Ananda explained more about Hobbiton to them.
At first, Angor thought Hobbiton was a child who felt too restricted or bullied in his noble family and chose to run away from home, thus his current condition.
It was not the case. According to Ananda, Hobbiton’s family was a peaceful and loving community, which was a very rare case among typical nobility. Hobbiton was not the only son in the family, but his brother loved him just fine.
The only thing Ananda tried to muddle through was why Duke Tepikkhu locked up Hobbiton in the first place. Since the age of seven, the Duke forcefully forbade Hobbiton from going out but did not restrict outsiders from visiting him.
And this seemed not right. Hobbiton’s father grounded him while allowing him to receive information freely from outside?
“I always meant to find out why Hobbiton was imprisoned for ten years. But every time I visited him, I cannot find anything. Duke Tepikkhu acted friendly to me. I was allowed to do anything as long as I don’t take Hobbiton away. At least that man’s a lot better than my own father,” said Ananda as she revealed a worried look.
“Still, Hobbiton was about to reach eighteen now, and he had little experience regarding the outside world. His mind is still that of a child. Please don’t punish him too hard, kind sirs!”
Instead of worrying about whether they should forgive the child, Angor was getting curious about Hobbiton’s family.
Dave suddenly pointed to a clock on the wall. “Angor, the auction is only half an hour away.”
Angor nodded and turned to Ananda again. “You take care of Hobbiton for now. We’ll talk when we get back.”
The three of them left the compartment.
“But isn’t that bastard going to run away if we leave them there?” Dave asked along their way.
“It doesn’t matter,” Angor said. “It’s not like he’s anyone too important to us.”
“Gods. I should’ve given him a good beating while I still have time!” Dave was still angry over his wallet being stolen.
Strange. Why are there so many people who are thieves in Midnight Sovereign? That Ananda woman must be someone with a good background too, considering how she can enter a duke’s mansion freely. How did she become a thief?
Angor wondered.
The importance of the grand auction could be obviously seen by the huge crowds of supernaturals walking on the streets. Even the sky was getting congested with all the people traveling in the air.
Angor felt like going to a battlefield when walking among countless people in the same direction. Every step felt heavy as if something really significant was happening in history.
Soon, they reached their final destination: The Twilight Auction House.
It was a square-shaped steel tower which looked pretty tattered from the outside. Several buildings nearby all had skywalks connected to the top of the tower. There were flags placed along the skywalks of a pale white color like the moon, giving the whole place a desolate feel.
The tower was both high and broad. Each level had a chimney releasing smoke into the environment.
The tower itself did not have any other decorations. Its steel skin had rusty red spots here and there, as well as small breaches which were patched up using steel of different colors. The tower stood tall, like a ruined landmark that never wavered in the path of history.
Each side of the tower was a solid wall stretching several dozen meters wide with a giant gate on it, thus allowing the terrible crowds to proceed smoothly.
“Master Prome, we don’t need a ticket or invitation to get in?” Angor suddenly thought of something.
He once accompanied old Viscount Padt to an auction in Waterford before, which required them to have an invitation. He was still too young by then and could not remember the details.
Prome chuckled. “You never asked, I thought Dave already explained this one. During two grand auctions each year, the area is divided into outer stage and inner stage. The outer stage means the great hall on the first floor where you can watch the inner stage from a central screen. Anyone can enter the outer area and participate in public biddings. But each individual is only allowed to make three bidding attempts, and each costs a service fee of five magic crystals. Meanwhile, those who can enter the inner stage do not follow these restrictions.”
Angor found it pretty interesting. It meant whoever bidding from the outside had to make every attempt count and make sure no one in the inner area could bid against him, or they would never get an item. On the other hand, the outer stage was an open area with a lot of people around, so anyone who bid here could avoid being chased by someone with malevolent intent.
“So we need an invitation to go into the inner area?”
“Invitations are for private gatherings. There are too many people attending the auction, so they can never find enough time to send invitations to everyone,” Prome explained. He continued, “There are two ways to go inside. You either become their VIP or spend enough money to buy a ticket.”
“Um, should we get the tickets now? How much for them?” Angor frowned. He was only going for a number of cheap materials so it was unlikely for him to compete with other wizards which meant the inner area was a better choice.
Prome shook his head and chuckled again.
Dave understood Prome’s gesture and quickly flattered, “Don’t you worry about it, Angor! We don’t need those. Master Prome is a Silver VIP in Twilight Auction!”
“Silver VIP?”
It reminded Angor of Greya’s restaurant, which also regarded their customers who were on different levels differently. Was this something popular in this world?
“A Silver VIP can bring five other guests into the inner stage and enjoy the Silver VIP seats. But it isn’t easy to get such a qualification. You must make one-off spending of 5,000 crystals in the tower, and the auction will validate your personal background before making you their VIP. I’m afraid Master Prome is the only one who earned such a privilege as an apprentice.”
Prome smiled brighter at Dave’s smart reaction. Letting a third individual explain the value of his trait was always better than doing it himself. Having Dave around meant he could display his superior prowess to people while remaining completely chilled.
“I see. Nice!” Angor pretended to be amazed, although he was not at all.
The auction would start in twenty minutes now, and the great hall was mostly filled up. Prome glanced at the struggling participants and led Angor and Dave toward the VIP passage with his head lifted high proudly.
When he heard about “Silver VIPs”, Angor thought they could use private chambers or something similar. However, it turned out that the Silver VIP seats were merely bigger seats scattered about on the second floor which allowed them to watch the auction from a vantage point with more personal space.
They took their seats. Angor unbuttoned his pocket to let Toby observe the auction as well.
He spent some time looking around the inner stage. It was smaller than he expected, and he did not see many people. There were probably several hundred people sitting down there at best.
Also, Angor noticed that most of the participants here were apprentices. Only a dozen powerful wizards were among them, who displayed their auras which resembled Flora’s level of strength.
There was a third floor where the private chambers for Gold VIPs were located. Angor could not see into the chambers although he was sure that only wizards could go there.
Angor’s inspecting gazes attracted some attention from people, but they soon ignored him when they saw it was only a teenager looking at them.
Since there was still time, Prome went ahead and explained more information to Angor, “Ordinary auctions are usually held in different sections, such as materials section, potion section, weapon, and so on. People can choose a section according to their own needs. But the Grand Auction is comprehensive, so we’ll see everything here.”
Prome boasted about his experience of becoming a Silver VIP until they heard the sound of a blowing horn, and from there, the inner stage suddenly grew dark.
“It’s on. If you want to bid on something, inject your mana into the transmitter on your seat,” Prome lowered his voice.
“For countless decades, I seek the eternal truth. Yet the path is distant, and the sight slowly grows stale. Yet there is the twilight, who remained to soothe my troubled mind.”
A middle-aged woman materialized on the auction stage, covered in glittering spots like fireflies.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I shall be your auctioneer tonight. While my humble name is long forgotten, you can call me ‘Twilight’.”
The light spots beside her body gradually vanished, revealing her face in front of everyone. She looked rather average.
“Without further ado then. After our careful review, we have a total of 173 items attending the auction. Of course, there are curious objects among them. Now, let’s begin.”
Twilight spoke in an absolute plain, unemotional tone, but her words strangely grasped everyone’s attention.
“Our first lot is a batch of Glowing Velvet Potion produced by Winter Pharmacy. Nineteen glasses in all. We shall start from zero, and I only accept raises of above 30 magic crystals.”