This chapter is sponsored by The Bitch in the Fantasy World Patrons:
• [Crusader] The orc warrior 261
• [Mercenary] Tafadzwa Kungwengwe
• [Crusader] uxel
I would also like to thank the donators for December 2025 (Ko-Fi account is unavailable at the moment due to technical reasons):
• [Crusader] uxel - $5
This chapter 3/3 for the 2nd week of January 2026.
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Underground Chambers, Auction Room.
"11,000 going once, 11,000 going twice," an announcer said while standing on top of a stage with red curtains behind him and a table with wheels beside him that had 10kg of Rainbow Steel ore.
An audience member raised a card sign.
"11,500! 11,500 going once, 11,500 going twice…"
Another audience member raised a card sign.
"12,000! 12,000 going once, 12,000 going twice…"
The audience member earlier raised a different card sign.
"13,000! 13,000 going once, 13,000 going twice…"
The second audience member from earlier raised a card sign.
"13,500! 13,500 going once, 13,500 going twice…"
The first audience member raised a different card sign.
"15,000! 15,000 going once, 15,000 going twice…"
No one raised a card.
"15,000 platinum coins sold!"
The currency was based on the Twin Kingdom's.
Two men wearing butler uniforms entered the stage from the right, pushed the wheel-table to the left, exiting the stage, and then another 2 butlers entered with another wheel-table that had an item on top of it covered with a red drape.
"My Lords and Ladies, may I present to you the next item!"
One of the butlers pulled the drape elegantly, revealing a 10x20 painting that featured a beautiful maiden sitting on an autumn garden.
"This Lore Item painting is called Mer de Fleurs.
"It was painted by a Scholar named Guillaume in 2075.
"Scholar Guillaume was born in 2051 to a Commoner Mid-Tier Merchant family in Azatea City.
"Once he reached 15 years old, he became part of the Temple of Bards at Azatea City and then joined a group called Enfants de la Musique. Their group performed in multiple plays, but he only had minor roles where he played a harp, and also sang and danced in the background. Most of their plays were held in the Azatea Kingdom, but they also performed in the Twin Kingdom, and in his later years of Scholar Guillaume's life, in the Iron Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom as well.
"According to the history of this Lore Item, the beautiful maiden featured on the painting was based on Lady Keira of the Twin Kingdom Duke's family.
"Scholar Guillaume was 28 years old when he and the rest of the Enfants de la Musique went to Sci'elf Town to perform for the Duke's family during the Town and Village's festival week. He and his group were among the many groups invited to play. And that's when he spotted Lady Keira from the crowd.
"He was so mesmerized by her beauty that she was the only person she could think of. And after the festival ended and Guillaume and his group returned to Azatea City, he reportedly shut himself inside his house for months to paint Lady Keira. And that is when this Lore Item was created.
"However, once this Lore Item was created, he didn't reveal it to anyone and kept it a secret. It was only during the last year of his life in 2139, at the age of 88, that he finally decided to reveal it to the public by sending it along with a letter to Lady Keira. Unfortunately, he didn't specifically tell her it was a Lore Item, he only told her that it was a symbol of his long and unrequited love for her, so Lady Keira rejected the painting and sent it back without any reply.
"When Scholar Guillaume received back the painting, he rented a small boat in the harbor of Azatea City without telling anyone, paddled his way into the ocean, and was never seen again.
"The painting was only discovered several days later at the house he was staying in when one of his grandsons decided to do their monthly check on him.
"There were several paintings, poems and song lyrics dedicated to Lady Keira, but this piece was the only one that became a Lore Item.
"And as for what Lore Magic it has, the garden surrounding the maiden changes with the Azatea Kingdom's seasons. When it's spring season, it becomes spring. When it's summer season, it becomes summer. And then so on and so forth.
"The starting bid is 15,000."
An audience member raised a card.
"15,500! 15,500 going once, 15,500 going twice…"
Another audience member raised a card.
"17,000! 17,000 going once, 17,000 going twice…"
The first audience member raised a card.
"17,500! 17,500 going once, 17,500 going twice…"
A different audience member raised a card.
"18,000! 18,000 going once, 18,000 going twice…"
The second audience member from earlier raised a card.
"20,000! 20,000 going once, 20,000 going twice…"
No one raised a card.
"20,000 platinum coins sold!"
