Chương 84: Book 2 Chapter 6 - Jade Bazaar

"Hello, Gray. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Kasia Petrov, Guild Master of the Jade Lotus." Gray turned toward the figure seated on the couch. The Jade Lotus. Just hearing that name again made his blood run hot. Being confronted by someone directly affiliated with the guild stirred the same rage he'd felt when he encountered Ivan at the café. Every piece of evidence pointed toward Ivan having orchestrated his parents' murder. But nothing had ever been certain. Everything was circumstantial.

That was why Hyun had acted the way he did. Logically. If it all turned out to be some cruel coincidence, Gray would have killed an innocent man for nothing. And that was exactly what his brother had been trying to prevent. But this woman wasn't merely affiliated with the Jade Lotus; she was its Guild Master. The leader of the operation. She was the one who had sent her son to Earth.

Likely the one who had supplied him with the elixirs and allowed them to spread throughout society, fully aware that someone would eventually investigate. And when that happened, anyone who threatened their operation would be eliminated. Only two feet separated them. Closing it would be easy. If Kasia tried to stop him with a spell, Hollow could dissolve the magic before she realized what had happened.

That brief opening would be enough for Gray to draw the katana at his hip and drive the blade straight through her face. At least, that was what he wanted to do. In reality, it would be suicide. That was why Gozen never fully explained Shroud's capabilities during the race. He knew him too well. Give him an anti-magic ability like Hollow, and he would inevitably get cocky. He'd start walking into fights without fear, convinced he had an unbeatable ace tucked up his sleeve.

Then the moment someone found a way around it, he'd have nothing left. Then he'd die. Picking a fight with a Kaiser whos constitution was far beyond his own—one powerful and accomplished enough to become the Guild Master of an established guild—was completely out of the question. Gray had only one option. Play nice. He could do that. His mother had trained him well enough when she dragged him to church and forced him to bow and greet elderly strangers he'd never seen before simply because they were older than him.

He'd skip the bow this time, though. Not for someone who had almost certainly played a role in murdering his parents. Gray pushed himself upright on trembling arms, his muscles still aching from the underground journey. He cleared his dry throat.

"Uh, yeah. I've heard about you. It's good to meet you. I'm Gray Kim." His voice came out hoarse, scraped raw from exhaustion. Kasia lifted a brow, her lips pursed in confusion. Then she laughed—a soft, refined sound that only irritated him more.

"Good to meet me?" she repeated, amusement dripping in her voice.

"I'm quite possibly involved in the murder of your parents, and I kidnapped you by dragging your body through solid earth and dirt for more than ten minutes." She leaned back into the couch.

"With your personality, I'm surprised you didn't immediately try to attack me like you did Ivan at the café." Gray clicked his tongue at the judgment of his impulsive nature. She was correct. But there was a weight on his shoulders now, one he'd made a conviction to carry all the way through. Acting recklessly and doing whatever he wanted would no longer be a disservice to just himself, but to everyone around him.

"I was definitely considering it," Gray admitted.

"But acting before I think has only made my life worse—and the lives of the people around me." He gestured toward her with an open palm.

"Besides, you're a Kaiser." Kasia nodded slowly, tapping a finger against her chin.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right. There is a bit of a power disparity here." A faint smile tugged at her lips.

"I guess I expected your confidence to be at an all-time high now that you possess the power of anti-magic." Gray recoiled slightly at the words.

"Yes, I know about your legacy," Kasia continued, watching his reaction.

"It wasn't difficult to piece together. You don't share the same affinity as that Cloud Samurai. Yours resembles that of his master, Rai.

"I recommend being very careful when you use that power. The Kaisers who truly matter in this world are well aware of Rai's capabilities, and they'll view you as a threat to their very existence." Kasia rested an arm along the back of the sofa.

"Even at your current rank of Awakened, you're dangerous to them. If they discover what you are, they won't hesitate to nip the threat in the bud."

"Then what's stopping you from killing me right here?" Gray asked, well aware of the danger his power invited.

"Especially after what I did to your son." Kasia crossed her arms and settled deeper into the sofa.

"Ivan?" She waved a hand dismissively.

"You don't have to worry about him. If anything, you did me a favor. That child had it coming." Her smile thinned.

"He needed to be set straight, and you softened him up nicely for his actual punishment. I should thank you." Gray swallowed hard. Whatever she considered an actual punishment had to be worse than what he'd already done to Ivan, and Gray wasn't sure he wanted to imagine what could surpass being suffocated within an inch of his life.

"Then if this isn't about avenging your son," Gray said carefully, "why did you bring me here?" This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"We'll get to that later. For now, take a load off, child." Kasia patted the empty cushion beside her.

"I imagine you could use the rest after your trip here." Gray didn't budge. His jaw tightened as his hand curled into a fist.

"No. Tell me now. I asked you a question. Why did you bring me here?" Kasia offered what might have been intended as a reassuring smile, but on her, it only made the unease crawling along Gray's skin worse.

"A bit on edge, I see. Understandable." She uncrossed her legs and turned slightly toward him.

"To answer your question, I brought you here to watch the auction, of course!" Her smile widened.

"You are in the VIP viewing area, after all." Kasia extended a hand toward the wall behind him. Gray turned. Two black curtains stretched from ceiling to floor, concealing nearly the entire wall. At Kasia's gesture, vines stirred from cracks along the floor with a soft rustle. They slithered upward, curled around the edges of the fabric, and pulled the curtains apart. Behind them stood an enormous pane of viewing glass. Beyond it sprawled a massive auditorium packed with thousands of people.

