NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104: Entering the Auction
Richard continued reading in the library, even having lunch there by ordering from a restaurant across the street.
Besides books about powerful figures, he also read through the personal experiences of those figures in their cultivation of magic.
From the Aether Will Realm, Life Aether Realm, World Realm, Grimoire Realm, Lord Realm, and finally the Ruler Realm.
It seemed there were only six Realms, but the higher one climbed, the longer the process took, and the power of each stage became increasingly unimaginable.
For Richard, who needed to find his own way of becoming one with the world, the experiences of others were something he had to gather.
Understanding the world was easy enough—the difficult part was understanding oneself, and then uniting both.
This wasn't something one could ask about. It could only be discovered slowly, step by step. There was no magical shortcut that could directly help someone understand themselves.
When the sky began to darken, Richard finally stopped reading.
He stood up, stepped out of the library, and made his way directly toward the Golden Leaf Auction House.
He had a city map, so he could easily navigate his way there from the library.
The location was at the peak of a mountain—not too tall, nor too wide—but the entire mountaintop was reserved solely for the auction house.
The mountain itself was known as Golden Leaf Mountain.
Richard found that the mountain had staircase-like paths, easy enough for pedestrians to climb.
As he ascended, he saw many others, most of them looking like elite nobles—groups of young men or families led by middle-aged figures.
They came in extravagance, flaunting their wealth.
And they were not just wealthy. Richard could sense the strong auras radiating from each of them.
This auction clearly did not invite the wealthy—it invited the powerful.
At the top of the mountain, Richard saw a massive black building, its design nothing more than a cube, yet it appeared to be constructed of a special material, its glossy surface giving the impression it was indestructible.
It stood about fifty meters tall, but had only one entrance, a doorway roughly three meters high and wide.
And guarding that door were not humans, but human-shaped puppets made of wood.
They asked for invitations from each guest before allowing them to enter.
Richard didn't rush to go inside. He observed first. And he wasn't the only one wearing a Ghost Robe. There were quite a few of them—likely people intent on bidding for treasures.
Not long after his arrival, he spotted Gray and Laura. They seemed to have resolved their own issues, though Gray bore a scar on his cheek that seemed difficult to erase despite being healed.
Perhaps their problem hadn't escalated into a life-and-death battle as rumored, but it appeared Gray had emerged as the victor, since he was still healthy and with Laura.
As a tournament participant, Gray lacked no attention. Some nobles even greeted him, extending invitations to their homes.
Aside from Gray, Richard also saw other participants.
Most of them clearly hailed from great backgrounds—sons of governors or noble families—while only a few were like Gray, with no real background to speak of.
Overall, the participants were dominated by men, with only a handful of women.
Like Richard, many chose to linger outside first, rather than head straight into the auction hall.
Interestingly, a large eagle suddenly flew in from the direction of the capital's center, soaring directly toward the mountain peak.
Standing atop it was a young man of around twenty, with black hair and pale skin.
He was somewhat lean, but not in a frail way—his broad chest gave him a strong presence.
What was most striking about him, however, were his eyes. They were as sharp as an eagle's.
The combination of his piercing gaze and handsome face made many young women struggle to blink as they stared at him.
Despite wearing only an ordinary black robe, his noble aura was undeniable, especially as he was accompanied by two old men who looked far too ancient to still be alive—yet they radiated such oppressive power that people pretended not to notice them.
"Luca. He's here too. Seems like there's something he's after—otherwise he wouldn't bother showing up," someone said.
"Yeah, but considering his background, he should be able to obtain most things anyway. If he has to actually bid for it, then it must be something even the kingdom has trouble acquiring."
"I suppose it'll be difficult for anyone to compete with him. After all, didn't Duke Dasmond give him the authority to use his wealth as he pleases?"
People spoke casually, while Richard studied the young man, who seemed more unpredictable than he had expected.
In his view, just being Tier 12 in the Aether Will Realm wasn't worth noting—he might even be able to defeat him now as someone in the Life Aether Realm—but instinct told him this man was far stronger than he appeared.
'Judging by his robe, he's also a member of the Dark Star Legion,' Richard thought as he observed him.
He wondered whether this man would eventually become his enemy.
But even if that was the case, he wasn't worried.
As long as he hadn't foreseen his own death, he feared no problem.
Compared to Richard, Gray looked far more serious as he studied Luca.
All the other tournament participants were the same. They clearly felt the pressure from him—the kind of pressure that robbed them of their confidence to aim for first place.
Luca, after descending from his eagle with the two old men following him, immediately entered the auction hall.
After him, the others began to enter as well.
Besides him, no other young figure attracted much attention, apart from members of the older generation.
But the older generation rarely caused a stir upon their arrival. They had lived long enough that people had grown accustomed to their presence.
Richard followed the crowd. He presented his invitation to one of the wooden puppets guarding the door and was immediately allowed inside.
From the outside, it was impossible to see within. But once he stepped past the doorway, he found himself in a vast auditorium, the seating arranged like rows of thrones.
The grandeur dazzled the eyes, and the stage at the front was alive with a captivating dance performance by several beautiful women in blue gowns.
Not one of them was anything less than enchanting—enough to make love-struck men like Gray blink less than usual as they stared at the stage.