Bam!
The entrance door of the Auction Room burst open.
"ANSGAR!" Vivian, who was covered in blood and bits of bones and meat, announced as she strode into the room, causing everyone to stop whatever they were doing and turn their heads.
Walking behind her was the fully armored Caleb, holding a folded white cloth on his hand.
Seeing that two, everyone began whispering.
"A female butler…?"
"Iro-Is iro-that iro-woman iro-a iro-relative iro-of iro-the Iro-Count…?"
"Ver-The Ver-Holy Ver-Crusade…?"
"Aza-What aza-is aza-she aza-wearing…?"
"How dare you ignore the summons of the Holy Crusade and have your family members sexually violate me?!
"You pathetic, insolent, heretical Aristocratic Noble family from a Subsidiary Kingdom, have forgotten your place!"
At one of the tables among the audience, there were 6 people.
The first one was a pale-skinned man in his mid-50s with blue and gray hair wearing an expensive-looking nobleman's attire -- it was Vinzenz, the Baron of the Blauer'nebel family.
The second was a pale-skinned man in his late 50s with blue and gray long hair wearing a blue-colored set of armor -- it was Achim, the personal bodyguard and right hand of Baron Vinzenz.
And the third one was a pale-skinned man in his mid-30s with blue hair wearing a purple scholarly robe -- it was Ansgar.
As for the remaining 3, they were similarly powerful and important people from other families.
However, at this moment, everyone in the room was looking at Ansgar, who had an annoyed and confused expression written all over his face.
Vinzenz only spared Ansgar with one look before focusing on the glass of wine he was sipping as if he couldn't be bothered. Meanwhile, Achim wore a serious and passive expression as he took a mental note of his entire surroundings, and he could see some people hiding their sneers.
"Where are you hiding, you heretical rapist slave?!" Vivian said as she stood in the middle of the audience floor.
Ansgar got up from his seat.
"I am Lord Scholar Ansgar. May I ask what is going on here? And may I know your name?"
Vivian quickly turned her head.
"'Ask'? You, an Aristocratic Noble from a Subsidiary Kingdom, have the gall to ask me, an Inquisitor from the Holy Kingdom? You don't ask, slave, you only answer. KNOW YOUR PLACE."
Ansgar suppressed the urge to lash out as he noticed the sneers of some of the people from the other tables.
"There must be some misunderstanding --"
"Silence!" Vivian said and then turned to everyone in the room. "All of you pathetic slave insects, leave this room!"
No one moved. Some were too stunned, while others were too amused, because they'd never experienced such a thing.
[Halo].
A golden ring appeared on her back.
"GET OUT!"
The light in the eyes of everyone in the room went dim, and they immediately got up. Although some were able to snap out of the semi-charm effect and stopped mid-way, they still continued leaving the room.
Even Caleb, who was caught by the effect of [Halo], turned away to head over to the entrance door, but also stopped mid-way.
But for the members of the Blauer'nebel family and some of the ones serving under them, they managed to fight the semi-charm effect and stayed.
Seeing Caleb, Vivian cursed inside her head.
THIS FUCKING WEAKLING AND THIS FUCKING USELESS SPELL…!
She deactivated [Halo].
When everyone was released from the semi-charm effect, that's when the realization dawned on them.
Some were surprised to see everyone affected, while others were angry that someone dared to use a spell against them.
Vooom!
Someone appeared in front of Vivian -- it was Achim, he had a [Mana Axe] imbued with [Enchant Lightning] on his hand, and was about to swing his weapon.
[Power Fist].
Baaa-rip…!
Vivian delivered a punch to his face, decapitating him.
Thud.
Everyone in the room was left speechless as Achim's headless corpse fell to the floor. But the ones who were affected the most were the powerful fighters, because they "saw" what actually happened.
They saw Achim move at an impossible high speed, but then Vivian countered at a much higher impossible speed in the middle of his attack.
Woooh!
[Whistle].
As Vinzenz threw a Lore Item in the air, a pair of yarn needles wrapped with white yarn, a string of musical notes made out of white mana flew out of his mouth and flew towards Vivian. The yarn's end multiplied into several ends, spreading out to anyone within a 5-meter radius, and then wrapped each person like a cocoon from head to toe at a blinding speed.
[Mana Dagger].
[Enchant Earth].
