Guided by the System's map, Zero left the chaotic, muddy streets of the outer city and crossed into the Central District. The atmosphere changed instantly. The roads here were paved with smooth white stone, and the air smelled of expensive incense instead of livestock.
At the heart of the district stood the Golden Scales Auction House.
It was a magnificent building made of polished marble and trimmed with gold, looking more like a royal palace than a marketplace. Wealthy nobles in silk robes and High Mages carrying jeweled staffs walked up the grand staircase, escorted by private guards.
Zero approached the staircase, his heavy armored boots clicking ominously against the pristine white stone. His tattered midnight-blue cloak swirled around his massive frame, and the crimson eyes of his iron mask glowed fiercely in the shadows of his hood. He looked entirely out of place—like a demon crashing a royal ball.
Before he could even set foot on the top step, two elite guards moved to block his path.
Unlike the city gate guards, these men were seasoned veterans. They wore high-grade silver breastplates and carried enchanted halberds that hummed with mana.
"Halt right there, mercenary," the guard on the left commanded, crossing his halberd with his partner's to form a barricade. "This is the Golden Scales Auction House. Entry is strictly for VIPs, Nobles, and certified Platinum-Rank Adventurers. We do not deal in low-level monster parts or goblin ears. Turn around"
Zero stood completely still, towering over the two elite guards.
"I am not here to sell monster parts," Zero replied, his mechanically distorted voice sounding like grinding iron. "I am here to place a high-grade magical resource into the evening's auction. Bring me an appraiser"
The guards exchanged a skeptical look.
They eyed his dark, battle-ready armor and the complete lack of a noble crest or guild tag.
"Everyone claims to have a 'high-grade' resource, pal," the right guard sneered.
"Unless you have a formal invitation or can show us the item right now, you aren't getting through these doors"
Zero didn't argue. He knew that in the Human Kingdom, power and money were the only languages that mattered.
"System," Zero commanded internally.
"Open Shop. Buy one Velkora Fruit"
Ding!
[SYSTEM SHOP]
[Current Balance: 1,150 SP] (After Map Purchase)
[Item: Velkora Fruit]
[Cost: 10 SP]
[Status: Purchased]
[New Balance: 1,140 SP]
The item was instantly deposited into his spatial inventory.
Slowly, Zero raised his right hand. He deliberately made sure the guards could see a plain silver band resting on the index finger of his armored gauntlet. It was just a regular ring he had looted from the slavers, completely devoid of magic.
But as he opened his palm, he willed the System to pull the Velkora Fruit from his inventory directly into his hand.
Flash.
A soft, crimson light pulsed from his palm. To the guards—and any noble watching from the stairs—it looked exactly as if Zero had just summoned the item from a Spatial Storage Ring, an artifact so rare and impossibly expensive that usually only Dukes or Archmages possessed them.
[Velkora Fruit]
Resting in the palm of his heavy iron gauntlet was the Velkora Fruit.
A flawless, star-shaped blue fruit materialized in his armored hand. It was cold to the touch, its translucent skin humming with a faint, rhythmic energy that felt like a trapped storm. The moment it appeared, the temperature on the grand staircase dropped noticeably, and the air was instantly saturated with a crisp, intoxicating aroma of pure, condensed mana.
The two guards gasped, taking a synchronized step back. The tips of their halberds hit the floor.
"By the Gods..." the left guard whispered, his eyes wide as he stared at the glowing fruit. "Is that... a Velkora Fruit? I've only ever read about them in alchemy texts!"
"And he pulled it from a Storage Ring!" the other guard hissed in a panic, his arrogance completely evaporating. Only an absolute powerhouse or a disguised lord of immense wealth would carry such an item in a spatial ring.
Zero closed his fingers slightly, shielding the fruit's glow, and stared down at the trembling guards through the narrow slits of his mask.
"I will say it one more time," Zero's distorted voice rumbled, echoing with quiet menace. "Bring me an appraiser. Or I will take my business to your competitors"
"Right away, My Lord!" the Captain of the elite guards stammered, abandoning his post and bowing deeply. "Please, forgive our insolence! Right this way, I will escort you to the Chief Appraiser's private VIP room immediately!"
The halberds were pulled away, and the grand gilded doors were thrown open.
Zero slid the fruit back into his "Storage Ring" (inventory) with a flick of his wrist. His midnight-blue cloak billowed behind him as he stepped confidently into the opulent hall of the Auction House.
"Hook, line, and sinker," he thought, a dark smile hidden behind his mask.
