Emperor Lawrence

Heaven’s Fortress City, capital of the Heavenly Path Kingdom. Divine Plane.

Lawrence sighs after entering the Violet Twilight auction house, although his current level is 604, he still finds it difficult to enter this place when so many people gather outside.

"If I were recognized, they would clear the way for me, but I cannot deal with the consequences at this moment."

Too much notoriety can be as beneficial as it is unfavorable.

There will be time to satisfy his vanity, until then, this is the best path.

"Mr. Lawrence, please come in."

The servant opens the door, and then dozens of voices reach his ears. Behind the door is the room where the most important item owners gather, and just tonight, each of them will earn millions of gold from the auction of their items. But what's most surprising is not them, but the faction leaders.

‘Ephemeral Principle, Reigning Myrias, Gate of Torment, and… Eminent Greed.’

It is the first time all of them have arrived before Lawrence, who usually arrived at the last second. This is an unprecedented event. As if…

This auction was special.

Lawrence enters the room and smiles inwardly, ‘You’re doing well for someone who has lost their memories, eh…’

After seeing Eminent Greed, he would doubt her memory loss if it weren't for having seen her death with his own eyes. The aura she emits, her gaze, and her behavior, are identical to those from her previous life.

When the lesser item owners approach him, Lawrence takes the opportunity to ask them about what is happening.

"Even when you don’t know, you are able to sense it…" One of them smiles subtly and then says, "You are right, this auction is very different from any other."

"What is being auctioned?"

"What is auctioned is not important, rather it is its origin."

Lawrence's gaze is enough to satisfy the other party, so he does not prolong the conversation. "An Archaic Ruin has evolved, and one of the raiders returned alive. Along with him, dozens of items that defy our understanding of the world."

Unlike the Forbidden Areas of the Inferior Plane, the Archaic Ruins of the Divine Plane can evolve if they are not conquered in time. The major consequence of this is that they expand and can threaten the life of the kingdom, hence, owning an Archaic Ruin is both good and bad news.

The biggest problem facing kingdoms with an Archaic Ruin is that they can only be conquered by those destined to inherit their legacy, the rest of the immortals are merely looters who will never reach the core of the Archaic Ruin.

While there are exceptions, the price to pay is far too high.

Upon hearing this, Lawrence inwardly laments being broke. The only money he will have is from the auction of his fertility pills, but even this is earmarked, he cannot spend it easily. Trading with these item owners is the next way to make money, but it is uncertain if any of them will have prepared any pill recipes to deliver to Sky Petal.

Until then, all the money he possesses is imaginary.

‘But…’

Lawrence notices the gaze of a woman in the distance and smiles.

‘I can cheat a little.’

He raises his wine glass in the direction of that woman, towards Eminent Greed.

This takes Eminent Greed by surprise, but because she has lost her memories and does not know how to react properly… She raises her glass in his direction, without revealing that she is clenching her teeth and the hatred she feels for that man.

This surprises many, because until now Lawrence had not been part of any faction, he is someone neutral, but his actions show that this is no longer the case.

Before some item owners could step back and distance themselves from him, Lawrence performs an action that would surprise them again.

He again raises his wine glass, only this time towards Gate of Torment.

Everyone holds their breath waiting for Gate of Torment's response. The latter keeps his expression unchanged, but deep inside he knows he has no other choice.

"It can't be, Gate of Torment also raised his glass…"

This might astonish many, but not the one who caused all this.

Because he has their weaknesses. They must coordinate even if they do not want to.

It is then that Lawrence feels the gaze of two important figures, the lizard woman, Reigning Myrias, and the lion man, Ephemeral Principle.

‘…I’m taking a risk, but it’s this or nothing.’

His wine glass once more rises, but not towards that woman whose Green Wolves include machinations, but towards that man who gave him a sword…

Towards Ephemeral Principle.

Many thoughts cross his mind as he makes this move, but, what is ridicule if not but a veiled opportunity? Because many fear to suffer it, they forget the gains that can be made.

The worst that could happen are the taunts of his adversaries, but otherwise…

“This…”

Lawrence smiles, because… he won the bet.

"Mr. Ephemeral Principle also raised his glass, what's the backstory?"

Factions are nothing more than a network that allows item owners to access exchanges closer and less likely to suffer losses, but they forget that faction leaders only see them as subordinates, because they themselves also have goals to fulfill and as long as someone satisfies them, it is possible to gain their favor.

