MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

"Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a bid of 1.62 billion, so do I hear 1.64 billion, or is this where we end the auction?" Hadraniel roared, his voice louder than ever.

Alex had a calm look, but on the inside, his heart was racing because he was the one with the current highest bid and was hoping that the Dragon clan elder would stop this madness.

As for how Alex had made a bid of 1.62 billion when he had a bit over a hundred million left, it was all because of Elder Darrien, who had handed him a space ring with five billion black gold coins that held similar value to the white flame coins and had asked him to buy the little girl.

Alex knew that either his two guardians failed to see through her secrets, which piqued their curiosity, or they could see through her secrets and wanted her by their side at any cost.

But for the time being, he kept the questions to himself and focussed on bidding, and all others dropped after the price surpassed a billion as they were just bidding out of curiosity.

But it could be a great opportunity for the dragon clan elder, and he would be damned to let someone else have it without a battle.

So, the bid of 1.64 billion came very quickly, and Alex didn't shy away from continuing the bid. While he was not affected by the money he was spending, the group of three by his side could only stare at him as their mind calculated the amount of money he was spending with each passing bid and doing so for apparently a mysterious little girl.

The bidding war continued, and the number increased to 2 billion, then 3 billion, and finally, 4 billion, and still, the dragon elder was showing no signs of backing down.

But before Alex could worry about running out of funds, another space ring with 10 billion appeared in his hand, making the message of his guardian clear, and while it was not his money, it still pained him to spend so much of it on something he didn't think was worth it.

The dragon elder seemed to share his opinions, as when the price reached 5.18 billion, he ceased bidding. Hadraniel, sporting the most significant smile on his face, declared him the victorious bidder, concluding the continental auction.

As the auction ended, the group returned to the Malefis Domain while Alex was teleported to a private chamber, where Hadraniel, accompanied by the little girl, was waiting for him.

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"Young Master, Congratulations on your acquisition," Hadraniel said, welcoming him with a bright smile.

"Mister, are you a good guy?" The little girl hurriedly approached Alex, posing her question with a sweet smile lighting up her face.

"Yes, indeed. And what might be your name, sweetheart?" Alex replied, gracefully lowering himself to one knee to meet her at eye level.

"I will tell you after you give me some food," She said as she extended her hand forward.

"Young master, She will only eat magical treasure," Hadraniel said as he appeared by his side with a small, dark, shriveled Barry in his hand.

Alex was about to take out some mana bread before telling her that after leaving, they would visit a hotel when Hadraniel appeared, so he stopped as he digested the unusual information.

"I am not munchin' on this low-grade, foul-tasting rubbish." She said, her eyes wincing as they held onto some bad memories from the taste alone.

"You are loaded, right, so give me something good," She said, shifting her shining eyes back toward Alex.

Alex was surprised by this small exchange as the dark berry was an epic quality, a magical treasure that could boost resistance against various poisons and increase vitality.

While the taste wouldn't qualify as a gourmet delight, it surely wasn't unpleasant, considering it was a fruit-type magical treasure and not the pickled heart or organ of a magical beast.

Alex was returned to his senses when Lady Margaret asked him to give the girl the Starlume Fruit he picked from the hidden space.

Alex hesitated for a moment as the energy in a legendary quality treasure was not something a mortal could handle and would surely die a gruesome death, but knowing his guardians knew better, he took out the small star-shaped white fruit that pulsed energy and handed it to the girl.

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile as she quickly took the fruit and consumed it in two bites, a pleased expression on her face.

"Young Master, this young lady's name is Aqua. As you can observe, aside from the peculiar barrier shielding her from any inspection or harm, her diet solely consists of magical treasures, and consuming so much potent energy doesn't seem to harm her in any way."

"This also means she is not actually a slave, but she had taken the law oath to obey me in exchange for feeding her magical treasures,"

"I kept this information hidden because if revealed, she would have become a target for every big power, making her new master also a target," Hadraniel said, making Alex shift his eyes toward the little girl who had a blissful face with her eyes closed.

"Mister, it was delicious. Can you give me one more?" Aqua innocently requested.

"You can have as many as you like, but make sure you don't overeat, or it could be bad for your health," Alex said as he gave her another fruit after receiving confirmation from his guardian.

As she finished the second fruit, Hadraniel took a law oath freeing Aqua from his service and then asked her to take a law oath to become an eternal servant of Alex with the condition that he would feed her with magical treasures.

After hearing about Aqua, Alex felt it wouldn't be surprising if even the law oath didn't affect her, but he kept these thoughts to himself.

After the procedure ended, Hadraniel asked Alex which continent he wanted to go to and even offered to share appearance changing the item, but it was just him being a good host, as he was well aware that there were shadow guardians protecting the young man even though he failed to detect them.

Alex declined his request, and the next moment, he and Aqua vanished, appearing in a desolate area of the island. Before the curious kid by his side could ask any questions, he used continental teleportation and returned to the Malefis Domain.

Aqua had many questions, but after knowing they were on a different continent and that Alex was the ruler of the continent, she began to laugh out loud and dance like she had heard a great news.

Alex asked for the reason for her happiness, and she voiced that as he was a Ruler, he should be able to give her many high-quality and delicious foods and won't be cheapass like that old fart, which he assumed was Hadraniel.

But she stopped midsentence and asked with a serious look if he was going to be a cheapass, and when he confirmed that he would do his best to fulfill her wishes, she began to laugh again and started doing her small celebration dance.

Alex thought there was a great possibility that Aqua might be some hidden old monster as it would easily explain her ability to defend and consume magical creatures without any consequences, but seeing her innocence, he felt otherwise.

But he would soon find out about her true nature as he didn't believe she could fool the eyes of the guardians.

After hearing the conversation between Varon and his guardians, Alex also discovered that they bought her because of the unknown barrier protecting her.

Elder Darrien had used blood and soul attacks on her, and they both were blocked. He had attacked her tens of times, and each time, he felt like he was trying to pierce a barrier that didn't even budge.

Elder Darrien said if they might maybe just maybe understand it and could use the barrier on a large enough scale to cover the entire domain or even a big area, then it was possible that it could block the Devourer Curse and secure their future generation safety.

Alex was shocked, to say the least, because he knew that the cure to the curse was not a permanent solution and that the curse would only end when the demon king was dead, which was not happening anytime soon.

So, as much as the possibility of Elder Darrien's thinking coming to fruition seemed bleak, it still gave them hope of a permanent solution.

Varon also confirmed his words and shared that he might not see any information about the small girl, which baffled Alex as he was not expecting to receive such an answer.

So, without wasting any time, they went to the lab of Lady Elmara, and the instant she laid gaze on Aqua, she knew she was special.