[Power Leg].
Craa-ooom!
He then activated a skill and a spell, and then propelled himself forward towards Vivian with another skill while pointing his Mana Dagger at her.
To Vivian's surprise, the yarn was just a normal yarn. But what made it annoying was that even if you cut it, the yarn attached to the yarn needles will continue attempting to wrap the targets within the 5-meter radius.
[Enchant Fire].
Brrrgh…!
One of the people who got caught by the yarn, activated a spell, torching the yarn wrapped all over his body.
Vivian noticed Vinzenz getting closer to her, but the fire had yet to reach the yarn needles to burn the other strings and she was still trying to free herself.
She thought about using a giant version of her [Mana Fist], [Mana Claws], or [Mana Dual Claws].
She thought about using her [Mana Tail].
She thought about transforming into her demon form.
Wooom!
Bam!
In the end, she jumped away, but then awkwardly landed at one of the tables, crashing into it and falling to the floor.
[Power Leg].
Craa-ooom!
Vinzenz easily changed trajectory.
Vivian deactivated her [Mana Leg] on her right foot.
[Dual Mana Claws].
As she quickly stood up, she summoned a pair of mana claw gauntlets that had 3 1.5ft-long blades attached to each knuckles, and slicing off the yarn around her body.
I forgot about this weapon…!
I've been relying on my demon form and parts too much…!
Vooo-craaa-hooosh!
Vivian used her full speed, destroying her left boot and pair of black socks, and leaving cracks on the floor as she side-stepped to the side and then charged forward while swiping the claws on her left gauntlet against Vinzenz.
By the time Vinzenz crashed to the floor, his body was divided into 3 pieces.
Meanwhile, the fire finally reached the yarn needles and then began burning the rest of the yarn strings.
Everyone was staring in silence.
To be specific, there were 3 things that they couldn't take their eyes off.
The first one was Vivian.
The second was the mutilated body of Vinzenz.
And the third one was the cracks on the floor that Vivian left.
Regarding the cracks on the floors, not everyone understood what it truly meant.
To those who didn't understand it, they simply dismissed it as an accident, a different skill or spell apart from [Power Leg], or another way of using [Power Leg].
Meanwhile, to the ones who knew what that meant, they were completely at a loss for words. And all they could think of was how did the Temple of Priests managed to create a being like her.
Vivian let out a tired and sharp sigh as the burned yarn around her body dropped to the floor, and then swept her gaze around her. Through the slits of her half-mask, even the ones who weren't fighters knew what her eyes were saying, causing the remaining the people in the room to look away.
Thud!
Ansgar fell on his rear end, his mind unable to process the sight of the mutilated corpse of Vinzenz and the headless corpse of Achim. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Vivian deactivated [Dual Mana Claws].
[Mana Fist].
After activating another Mana Weapon, she wiped the blood and sweat on her face and fixed her hair.
So messy…!
I really need to figure out a way where I don't need to get this dirty…
I mean, there's the Golems, but they cost 50 mana points to summon and 1 mana point to maintain…
Also, they can't be more than 50 meters away from the caster…
I hate having to constantly think about it, especially the mana…
They're also stupid…
She returned her attention to the people around her.
"All of you, get out!"
Some people threw a last glance at Ansgar, but all of them left.
Vivian turned to Caleb.
"Guard the door. I don't want to be disturbed."
Caleb let out a salute and then headed for the door.
Vivian finally turned her attention to Ansgar, who was still staring at the corpses of Vinzenz and Achim, and then headed over to him.
Her face twitched a bit with each step she took with her bare foot.
Very messy…!
She finally reached him, and then deactivated her [Mana Fist].
[Mana Whip].
A 2ft-long rod made out of blue mana appeared on her right hand.
Whaa-tang!
The moment her Mana Weapon was about to strike Ansgar's flesh, a colorful and transparent glass flashed in between, blocking the attack, causing Vivian's brows to knot together.
What she didn't know, he too had a Lore Item that blocks a single attack below Spirit Steel-grade, just like Benno. And the force she used was below Spirit Steel because she didn't want to accidentally kill him. And just like Benno's, the Lore Item has a cooldown -- 12 hours for each attack.
The sound snapped Ansgar from his trance and turned to Vivian.
"You… Do you know what you've done…?"
