The Deceitful One

The basement of the construction site was pretty vast. There were iron bars, sacks of cement, large wooden crates, and other building materials kept in different places.

On the other side of the basement, there was a makeshift wooden door guarded by two burly figures in black cloaks.

Andrew, Bryan, and Elijah walked across the basement and came in front of the two burly figures.

Without exchanging any greetings, the burly figure on the left asked, "What has thirteen hearts but no other organs?"

"A deck of cards," Andrew answered without hesitation. At the same time, he brought his right hand forward and gestured a series of numbers with his fingers.

The burly figure was silent for a few moments. Then he stepped aside and gestured to the trio, "You may enter."

Andrew stepped forward and pushed the wooden door open, Bryan and Elijah followed behind him.

There was a short narrow passage after one entered through the door. The walls of the passage had gas lamps embedded in them.

Bryan walked closer to Andrew and whispered, "That riddle was for kids! What the fuck?"

Andrew chuckled, "A deck of cards wasn't the answer. It was the series of hand signs that I showed him after."

"Fuck! Really?" Bryan was skeptical.

Andrew nodded, "Don't worry, I'll let you know the hand signals after we're done with this. However, the signals change on a monthly basis. So make sure to come and ask me first if you want to visit this gathering alone in the future."

"I see," Bryan replied and then turned silent as he followed Andrew.

After walking for a few more seconds, another wooden door came into view at the end of the passage.

Andrew pushed open the door and what greeted the trio was a large room that was dimly lit.

There was a slightly elevated podium on the other end of the room where a man wearing a white hooded cloak and a golden mask was sitting calmly on a chair.

In front of the podium, there were rows of chairs that were facing it. Bryan did a rough count and found at least twenty people who had already arrived.

All the people present wore cloaks of different colors as well as masks, doing their best to conceal their identities.

The trio took their seats toward the back of the seating arrangement, near the entrance. There were still about another 10 minutes to go before the convention began, hence, they waited patiently.

While waiting, Bryan didn't dare to talk to his friends. He simply observed the various Transcendents who had gathered here.

He found out that apart from the entrance they had taken, there were four more entrances that led to this large room.

In the next 10 minutes, more and more people began to arrive as they took their seats in an orderly fashion. No one tried to cause trouble or act out of line. By now the total number of people at the gathering had reached over thirty.

The man in the white cloak who was sitting on the podium took out his pocket watch which was also golden in color and checked the time.

He then looked at the people present at the convention and announced, "It is time. You may begin."

The moment he finished speaking, a man in brown robes who was sitting toward the front rows, immediately stood up from his seat and spoke loudly, "Vest armor made from the hide of the Tuscan Boar!

It is a Rank 1 defense-type artifact and it is upgradeable. Furthermore, it can be conveniently worn underneath clothes. My asking price is 750 pounds!"

Defense-type artifacts were rarer than attack-type ones and cost more money. Moreover, defense-type artifacts were extremely sought after by the majority of the Transcendents.

Therefore, the moment the man in brown robes announced that he had a defense-type artifact for sale, the people instantly started to bid.

"755 pounds!"

"760 pounds!"

One after another, the crowd started to bid with great enthusiasm. However, none of them made a ruckus.

"770!"

"780!"

The bidding continued as more and more people joined in. After all, no one wanted to miss out on an opportunity to buy a Rank 1 defense-type artifact.

Even if they themselves couldn't utilize it, they could always gift or resell it to the people they knew.

The price was getting closer to the 800-pound mark and it looked as if it would stop around that number. Rank 1 defense-type artifacts were ideally worth around 750 pounds. Paying anything above 800 pounds for it would be unreasonable.

However, at this point, a figure in red robe stood up and spoke in a feminine melodious voice, "850 pounds!"

At once, the people in the gathering turned quiet and turned to look at the woman who was dressed in a red robe and wearing a silver mask.

No one proceeded to bid any further because it would simply be a waste of money to pay so much for a mere Rank 1 artifact, even if it was defensive in nature.

When the seller in brown cloak saw that no one else was bidding, he got up from his seat and took the gray-colored vest to the man in the white cloak sitting on the podium. Then he respectfully gave the vest to the white-cloaked man for verification.

Bryan was puzzled about what the white-cloaked man would now do. He then saw the latter take out a gold-colored lorgnette from inside his robes and scrutinize the gray vest.

'This guy sure loves gold.' Bryan joked inwardly.

A minute later the white-robed man sitting on the podium put away his lorgnette and declared in a deep voice, "Authentic!"

The man in the brown cloak took back his vest and then approached the woman wearing red robe. After completing their transaction, both went back to their respective seats.

The convention then continued to proceed as more and more people brought forth their items for sale.

Bryan even saw a few people selling apprentice meditation techniques as well as some potion recipes for Rank 1 Paths. Moreover, he also noticed a person selling the main ingredients for potion recipes.

'Perhaps I can buy the main and supplementary ingredients required for Rank 1 of the Theft Path at one of these Transcendent conventions in the future.' He thought inwardly as he decided to visit these gatherings more often.