Chapter 57- Stereotypical Auction Scene Part 2
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“So what are you investing in?” Sol asked Sharp as they sat down at the bar.
“Shields, bulwarks but on a larger scale- running on a battery. The technology was lost after the Great Merge. I’ve been funding a team of scientists for a few months now.”
“Ohh,” Sol said as he nodded. June often rambled on it for hours when she had a few drinks. “So you want to rediscover the technology? That would be really helpful, I see why you went into it.”
“Exactly. I gained 100% of the investment duties when another dropped out. Hence why I’m struggling to fund them.”
“How much do you need?” Sol asked, curious.
“I project 110 gold over a span of 7 months, which is the deadline. Currently, I was putting in 5 gold a month on average. But I need far more than that. And if we do discover it then we would need a larger secondary investment to manufacture on a large scale.”
“Did the king not invest in it?” Sol asked.
Sharp shook his head disappointingly. “Too many have tried to only fail, royalty see it as giving coins to drug addicts- pointless.”
“So what makes yours different?” Sol asked honestly.
“I don’t have a direct answer, but the team I’m working with are all graduates from the top universities. The older ones are a bit traditional in their testing, these people are fresh and think differently.”
“Depending on how much we make from the heart, I’ll invest in your company.” Sol declared.
“Really? After what I just told you.”
Sol shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about if something goes wrong, that if something happens to me that I can’t look after-”
“I understand, we would help them however we could, you know.”
Sol nodded his appreciation. “But I want them to live comfortably forever.”
“I agree. You haven’t looked at any other investments, have you?”
Sol laughed. “This is me we’re talking about. I couldn’t trust anyone else.”
“I feel privileged,” Sharp half-joked.
Sol rolled his eyes.
“I generally do,” Sharp insisted.
“I’ll fund 50% of it, whatever you’re doing,” Sol said as he extended his hand out.
Sharp shook it. “I promise I'll not disappoint you.”
“When you say it like that I want to back out,” Sol joked.
“Oi, love birds,” Spike said. “The second show is starting.”
The items on display were a lot better quality this time, the prices were boosted up more to match them. Far more rarer items were now on display; named weapons, boss corpses still available to loot, armour, hard to find ingredients. The list went on and it was much more engaging to watch people pour their pockets out for such amazing items.
Sol felt around in his pouch, he had roughly 13 gold with him. He had pulled the rest out from the Unwanted bank. He hadn’t bid on anything yet but was keeping an eye out.
The second part of the show ended and they were back at the bar. They hadn’t been approached by anyone, people in the blackmarket didn’t often make friends with the Unwanted. They were usually always on business, buying and selling.
That was until Mr. Evergrand himself came up to the ground to introduce himself.
He was well built and the same height as Sol, he looked to be in his 40s but the man was probably hundreds of years old. Wealth and high level meant you lived longer in Gaia. Sol could even feel his power from across the room. He was wearing a three piece grey suit lined with the colours blue and gold like the house emblem on his chest.
He had a chiseled jaw but it was covered with a stubble that had grey hairs growing in it. His eyes were hazel and slanted than the average persons and his hair was that of an army recruit 2 months into basic training.
“Tower, is it?” Mr. Evergrand questioned, his voice sounding well put but fairly deep.
“Sir Evergrand, it is an honour to meet you. I would have come to speak to you sooner but I was not sure whether you wanted me too.”
“All is fine, this is your team?” the man asked.
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“Sharp, Spike, Mute and Immortal. The best team I could possibly ask for.”
“I’ve read the debrief from that mission you took part in with Elora, I was very impressed. However, I was angered by the lack of information provided from the administration team.”
“I agree with you, it was made for an upper Raptor group. I have to say Elora was outstanding during the mission, she lives up to the name,” Tower responded. Sol could tell he was sweating.
“Thank you, shall we sit? I would like to get to know your group better,” Mr. Evergand said.
“Of course,” Tower said, surprised.
Mr. Evergrand led them to a sectioned off table in the private bar.
“I would like to move on from this but in your own words how was Elora?” Mr. Evergrand asked as the last person sat down. “I will not take offence so please speak freely.”
“She was useful, especially for the undead,” Tower replied., “But she did disobey me a few times.”
Mr. Evergrand nodded like it was a regular occurrence. “If you could give her a mark out of 10, what would it be?”