"You still have the will to fight? I must say, I'm impressed, but also annoyed."
It took a split second before Ansgar realized what she meant.
"It's a Lore Item, you brutish woman...!"
Vivian raised an eyebrow behind her half-mask before letting out a sigh.
"Look, I'm tired, I'm dirty, and all I want to do right now is just go back home, wash and rest.
"Tell me, in the last 10 years, did you sell a huge amount of Duft Powder or any ingredient related to Duft Powder?"
Ansgar's brain froze because he didn't expect such a question.
He knew what Duft Powder was and how profitable it was, especially in the black market. However, it was something he wasn't interested in because there are too many regulations around it; majority of the traders and customers he would be dealing with are shady people. And since he'd be dealing with mostly shady people, the type of political influence he'd be building would only be in the criminal underworld.
He could understand if he were from a Mid-Tier Noble family, that sort of business would be very enticing. But for an Aristocratic Noble family, or even a High-Tier Noble family, simply having coins was no longer enough. At that level, you need raw physical and magical power, history, legal and political connections, and many more.
"Did you hear me?"
"Yes, yes, I heard you…" he said and then cleared his throat. "About your question, no, my family has stopped dealing with Duft Powder or anything related to Duft Powder for over 800 years already."
"You think the entire Holy Kingdom isn't aware of your family dealing and auctioning prohibited items?"
"Yes, we do, but merchandise like Duft Powder is for mindless commoners and uncultured lowly Noble families."
"But that doesn't mean you can have other families do that for you, and then they will just give you a cut, right?"
"Yes, we have families that manage other types of businesses for us, but they're all legal."
"So you lied to me?"
"No."
"Didn't you just say '…merchandise like Duft Powder is for mindless commoners and uncultured lowly Noble families' and then said '…we have families that manage other types of businesses for us'?"
"My family's primary businesses are Auction, Mining, and Brewery.
"Our secondary businesses are Hotels, Taverns and Inns. We also have Magic Items, weapons, armor, and potion-making.
"With the Magic Items, weapons, armor and potions, we have families in charge of manufacturing them under our name.
"And for the distribution, that's on them. Some of them sell it in their own shops, or they ship the items to third-party shops all across the Northern Continent.
"So you have families that are working for you and are selling Duft Powder?" Vivian asked.
"I'm not very familiar with potion-making, but I believe half of the ingredients of the Duft Powder recipe aren't unique and can be found in other recipes."
Whaaack!
"Aaaah…!" Ansgar cried out in pain and coiled back as his face was struck with Vivian's Mana Whip.
Vivian, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised that her attack wasn't blocked this time by Ansgar's Lore Item.
Although she believes that it can definitely block her attack, she doesn't believe the blocking effect was infinite and there has to be a limit on how powerful the attack it can block. If not, then all of the powerful people she fought before would still be alive.
"Stop lying to me!"
Ansgar palmed his face for a moment and then pulled his hand away, which was covered in blood. As for his face, there was a slightly diagonal wound starting from under his left eye and ended at the bottom of his right cheek.
"I didn't lie…!"
"You mentioned earlier that your family has stopped dealing with Duft Powder or anything related to Duft Powder for over 800 years already. And now you're telling me that half of the ingredients of the Duft Powder recipe aren't unique and can be found in other recipes?"
Whaaack!
"Aaaah!"
She whipped his left shoulder.
"You honestly think you can outsmart an Inquisitor?"
Tak.
She pressed the end of her Mana Whip on his forehead to make him look at her.
"We catch lies for a living, you imbecile."
She pulled her Mana Whip away and then squatted down to meet him eye-to-eye.
"Listen here: No one can stop me, and no one is coming to save you, so start telling the truth. And trust me, this is just the beginning, the easy part. You don't want me to start using [Heal] while I skin you alive and ask questions."
She licked her teeth and flashed a huge grin.
"But of course, you can also try to run away using your precious little Lore Magic. However, let me tell you right now that it's a hopeless pursuit--"
Tak, tak, tak…
She tapped the end of her Mana Whip on Ansgar's bloody and pale face.
"-- and you will only end up with True Death under my hands."
She nodded her head in a comical and mocking manner.
"Yes, yes, I know you're an Aristocratic Noble, you're filled with so much pride.
