1231 Scouting

The rest of the evening passed by silently and contrary to what Liam thought, neither Madan nor Rey created any issues. The two harmlessly flirted with the nymphs working in the tavern which many of the other customers also did.

Meanwhile, Liam and Lan Deming continued to sit in the corner table paying attention to the general chatter inside the shop.

The cost of drinks in the tavern weren't that high but the cost of food was a bit on the steeper side. Nevertheless, Liam ordered some food so that they would be able to continue occupying the table without arousing any suspicions.

A few minutes later, a nymph brought over a tray filled with food. "Here you go. Spiced Firefruit Skewers."

"These are fruits from a mysterious fire tree that only grows in the Vortex sector, known for their intense flavors. They have been skewered and roasted over an open flame, basted with a glaze of honey and a mixture of local spices." The nymph introduced.

She then placed the next dish which was equally tantalizing.

"Grilled Zephyr Wings"

"A delicacy made from the tender wings of a small, bird-like creature native to one of our floating islands. The wings were marinated in a blend of aromatic herbs and citrus juices, then grilled to perfection."

"Please enjoy your food, handsome." She gave a wink at Lan Deming specifically before she flitted off to another table.

The usually calm Lan Deming became flustered a little at the attention, especially because the two experts stared at him with knowing smiles.

Liam sighed and did not say anything. The antics of the two made sure no one would ever suspect them or give them a second glance.

Liam also carried a lot of guilt for basically letting everyone stranded on their own for over a year. So he did not care if anyone wanted to indulge themselves.

He had amassed a lot of mana cores during his time in the forbidden territory with his army constantly grinding all sorts of beasts. He had no idea why the guardian had given him almost a free reign but he had used it well.

Not just that, he had also looted plenty of elves. Most of them were the proud elites of the elven empires and they were not lacking money. Now all of that wealth was in Liam's possession.

With the amount he carried, he could have even easily paid off the debt he owed the fairy, but he held off for the moment.

However, there was no need to hold off right now. Interrupting Rey's and Madan's intense discussion, he handed one pouch to each of them.

"What is this bro?" Rey recognizing that the pouch was a spatial artifact quickly bound with it and checked it out. The next second he froze and stared at Liam with his mouth wide open.

"What… what is this?" He stammered.

"It's for you to do information gathering." Liam flatly replied.

"Bro…" Rey opened and closed his mouth dumbly. "I cannot. This is too much."

"This is a lot guild leader." Madan was also shocked.

"So your information better be good." Liam casually added. He then looked at Madan and told him the same thing. "The same goes for you. Get back with some good results."

The two guys looked at Liam dumbfoundedly, their eyes even beginning to tear up. Liam had done for them what no one would ever do for them.

"Bro, until my death, I am your bro." Rey sentimentally wiped his eyes.

"Bro, I am so glad I decided to follow you." Madan looked equally emotional.

But the next second, the two guys disappeared from their seats with such speed that it almost looked like they teleported from their seats.

Lan Deming was speechless. "Are they going to…?" He looked at Liam who calmly took another one of the wings and savored the meat while continuing to stare at nothing in particular.

"Guild leader, is it okay for them to spend this much?"

"Hmmm. It's fine. Do you also want to gather information?"

Uhhh… Gather information? That's what this was called? Lan Deming shook his head with a bitter smile. "I have a wife, guild leader."

"Congratulations on the wedding." Liam continued to savor the dish.

Time ticked by and the two group members who had disappeared only returned in the wee hours of the night as if they had decided beforehand on the time.

Both of them were fully flushed and grinning ear to ear.

"Bro! Big news!" Rey and Madan burst through the crowd and sat down on their chairs, panting.

Liam chuckled lightly. "So what did you guys find out?"

"Guild leader, we were right to come here. It is worth all the risk." Madan explained. "While on the surface Nymphomania is mainly for pleasure, apparently several black market auctions take place here. That is the main attraction behind the scenes."

"Most of the goods auctioned here are either stolen from others, alive or dead." 

"Many people don't want their target's families and clans to come after them for revenge so they prefer to sell those goods here rather than through the system's official channels," Rey added, his eyes shining.

"And there's one happening soon," he continued, "this very same night! It's an exclusive event, invitation only. But with the resources you provided, we managed to secure a spot for us."

Liam raised an eyebrow, interested. "And what kind of items are we talking about?"

"The rarest of the rare," Madan said. "Artifacts, forbidden tomes, rare beast cores, even information and secrets that you won't find anywhere else. It's all under the table, and the bidders are the heavyweights from various worlds."

"Hmmm." Liam nodded. He thought about it for a while. Most of the information these guys had brought over was pretty much the same as he had overheard during his time here.

He had also heard about the auction that was taking place tonight.

"Ok. Let's go to the auction and check it out." Liam decided.

"Ok, bro."

"Ok, guild leader."

Both Rey and Madan nodded their heads vigorously. 

Rey then quickly spoke up. "Oh, one more thing." 

"The system shops here are good. We can go there and purchase whatever we want. There should be no restrictions. The only drawback is that the shops here are overpriced. Almost 50% overpriced."

Madan also nodded. "I heard this too."

Hmmm. Liam nodded. He had heard this too. This was unfortunate but it couldn't be helped. As long as the system store did not have any restrictions, it was all good. 

That was all he could ask for. In a place like this, it was understandable for the greedy fairies to milk as much money as they possibly could.

"Alright, let's prepare for the auction then," Liam said, standing up from the table. "Make sure you're all ready. This could be a valuable opportunity for us, but it could also be dangerous. Stay alert, and don't let your guard down for a second."

With that, the group finished their meal and left the tavern, blending back into the crowd as they made their way to the place of auction. The auction was supposedly happening in a grand theatre and seating was limited.

The group walked around and noticed that the streets were more crowded than usual. The auction was probably not one of the best-kept secrets of the place from the looks of it.

They soon arrived at the grand theatre which was a huge building structure, constructed similar to some sort of mega indoor arena capable of housing thousands of beings.

It was a luxurious establishment run by the nymphs and even the ticket counter had a nymph processing the attendants. 

Rey handed over the ticket and thankfully, they were able to enter without any issues. The ticket itself had cost them 100 high-grade cores and the poor guy sighed in relief that everything was going smoothly.

They walked around the arena seats and it did not take long for them to find their specific location. Since it was a black market auction, the proceedings were very different from a system-sanctioned auction.

Even the method of placing bids was very different. 

One had to speak out their bid in the crystal they were handed over at the ticket counter and the bid would only be announced if it was high enough to drown out the others, avoiding all the clamor and commotion that a normal auction house entailed.

The nymphs also helped the bidders remain anonymous which was a big factor in their auction.

Several alluring nymphs waltzed about here and there officially inaugurating the auction. A wave of excitement spread throughout the huge arena.

Everyone was looking forward to the items up for auction. Rey and Madan started discussing if any beast evolution related items would show up. Lan Deming wanted some rare skill books.

However, as soon as the auction started, the group was in for a shock. The nymph unexpectedly ushered over another nymph who was clad in chains and subdued. The first item was another... nymph?

Only then everyone understood that this was a slave auction. They had been scammed into buying a ticket for a slave auction rather than an item auction.