Path of Light

by A P Gore

  “Master, Kira last time told me that there's an underground auction house on this street. Do you want to go see it?” Grimish asked as Jon emerged from the changing room.

  “It's just 10 p.m., so why not?” He smiled at his own handsome face reflected in the mirror hung in the shop. With new clothes, he looked more than handsome.

  Five minutes later, they stepped inside a small alley leading to a small shop built of granite stones, so it looked more unique than the other stalls.

  “Welcome, adventurers.” A tiny human sitting behind a stone desk welcomed them. From outside, the shop looked small, so Jon couldn't see where the auction was held. “Please go through that door if you are here for auction.”

  Nodding, Jon and Grimish walked through the door and met another tiny man sitting behind a stone desk and another door leading somewhere else. Shouldn't there be a hall or something?

  Why did it feel like déjà vu?

  “Esteemed guest, can I see your invitation?”

  Jon’s brows drew together. “Invitation?”

  “Yes, this is not the general weekly auction, but a monthly invitation-only auction. If you don't have an invitation, you can purchase one for five hundred gold.”

  Jon chuckled. Did the man take him for a fool? Five hundred gold for an invitation? “Are you kidding me?”

  The tiny man bowed when someone walked in behind them. A man with a slender body and sharp eyes stepped forward and dropped five hundred gold on the counter. The tiny man pulled out an insignia with one golden star marked on it and bowed to the man.

  Throwing a smirk at Jon and Grimish, the man vanished through the door.

  Jon shook his head. What an ingenious way to fool people. There was no way he would be fooled by this, so he stepped aside, pretending to pull out gold. But he wanted to watch them fool themselves by waiting for him to pull out money.

  A few more men came, and each one handed five hundred gold to the tiny man, making Jon curious. A couple of them even had the same golden insignia the tiny man handed to others.

  Now, Jon doubted the setup. There couldn't be ten fools, right? Or was it a way to fool people?

  Something was fishy, and he had an itching, so he pulled his two red star insignia out and showed it to the tiny man.

  “Oh, an Imperial guest. I guess that can work too.” The tiny man held the insignia and tapped it on one of the round stones placed on the stone on the desk. In a blink of an eye, the red luster from the insignia vanished inside that stone. So, the insignia had some kind of power. Did he just waste it?

  Suddenly, Jon regretted using it here. If the auction house turned out to be a farce, he might even cry.

  “Esteemed guest, please head inside. An attendant will take care of you.”

  Nodding Jon walked in along with Grimish. Apparently, slaves were allowed. Stepping through the door, Jon felt a weird sensation, similar to the one he’d felt in the Forbidden Forest when he’d ventured inside it the first time, like teleportation.

  No, it couldn't be teleportation. Why would he... Jon's breath stuck in his chest as his gaze fell on the thing in front of him.

  Chapter 28

  Dazzling runes flickered below Jon's legs as he staggered forward. An intense wave of nausea hit him hard, and he nearly spit out the spicy chicken he’d eaten earlier in the evening.

  “Esteemed guest.” A tiny man in a green tunic stepped forward. “Please drink this. It will ease your nausea. Long-term teleportation can induce such effect.” He offered bottles filled with green liquid to Jon and Grimish.

  Placing his hands on the nearby stone wall, Jon struggled to hold his vomit back. He succeeded, but it left a bitter taste in his mouth. “Damn, f-ing nausea.” He groaned as he took the bottle and cast perception on it.

  Potion of Nausea

  Quality: Low

  Eliminates nausea induced by various causes.

  Wow! There was a potion for this too? He had lots to learn. As he gulped it down, a taste similar to raw coffee beans covered his mouth, and as the potion entered his stomach the nausea and dizzy feeling vanished instantly. Glancing at Grimish he found his face had brightened too. If he didn’t get anything out of this auction, he should at least get the potion ingredients.

  Something that smells like coffee.

  His eyes shone with vigor at the thought.

  “Esteemed guest, if you are feeling okay, shall we proceed?” The tiny man asked, bowing slightly in front of them.

