Chapter 217 - stranger

Finally, we saw the final item. It was a purple crystal, an SSS-Rank crystal capable of increasing mana quality and density.

The starting bid was 500 million.

As soon as the bidding started, nobody on the lower floor even tried to participate. It was simply beyond their means.

It wasn’t worth it for them.

But the people in the VIP rooms didn’t care. One person immediately bid 600 million, while another raised it to 650 million.

The bidding war continued like that until it reached 1.5 billion. We hadn’t participated yet, and the person in the room next to us was the one who placed the 1.5-billion bid.

Then the auctioneer asked if anyone was willing to bid higher. He raised the gavel and was about to conclude the sale.

I casually added another bid.

2 billion.

Another commotion erupted in the auction hall.

I heard something that sounded like glass breaking from the room beside me.

Luna giggled at that.

"You’re evil, Gray."

I smirked. "Hmm, who’s talking..."

Luna gave me a glare, and I raised my hands.

Then the auctioneer asked if anyone else wanted to bid.

Just as he was about to proceed with the sale, the man in the next room placed another bid.

2.25 billion.

Before the auctioneer could even ask if there were any more bids, I yawned and added another one.

2.5 billion.

Another loud crash came from the next room. Then I heard a clear threat coming from there.

"Whoever you are, I advise you to back down, or else you’ll regret ever crossing me."

Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Interesting. Is he some kind of big shot or something?"

Then she added, "But it doesn’t matter how big a shot he is."

I laughed at that.

"Hmm."

After making his threat, he raised the bid to 2.75 billion.

But what he expected didn’t happen.

I immediately raised it to 3.5 billion.

A whole billion at once.

Luna gave me a thumbs-up.

"Good job!"

We could hear the sounds of things being trashed in the other room as his rage grew.

Luna and I laughed at that.

Finally, the auction came to an end, and all the items we had purchased were brought to our room.

I heard the person in the next room say, "You will regret ever crossing me."

I simply ignored his rambling and looked at all the items we had acquired.

Then we looked at the bill.

It was over 4 billion credits.

I laughed wryly.

Then I tapped my bracelet to make the payment, and my endless bank balance appeared once again.

Luna looked at it speechlessly.

"Does that thing not have an end?"

I simply shrugged.

"I don’t know either. When I was younger, I always saw Amy buying things for me with her bracelet, so I developed a liking for it."

"After that, Amy created a bank account for me, and my family started sending money to it from time to time. That’s how this happened."

Luna was speechless.

"You’re too spoiled."

I rolled my eyes.

"Look who’s talking. Sister Isabella told me all about you. You get everything at the slightest sign of interest, just like me."

She smiled wryly at that.

"Ahh, that’s..."

I looked at her awkward expression and laughed.

Then the auction staff handed us all the items we had purchased.

I looked at Luna again and asked, "So, what are we going to do, Luna? Use them here or...?"

She thought for a moment before saying, "Hmm, yeah. Let’s use them."

I nodded as I took out the Abyssal Energy Stone.

But I realized that it wasn’t entirely Abyssal Energy. It was a Void Stone containing Void Energy, a new type of energy.

I had already been practising this concept as well, so absorbing it was child’s play for me.

I used Devour to absorb all the energy inside the crystal. I could feel my physique growing stronger, and my element grew alongside it.

I closed my eyes as I absorbed everything into myself.

Finally, I finished absorbing it and opened my eyes.

Luna was going through a completely different process as she used the Primordial Soul Crystal to enhance her very being.

It only granted her a slight enhancement, but even that was significant.

Most people didn’t care much about enhancing their souls because they focused on learning skills. However, the soul was one of the most important parts of a person.

Then we looked at the remaining items. I put Amy’s gift into my Space Storage and took out the final item: the deep-purple Mana Crystal.

I looked at it and wondered what we should do. We only had one, and there were two of us.

Then Luna proposed a game.

"How about we make things interesting? We’ll both touch the crystal and absorb its energy."

"And we’ll try to absorb as much as possible in a short time."

"No holding back. Neither of us should."

I nodded at her, but then she added, "Don’t use your Devour. That’s cheating."

I smiled at that and nodded.

Then we placed the massive crystal on the table in our room, and both of us touched it.

She began counting.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three..."

As soon as she counted to three, we both began absorbing and refining the mana as if we were starving.

Neither of us held back as we absorbed and refined it.

After about ten minutes, we had depleted the entire crystal.

We could both feel the improvement. I broke through to C+ Rank.

Luna broke through to the same rank as well.

If we didn’t enjoy ourselves and instead trained like crazy, we would probably already be B-Rank or even A-Rank.

Luna stretched as she said, "Wow, it’s so refreshing."

I nodded.

"Hmm, I almost feel like going to sleep for a few hours while covering myself with a huge blanket."

She laughed.

"Hmm, me too. I want to hug my teddy and fall asleep."

I smiled at that. I could imagine her hugging that big teddy bear and falling asleep.

[ IMAGE ]

Then we left the auction hall and came out onto the roadside.

I looked at her and asked, "So, what are we going to do now?"

She put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment before saying, "How about we go and eat something good and then return home?"

I smiled at that and nodded.

"Hmm, you’re a glutton as well."

She didn’t deny it. Instead, she said proudly, "Hmm, who doesn’t like food? I love it!"

Then she pointed a finger at me.

"Aren’t you a glutton too, if we’re putting it that way?"

I had no comeback.

I could make up some elaborate excuse, but what was the point of winning every argument?

Life wasn’t about winning everything.

So I sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. We’re all gluttons. Let’s go and eat something."

"And don’t talk about it in front of Amy. I’ve already branded her with the name ’glutton.’"

Luna followed me while giggling.

We went looking for a café or somewhere with good food.

But suddenly, someone blocked our path.

He seemed to be around our age, perhaps a little older.

I looked at him and tried to avoid him as Luna and I attempted to walk past him.

His expression darkened as he extended his hand and tried to grab Luna.

He grabbed her cloak, but Luna’s cheerful mood immediately vanished. Ice spread around her, and her cloak simply froze and shattered into tiny particles.

Then she took a step back and looked at the person who had tried to grab her with anger.

My expression immediately darkened as I didn’t hesitate to attack. I unleashed a slash containing Ice Aura towards his arm.

His eyes widened to a thin point as he sensed two attacks coming towards him, both containing Ice.

He managed to avoid most of the attack, but his arm was still frozen halfway.

Luna directly asked in her cold, chilling voice, "What do you want, and what were you trying to do just now?"

Her previously bright, cheerful eyes now looked like a frozen abyss. Only coldness remained.

She looked like a completely different person.

I loved this side of her as well. She was the best.

But I had to stay focused.

However, Luna didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.

Instead, the stranger looked at her with a lust-filled gaze.

Luna’s cloak had been destroyed, so her appearance was now revealed. Her beauty was absolutely breathtaking. I didn’t think even a goddess could compete with her at this point.

Then I shrugged as I thought, I’ve never seen one, so I can’t compare. But judging from the pictures and carvings I’ve seen, Luna is way ahead of them.

Then the stranger tried to approach Luna again, his eyes filled with infatuation.

Luna’s ice blade met his neck as her cold voice rang out once more.

Her face is full of contempt and disgust towards him.

"Take one more step, and prepare to leave without a head."