Rows of red velvet seats climbed upward in tiers, every one occupied. Far below, a large stage rose beneath bright overhead lights, while private viewing booths protruded from the upper levels. Countless auctions operated throughout Quantis, but none carried the prestige of the Jade Bazaar. Held once a year, the event drew nobles and representatives from affluent guilds across the city, all eager to bid on rare goods, auction off their own wares, and—perhaps most importantly—network with one another.

Gray's expression remained unchanged as he glanced over his shoulder at what had been concealed behind the curtains.

"If you're just going to waste my time, then I'm leaving." He turned and marched toward the exit door to Kasia's right.

"I won't force you to stay," Kasia called after him.

"But I thought you might be interested in obtaining an elixir capable of completely curing Hyun's current condition." Gray froze mid-stride. An elixir that could completely cure him? It couldn't be true. She had to be baiting him—saying whatever was necessary to keep him here and prolong whatever game she was playing. Althea and Gozen had both told him there were no other recovery options. Hyun simply had to endure his condition and recover on his own. It was a trick. Or… maybe his mentor simply didn't know?

Gozen hadn't been aware of the Jade Lotus's advancements with the magical cooldown-reduction elixir, either. If Kasia's guild was capable of brewing something that advanced, who knew what else they had developed behind closed doors? Gray slowly turned back toward her.

"You… you can cure him?"

"Well, of course!" Kasia exclaimed, spreading her arms.

"These plants aren't merely for decoration." She pointed toward the uprooted sunflower still lingering in the room, then to the vines coiled along either side of the massive viewing window, awaiting her command.

"The Jade Lotus is the world's leading guild in alchemy. We brew potions and elixirs beyond anything you can imagine. An all-cure elixir is nothing compared to what we're preparing to release in the future. The cooldown-reduction elixir is only the beginning." Gray turned fully toward her now. Whatever intention he'd had of leaving vanished. She had his complete attention.

"Sit, sit!" Kasia patted the couch.

"Let's enjoy the auction first." Gray hesitated, then finally took the bait. He approached the couch and lowered himself into the seat beside her, though his posture remained tense.

"Sibling bonds…" Kasia murmured. She leaned back on the sofa.

"I'm jealous, you know. Siblings are forever, after all. Being able to cherish that kind of bond was always something I dreamed of." Her expression dimmed.

"Unfortunately, I lost mine during the famine." The warmth vanished from her voice almost instantly. Then, just as quickly, her face brightened.

"Anyway!" she chirped, clapping her hands together.

"Let me tell you more about the Jade Bazaar." Gray stared at her, unsettled by the abrupt shift.

"Yoongie and I run the whole thing," Kasia continued.

"Although, technically, you could say the System is a partial owner as well." Her upper lip twitched.

"He requires us to enforce the penalties tied to indentured servitude. Any participant who fails to pass the threshold are brought here and auctioned off to their new owners." Gray never held the System in particularly high regard after meeting him firsthand.

Between Tim's childish attitude and blatantly self-serving motives, he wouldn't have been surprised if the indentured servitude penalty existed purely to pressure the kidnapped Earthborn into pushing themselves harder—only to bear the freshest fruit out of the crop to leech from. A rapid series of mechanical clicks echoed throughout the auditorium as spotlights snapped on one after another, flooding the stage in harsh white light. What emerged from the darkness sent a chill down Gray's spine.

Ten people stood in a straight line facing the audience. Each wore the same tattered gray shirt and pants, their wrists, ankles, and necks bound in iron shackles linked together by short lengths of chain. Their shoulders slumped beneath the weight of exhaustion, and most kept their heads bowed against the glare. At the center of the lineup stood a gentleman who appeared to be in his forties. His white hair was slicked neatly back, paired with an impeccably groomed mustache.

He wore an extravagant black suit decorated with red silk patterns along the sides, its collar spread wide enough to expose part of his chest, and a decorative handkerchief protruded neatly from his breast pocket.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this year's Jade Bazaar!" His jovial voice boomed across the vast hall, carrying effortlessly to the highest tiers.

"My name is Jarvis, and I will be your host for this evening!" His accent sounded something close to a British accent.

"We have quite the selection of individuals awaiting auction today, so we'll begin with the failed participants of this year's Natural Selection!" Jarvis paced leisurely in front of the captives, smiling as though he were presenting merchandise.

"For any first-time guests unfamiliar with the indentured-servitude system, allow me to explain how it works." He raised one finger.

"Participants who fail to meet the competition's threshold are issued a contract of eternal servitude through the System. Another System user may then forcibly initiate that contract." His grin widened.

"The participant's signature has already been forcefully provided on their behalf. All the prospective owner needs to do is add their own name to the dotted line." Jarvis snapped his fingers.

"And just like that, the contract is finalized!" A faint murmur rolled through the auditorium.

"Do keep in mind," he continued, "that under the terms of the indentured servitude agreement, owners are permitted to trade their servants with one another. You'll have plenty of opportunity to arrange such exchanges during the after-party."

"With that being said…" Jarvis spread his arms dramatically.

"Let us begin!" He stepped beside the first captive.

"Lot One!" The prisoners remained motionless beneath the stage lights, their expressions hollow. Some stared at the floor. Others squinted beneath the brightness, eyes dull with exhaustion and humiliation. Jarvis extended an open hand toward the first man in line.

"This gentleman's story is rather ironic, you see!" he announced with theatrical delight.

"He was once a user of chains himself—restraining others, binding them, denying them their freedom." Jarvis half-covered his mouth and gave a polished chuckle.

"And now, fate has placed those very same chains upon him." Gray's eyes narrowed at the stage. He leaned forward, focusing on the man whose gaze remained fixed stubbornly away from the auctioneer. Luca. The same man who had fought alongside William during the Hide-and-Seek level.