"But you want to know a little secret? You won't be the first so-called powerful Aristocratic Noble that's going to SECRETLY receive True Death from me as they try to run away like a pathetic and weak animal to preserve their own little worthless life, once they figure out how truly and completely powerless they are.
"In fact, even until now, no one really knows what happened to him, how I hunted him down like a pathetic and weak animal as he tried to run away. And those who suspect me can't do anything about it, because they're also weak.
"I mean, in all honesty, what can anyone do? Realistically speaking, what can anyone physically and actually do? Destroy my reputation to have the entire public band together against me? I'll just kill all of them, and will continue to kill anyone who tries to bring it up, until there's no one left to bring it up.
"In fact, do you even know how many so-called allies, enemies, strangers I've ki--"
Vivian stopped and then cleared her throat.
"I think I've shared too much."
She stood up.
"Anyways, after you die with True Death -- I will guarantee that, because I will be doing it myself -- I will just grab another so-called powerful Aristocratic Noble family member of yours and repeat the same things I'm currently doing to you until I'm fully satisfied or I've run out of your family members to toy with."
Her lips curled up into a huge grin.
"Isn't it so funny? You and your so-called powerful Aristocratic Nobles are just playthings for absolute powerful people like me? And no matter what you do, even if you delay, absolute powerful people like me still win in the end. I would literally lose my mind if I were in your shoes. Hell, I would even understand if you commit suicide."
She let out a loud and mocking laughter that echoed throughout the entire room.
Ansgar, on the other hand, whose face was now ghostly pale from blood loss, and whose body was shivering due to his wounds, could only throw Vivian a death stare and grit his teeth as he cursed her inside his head.
Whaaack!
"Aaah…!"
Another red ling appeared on Ansgar's face.
"What's that look, slave, I mean, ARISTOCRATIC NOBLE?"
Ansgar mustered all of his strength to suppress his anger as he lowered his head.
"My apologies…"
Whaaack!
Vivian struck his head, leaving a wound on his scalp.
"You have yet to answer my earlier question, MY LORD."
Ansgar swallowed with gritted teeth before relaxing his jaw and raising his head.
"I… Your question… What I meant to say was that my family has stopped focusing on Duft Powder or anything related to Duft Powder for over 800 years…
"The manufacturing families working for my family… they still manufacture it for us… but they don't exceed the legal yearly amount of materials under the DG International Laws, and also exceed to produce and ship the legal amount of merchandise under both the Domestic Trading Laws and International Trading Laws…."
"I would argue…. they only gather, manufacture and ship around 75% of the legal amount…"
"Do you have the documents to prove them?" Vivian asked.
"I have my assistants gather them as soon as possible…"
"You have until 6:00 a.m. to gather them."
"Yes…"
Tak.
Vivian lightly struck her own palm with her Mana Whip and then gripped it tightly.
"If I find any discrepancies, or find out that you've been lying to me, I believe you already know what's going to happen to you, right?"
"I assure you I will give you the right documents to prove that everything I said is the truth..."
Vivian scoffed.
"We shall see about that. Come to think of it, your family deals and auctions prohibited items, right?"
Ansgar paused for a moment and then slowly nodded.
"But the items we sell are for customers aspiring to earn the Scholar title or further progress their contributions under the Study of Magic Items…"
"Have you sold any item that could block Affinity Crystals?"
Ansgar paused for a moment once again before answering.
"No… but I heard an item like that was auctioned in Gru'n Town a few months ago…"
"Do you know who the dealer was and who bought it?"
Ansgar weakly shook his head.
"I only know the ones who hosted the auction were Mid and Low-Tier Noble families… As for the identities of who sold the item and who bought it, one of the most important trade secrets I learned about the auction business is that it's best not to know...
"Of course, I know who sells and who buys the items in the auctions that my family hosts… But if a buyer or a seller doesn't want to reveal their identity, we respect it… Our only requirement is that the buyer pays the auction fee, which is 10,000 platinum coins, and can show proof that they have a minimum of 100,000 platinum coins to participate… Meanwhile, for the seller, they also have to pay the 10,000 platinum coins auction fee and must provide an item that meets our standards…"
Vivian deactivated her [Mana Whip], took out the Summons Document inside her coat, and then tossed it at Ansgar's ghostly pale, bloody and wounded face.
"Remember, you have until 6:00 a.m."
She turned around and then walked away.
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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