Into The Pits of Despair

"Hmm? Fraud? Maybe he's right! There's almost no way anyone will actually have that amount of money on them!"

"I think it's possible though! There are a few rich people out there that could just take out 100 Mid-grade Chaos Stones on a whim…"

Mike frowns. This Young Master of the Misint family sure had issues huh? First, putting him in an awkward spot by doing something no one ever tries, then accusing someone of intentionally raising the price? Mike sighs, spoiled brats sure are hard to deal with huh.

"Ehem… Young Master Sekhit… please calm down… I don't believe there would be anyone daring enough to attempt this…" Mike tries to appease Sekhit. He really didn't want to go through with investigation the people in VIP Room #1. What if they accidentally pissed those guys off? They're in VIP Room #1 for a damn reason!

"No! I'm almost certain they don't have the funds to pull out 100 Mid-grade Chaos Stones! Plus, it doesn't take much to check, does it? If they have a clear conscience, they should be willing to allow us to look through their spatial rings for the money right?" Sekhit suggests stubbornly.

"Lin Ke, why is this person doubting us so much? Did we do something to annoy him?" Lia asks.

"Errr… I might've bid against him earlier as well…. I don't think it's that big of a deal though… Maybe he just has a mental issue." Lin Ke answers.

"Then… What do we do? Are they really going to check us? Do we consent to it?"

"I don't know…"

Seeing the hesitation on Mike's face, Sekhit continues to egg him on. "Come on, I am the Young Master of the Misint family! I'm never wrong! You guys will thank me after you manage to catch this dirty rat!"

MIke has a troubled expression on his face. He weighs his options. He could either choose to continue this auction, and risk the wrath of the Misint family, or to stop the auction for this spoiled young master… What should he choose???

As Mike went through this internal dilemma, he felt more and more lost. Until suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulders. Mike looks up and over his shoulders. Slowly, a smile crawls on his face. He looked as if he had just seen his savior.

"Mr. Wraht!" He exclaims. He quickly straightens up and bows.

Mr. Wraht gives him a warm smile and nods. "Don't worry, I'll take over from here."

"Yes sir!" Mike quickly acknowledges before backing away from the spotlight.

"My good sir from VIP Room #2, I understand your concern with intention raising of prices, but please rest assured, there is no way the people that are currently in VIP Room #1 are unable to pay 100 Mid-grade Chaos Stones." He explains.

"How do you know that? Do you have any proof?" Sekhit counters.

Mr. Wraht's face darkens. "What are you trying to say, sir? You have no idea who the people in VIP Room #1 are, so please do not accuse them of something such as this. Plus, if they truly weren't able to afford it, we will sell it to you at the price of 60 Mid-grade Chaos Stones, is that fine?"

Mr. Wraht feels his annoyance boil. If this was a normal person, he would have already thrown him out of the auction room. However, this wasn't a normal person… That didn't mean Mr. Wraht didn't develop a bad impression of him though.

"Che." Sekhit has an ugly expression on his face… Based on the words of this guy, he wasn't going to investigate into the people in VIP Room #1… Which meant that, if Sekhit didn't continue bidding, he would be at risk of losing this painting. While Sekhit really did believe that they didn't have the funds to afford it, he wasn't willing to bet on it. If he were to lose the painting, the results would be disastrous.

"Alright then, with that out of the way, is there anyone who can bid higher than 100 Mid-grade Chaos stones? If not this masterpiece will be going to the honored guests in VIP Room #1." Mr. Wraht announces.

"Wait! 105 Mid-grade Chaos Stones!" Sekhit shouts through gritted teeth.

"140 Mid-grade Chaos Stones." Lia responds calmly, despite having a slight frown on her face. Even though for the most part, Lia was an easy going person, she was also getting slightly annoyed by this person.

Sekhit feels as if something was stuck in his throat. Sister, there was no need to raise the price by 35 Mid-grade Chaos Stones immediately now was there? Give me a chance! I only borrowed 140 Mid-grade Chaos Stones! That coupled with the 10 I have left… only allows me to bid for 150 at max!!!

"A hundred…. A hundred and fifty Mid-grade Chaos Stones!" Sekhit shouts in panic. In his heart, he was hoping to dear god that the people in VIP Room #1 would stop bidding immediately…

Of course, Lin Ke picks up on the panic in his tone. "Hang on, Lia. I got this!"

Lin Ke picks up the communication crystal, a devilish grin on his face. "151 Mid-grade Chaos Stones." He said into the crystal.

"Who-" Sekhit feels his anger continually rise. "So there's also a guy in there two huh… You three will regret this! Mess with me?"

However, Sekhit doesn't try to continue bidding. He didn't have the funds, and the Artifact Hall was quite strict with its rule. He had already tested their patience multiple times today…

"151 Mid-grade Chaos Stones going once?" Mr. Wraht asks.

"151 Mid-grade Chaos Stones going twice?"

"Congratulations to the honored guests in VIP Room #1 for winning the final item for sale tonight at the price of 151 Mid-grade Chaos Stones! All of the items you've purchased will be delivered to your room shortly, so please prepare your payments. As for the rest of you who've purchased something, please bring your Bidding paddles to one of our employees and we will assist you in completing your purchase!"

Meanwhile, Sekhit was currently in the pits of despair… Not only did he not receive the painting… He was also hundreds of Mid-grade Chaos stones in debt… Since he promised to pay back double the amount he had borrowed, he now owed each and every person he borrowed from 10 Mid-grade Chaos Stones… How was he going to explain this to his family? If he managed to come home with a priceless artifact, then maybe it was excusable… maybe he would even win more favor in the family… However, now… It wasn't even clear if his status as the young master of the Misint family would be stable.

And from the pits of his anger, he had to find a target… someone to blame… and of course, the people he chose were the only ones he could… the people in VIP Room #1.