  “Did you say teleportation?” Jon asked.

  “Yes, sir. This place is a pocket realm constructed by the Empire of Amber Knights. We've established contracts with the other empires to set up long-distance teleportation arrays, so we can host esteemed guests from various countries.”

  Teleportation arrays. Wow! Now that sounded interesting. If only he could build a teleportation array between his village and Chinari, trade would flourish.

  “Do you have teleportation array designs for auction?”

  The tiny man shook his head. “We might, if it's a rare design. We don't sell generic designs. May I ask you, sir, if you want to auction something or buy something?”

  Jon stroked his chin, thinking about the apples. “How does this auction work? Would I remain anonymous?” If people learned what he held in his bag, they would probably kill him and then ask questions to his ghost.

  “Of course, sir.” A proud smile spread over the little man’s face. “We host the most secure auction on the whole continent. When we charge a thousand gold, we take care of the customers. Even our top bosses don’t know the identity of the customers.” He paused, glancing at the door they walked in through. “If you have noticed, no one else entered through the same array you entered.”

  Jon nodded. He, Grimish, and the tiny man were the only three present in the small room.

  “That's because we have constructed a thousand arrays in this pocket realm, so there's practically no chance for someone to know where you are sitting in the realm.”

  “Good. So, can you auction—”

  “Wait, sir.” He hurriedly raised his palm and closed his eyes with his other hand. “Please don't pull out your items here. Let's go to the appraiser's office, and then we will first appraise your items. We don't put low-quality items in our auction.”

  Jon shrugged. “Okay.” He followed the tiny man down a long corridor that led to a huge metal door.

  “Esteemed guest, please enter alone. You'll enter a private room allocated only to you, so no one can spy on your items. Even if you brought an Epic item here, we can guarantee your safety.” Again, a prideful smile spread across the tiny man's face.

  “Tiny fella, do you have many brothers outside?” Grimish asked.

  The smile on the tiny man's face vanished, replaced by a low growl, his hand jumping to his tiny sword.

  Jon stepped on Grimish's foot so he wouldn't talk shit again. “I'm sorry for the impudence shown by my slave. I'll discipline him when we get home.”

  The tiny man's face softened a little. “Thank you, sir. I see you’re unfamiliar with my race, but I’ll warn you politely that your slave may lose his life if he tries to tease anybody else. For your information we are called half-dwarves.”

  Jon bowed slightly. “I apologize on his behalf again.” The last thing he wanted was to make an enemy out of the auction house. If they could build long-distance teleportation arrays, they had the power to eliminate a level 20 player like Grimish.

  “Please head inside, sir. I'll be waiting outside when you’re finished.”

  Nodding, Jon stepped inside with Grimish. It was a small ten-by-ten room with two chairs placed at a round table. The table had a glass disk in the middle that shone with a white light.

  “Esteemed guest, please take a seat and place your item on the glass disk,” a deep growling voice said. “This room is safe, and I can't see you, but you'll be able to see me.”

  “Okay.” Jon pulled an Apple of Mana out of his bag and placed it on the
glass disk. Grimish's eyes shone with reverence when he saw it. That greedy bugger wanted more apples. Well, he could supply them because he had hundreds of them, but he wouldn't make it a staple food for the bugger.

  A screen appeared on the wall opposite the table and they saw a tiny man sitting at a similar table, staring into a glass plate. Jon's Apple of Mana was projected onto his glass plate.

  Nice magic.

  The tiny man's eyes shone with a strange light.

  “An Apple of Mana. Indeed, a rare item.” He waved his hand, and a pen marked something on a paper tablet. “It can be auctioned, esteemed guest. Do you want to auction it?”

  “Yes. Auction two of these.” Jon placed another one on the glass plate.

  “Yes, sir.” The apples vanished and appeared on the tiny man's table. After examining them, he placed them in a small box. A golden circular disk appeared on the box, which he placed on his glass disk and transferred it to Jon's table. “Your marker, sir. Please keep it safe. You can collect your money once the apples are sold. Do you want to sell anything else, sir?”

