Chapter 88 – Back Together?

“…Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you – an extremely rare find. A Dungeon-born monster, unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years!”

The auctioneer dramatically pulled the velvet cloth off the cage, revealing Gleam. The audience gasped collectively as the small, white ant, about the size of a small dog, sat in the middle of the cage. Her ivory exoskeleton gleamed under the lights, giving off a faint, otherworldly glow. Rusty’s heart – or what passed for it in his armor – tightened. Gleam was shackled, her legs bound with strange metallic bands that prevented her from moving too much. She twitched but remained still, seemingly exhausted. Rusty could only imagine the horrors she had been through.

“This here, ladies and gentlemen, is not just a regular ant but a ‘Gleaming Mana Ant’ a very rare find indeed! According to our research, it has demonstrated intelligence far beyond that of its kind and can even use magic on its own – magic attuned to light, something almost no other monster is capable of!”

The crowd murmured in amazement as Gleam’s cage was displayed prominently on stage. Her shimmering white exoskeleton, illuminated under the lights, made her stand out from anything else auctioned that evening. Rusty clenched his fists, the metal of his gauntlets groaning softly as he fought to keep his emotions in check. His friend, the one who had saved him, was now a spectacle for these people. He had learned to distinguish some of these people’s expressions, and he didn’t like any of them. His rage began to grow, to the point where his armrest started to splinter under his tightening grip.

‘Rusty, calm yourself! If you damage something here, you might be thrown out before you can even make a single bid!’

Alexander shouted, trying to calm him down.

‘Judging by the number of guards around us, it would be best if you didn’t do anything rash, Rusty. Calm your nerves before it’s too late.’

Aburdon agreed with Alexander for once. Although he had joked about killing everyone here when the time came, he didn’t believe they would leave in one piece. There were far too many guards – many at least on Rusty’s level, and some even stronger. As just an E-rank monster, even with his darkness element, Aburdon knew he wouldn’t stand a chance here.

“We will begin the bidding for this rare ‘Gleaming Mana Ant’ with five gold coins!”

The auctioneer announced, waving his hands dramatically, some of the people were intrigued but luckily most of the big spenders were already gone. He had prepared for this, gathered every coin he could, but even at the starting price, his gold could dwindle faster than expected. He knew Gleam was valuable, but seeing her displayed like this, exploited for her rarity, filled him with fury. Before he could even lift his paddle, others already started bidding.

“Six gold coins!”

A voice from one of the nearby seats called out. Rusty recognized the person from somewhere, but he couldn’t place them as most humans looked too similar to him.

“Hey, isn’t that one of the people from back then?”

Alexander asked, and Aburdon quickly confirmed.

“His name was Eugene, as I recall. And my memory is never wrong.”

“You’ve got a good memory…”

Rusty muttered, unsure of what they were talking about as he didn’t remember anyone by that name.

“Was he someone important?”

“Well, he was involved in taking Gleam out of the dungeon that one time. You were a bit preoccupied with your fury, so you probably didn’t notice.”

Rusty tried to recall the incident, but the memories were hazy. His mind had been clouded by rage during Gleam’s capture. He’d been focused on getting her back, chasing after a group of humans until he hit the dungeon’s boundary. It seemed that Eugene had been one of the two non-adventurers there at the time. Now, for some reason, he was bidding on Gleam.

“Seven gold coins!”

Rusty finally raised his paddle, marked with the number “45.”

“Eight gold coins!”

The voice rang out almost immediately after Rusty raised his paddle. His chest tightened as he scanned the room, looking for the source. It wasn’t Eugene. A man in a deep blue cloak stood up from one of the private booths reserved for wealthier patrons, his face hidden beneath a shadowed hood. Beside him stood two hulking figures – clearly bodyguards, their armor gleaming menacingly under the auction house lights. Rusty hadn’t noticed them before, but now they were hard to miss.

“Ten gold coins,”

Eugene called out, sounding confident as he matched the mysterious bidder without hesitation. The room buzzed with murmurs as the bidding escalated, and Rusty felt that this wouldn’t be that easy. He had hoped to not involve many people in this bid but for some reason, there were more people interested in Gleam that he had thought before.

“Thirteen gold coins.”

The man in blue said in a calm yet somewhat threatening tone. Rusty’s hand tightened around his paddle. He had enough to go higher, but his resources were finite. For some reason, these people sounded quite confident but perhaps he was mistaken.

“F-fifteen!”

Eugene’s voice was no longer calm as he raised the bid by another two gold coins. It was clear he had exceeded his self-imposed limit and was likely dipping into his reserves. The other person in the booth, though potentially wealthy, didn’t have limitless funds – a fact Aburdon had taken note of.

‘Those people have bid on several other items and won a few. That last one must have really strained their coffers, they shouldn’t have much left.’

Rusty could only hope his nosy guide was right. For now, he waited, watching as the two bidders continued their battle.

“Sixteen!”

One of them called.

“Sixteen and a half…”

“Eighteen!”

As the bid reached eighteen gold coins, the auction hall began to fall silent.

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“I hear Eighteen, will I hear Nineteen from the nervous gentleman there? If not, I’m afraid this incredible creature will be sold to the discerning bidder in the blue cloak!”

Rusty felt that this was the moment to go in, he still had a chance. Eighteen gold was already more than he had wanted to spend, but this was his only chance to get Gleam back. With a deep breath, he raised his paddle once more.

“Twenty gold coins!”

A murmur rippled through the crowd as all eyes turned to him. The auctioneer grinned, clearly pleased with the sudden escalation. For a moment, the room fell silent. Even Eugene glanced over, clearly surprised at the boldness of the bid. Rusty could feel their gazes on him but his disguise was sound and as long as the money was there, he would be safe.

The man in the blue cloak shifted slightly, his posture tense somewhat tense. One of his bodyguards leaned in, whispering something in his ear. It seemed that there was something to Aburdon’s words. They were cleary starting to count their coins, perhaps already over the limit.