Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

The people sitting inside the VIP rooms smirked before looking towards the black-robed man whose background was unknown to them.

"Okay… you will regret this" Oman mumbled some words, gritted his teeth and sat back down.

Since nobody was willing to increase the bid, the lightning attribute core stone went to the crown prince.

As one item after another went up for auction, the event soon neared its end and the things that were being sold became more and more valuable. And soon, the highlight of the event was brought up to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely thank you for attending the auction on behalf of our Serene Palace Merchant guild and I hope to have the same cordial relationship with you in the future too. For the Highlight of this auction, our guild had put quite some effort to acquire it. So without further ado let us present you the item".

The auctioneer this time presented the item and lifted the cloth. Seated on the golden plate was a small crystal the size of an egg and shining with a pale green light.

The moment the item was brought up in front of numerous eyes, a commotion immediately erupted. That was because the item in front of them was something they all had heard or seen.

"I guess you can already tell but this skill crystal is not of any ordinary grade and is of grade [3] which in itself makes it very rare and difficult to stumble upon. However, that is not all, when we found this crystal our expert [Analysed] it and found a powerful advanced tier storm magic sealed inside it. That is to say, when someone acquires it and if they have sufficient mana, they could unleash a devastating advance tier spell".

The audience sucked a deep breath of air after listening to the explanation, their gazes seemed to tell that they were in a state of disbelief. A grade [3] skill crystal was already very rare to chance upon but to also have a powerful spell of advance tier sealed into it, what kind of concept was that?

The value of this skill crystal could only be imagined now. No wonder this was the highlight of this event as the item held far more worth than any other items auctioned in this event.

The crowd was thrown into disarray, an item like that appearing now could immediately upset the result of the upcoming tournament and those that came here seeking to increase their chances for the tournament wouldn't let this chance slip by.

Duke Montford seated in his room with Lucas, shifted his gaze towards Cynthia at this moment.

"What is the princess thinking bringing such an item at this point in time? Wouldn't it benefit the royal family more if she kept the item for the third prince?".

Lucas too thought over the issue and focused his gaze on the beauty releasing a tranquil presence.

A fierce bid like none other immediately started for the item when the starting price was declared. In just a few moments, the price was raised so high that the ordinary audience seated in the hall sucked a cold breath of air.

All of the top factions present in the auction, participated in it. Simon too was no exception; however, how could the money he got hold of, be comapred to the years of fortune of these big factions? he had to soon give up his hopes of acquiring it.

It was also now that he realised the amount of money he got after selling the elixirs to Cynthia which he thought was a lot, was nothing compared to these giants with their deep pockets.

Although he got hold of a mountain of coins in the treasury after clearing the third trial, their values and denomination were different. if he wanted to use them in the kingdom of Ellesmere, he would have to first convert it.

Blackgold coins might be a lot when buying ordinary things and stuff but when it came to buying treasures and artifacts, having platinum coins gave you much better chances.

After a heated war, the skill crystal was sold to a representative from the Sanguine empire who had offered an astonishing price of 400 platinum coins (100 Blackgold coins= 1 Platinum coin).

Although Simon was unable to participate in it, he had quite the joy watching the frustrated and regretful face of Oman.

Simon wasn't the type of person who would provoke the other person first but if the other party thought that they could take advantage of him because of this, they were up for some rude awakening.

While it might be true that the other party was a crown prince of some kingdom, Simon too wasn't just some ordinary person and was a Demon Viscount. As he gazed at the auction which had reached its peak, he stretched his body and propped himself up from his seat.

Although he was only able to buy a single damaged scroll, he who attended the auction only to pass time, was content with it. Just as he opened the door, he stumbled upon a pair of familiar faces.

"Hmm?" the moment he discovered them, he too was seen by them.

"This sir, do we know each other?" Duke Montford asked. The two familiar faces he mentioned, was none other than Duke Montford and Lucas who he had travelled with from Castledor City to here.

Simon shook his head and was just about to step away, when from the corner of his eyes he saw a group of people wearing black clothes approach them.

"Well, Well… look who do we have here? Isn't that the same person who had the galls to challenge me during the auction".

Of course, the man who was leading them was none other than Oman Dercis Ingolf.

Simon creased his brows and gazed coldly at the approaching men. Indeed, enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road.

"Oh, isn't this Your Highness the crown prince of Ingolf Kingdom?" Duke Montford spoke. 

An attendant behind Oman whispered some words into his ears "Hoh so you are Duke Montford… so that must mean he is…" Oman shifted his gaze towards Lucas who was similarly observing the former.

"I'm Lucas Blackwood, it's a pleasure to meet you Your Highness" Lucas extended a handshake as a friendly gesture only to be given a cold shoulder in return.

"Hmph, it would be good for you if you gave up on any silly notions of winning the tournament. In any case, we shall meet during the tournament" Oman brushed past Lucas and stood before Simon who was donned in a black robe.

"Good.. good, you seem to be quite the fearless man. But let me tell you this, do not think that you are safe just because you are within the confines of the city. Let me see how long you can keep up with this appearance of yours".

After saying whatever he wanted to, he leisurely strolled out of the exit of the building.

"This sir, you have incurred the ire of the man. If it would be good if you watch your back from now, do not just blindly rely on the security of the soldiers since they already have their hands full from the tournament".

As Simon was just about to walk away, Duke Montford reminded.

Simon nodded his head and walked out of the auction house. Now that he was somewhat familiar with the layout of the city, he wandered around the market before coming to a sudden halt in between.

That was because he could feel multiple presences following and tracking him. Their aura was hidden; however, the open hostility that they displayed how could it go unnoticed by a demon viscount like him?

"Two..three.. No, a total of five people. From their familiar aura, it seems like they are the lackey of that guy. So you can't wait any longer to dispose of me huh" Simon's cold eyes flickered with a crimson light.

From the way they tracked him from the auction house, it seemed that the goal of these people was to take him out in a secluded corner.

Simon fulfilled their wish and deliberately walked into a corner of the street that had very less people. Suddenly, he saw two shadows jump in front of him, his back was similarly blocked by two other people.

"Is the last person thinking of observing the situation? If so then…" he closed his eyes and spread his senses all to find the position of the last person.

"Hehe, I thought it would be difficult to assassinate him with all the people around but who knew he himself would make our job easier," one of the men carrying a short sword said.

"Let's not waste time and quickly finish him before the soldier arrives. We can't afford to get ourselves captured here" the other man beside him hurried.

The four people nodded their heads simultaneously and pounced at Simon from all directions. However, before they could come anywhere near him, a silent gale dense and incisive enough to even sever a thick tree in half, appeared around him and cut them in half.

There was no sound nothing as the gale cleanly bisected them in half. These people who were only around level 200 and whose stats were more focused on agility, were no match for his intermediate tier gale magic.

After his successive level up in the trial grounds, he was now level 357 and added with the powerful stats of a Demon viscount, these ordinary goons were just like ants to him.

After the events in the trail ground where he found himself in a situation where his Flame magic was mostly useless, Simon started focusing on advancing his other attributes too and gale magic was one of them.