  Jon took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he wanted to sell it, but why not? So, he pulled one strand of the herb that God Shenron had planted in his garden and placed it on the glass plate.

  The tiny man gasped as he stared at the grass strand, then jumped down from his chair, trying to touch it.

  An icy cold sensation emerged in Jon's lower back. Had he made a big mistake? God! He shouldn't have taken it out. Not when he couldn't defend himself.

  Chapter 29

  A deadly silence descended upon both rooms, only broken by Jon and Grimish’s ragged breaths.

  After a few seconds of awkward silence, the appraiser came to his senses and climbed back into the chair.

  “Esteemed guest. Would you like to sell this herb to my master? I'm sure he will offer you a fair price. I don’t think you can sell it to anyone else.” The tiny man stared at the glass plate.

  “Is that a threat?” Jon asked, putting a mask of fierceness on his face. Being a farmer on an industrial planet had taught him one thing, for sure. Even if you are scared to your balls, never show it on your face unless you want the opponent to f-k you from behind.

  The tiny man shivered in his seat. “Of course not, sir. I wouldn’t dare covet your herb. If you want to auction it, please do that. But my master might give you a better price for this. And I think something like this shouldn't be auctioned in a mere monthly auction. This should go in the quarterly auction where only top-level people are invited.”

  The tiny man looked sincere. If the appraiser had this reaction, what would people do when they saw the herb? “Okay, I’ll talk with your boss.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The tiny man jumped to his feet and bowed deeply toward the wall between them. “I'll call him right away.” He then pressed few buttons on the table and spoke with someone to send an urgent message to his boss.

  Five minutes later, a seven-feet-tall human man walked into the room were the half-dwarf waited. He was dressed in plate armor, and a long sword hung at his waist. Next to that tiny man, he looked like a giant. “Sir, may I see the real item please?” He asked in a clear voice that reminded Jon of his dad. His dad also had a clear conscience and was the only person who supported Jon’s decision to be a farmer. If had been up to his mom...

  Jon sighed at the memory. He had pushed it to the back of his mind, yet it surfaced again.

  “Sure.” Jon placed the strand on the glass plate. It vanished and appeared in front of the boss.

  The boss picked it up carefully, like handling a newborn baby.

  Grass of Journeyman's Legend

  Quality: Unique

  Can be converted into a potion (required quantity: 100) that can raise one’s character level by 2. Can be only used by a player in Journeyman tier.

  Quantity: 1

  When Jon first cast his Intrinsic Vision on this item, he was rendered speechless. Could an herb like this exist? It was like a cheat. But then he realized the foolishness behind that thought. First, it was a unique herb, not a common thing. Second, it would only work for a Journeyman tier player, and mostly raise a Journeyman to an Expert. But could this herb be gathered like a common fruit?

  No.

  After harvesting the current batch, Jon had tried to raise one seed in the God's Garden, but it didn't work. Even with his plant-based buffs, the seeds refused to grow, and wasting Path of Growth on one strand every 15 days would be a crime. Third, it was useless to him. He was 30 levels away from the Journeyman tier. Also, he had five hundred strands and five hundred forty seeds after wasting twenty in his experiments. In the future, he would get some skill to grow them when needed, so he wasn't worried about selling a few of them. So, he gave up on these and planted the Magic quality weed crop in the field #1 of his garden finally.

  “Sir, do you have the sufficient quantity of 100?” The man asked, his eyes clear of any ill intent. Exactly like Jon's dad’s eyes were. His dad, though being a Prince of a whole planet, never had his eyes colluded with any ill intention. He acted always fair. Even with his son.

  Jon sighed. Those were old memories. It was better to keep the buried.

  “I have one hundred ninety-nine more.”

  Grimish gasped.

  “If you place this in the auction,” the boss said, “you will at most receive five thousand gold for each lot of one hundred strands. But it will also attract unwanted attention.”

  Jon shook his head. Was he playing with words now? “Are you saying you don't want this?”

