Chapter 280: Ch-280: New York Auction (2)
"Hmm?" Regal flinched as he snapped his head toward Julian, who had veins popping out on his forehead as he glared at Valerie and Victor, who had gone inside.
Suddenly, his pupils constricted to the size of pinpricks when he saw a dark hue cover his body and his aura rise, tainted with malice and darkness, which vanished immediately. If someone did not have good perception, they would have missed it.
Regal watched silently as Julian also left.
"What was that? Something is off with him," Regal muttered, and he was getting more and more frustrated by this unexpected variable. First Faceless, then Victor, and now even Julian gave him a faint sense of unease.
"Here we are."
After walking for a bit, they were soon led to a large, luxurious room.
"Not bad," Valerie complimented with a nod of her head upon entering the room. She had seen many luxurious and high-profile auctions since childhood and was satisfied with the VIP room. Even Victor was impressed as he thought, "It isn’t VVIP for nothing."
Covering the floor was a sleek red carpet that felt soft to the touch, and at the sides of the room were multiple statues made of gold and marble.
Most intriguing was the large window at the front of the room that overlooked a vast hall, which Victor presumed to be where the auction would be held. Even though he had attended an auction before, it could not hold a candle to the current one.
"Someone else will soon come to serve you during the auction. If you have any questions or would like to make a bid, please feel free to ask them, and they will answer all of your inquiries about the items. Please rest comfortably in the meantime," the attendant said politely.
"Sure." Nonchalantly nodding her head at the attendant, Valerie sat on a large red sofa.
After some time had passed, Victor noticed that there were multiple other similar rooms, which he assumed were VVIP rooms, and they were slowly getting filled. He thought, ’Most likely for other Guild Masters and government officials.’
Soon, a beautiful woman with a kind smile on her face arrived. Politely bowing, she introduced herself.
"Hello, nice to meet you. You can call me Athena, and I will be your attendant for today. If you have any questions regarding the auction, you may ask me. Whenever you successfully bid on an item, I will personally bring it to you," she said.
"Hmm, do you know where I can put items up for auction?" Victor asked, which caught everyone’s attention.
"Oh, what would you like to auction? I can take you there," the young woman said with a smile.
"Some equipment I found," Victor said, which caused the woman to frown.
"Oh, what are you going to auction?" Valerie said in surprise and curiosity, as she knew what kind and quality Victor’s items were and did not doubt for a second whether they could become the highlight of the auction. He was Faceless, after all, the top player, and she had seen him killing a Tier 5 and knew he had multiple buggy Bloodlines.
"Sigh, judging by her reaction and his young age, it should be something not very good," the attendant thought with a sigh. She recognized Valerie instantly but thought Victor was someone who had just tagged along, but she still smiled. "Of course, please follow me."
She shook her head and thought, "He is important; the organizers can surely squeeze his items in."
Victor, who did not know her thoughts, followed her from behind.
"You can put your items up for auction there," the attendant said as she led Victor forward.
"Excuse me, I would like to put these beads up for auction," Victor said to the young lady at the counter. She looked at him strangely, then looked at Athena, who sighed helplessly. Seeing their reactions, Victor remained calm.
"Are you sure you want to sell pills? No one will buy... these," the young lady said with a tight smile. Before Victor could reply, another worker who heard him started laughing.
"Hah! Does this kid actually want to sell trash at our auction hall?! This is hilarious!" a young man said arrogantly. Hearing his words, both women’s expressions changed, and they sighed in relief when they saw that Victor did not get angry.
"Marcus! Why must everything that comes out of your mouth be so foul? That’s why I told the boss not to let newcomers work at the counter," the receptionist said angrily, and Athena also frowned at her fellow worker’s unsightly behavior.
"Hmph! I’m only speaking the truth! And are you afraid of offending him?" Marcus said, then snorted as he looked at Victor with a sneer. "I saw him come with Miss Valerie. He must have used her to get access to the venue, which means he didn’t get an invitation."
Although Victor did not mind his mockery, he was complaining inwardly. ’Damn, this isn’t a Chinese novel, nor is he a young master, so why is he behaving like this?’
Victor was completely speechless at Marcus’s actions. In truth, like many others, he was an admirer of Valerie and was very proud of himself, as he had recently awakened as an Awakener and was among the top 200. Another reason was that he was genuinely offended by Victor presenting some kind of beads, as he thought it was an insult when everyone else was auctioning rare weapons and armor.
"Oh, you have some problem with my friend here?" Valerie suddenly arrived, and everyone’s expression changed, especially the man’s. But before he could reply, another voice interrupted them.
"What’s with the commotion here?!" A strong voice suddenly resounded.
A few seconds later, an old man appeared in front of them with an annoyed expression, wearing a crisp suit.
"Manager!" Both of the girls immediately stopped their argument and bowed to the old man.
"Tell me what happened," the manager asked sharply and also glared at the man, causing him to swallow his saliva.
"This sir came with Miss Valemont and wanted to auction an item. That guy over there was insulting him," Athena said as she glared at the man, who was sweating bullets.
"Huh?" The manager was displeased and then laid his eyes on Victor, and his expression changed as he adopted a respectful smile and said, "Mister Vanglory, it is an honor to meet the Guild Master of Zero Wing in person."
As soon as he said those words, the attendants’ expressions changed, and the man who was mocking Victor had gone pale as he thought, ’I am fucked. Me and my big mouth.’
"You bastard, you dare insult a VVIP? Looks like you want to die," the old man shouted in anger as he glared at the worker.
"Get lost. If I ever see you here again, you will be dead," the old man said angrily as the man, with a pale face, ran away.
"I apologize, Mister Vanglory, for his behavior. May I see the item? I will place it for auction personally," the old man said. He had the same reaction as the receptionist, but he still said this to make sure Victor did not blacklist this place and would come again in the future. If a wealthy guest like Victor chose to hold a grudge, it would be a loss for the auction hall.
"Hmm, it’s fine," Victor said as he brought out a jar, and the old man’s pupils contracted to the size of needles.
"Wait... these—" The old man’s pupils contracted to the size of needles as he said, "These are attack beads."
"Attack beads?" Even Valerie raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, these are extremely rare drops. I heard a few players had obtained them, and they were immediately bought by top-tier forces. They can absorb the attacks of even Tier 3 beasts and store them, and later use the beads to launch the stored attack at an enemy. These are used as lifesaving treasures and are at least Epic-rank items," the manager said in a trembling voice.
"What?" Valerie exclaimed as she looked at the beads the manager took after putting on gloves to not tarnish the treasure.
’Damn, if he could sell them to me directly, I would have bought them at whatever price he asked, and now everyone is going to fight for them,’ she thought as she shot a glare at Victor, who just smiled at her and scratched his chin awkwardly. He had just opened his inventory to look for some items to auction and saw them sitting there without any use, so he decided to auction them.
"Is this good enough for the auction? They already have Tier 3 attacks stored in them," Victor said.
"What?! Tier 3 attacks?" the old man exclaimed, and even the ladies covered their mouths with their hands when they heard Victor. Even Valerie looked at the beads greedily.
Gulp.
Swallowing sounds could be heard as they looked at the beads and at Victor with shining eyes.