While Gate of Torment and Eminent Greed did it out of obligation, Ephemeral Principle did it on a whim. Because, what is Lawrence but just a simple immortal? Having him on his side does no harm, though neither would having him on the enemy's side.

Due to such thoughts, today Lawrence reveals his relationship with three of the four big shots in this room.

This is a different kind of neutrality.

"Attention everyone. This humble servant has the honor of hosting tonight, I am Incandescent Stone, and welcome to a new auction at the Violet Twilight auction house."

A level 899 ranker refers to himself as [humble servant], just how many resources did the auction house spend to have such a man host their auction?

The auction begins with the items they had prepared before the arrival of the items from that Archaic Ruin. Many of these are sold at a low price because all those present are reserving their money for the newly arrived items, no one is foolish enough to miss this opportunity.

Those who suffer the most from this are people like Lawrence.

‘Damn! I'm willing to accept a loss of a million gold, but no more!’

His fertility pills can sell in the range of 7 to 8 million golds, but this event may reduce their value to an all-time low. Lawrence only hopes that his bidders long more to have a child than to own a unique item never seen before.

Time passes and his fertility pills are auctioned sooner than usual.

“Congratulations Mr. Lawrence, your fertility pills did not drop in value.”

The three pills sell in the range of 6.5 to 7.5 million gold, and the item owners congratulate him. It seems, his clients consider the opportunity to have a child more valuable than the uncertain chance of acquiring a unique artifact.

Not to mention that the battle for those items will be fierce.

Lawrence sighs with relief, but does not show it on his face.

‘I was hoping to see eight million gold, but this result isn't bad at all.’

Considering the circumstances of this auction and by the mere fact of not losing money, he can consider himself a winner.

“The auctioned items are truly impressive.” One of his companions is amazed by the mysteries each of them holds, “In what kind of world would there be a technique that helps stones that acquired wisdom to strengthen their minds?”

Each of the techniques, magics, magic artifacts, weapons, and countless other items serve an extremely unique purpose. While some may cause laughter, others simply make the blood of the spectators boil.

If anything can be deduced from these items, it is that the Archaic Ruin that produced them has a mysterious origin.

No one is capable of understanding how such a world could fall before the river of time.

Lawrence has been able to keep his heart still thanks to his lack of money. No matter how impressive these may be, he is not impressed at all…

That was until he sees a plant with a white flower and yellow leaves ascend to the platform.

“I don’t like being moved.”

“Eh? Did the plant just speak?”

The host is unable to present the item, and a commotion occurs when everyone hears the plant talk. This may be curious for many, but Lawrence feels his heart beat rapidly after seeing it.

“The following item is a plant, its name is Silver Lily…”

Lawrence no longer continues listening to the host's presentation and walks towards Eminent Greed. Before he reaches her table, some of her subordinates stop him. He may belong to her faction, but there are rules he must follow!

Eminent Greed hides her discomfort deep inside and says: "Let him pass"

"Yes."

Since the talking plant is just a curiosity for the item owners, what happens between Lawrence and Eminent Greed is much more intriguing for them.

But while this happens, he is not aware of the gaze of a certain lizard woman.

Once he sits down in front of her, he immediately feels the mana moving around them.

As soon as it stops, he says in a mocking tone: "For someone who has lost their memory, you're already able to block sound around us. What a good student."

“What do you want, Lawrence?”

The tone of voice of both carries a deep feeling, hatred, resentment, distrust… but their gazes are the complete opposite. Anyone who sees them would think they are discussing business.

He does not respond to her question immediately, instead glancing sideways at Gate of Torment and smiling subtly.

“I see you’ve reconciled with your father.”

“We just had a few words.”

Despite the brief conversation between father and daughter, she was able to feel his paternal affection. For a woman who has lost her memory, that feeling is important.

“The auction will start at a hundred thousand golds, the highest bidder takes it!”

Lawrence opens his mouth but stops after hearing the host begin the auction for the talking plant.

“Bid on that plant, I want it.”

“…”

“Don't worry, I'll pay you later. Right now... the last thing you should be worried about is money, am I wrong?”

“Tsk.”

She waits for the price to increase a bit, allowing the betting game to continue for a while. Making an offer now is no different from making enemies, so when the conditions are met… she sees the man in front of her nod his head.

“500 thousand golds, number 13!”

Some murmurs follow, but no one dares to offend a two-digit number, a number so close to the top ten.

“Congratulations number 13! The item is yours!”

While he reflects arrogance in his eyes, she shows caution in hers.

The conversation between them is far from over.