The Fallen Vampire

Chapter 54: VIP Status

"I can\'t believe it..."

"A real sect... I should like to know which one created this before I buy it!"

The auctioneer smiled as he tried to hide his overwhelming glee.

The sound of money flowing into his pockets was always a welcome one.

"Please, please settle down everyone! All of your questions will be answered soon enough!"

While the auctioneer was focused on filling his pockets, Indra and Lucia were still seated within their viewing room, watching the unfolding spectacle with neutral gazes.

"What is a sect?" Indra asked.

Lucia looked at her friend strangely, as if she could not believe that he didn\'t know such basic information.

But upon remembering his 500 year absence from the world, she realized that it wasn\'t strange for him to be missing certain bits of information.

"Sects are secret schools in Tayar that teach cultivation. They are seen as places of great wisdom, and they do not interfere in the war in any way."

"Oh? And here I thought this world was utterly lacking in neutrality."

"No, there are still those like you who feel that they cannot be bothered or are above conflict."

Lucia\'s joke may have seemed accusatory, but Indra could sense that she was merely poking fun at his quiet nature and did not mean anything by it.

Therefore he did not take offense, and even smiled wryly at her jest.

"How nice then. I suppose I might like to find one of these groups of likeminded people."

"Good luck! There are only seven in the world, and no one knows where they are located. Typically when recruiting they are not found, they are the ones who do the finding."

Indra took her words as some kind of slight challenge and made up his mind to do so.

He noticed Lucia staring at the necklace rather intently, and he wondered if she secretly desired it.

"Do you like that? I can get it for you."

The auctioneer had already told him that if he saw anything he wanted in the auction he need only say something and it would be his with no fuss.

The value of his ancient advanced cultivation art was just that high.

Lucia looked a bit flustered by his offer and gave him a wry smile.

"Should you not be thinking about getting something for Enyo instead of me? I had never taken you for a disloyal man, Indra."

"You know better than that." Indra playfully pushed Lucia on the arm as he sat up on the couch.

"I already have my eye out for something for my wife, but since you are staring at this necklace so fiercely I figure that you must truly want it."

"...I...would not mind having it, I suppose." She said shyly.

Indra cracked his lips in a small smile as he made a small gesture with his hand.

The auctioneer noticed this immediately, and stopped taking offers without batting an eye.

"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen. A VIP has expressed interest in this item and as such we must unfortunately cease the bids on this item."

There were more than a few disappointed sighs and cries of upset from the crowd, but the auctioneer remained unconcerned as he had the necklace wheeled off the stage.

Soon the next item was brought up, and for the first time Indra showed some degree of self interest.

"Now now, for you cultivators I have something that will desperately improve your moods!"

He gestured to the case beside him which contained sparkling black dust that glittered like jewels of no real comparison.

"This is Moon Touched Diamond Dust! It is incredibly rare and one of the most exciting items of the day!

With this, a cultivator can... I\'m sorry, we cannot accept any bids on this item."

"Oh come on!"

"Why even bring it out then?!"

"I usually prefer dinner and a bit of foreplay before I get fucked!"

Once again the crowd became more than a little bit irate, but the auctioneer remained unbothered as he had the dust transported off the stage and delivered to Indra.

The case of dust along with the necklace were delivered to their room a few moments later, and Lucia smiled as she watched Indra accept both.

"I never thought I would see a man so excited over sand."

"This is no simple sand, Lucia." He said with a small smirk.

"I can use it to forge my body. Make myself stronger, more durable, and harder to kill."

"I see... no wonder everyone was so upset."

"Indeed, though I fail to understand why they thought they would survive the process." He muttered.

Indra suddenly removed the second item from a wooden box, it was a golden necklace with a large red gem as the centerpiece.

Walking towards the couch where Lucia sat, he draped it over her neck from behind and started to clasp it closed.

The lamia felt her face heat up and she moved her long black hair to the side so that he had easier access.

When he was done, she hesitantly touched the precious amulet around her neck as if she couldn\'t believe that it was real.

In this moment, she felt as though she lacked the proper words to proclaim her gratitude.

"It suits you." Indra said plainly. "You look very lovely."

Lucia felt her face becoming warmer by the second as she dropped her eyes, unable to meet Indra\'s gaze.

"Really... thank you, Indra."

"Try not to become misty eyed, little snake. This is a simple gesture, not worth a drop of water from your eyes."

Indra knew that Lucia was often unconfident and used to being mistreated, and he wanted to slowly break her out of that.

This was only a small gift, and he hadn\'t even paid for it.

He gradually wanted her to become accustomed to grander and better things, without being grateful for scraps.

After all, he saw it as something she deserved.

Though why he was worried about such a thing... he was not completely sure.

The two of them sat in silence not long after that, and watched the rest of the auction amidst the weird atmosphere.

They sat for silence in so long, the time for the last item to be bidded upon came before they knew it.

"Now ladies and gentlemen, that should be the end but we had a very generous donor place an item up for auction today, and it is grand enough to make everything else put up for bidding today seem like garbage!"

The boarkin held his hand up to a viewing room directly in the center of the auditorium, and several pairs of eyes peered through the window to stare directly at Indra for the first time.

Needless to say, they were not expecting for him to look so young, or so enticing.

The cultivation manual was brought onto the stage in a glass case and sitting atop a satin pillow, like a baby resting atop the chest of it\'s mother.

Once again, Indra sat up in his seat for the first time in a while.

It was time to see just how much this little throwaway was worth.