World Online

As he entered, he saw multiple people here.

That was odd. This was supposed to be a closed off space, and not many players were allowed to come to the forbidden street.

And even among the players, who would dare come this close to the Duke's mansion for a store that didn't seem any special from the outside?

Looking at them closely though, Jake realised that they were not players. They were NPCs. Jake could only see burred out names on them.

That meant that they were either stronger than he was, or they had strong backing within the game. Jake leaned toward the latter.

Looking around, so many people could only mean one thing. There was something big happening within the Flying Pavilion.

He approached one of the many attendants who were walking around.

"I came here a week ago. Was the date of the auction pushed forward? Because I thought that it was going to happen a few weeks later." Jake asked politely.

"Forgive me Baron. We could not inform all of our customers of the sudden change in plans. The auction will be beginning shortly. You came right on time." the attendant sweetly smiled.

"Alright then." Jake nodded.

"Forgive me, Baron King, but you will need to deposit twenty gold to prove your purchasing capability, and to get one of the coveted seats of the auction that is happening." the attendant said.

"That's not an issue." Jake nodded and handed her a small pouch with the twenty gold without batting an eye. This money was a small investment for what was to come.

"Do you wish to stay here and converse, or do you wish to come to the auction right away?" she asked.

"I will go in. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of being acquainted to these fine men." Jake nodded at one of the NPCs who was looking at him.

Seeing that Jake was a Baron, the opposing NPC just nodded, but did nothing more. Just looking at him, Jake knew that he was looking at a Viscount, or maybe even a Marquis.

The attendant started walking into the store, leading the way for Jake. Even though the store looked normal on the outside, the corridor that the attendant led Jake to was long and big.

That was because of the single thing that the Flying Pavilion was hiding. The auction.

After the first auction, people suddenly learned of the Flying Pavilion, and some people tried going in asking for it. But only a few were allowed in. And the common denominator among those that were allowed in, was that they were rich!

Only those that had more than twenty gold, and asked for the Flying Pavilion were allowed in. The reason for that amount was simple.

Without that, they couldn't enter the auction.

When Jake entered the forbidden street, he had much more than twenty gold, but the one who tried to come in after that just couldn't afford it.

They stopped at the end of the hallway, in front of a clear dead-end.

Then, the attendant started tapping on the wall rhythmically, and then stepped away.

Click!

The seamless wall suddenly came open, and a door emerged.

"This is going to be the first time that I enter a place as big and pompous as this is supposed to be. Welcome to the big leagues now, Jake." he told himself as he took a deep breath and walked in.

Immediatley, he was greeted by a large hall. At the very front, there was a single stand with nothing on it, and a large stage. The auctioneer wasn't here yet, but the auction house itself was packed.

Jake could see people everywhere, and he was surprised that even the first auction had this many people.

"Where do I sit?" Jake asked.

"Please take a seat in row thirty seven, seat number fifty eight." the attendant said as she turned around and went back to the main store.

Looking around like he was in a movie theatre, he went up the rows to find his seat, and looked at the two to his side. One was a lady with a mask on, as some people here preferred the privacy.

The other was a plump man who had no problem showing off his face, or the food that he was gourging.

Jake took a seat and quickly opened his chat.

There was fifty minutes left till the guild was going to convene, and it would look terrible for the guild master to show up late on the very second day.

He typed out a message for everyone in the guild.

[As the update had come up suddenly, I will be taking some time exploring the update and the options of the guild. The guild shall convene an hour after planned. All those who have already logged in can explore the update and any new features that come with it.] he said tactfully.

He did not want to explain the fact that he was in an auction. That would raise too many questions than it would answer.

And then, he looked forward.

The entire auction house was lit up, but it was segregated. At the very front were probably the merchants, and rich NPCs who could afford items, and a few players who managed to find this place.

After all, there was a reason that Jake knew about the Flying Pavilion. Someone here came here on this day, and told everyone about it.

Well, it was supposed to be a month later, so maybe Jake was the only player here?

But the middle rows were reserved for nobility, and as the rows went, the rank of the nobles increased.

And this auction just demonstrated two things. The Loviel Empire had way too many nobles, for there to be hundreds upon hundreds in each rank until the Marquis ranks.

But it also meant that this auction was so important that this many NPCs of such rank and power attended it.

At the very back though, were the true powerhouses. The powerhouses that Jake could not see, because they had their own individual rooms.

"Ahem!"

A sound took Jake's attention back to the stage.

The auctioneer had arrived.

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