Zero was escorted through the lavish, gold-trimmed corridors of the Auction House, leaving the noisy main hall behind. The elite guard stopped before a set of heavy mahogany doors, knocked respectfully, and opened them.
"The Chief Appraiser is waiting for you, My Lord," the guard bowed, quickly stepping aside.
Zero stepped into the opulent office. The floor was covered in a thick, crimson carpet, and the walls were lined with shelves displaying rare monster materials—wyvern scales, basilisk fangs, and jars of glowing blood. In this world, there were no "monster cores" to act as easy magic batteries; alchemists and mages had to rely entirely on raw, harvested materials and rare botany to craft their spells and elixirs.
Sitting behind a massive desk of polished obsidian was Chief Appraiser Bartholomeus.
He was a remarkably fat man, his vast wealth evident in his layered silk robes and the heavy gold rings squeezing his plump fingers. He had a shrewd, calculating glint in his small eyes. But as the towering, black-armored titan entered his office, Bartholomeus swallowed hard, intimidated by the sheer, oppressive aura radiating from the masked stranger.
"Welcome, welcome!" Bartholomeus stood up, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. "I am Bartholomeus, the Chief Appraiser of the Golden Scales. My guards tell me you possess an item of... exceptional botanical quality?"
Zero didn't bother with pleasantries. He walked up to the obsidian desk, his heavy boots sinking into the carpet.
He raised his gauntleted hand. With a subtle flick of his wrist—pretending to use the silver ring on his finger—a flawless, star-shaped blue fruit materialized in his palm. It was cold to the touch, its translucent skin humming with a faint, rhythmic energy.
"The Velkora Fruit," Zero's distorted, mechanical voice echoed in the quiet room as he placed it gently on the black desk.
Bartholomeus leaned in, pulling a jeweler's monocle over his right eye. He carefully inspected the humming blue fruit, his hands trembling slightly with excitement.
"Exquisite," the fat man breathed.
"Absolutely pristine condition. The mana density is completely intact. You harvested this recently?"
"Very recently," the masked titan replied coldly.
Bartholomeus leaned back, steepling his plump, ring-laden fingers. He looked at the imposing figure, realizing he hadn't even asked for an identity. "I will be honest with you, Sir... forgive me, but under what name should I register this item for the auction block?"
"Zero"
The fat appraiser blinked at the strange, singular name, but quickly nodded, offering a polite, business-like smile. "Sir Zero, then. As I was saying, in times of peace, a Velkora Fruit is not considered a legendary treasure. It is a necessary ingredient for high-grade healing elixirs, yes, but it normally fetches around 10 Gold Coins in the market. Expensive for a commoner, but mere pocket change for a Noble
A dark chuckle escaped Zero's mask. "But we are not in times of peace, are we, Bartholomeus?"
The fat appraiser sighed heavily, wiping his brow again. "You are remarkably well-informed. Yes, the Kingdom is preparing for war. Because of the draft, the hunters and gatherers who usually brave the border forests have all signed up as soldiers—the military pays them far more for killing than for picking herbs. There is a massive shortage of raw materials"
Bartholomeus pointed a fat, ring-laden finger at the blue fruit.
"Because we cannot rely on mythical 'cores' to power our magic, we desperately need raw, high-density ingredients like this to brew healing elixirs for the Royal Vanguard. The demand has skyrocketed. Right now, the starting bid for a single Velkora Fruit at tonight's auction will easily be 20 Gold Coins, and desperate Mages might drive it even higher"
Zero crossed his heavy, Abyssal Steel gauntlets over his chest. He looked down at the fat, wealthy merchant.
"Good," Zero stated, his voice dropping an octave, making the glass jars on the shelves vibrate. "Because I did not come here to sell just one"
Bartholomeus's eyes went wide. "Y-You have more?"
Zero leaned forward, the crimson eyes of his iron mask glaring directly into the appraiser's soul.
"I have plenty," Zero lied smoothly, knowing he could buy as many as he wanted from the System for a mere 10 SP each. "And not just Velkora Fruits. I have access to territories, deep within the Spirit Forest and beyond, where your human armies and gatherers cannot survive. Places where the monsters would tear your Royal Knights to shreds. I can supply materials you haven't seen in decades"
Bartholomeus looked at the black-armored titan, a mix of absolute terror and unrestrained greed flashing across his fat face. If this mysterious, masked mercenary could regularly supply untouchable resources during a wartime shortage, the Golden Scales Auction House would become the wealthiest guild in the Kingdom.
"My Lord Zero," Bartholomeus said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as he bowed his head. "I believe this is the beginning of a very, very profitable partnership. How many Velkora Fruits would you like to put on the auction block tonight?"