The Empires Rise

"Going three times! And sold to..." Brintilmus starts to proclaim when my attention is pulled away from what she is saying by someone speaking into my mind.

"Quite the intriguing young man you are. I want to let you know that since this is my auction house, all sales are final. So, I hope you can come through with the amount you have been spending today."

Trying to figure out what he is saying, I hear an uproar in the hall.

"What do you mean it went for a higher price?"

"Who put this bid in? I didn't hear anyone call it out!"

"I demand that you honor my bid since I didn't have the option to bid again!" A rather upset elf stands up and proclaims from a box across from me.

"My dearest apologies, but it isn't my fault if you couldn't hear the bid and then try to bid again."

There is laughter above me as I hear them conversing as well.

"Just mentioning our names seems to have put the entire hall in a tizzy since they were conversing amongst themselves instead of bidding on your fine bow."

"It would seem that way."

There is a loud clap, and a well-dressed gentleman stands before Brintilmus, shielding her from the words that some of the more upset patrons are spewing her way. That is when I feel something I can only perceive as pressure on my entire body. It is relatively light, almost like someone has put a weighted blanket over me, but from what I can tell for some others, this weight seems to be substantially more. Half of the crowd has almost collapsed back into their seats.

"I understand your frustrations, but let me put you all into your place. This is MY auction hall. These are MY people that I have painstakingly hired. If you have any problems with how they handled this item, you can certainly bring it up with me. Otherwise, you will respect her and the rest of my staff as they deserve."

He says it in a charming tone, but I can tell from how pointed some of the words are that he isn't playing around when it comes to his staff.

"If that is the case, I would like to complain that she took an offer for the item that no one else heard." The pompous elf declares.

"Oh? I heard it, and so did the two that started this debacle, if I am not mistaken." He retorts.

"Yes, it was heard loud and clear to my ears."

"I would have to agree with you, hall-master. While the bid was placed in a manner some would say deceptive, we are in an auction. If you can't hear all the bids before the price is finalized, isn't it your fault?" Xiphos declares.

"But..." The elf is interrupted.

"Mr. Sylaxrim, if you continue with this complaint, I will have no other option but to ask you to kindly pay for the items you have received and leave the premises. I will not have you questioning my employees any further." With that final statement, the hall-master vanishes from the stage when my mind is intruded again.

"I want to speak with you before you head to the reception. So, at your earliest convenience, please come up to my box. I will allow you to bring your two companions, as it has been a while since I have seen another universe being brought into PUN." The tone is once again pleasant, and since we don't have any money left, I inform the others that we have been requested above by the hall-master.

It doesn't take more than a couple of seconds before we all stand up and head to the door. When we arrive, we can go to another location. Seeing only one option available for us to select, we head up.

Once we arrive, it doesn't take me long to figure out that we have entered the hall master's office. Inside the room are several bookshelves filled with books about different crafts, items, and settlement information based purely on the titles alone. There is an elegant desk, and behind the desk is a window that showcases the entire auction hall. Off to one side of the room is a set of sofas, a coffee table, and a couple of singular chairs positioned so that you can quickly get to the coffee table but would feel awkward trying to get out of any conversation.

Seated in the two individual chairs is a drop-dead gorgeous elf maiden. Her green hair, olive-colored skin, and star-touched eyes appear mystical compared to Sylvasti back in the settlement. And across from her is a hulking figure with muscles that look like they could topple mountains, giving me an appreciative gaze.

"Welcome new friends!" The hall-master says upon our arrival. "Come, let me introduce you to my fine companions." He gestures to the two figures in the chairs. "This hulking behemoth of a man is Xiphos, and the ever-beautiful elf sitting here is Lyndis. As for myself, I am the hall-master of this fair auction hall, and I go by the name of Kazuz. Now, if you wouldn't mind introducing yourselves?"

Nodding my head to the three figures in the chairs, I am about to speak up when Eleanor steps forward. "Hello, my name is Eleanor, and the Goliath beside me is Narus. Drake is the lord of the settlement we are a part of." As she introduced each of us, we smiled at them.

"Wonderful," Xiphos declares. "It isn't often that we see someone of your beauty or race, for that matter."

Waving her hand at the side comment of her beauty, she focuses on the latter half of the statement, "What do you mean by race?"

"Forgive me, but you rarely see vampires in the wild. They are usually confined to their blood flights." Lyndis explains quickly, glaring at Xiphos. "He is a bit of an oaf but doesn't mean any harm by the comment. You have our guarantee that we won't hurt you or yours unless you start something first." She gives a small smile. "As for your friend, Narus, they are just as rare as your kind. Though they are more publicly accepted being part of the living factions."

"Might I be impudent and ask a question?" Kazuz asks.

Seeing him stare directly into my eyes, I start to get uncomfortable. "What do you want to ask?"

"Are you, by chance, related to a dragon, or do you have the bloodline of a dragon?"