“8.3,” Sharp responded.
“You must be the smart one she mentioned,” he noted, “That seems to be accurate. Anyway, the item you received will be going up shortly, I will be bidding on it.”
“Really, Sir?” Tower asked.
“Not for the reasons you think, the king from Auraria sent a friend to bid on it on his behalf.”
The table chuckled slightly upon hearing that.
“A joke?” the man asked.
“They’ve been after Immortal’s power for a while, made us go through a helish mission the day after the one with Elora, all to just speak to him,” Tower responded.
The man raised his eyebrow as he sipped a drink. “Was it one of his sons? The… Castrated ones.”
A round of laughter came from the table again. “The youngest, Sir,” Sharp replied..
The man nodded. “I’ve come to test how willing he is for it, he can’t very well capture Immortal. So he will go for the next best thing.”
“The heart is nothing like me- a heads up,” Sol explained.
“I thought right, it seems to be a trinket,” Mr. Evergrand said.
“An expensive one,” Sol added.
“What do you think of our organisation?” Sharp asked him, out of context.
“Unknown adventurers who will do everything to complete a mission. You have the highest success rate out of any other organisation in Gaia. If I am not forming a bond with them then I am doing something wrong.”
“I’m glad you think of us so highly, there are others out there who wish to see us fail.” Tower said.
“Times change now, back then everyone wanted to be a famous adventurer, now everyone wants to be an orphan.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone to go through the training we did,” Sol said.
“So I’ve heard, the term- ‘the strong shall prevail’ is what comes to mind,” Mr. Evergrand pondered. The man turned to Mute next.
“So you are Mute, I’m guessing your alias describes your character trait”
“Correct, Sir, she could kick any of our asses though.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” the man pondered, “So why is Spike called Spike? It seems fairly obvious with your hair.”
Spike laughed awkwardly, “My personality, I was given it unfortunately.”
“Like a stone in a shoe- Spike,” Tower said.
The man clapped his hands together in amusement. “I see, I see. Tower for being tall, Sharp for being smart and Immortal for being- well immortal.”
“Not the most creative, but a recognisable one,” Sol added.
“You do seem rather famous now, Elora is always getting questions about you- specifically in interviews.”
Sol blushed under his face mask. “I still haven’t found out who didn’t blur out my dick.”
“Oh I did,” Tower said, “The person happens to be someone we saved.”
“Who?” Sol asked.
“You remember Ester, the 50 year old lady in the fort? Well, the organisation ran a test on her and she was perfect for admin. She’s being assigned to us,” Tower said.
Sol clenched his fist. “Her reasoning?”
“A big dick on TV really gets the blood flowing,” Spike interjected.
“The women seems smart, your ratings amongst the population have shot up since the video released and Elora’s interview,” Mr Evergrand explained.
“Can’t they like me for my fighting style,” Sol whined.
“The final showing will be starting soon,” Sharp said as he glanced at his watch.
“Let us hurry then,” Mr. Evergrand said.
As they were walking towards the seating, Mr Evergrand made his way over to Sol. ‘Oh fuck’ was all Sol could think.
“Sol,” the man said quietly, taking the Immortal off guard.
He gulped. “Yes… Sir?”
“I understand you have been seeing Elora. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that I am her father.”
“Of course not,” Sol responded.
“I only ask of you to treat her with respect, she has never had eyes for anyone else. I do not care if you’re an orphan, broke or a rich man, as long as Elora is happy then I am.”
“I do already,” Sol remarked. “And thank you for seeing past my status, Sir.”
“Good, I sense a lot of reserved power in you. Unlimited potential, something Elora sees too. What is your affinity if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Of course you can sense it,” Sol said. “It is something I am not quite sure of myself as of now.”
“Strange,” Mr. Evergrand said. “You remind me of Nickolas Thorn, the famous adventurer?”
Sol clenched his fists tightly while trying his best to remain calm, “Are you friends with him?” He asked innocently.
“-Was, he passed away a decade ago. Monster attack I believe. Great man, your magical auras look fairly similar.”
“I’ll take that as a complement,” Sol replied.
He couldn’t believe Mr. Evergrand knew his father, then again it seemed obvious. His father was one of the best adventurers to ever live, yet he didn’t realise his father shared the same affinity as him.
“Enjoy the auction, Immortal,” Mr. Evergrand said.
“As with you.”