  The man's blue eyes turned icy. “Never doubt the intention of an elder in the Empire of Amber Knights. You can use this.” He pulled a magic scroll out of his bag and placed it on the glass plate. The scroll reappeared on Jon's side of the glass plate. He picked it up and inspected it.

  Scroll of Perception (Level 25)

  Tier: 3

  Allows you to see through the truth and cast perception on characters up to level 100. (One-time use.)

  “Thanks. I'll take it as a token of goodwill.” Jon smirked and dropped the scroll in his bag. He had something better than the scroll. He looked at the boss and silently cast Intrinsic Vision.

  Jecob (Level 65)

  Primary Class: Destiny Knight

  Secondary Class: Warrior

  Life: 25000/25000

  Mana: 16000/16000

  Then a bunch of stats appeared. This was crazy. Jon even got a list of the other player’s skills with his Sentient skill. Mat was right, the skill was godly. With the normal perception skill, he would only see the name, level and HP of the player. Here he got the history of Jecob.

  “I trust a Destiny Knight of the Empire of Amber Knights. Please tell me your offer.”

  Jecob's face broke out in a sweat. Wiping his perspiration, he glanced at the tiny man standing next to him, drew his sword, and killed him.

  Jon got up from his chair, knocking it over in haste. “You...”

  “Esteemed guest, please rest assured. I would have done it regardless, to prevent any information about your item being leaked to anyone else. This is our organization’s policy. Let's talk business now.” A cold killing intent appeared on Jecob's face. “And please don't openly say my class in front of anyone. I don't covet your item, but I don't want anyone to know my class.”

  “Whatever. It's not that it's well hidden from others.” Jon smirked. If he could use a Sentient skill, didn't that mean others could? Why was Jecob making an unnecessary fuss?

  Placing his bloodstained sword on the table, Jecob sat next to the table. “Sir, I would request you sell one hundred strands to me for five thousand gold and a purple insignia from our organization. For the other one hundred, I suggest putting them in the yearly auction that's coming next month. It will fetch over five thousand in that case.”

  “Five thousand gold.” Grimish fell out of his chair.

  “Yes, but more than that, this purple insignia will allow you to enter the yearly a
uction which only a Count level or level 60+ character can attend. Other than that, this insignia will also allow you to enter any future auction without an invitation. It will be character bound, so you don't have to worry about losing it or someone stealing it. We have only made one thousand of these, and we are offering one to you.”

  This was beyond Jon's comprehension. Five thousand gold, an unlimited-use invite insignia, and a chance to get another five thousand gold—or more. Did it rain gold yesterday or what?

  “Let's do it. And I trust you to invite me to next month's special auction,” Jon said, keeping his voice calm though his mind was in turmoil. Five thousand gold. That was like eight million chips in real life. Holy f-k, he was rich!

  “Please place the remaining 99 strands on the glass plate.”

  Jon did as instructed. When the strands appeared in front of Jecob, he pulled a purple insignia out of his bag and tapped it on the table. A number flashed on it, and then he placed it on the glass plate. “I've replaced the attendant waiting for you outside, as you are a VIP of the auction house. She will take good care of you.” Jecob bowed slightly and walked out from the room.

  Jon glanced at the purple insignia. The number “5000” was flashing on it. Wow! He was rich. Finally.

  Chapter 30

  A human girl with a marvelous smile and voluptuous curves welcomed Jon and Grimish when they stepped out of the appraising room. She smelled like jasmine, and Jon didn't doubt that she had bathed in jasmine water that day.

  “Esteemed Master, Sarana welcomes you to the auction house. If you follow me, I'll take you to the VIP room.” She bowed deeply, revealing deep cleavage.

  Grimish shivered at the glimpse of flesh, and Jon felt like killing him. That bugger was hell bent on getting himself killed.

  “Thank you, Sarana.” Jon smiled, waving his hand as a sign for her to lead the way.

  With another marvelous smile, Sarana lead the way, hips swaying.

  Grimish was practically drooling.