Shock appears on my face, and he laughs before I mask it. "Oh my, would you look at that? Now, which one is it?" There is a flash of something in his eyes, and I can't understand his intent. Hearing his comment, the other two stop conversing with Narus and Eleanor.

Looking around like I have been trapped, I try to sidestep the question, "Would you be alright if we sit, or are you going to have us stand here for the entire conversation?"

"Oh, where are my manners, please, please. Would you like any refreshments? I can get glasses of the drinks you were having below if that suits you."

Thinking I got away with changing the subject, we sat down and agreed with him providing us with some drinks. It doesn't take long before he asks his question once again. "So, which is it? Are you related, or do you have a dragon bloodline?"

Sighing in defeat, I ask, "What makes you think I am either of those two options?"

"You have a strong smell of dragons on your person. This doesn't happen unless you have been close to a dragon for years or if you have the bloodline of one yourself."

"Smell?" I give him a quizzical look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I mean, you smell like dragons. Those at lower tiers won't be able to smell it clearly unless they have a bloodline, but those at higher tiers are more sensitive to these things." He responds with a chipper smile.

"Could I ask what tier you are at?"

"I wouldn't worry myself too much about that for now. Just know that I am much stronger than everyone in the building."

"Can you two smell it?" I ask the other two in the room.

"No, but I can tell there is something different in you based on the mana fluctuations around you. You need to get your mana control under control; you are jutting tons of mana out of your body." Lyndis states.

"Nothing I could notice right off-hand other than your being more irritable than most people. I just chalked that up to your personality." Xiphos says.

Thinking about it for a second, I ask something that shocks all of them. "Why couldn't it be both?"

In unison, all three stand up in shock and shout, "BOTH?"

"Yeah, though, I just awakened my bloodline not too long ago, so that might be the cause of my inability to control my mana as much as I would like to. And as for the smell, it would make sense since my father is a dragon." I shrug my shoulders.

Shaking his head, Kazuz holds his hands up. "Drake, I am going to be honest with you. Never, and I mean never, disclose that you have a connection to a dragon and a dragon bloodline. You didn't have much choice in this instance, but being part of a group of newcomers, you should be able to hide it pretty well in the coming years."

"Why, in years to come, I thought I would see more of the world as I get stronger with my friends."

"Because those that are freshly integrated will-" The rest of his words become blocked by a buzzing sound. Seeing that my face is showing confusion, he sighs. "Just know it will be a while before you worry about it. Consider it like a tutorial."

"Alright. Why couldn't I hear what you said in the last part of your sentence?"

"It is a protective measure by PUN to make sure people that aren't ready to hear about certain things don't. This example is that what you would learn is too high for you to know, so it was blocked out."

After affirming that I followed, he shrugged and changed the topic. "How long have you been initiated into PUN?"

"I was integrated into the system for about fifteen days or so. Some people are less by a day or two, while the rest of the people in my settlement are still relatively fresh."

"And you were able to get the wealth you currently have in those few days?" He asks, a bit skeptically.

"Yes, a bunch of wealth bags were provided as a reward. I also got the invitation as a reward for completing a night battle that didn't wasn't at night because of our actions."

Nodding along, he gestures for me to stop. "Sounds like you are well in hand. You bid on quite a few items, and I am happy to see you were able to win them. Just be cautious when it comes to the reception. Don't go making promises that will come back to bite you."

"That was the plan." Giving him a nod in acknowledgment, I ask one final question: "If you three are all up here, then what were the last two items for people to bid on?"

"One was a section of a summoning portal, and the other was just some Tier 3 crafting equipment for an enchanter."

"What section?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. I was a little sad to hear that there was a set of Tier 3 crafting equipment for enchanting.

"It was the arch for the summoning portal; this is typically the hardest part to get, so we left it as the last item in the auction."

"Well, by the looks of it, our time is running short. The auction is heading into its final stages, and the portal arch is about to be sold. I believe it is time for you to return to your box, young Drake." Ushering us towards the door, Kazuz waves goodbye as we return to our box.

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Kazuz's POV

Watching these new young initiates leave my office, I turn to Lyndis. "What mana did you feel fluctuating off of him?" My tone is stern and authoritative.

"It was really odd, at times it reminded me of life, then nature. It was always light, like there wasn't much of that specific mana affinity. I could only grasp it occasionally, but that isn't the end of it, I also felt two other mana affinities."

Looking at her, I gesture for her to continue. "He has corruption and death as well. I can understand having the four elements, or even having a light and darkness dual affinity but having four affinities seems like a lot for someone that is so new to the system."

"Are you sure?" I asked my tone not changing.

"I am about 80-90% sure of what I was feeling."

Getting Xiphos' attention, I state, "We must not let this information slip. Someone who is a bloodline holder of a dragon, has four affinities, ties with not just the unliving, but also a race that we have presumed to be almost lost to the system. We must make sure that we can let him grow. For the betterment of us all."

They both nod their heads in agreement to me, just as a precaution, I have them sign an agreement with me making sure that none of this information is going to slip at least from our own mouths.