Chapter 317: Day Of Auction

"Escape? Is that even possible in that situation?" Serys asked with a frown.

She didn’t have a problem with escaping—in fact, if possible, she would’ve preferred just retrieving the weapon and leaving.

That way, there’d be no casualties, no unnecessary fights, and they would both make it out in one piece.

But the problem was how. They had no way of escaping the area fast enough.

Daniel pulled a talisman out of his inventory and placed it in front of her.

Serys’ eyes fell on the talisman, and her eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Just to be sure, she looked at it again.

"Where did you get this?"

"I got it from a friend," Daniel replied simply, then added,

"What do you think? Would this be enough to escape?"

"With this, we can definitely escape. We can get far enough that they won’t be able to find us," Serys said, a glimmer of joy flashing in her eyes.

"There’s just one problem," he sighed.

"Problem? What kind of problem?"

"I only have one talisman."

Serys went quiet and didn’t reply immediately. It looked like she was having an internal conflict about some kind of decision.

Several seconds passed before she finally spoke.

"It’s fine. We can both escape with one talisman."

"Really? But how?" Daniel asked curiously. He’d never heard of such a thing being possible.

"I’ll tell you when we need to use it," Serys answered, her cheeks turning red, though she quickly tried to hide it.

It was clearly something embarrassing for her—but what other option did they have in a situation like this?

Daniel placed the talisman back into his inventory. Not long after, the maid (she) brought them their tea.

While they were drinking, Elarion, who had been sent on a mission, finally returned. Fortunately, he had gathered all the information they wanted.

It turned out that Ravon was actually the son of the Marquess of Crystalgard—a city lord in all but name.

While not the official ruler, his family was appointed by the Valenbergs to govern the city.

And his family wasn’t weak either. His father was a Half Step S Rank, and from the looks of it, he had the potential to reach full S Rank.

As for Ravon himself, he had a good reputation among the people. The only negative one might say was that he acted too much like a loyal dog for the young lady of the Valenberg family, Celestina.

Still, that was good news for Daniel and Serys. They could take advantage of his affection to get more information.

With the new intel and the presence of the talisman, they drafted a new plan.

It wasn’t set in stone—there was still room for adjustments depending on how things played out.

Two days passed like this, and finally, the day of the auction arrived.

On that day, the city was under maximum security—though the people had no idea anything was different.

After all, this was a black market auction, and most of the items being sold weren’t legal.

More flying ships and carriages descended from the sky, parking nearby.

Their owners were one more powerful and wealthier than the next.

Even the people of Crystalgard themselves were confused and stunned by the sudden arrival of so many carriages and flying ships in their city.

Their city wasn’t exactly small—in fact, it was considered quite prosperous—but it wasn’t exactly a known destination for noble families or the wealthy elite.

And especially not this many visitors at once.

That said, it didn’t mean the people were upset. The more wealthy tourists came, the more money flowed in—and that meant more business and growth for the city.

"Ready to go?" Daniel asked as he looked at Serys inside the Valenberg estate.

Serys was wearing an elegant and noble evening dress.

"Let’s go," she nodded, and they headed out toward the auction site.

The distance wasn’t far, so they decided to walk to enjoy the scenery of the city.

But to their surprise, the city was unusually quiet.

It seemed like the usual crowd and noise had decreased significantly.

Still, they didn’t pay it much mind. It was a holiday, after all, so it made sense for fewer people to be outside.

Soon, they reached their destination. Surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded at all—there was no line outside, and it didn’t look busy inside either, judging from the window.

"Maybe there are other entrances?" Daniel said as he opened the bar door for Serys.

They entered and approached the host. The man looked them over—judging by their clothes and appearance, he seemed to immediately know why they were here.

"What can I get for you, sir and madam?"

"Two glasses of wingless fly whiskey," Daniel said calmly.

The host smiled when he heard those words and motioned for them to follow him.

He walked behind the bar, opened a hidden door, and gestured for them to enter.

Daniel and Serys exchanged a glance and then walked through the door.

There were stairs leading down—many stairs, in fact.

Without hesitation, they began descending. The deeper they went, the more it felt like the stairs were endless.

Both of them grumbled a bit, but eventually, they reached the final step.

At the bottom was a narrow hallway, and at the end of it stood another door—this one metallic, with a slot in the middle.

Daniel walked up to it and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge. Then he glanced at the slot and something clicked in his mind.

"Give me the invitation," he said to Serys.

She pulled out the invitation that Ravon had gotten for them and handed it over.

Daniel slid the invitation into the slot. A few moments passed before the metal door unlocked and opened automatically.

They exchanged a look, then stepped through the threshold one at a time.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the world around them seemed to shift.

And when they saw what was on the other side, they were both a little stunned.