There was an electric thrill of wonder and newly found expectations in the Hotel's room where Kai and Meg had been staying since their arrival.
This thrill was more apparent on Meg's beautiful cheeks that kept gaining the color of her hair, a bewitching smile surfacing on her thin lips now and then like a spell. Kai's comprehension, declaration, and renewed attitude seemed to have lifted her spirits, making her forget the abysmal events of yore and focus on the things to come.
Kai noticed these things and allowed himself a smile. His Items were as important as his Abilities and Skills. And among his Items, Meg had the most living characteristic. She was like a power that had come with a quirk. In her case, this power was her experience, knowledge, and strength, and the quirk was... well, according to Kai, it was her ardent, reverential feelings related to himself and HIM.
"Has the auction started, yet?" Kai asked, laying on the bed, and a few small objects hovering over his head using telekinesis.
Meg snapped herself out of the dreamy expressions and nodded. "Yes," she answered, playing with a stranded lock of hair. "The 100 nations of the City of Leisure are grouped into 10 nations, making a Sector. The Auction is held by an independent organization, Seven Mystic Flowers, in all 10 sectors simultaneously.
"This organization has its roots on the 12th floor, and it has the backing of quite a few top organizations, including the Imperial House. One can even say that the top organizations use it to flush out Items unimportant at their levels. Still, it has a reputation of presenting Items, materials, and miscellaneous objects on the platforms that are unique considering the 2nd Set."
Kai's eyebrows pressed. "2nd Set?" he thought aloud. "Then the 5th and 6th floor's Contestants also show up in it"
"Exactly," Meg blurted. "Many Contestants attend the auctions at the 10 Sectors, including those from the 5th and 6th floors. It is to make the auction impartial, as the 4th and 5th-floor Contestants can't go to the 6th floor. And the descending Contestants don't have to face mortal restrictions because of the same Set.
"A combined task force of Royal Guards and Flower Commandos, of the Seven Mystic Flowers, oversee the auction. With their Items, Skills, and status, they are quite formidable. Not to mention, the Set Lord of the 2nd Set attends the auction too, making his presence known in at least one of the 10 Sectors."
So, in its Sector, Buckfastleigh is chosen for the place of the auction this time, Kai reflected. Quite coincidental, but convenient.
Meg stood up, placed the chair against the table, and then eyed the tank and the charred figure suspended within it. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. Kai noticed it all, but he had his own thoughts to deal with the same.
"The auction will last for the next seven days, master," Meg continued, her eyes thoughtful. "I have confirmed that with every next day, the auctioned objects will keep becoming rarer. Generally, there is no way to know which objects will show up beforehand, but I will try under and overhanded means.
"Anyone can attend the auction on the first six days, but for the seventh, one needs a token varying from 10000 to 50000 Mission Credits. I will attend the auction for the first six days, monitoring anything out of the ordinary. You don't have to trouble yourself till the seventh day."
Kai matched her eyes and smiled.
Meg's face flushed, and she looked down, finding a black spot on the floor quite interesting.
He knew what she was implying by her last few sentences, and it amused him she had to come to the point in such a roundabout way. "OK," he said, nodding at her. "I am sending you 1 million Mission Credits. Use them as you fit (-Meg gasped-). In the auction, give extra attention to full body armor, sabers, and materials that can serve as arrow tips for the Jet Wing. Buy some clothes for me and for yourself too. You have already scanned every part of my body, so that shouldn't be a problem."
The color of her hot cheeks excited Kai, and he couldn't help but grin at her.
The moment she received the sum, Meg almost ran off in shame, remembering some odd details that had happened in the last two days.
Kai took a deep breath, calming himself, and eliminated the various images that had surfaced in his mind that included him and Meg doing strange things to each other. Not to mention, whenever it came to taking actual action, he had always lost his desire for her. Now was not the time to think about it, though.
With the matter of the curse settled, he must do something about the person in the tank.
Kai stood up, walked to the tank, and slumped down on the floor, his back leaning against the cold glass. For a long time, he sat there, thinking, preparing himself for a decision full of madness and uncertainty that had been bubbling up in his mind for the last two days.
Not once Kai had believed that there could be Karma between him and Selena Hao. Karma
had become a powerful concept in the world of his previous life after cultivating blood essences had become a thing. So, he of all had an idea of what Karma was and how cruel the repercussions could be in the future if not resolved. Yet, Kai just couldn't relate to what Selena's choice of leaving the 2nd floor and going to the 1st floor had to do with him. Yes, he could understand her reasons for doing so, but he couldn't fathom how he was responsible for what had happened to little Hao and her afterward.
By forcefully tying her fate with him, the Existence had not only put Kai's future growth in mortal peril, but he had also forced Kai to be an eternal enemy of the Temple of Amon-Gorloth.
Kai ran his hands through his hair. "Are you listening?" he asked, his voice echoing in the empty room's silence.
He spun, faced the curled, charred figure through the light green fluid, and put his hand on the tank, his fingers kissing the glass.
-/Are you listening, Ms. Selena?/- Kai asked telepathically.
He could feel the spiritual currents within the 10-meter radius around him, and though he had discarded it before, he could feel the faintest disturbance around the tank.
Yes. She was alive and awake, Kai told himself repeatedly before going with his decision.
He had been thinking about his Telepathy since his arrival in the Game of Thrones world. But only after the week he had spent on Actaea with Meg debating over Occlumency and Legilimency did he see a path where this Ability's destiny lay. If it worked, then Kai would take a major leap in these branches of magic, he knew.
This was the time when he would take that first step, for words weren't enough to reach a broken mother, even if spoken from mind to mind.
Kai had learned some truths bitterly.
-/I can't bring back little Hao,/- Kai told her, words drowning into black oblivion. -/I can't bring back those moments and his smile, either. But... I can give you what you desire the most. In return, I only want one thing.
-/But first, let me show who I am. Let me tell you who Kai Stormborn is. And let me sing to you a song of blood, slaughter, and revenge, the likes of which you would have never heard of.
Bonus Chapter Deal (applicable for both NovelHub and ScribbleHub readers):
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2. 90 Power Stones per day: +2 Bonus Chapters
3. 750+ Powers Stones (at the end of the week): +3 Bonus Chapters (can stack over the 2nd point)