result, even the most horrible visitor would be meek as a mouse.

“Welcome to the Styx Auction House,” said a hooded man as passed through auction house’s automatic glass doors. He leaned forward to reveal an empty skull with blue flames burning in its eye sockets. “Today’s auction will be hosted by the Golden Circle in collaboration with the Hyde Auction Group. May I please have your identity plate?”

Sorin ignored the skeleton’s surprisingly powerful spiritual probe and placed a black plate on the desk. “Three individuals and one familiar for the auction.” The skeleton continued its unhurried scan and only pulled back its potent eyes after failing to pierce their disguises.

“Your documents are in order, and nothing is amiss about your identity,” said the skeleton. He touched a bony finger to the black identity plate, causing it to light up with the number 647. “To place a bid, simply convey your intentions into the plate with your spiritual senses.

“Do note that any bids placed are binding agreements. Failure to settle accounts will result in a visit from one of the Hyde Clan’s collectors.”

“Understood,” said Sorin, picking up his plate. “Must we wait out here or can we proceed directly to the auction?”

“The auction will begin in precisely one hour,” explained the skeleton. “You may enjoy the complimentary refreshments in the lobby or enter the auction house at your leisure. Your plate number corresponds to a private booth.” He then looked away from their group and motioned for the next group to come forward.

Lawrence waited until they were halfway through the lobby before voicing his thoughts. “That skeleton was too creepy,” he said with a shudder. “Did you see those flames? For a second, I thought we were done for.”

Gareth nodded grimly. “That was a high-level identification skill. Did you also notice the runes etched on its bones? Those are amplification runes made to amplify identification skills.”

“The real question is how the hell that thing is alive,” said Lawrence. “It looks dead, but it can clear move. That said, I had the distinct impression that its movements were a little clumsy. Like someone was using threads to move it.”

Sorin chuckled as he grabbed a glass of whiskey from one of the skeletal waiters and shot it back. “That skeleton was just a puppet, Lawrence. A distraction.”

“Wait, seriously?” asked Lawrence. “No way. I would have seen the spiritual threads or mana threads.”

“You failed to because its controller has demigod-tier spirituality,” Sorin explained. “Thankfully, only a sliver of their attention was set on controlling that specific skeleton. The skeleton waiters, the skeleton guards, and even the skeleton patrols outside the auction house are all controlled by the same individual.”

A quick scan of the lobby confirmed that many powerful individuals were present. It would not be wise to spread poisons in such an environment.

He did, however, mark key individuals using karma. A small tap, a three second conversation—it didn’t take much to establish a connection.

They left the lobby fifteen minutes prior to the start of the auction. A pair of double doors led them up to the sixth-floor lobby, where a pale man wearing black robes greeted them.

“Your identity plate, sir?” asked the man.

“Six-forty-seven,” said Sorin, holding out their identity plate. “There’s no need to trouble yourself. We can find our own way around.”

“I’m afraid I must insist,” said the man. “The protection of our guests during the auction is paramount. Mingling outside the main floor lobby is strictly prohibited.”

A spiritual projection peeled off the man to lead them down one of two dark corridors. The projection led them to a sliding door that opened onto a balcony. An attractive woman wearing far few little clothes was already waiting for them.

As the door slammed shut behind Sorin and company, the woman rose to her feet and bowed deeply. “Serving Girl 647 will be happy to assist you with anything you desire. This one is also available for purchase for the low price of ten thousand gold coins.”

Sorin smothered his rage and schooled his expression. “Thank you for your assistance, Serving Girl 647.”

“There is no need for thanks,” said the slave. “This one will wait by your side for further orders.”

Sorin rolled his eyes and stepped forward, flicking his sleeve at the Bone-Forging slave and injected her body with a hefty dose of poison. Her eyes glazed over as she dropped to the ground and paid no further attention to their group.

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“What the hell are you doing, Sorin?” barked Gareth.

“Relax,” Sorin assured Gareth. “The poisons affecting her are a blend neurotoxin, manatoxins, and sensory deprivation toxins. She won’t be able to see or hear any of our activities, and neither will she be able to use skills to monitor our words.”

“And I suppose this is necessary?” Gareth asked with a scowl.

Sorin shrugged. “Unless you wanted to kill her after we finished the auction? Or buy her and keep her locked away indefinitely? That said, I think I could probably mix something up that will cause her to forget her painful past along with our time at the auction house. I’ll tell you what, you decided what we should do with her since you’re so ethical.”

“Um, guys?” said Lawrence, pointing through the balcony’s one-way window. “I think the auction is starting.”

A woman in a black dress wearing a conspicuous gold collar walked onto a stage. Strangely, the stage appeared to be just below their level, even though it was located on the ground floor.

Her hair was blue, and her skin was white to the point of transparency. The smile she wore was genuine but broken. What remained of her shattered mind was happy to be here.

“Welcome to this month’s Golden Circle Auction,” announced the woman. “As many of you know, my name is Valorie, and I will be your humble host for this evening. This month’s selection is especially large, and as per our usual practice, the Styx Auction House is happy to supplement the auction of live goods with valuable resources that are difficult to find without the right connections.

