Dungeon of Pride, Laplace



Simon felt like he had seen a part of the reason why this fellow was being pursued by so many demons. If you are scammed and accidentally consume that puke thinking it is the real thing, even if you are a saint you would be outraged.

At this point, Simon also found himself interested in knowing who would be the demon to purchase that disgusting thing.

"About this bottle, I knew there was something shady about it. You see, I also have something like this" Simon mentioned taking out a bottle of cola.

"This is… this shape is exactly like the one in the display. However, what is this dark brown, almost black liquid"

Oswell curiously inspected the bottle. Since there was no such thing as cola in this world, it was only to be expected.

Simon flashed a grin and urged the latter to take a sip out of the bottle.

"Hmm… alright I will drink it. I have complete faith in my friend" Saying something melodramatic, Oswell opened the cap of the bottle.

A CHIIII sound sounded out and the refreshing smell of cola came out of the bottle.

SNIFF.. "What is this, it smells so good" He just took a slight sniff, but Oswell was already hooked.

"It not only smells but also tastes good… try it" This glutton was about to taste the cola for the very first time in his life, his reaction would be priceless.

On Simon's urging, Oswell tilted the bottle and took a slight slip. Immediately, his eyes widened and his mouth started drinking the cola fiercely.

GULP… GULP… only after finishing the entire content of the bottle in one go did he stop. BURP… After that came the burp and looked at the bottle of cola as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

"W-W-W-What is this thing? How can there be something so good in this world?" With shaky hands and stars in his eyes, Oswell turned towards Simon and demanded an answer.

"Haha, I'm glad you liked it. This is called cola, one of the greatest inventions of our time" Simon smiled finding the other's reaction very much to his liking.

"Cola huh… this is the best drink I ever had in my life" Oswell exaggerated.

"Here catch" Simon passed another bottle of cola. Since he also liked cola, he was pleased by the other party's appreciation for the drink. Of course, this was also his way of showing his thanks for the information that Oswell gave him.

"Ohhh... since you are my friend I wouldn't say something as distant as thanks" Oswell didn't stand on ceremony and immediately accepted the drink. As expected of a glutton, he immediately downed one bottle and moved on to the next.

"Uwahh... thanks to this drink I'm all alive now. Hehe... come with me my friend, I'll show you where the real treasures that will appear in the auction are".

Simon did not reject Oswell's goodwill and followed him towards the inner regions of the hall. The further Simon walked, the more varied the items became.

The things that were displayed here were no longer limited to inanimate things, there were even some weird objects that were moving and twitching like a living being.

There were also some Bizzare beings and races in the display... trolls, gnomes, gargoyles, ghouls, beholders, all kinds of races and beings were in display.

There were even some extremely rare and mythical species too like the faes, dragonkins, halflings, drakes, medusas and so on and so forth.

It appeared that Grimvul dealt in all kinds of trades. Seeing all those races, it would be a lie to say that Simon did not desire them. His dungeon would become far stronger if he possessed all those races.

"How about it did you find something that interests you now?" Oswell grinned.

Of course, just like everything else in this hall, one cannot just rely on their Appraisal skill, one had to have a discerning eye. Some of the races displayed here, were clearly fake and their current appearance might be due to the effects of some item like the Trinket of Grimlock.

If you accidentally purchased them and realise that it was not what you thought it was, you would incur a great loss. There is no point in complaining later on after all Grimvul is a master of deception and scamming.

He wouldn't stick for long enough, after he was done with his business here, he would quickly vanish to who knows where. There are many who are searching for his location; however, no one is able to catch him yet.

As such, it all boils down to one's ability and maybe luck.

"Yeah" Simon answered. He then looked towards Oswell and asked him the same question "How about you, have you already decided on the item that you want to purchase?"

"Hmm… about that, the thing that I want might not be that easy to get" Oswell's tone became serious all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?"...

"Im saying that I'm not the only one interested in that item. Do you remember Gareth the Demon Archduke who initiated the Walpurgis? He was also here a few moments ago. That guy was also eyeing the thing that I wanted. It would be tough; nevertheless, I won't give up so easily" Oswell swore clenching his hand.

Indeed, if an item that was also eyed by a demon archduke won't be so easy to get. Firstly, the DP that they possessed, was higher than all the other demons. Secondly, no sane demon would ever dare to go against a demon archduke.

Even if they somehow get the item, making an enemy out of a demon archduke was not worth the deal. The aforementioned reason were only some of the reasons. There might be even more that Simon was not aware of.

"Alright, let's go see more. There are more items at the inner section of the hall that even I haven't seen yet" Oswell stated.

With that, the two of them started walking further inside the hall. Of course, the more inside they went, the more presences they detected. There were a lot of auras in the inner regions of the hall that was no less powerful than the Demon Archduke that he met earlier.

That being said, Simon and Oswell did not mind them and continued with their own business. The same was true for the other high ranking demons. They paid no attention to anything that did not interest them.

The two demons who were an outcast and special in their own way observed all the items that the auction had to offer, before coming to a stop.

"Sigh… I'm completely sold, I have to say this Damned Merchant knows his stuff. Where in the world did he collect all these things from? There are some things that even I do not understand. However, I can tell that they are definitely the most precious treasures here. The other demons must have also noticed that too, I guess a fierce bidding war is inevitable"

Oswell sighed as he complained. Though the smile hanging on his face said otherwise.

"It's going to be quite an interesting event than the last time".

Simon was of the same mind, the last Walpurgis was all about the Demon Lord of Envy and there was hardly anything interesting. However, this event was going to be unlike anything else.

The Auction of the Damned was going to be filled with danger, uncertainty, betrayal and all sorts of treacherous mechanisation. But amidst that mayhem only can one find the true treasures.

A feeling of exhilaration overwhelmed Simon, he couldn't wait for the auction to start.

"Hm? What's that?" Simon suddenly noticed a peculiar item that was kept at the centre of the hall.

What was peculiar about the item was that it was the only thing there, all the other items were kept on display quite far away from it. Not only that, a powerful barrier and several layers of arrays were laid around that item making it almost impossible to get too close to the item.

Additionally, since the colour of the barrier was different it was impossible to peer through it. Nor was it possible to use one's [Analysis] or [Appraisal] on it. One could only vaguely make out its shape.

The thing protected by that barrier seemed to be some kind of rectangular box the size of a briefcase. Other than that, it was hard to make out anything else.

Simon tried using his Abstruce Demonic Eyes whose one of the functions allows him to see through things. However, even that was blocked by the arrays that were laid around the item.

That being said, one thing was certain. Whatever that thing was, it was exceptionally precious and worth more than any item here in this hall. Or else, Grimvul wouldn't have laid so many protecting barriers and arrays around it.

"That is the showcase of this year's auction. Nobody knows what's in there or what sort of thing it is but it is bound to be a supreme treasure. Grimvul is very selective when it comes to such things".

"The showcase of the previous auction was also a supreme treasure and the same was true for the one and the one before it. As such you can look forward to it"

The one to answer him wasn't Oswell, but another demon who crept near them even without them noticing. Swiftly, Simon turned towards that demon.

They had hair as white as snow, violet eyes and a beautiful androgynous face. Their long white hair was bound by a pin and they had a pair of wide ram like horn adorning their head.