The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

Otto glanced around the fancy ballroom, feeling somewhat bored.

The only thing that kept him awake was the fact that he was not currently located inside a safe zone.

In other words, there was a distinct possibility that he could be attacked at any time.

So far, there was no sign whatsoever of Verasha. Or, at least, if she was present, she had not signaled Otto in any way, nor could he find her in the small crowd mingling throughout the ballroom.

Glanes was also unfortunately absent…Otto was forced to politely mingle with increasingly dull challengers before the event began.

His irritation began to bubble up.

Was it only the newcomers to the venue that arrived right before the evening began? While the 'regulars' were forced to sweat to find conversation topics for over half an hour?

But at last, to Otto's great relief, his prayers were quickly answered.

The woman on stage- the same woman, in fact, as last time- said her piece.

Otto resisted the invasion of 'relaxation' towards his mind with ease this time.

Actually, Glanes's words from the last event still bothered him.

He had explicitly warned him not to join this club.

Otto had been wondering what the 'catch' to it really was.

And his thoughts took a darker turn.

'What exactly is the purpose of this organization?'

'Ostensibly, they want to bring the elites with 'qualifications' together to form a sort-of social club…but why?'

Why would an organization, at heavy cost to itself, establish such an organization? Was there a hidden benefit to this? If so, what?

Also, why choose folks with qualifications?

To Otto's mind, many of the people here were not at all combat focused. At least, despite having a qualification, they gave him almost no pressure whatsoever.

In other words, there was a good chance they received the qualification from their professions or otherwise not in combat.

What made them elite, in that case, and why gather them together like this?

It couldn't be that all of them were extremely wealthy; if going by wealth, then the heads of some of the most well known organizations like Shumba or Grosstin would easily be on par if not above many of these folks.

Since while a lot of them did lead organizations, and a few even had prestigious organizations, their smaller size inevitably limited the depth of their pockets…

Otto sighed inwardly and decided to just listen to this woman, Riva, he believed her name was, talk about the auction.

"For our newcomers, tonight's events will first consist of our monthly auction where we sell off all of the items, equipment, tools, weapons, potions, pills, and anything else we happen to find on floors."

"Each item must be of a certain standard of quality to appear here. Most are not or cannot be sold to the public in the wider Area."

"However, perhaps they don't fit your style, or you need some additional cash or wish to trade for something more useful to you personally."

"But, not to worry, folks, that's what this auction is for."

Soon, the auction began.

Everyone's gazes unconsciously turned towards Otto.

Otto directly rolled his eyes and spoke in a voice just loud enough for most to hear,

"What, do they think I want to buy everything just because I have money?"

But he laughed inwardly.

Ideally, his mere presence in an auction would create a deterrence effect to others, perhaps allowing him to get certain items cheaper than he normally would…

Potions, pills, equipment, weapons, auxiliary tools went by one after the other as Otto sat calmly in his seat.

While most of these items weren't available for sale in public, it didn't mean they were all very good, either.

For example, Otto analyzed a painting:

[Carpasha's Flowered Portrait II]

This painting emits an atmosphere of serenity for any space, making guests and residents alike feel extremely comfortable around it.

Hidden: Observer's mind will slowly be captured by Carpasha of the Rechlan Race.

Most of them were nothing so terrifying, but to Otto, they didn't hold his interest.

Without him noticing, hours went by while Otto had only won a small bevy of spells, both tomes and formulas.

Finally, a sleeve of ten small cards was placed upon the stage.

Otto's attention was immediately captured.

"These cards are for you overachievers out there."

The woman smiled slyly.

"Or perhaps to any overachievers in your faction or group."

"They can enhance your rewards after you clear a floor."

Otto quickly analyzed the cards.

[Reward Enhancer x10]

Adds a single reward after clearing a floor. Limit 1 per floor.

But there was a line under the usual description.

Hidden: There is a small, activated magical tracking device on each card.

Otto's eyes widened.

Was this something the auction was selling without knowing about the tracker?

Or…

His expression smoothed.

Otto didn't give away a hint of his true thoughts.

"These cards will be sold individually. Limited to one card per person."

The last sentence confirmed it for Otto.

The Golden Club was selling these on purpose!

Of course, the audience remained unaware of the hidden trackers, and Otto was not nearly enough of a good samaritan to clue them in.

A murmur rose up as the eyes of the attendees sparkled.

Many months, there would be a small number of these kinds of items that could directly impact one's performance in the [Tower].

No one had any idea where the Golden Club got them from, but their effects were always guaranteed.

Obviously, they were also extremely popular!

"8 Brocks"

"9"

"10"

"12"

"…13"

"15! Ha, there's no chance any of you will take this from me."

"Stupid geezer. 16!"

It wasn't long before the bidding for each card reached a fever pitch. The price climbed up and up…Otto carefully remembered the face of each person who won a card.

His eyes were hooded, veiling his thoughts.

Finally, the auction came to an end, leaving only the last item.

Otto hoped that this item would be better than the previous ones.

A small wooden, carved totem emitting a dense energy stood on the totem.

It was covered in a series of complicated, intricate carved runes that spanned its circumference.

Otto's brows rose once he used [Analyze].

Who was selling something like this!?

[Blessed Totem]

Bronze Grade

Auxiliary Consumable Tool (1 use remaining)

Slowly emits energy over a period of ten years towards a single target, causing racial evolution.

Otto's heart thumped.

What?

Evolution?

A tool that would allow him to evolve once more?

HIs eyes sparkled as the auctioneer finished her explanation,

"Now, this is our beloved auction's last item!"

"We're all sure this will sell for quite a lot. Please remain in your seats for this auction. The starting price will be set at 550 Brock Coins."

Otto immediately bid.

"1,000 Brocks."

The whole room went silent at Otto's proclamation.

They had almost forgotten they were in a room with a big shot.

But now, they remembered…in the most painful manner.

Still, knowing of Otto's wealth didn't deter everyone.

"1,100"

"1,200"

Otto chimed in again,

"1,500"

"1,600"

"1,650"

He stopped and let the bidding continue between six others for a while as they slowly raised the price…

The problem was that there wasn't a set value for things related to evolution in the market, as they were so rarely seen.

All anyone knew was that even if completed over such a long period of time, this totem…was worth quite a lot.

"3,800"

"4,000"

"Goddamnit, yield! I want to ascend to the 10th floor."

"What? If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen! 4,500."

"Ha, you can't get rid of me so easily. 5,000."

Otto casually tweaked his thumb,

"10,000."

The crowd hushed once more.

That amount of money was enormous! Moreover, Otto had directly doubled the last person's price.

The woman breathed heavily as she narrowed her eyes into a glare directed towards Otto.

"10,100."

This was almost out of her price range! She only had 10,853 Brocks in her ring!

She thought that this would have been enough, but…

Otto continued,

"15,000"

"You!"

The young man arguing with the woman already gave up, and the woman yielded as well after seeing the determination in his eyes.

She clearly remembered how much deeper Otto's pockets ran compared to her own.

Suddenly, Otto felt something off.

On instinct, he leapt down from his partially covered seat in the audience and jumped down towards the stage.

Thankfully, there was no such thing as a barrier protecting the totem.

Otto immediately grabbed it and threw it into his spatial storage ring barely a second before another hand reached for it only to grab empty air.

Three pairs of eyes stared at each other.

Before they could react, a deafening alarm echoed in his ear.

The ground rumbled beneath them as the stage started to transform.

The auctioneer quietly looked at Otto, then at the mysterious gentleman who had just tried to steal the totem.

Her voice was sonorous and echoed throughout the auditorium,

"We're under attack."