“As always, the Styx Auction House guarantee that goods purchased here will be free of unnecessary karmic entanglements. If required, the auction house will deliver purchased goods to a specified location in the inner city for a nominal fee. Alternatively, delivery to the Overcity can also be arranged for a hefty surcharge. Teleportation to any location in the Overcity and Undercity is possible using an appropriate spatial key.

“Before we begin, I’ll emphasize that all bids are binding. Failure to settle accounts will result in a less-than-pleasant outcome for the offending party.

“With that troublesome bit out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the first item of the evening: a quintet of nymphs from the outer world, to be delivered directly to your booth within five minutes of purchase.”

Five ethereal creatures walked out on the stage below, confirming the host’s identity as a half nymph. Instead of pale flesh, the nymphs were creatures of ethereal water. Golden collars on their necks forced them to remain in their humanoid forms.

“These fine specimens are rare three-star creatures nourished exclusively with crystalized jealousy,” continued the host. “Additionally, their status as quintuplets provides them with unique substitution abilities that the buyer will undoubtedly be pleased by.

“The reserve price for these beauties is 50 divine standard divine crystals, with a minimum increment of one divine crystal. After five seconds of inactivity, the winning bid shall be locked in and the transaction immediately settled.”

Sorin had been to a few auctions, but never one that used the strange black bidding devices they were given. As a test, he placed 51 divine bid. The identity plate accepted the bid, and number was displayed above the stage. It was quickly replaced by the number 59.

Sorin placed no further bids, as he had no interest in purchasing slaves. Instead, his goal would be accomplished simply by placing a bid to infect the living merchandise with his karma.

By forming enough karmic connections and combining them with his karmic acquisitions from the other slave-trading companies in the Undercity, Sorin would be able to track the winners of the auction. More importantly, he would gain an accurate map of the Golden Circle organization and their operations on the surface.

“I wonder what it’s like to kiss a nymph,” said Lawrence casually. Gareth and Sorin both shot him a cold glare. “I’m not saying I’m interested in placing a bid,” he said defensively. “But you have to wonder, right? I’ve been thinking about it since the one that tried to kill us.”

Gareth shook his head. “It wouldn’t be a good idea to try, even if you had the opportunity. Their cultivation methods are corruption-based, after all. Better to kiss a viper than to kiss a nymph. No offense.”

“None taken,” said Sorin. “That said, I believe I saw a few nymph slaves in the Inner City that were nurtured using divinity. Corruption is likely not a strict requirement for myths. Instead, it’s the limited quantity of divinity that’s the limiting factor.”

“Maybe,” said Gareth, unconvinced. “Do you think everything here will be so expensive?” The price had already risen up to 148 divine crystals.

“Does it matter?” asked Sorin. “Our mission here is to scout, not buy. And if we happen to find something nice that’s in our budget, we’ll make attempt.” The price for the quintuplets rose to 153 divine crystals before the auctioneer finalized the bid. The shivering nymphs were then escorted off the stage. A bald man with black eyes walked onto the stage with a box, which he opened as he fell to one knee.

“Now that our opening item has whetted your appetites, we’ll start the first batch of regular auction items,” said the auctioneer. “This small item is known as an Infernal Heart Flower. Growing them requires nurturing a seed for fifty years using Flamekin Blood for fifty years alongside the Schiff Clan’s proprietary plant nurturing techniques.

“Any fire-aligned cultivator who consumes this flower will find their sensitivity to fire energy slightly improved. Controlling flames will become slightly easier. The reserve price is 5 divine crystals. Please note that obtaining such an object is virtually impossible without connections to the Schiff Clan—don’t let this opportunity pass you by!”

Sorin eyed Gareth as the price climbed up to 10 divine crystals. “Do you think Daphne needs one of those?”

Gareth shrugged. “She’s a rich girl. She can buy her own things.”

“Good,” said Sorin. “Because including the crystals I got for selling tinctures and the advance Daphne gave me, I only have 350 divine crystals. What are you all looking for?”

“A good bow, if possible,” said Gareth. “My quiver is perfect, but the arrows it produces are too powerful for what I’m currently wielding.

“Nothing in particular,” said Lawrence. “I’ll let you know if I see anything. What about you, Lorimer? You look excited.”

Sorin chuckled as he petted the rat’s head. “He can smell something that would be useful to him. Hopefully it’s up for auction instead of wasting away in someone’s pocket.”

The Infernal Heart Flower went for 12 divine crystals and was followed by the auction of a human male in the flesh-sanctification realm and a caged gorgon, whom Sorin considered bidding for but decided that it would be best to keep his bottom line as intact as possible given how much corruption was rampaging inside his body.

“Next up is an interesting alloy called Shadow Cage Steel,” said the auctioneer. “It’s not commonly used to forge larger weapons due to its flexible nature but is a premium metal when it comes to daggers, awls, short swords. The reserve price for this item is 12 divine crystals.”

Lawrence perked up as a she opened a box to reveal a small shard that resembled broken glass. “I need this,” said the rogue. “Or at least my blood bound thread does.”