Chapter 111 Veil of Darkness [Part 2]
"But since this skill has such a good ability, you must be thinking, why is it only at a starting price of 30000 Credits?" said the succubus, her voice carrying a hint of mischief.
Hearing this, Aiden obviously nodded as he had just thought of that. His curiosity piqued, he was eager to learn more about the skill's limitations and drawbacks.
"For this skill to have such a good ability, something probably made it not so great," Aiden speculated quietly to himself, his mind racing with possibilities.
Aiden was only waiting for the succubus to reveal the catch, knowing that with such a valuable skill, there had to be a downside.
"The reason for the skill's price is so low is because of the cooldown, and the cost of mana," the succubus explained, her ruby-red lips curling into a sly smile. "The cooldown of the skill is seven days, and the cost of mana is quite complicated to explain. However, do remember that it will require quite an amount of mana to use it," she added, leaving the specifics shrouded in mystery.
Aiden's heart sank slightly when he heard about the cooldown and mana cost. He knew that his mana reserves were limited, as they were located close to his heart. Unlike most others, he wouldn't have access to as much mana, which could potentially hinder his ability to make full use of the skill.
Still, he couldn't deny his fascination with the skill's potential. Infiltration, dodging attacks that would normally be impossible to evade – there were countless situations where such a skill would be incredibly useful.
The other downside, the seven-day cooldown, was indeed quite long. Aiden now understood why the price was relatively low. If the cooldown and mana cost were reduced, the skill would undoubtedly become overpowered, and everyone would desire it. However, with such limitations, it became more exclusive and sought after by only those who could fully utilize it.
"People taking part in trials or battles would probably only be able to use it once in a crucial moment," Aiden mused, realizing the strategic importance of such a skill in limited scenarios.
Still, despite the drawbacks, Aiden couldn't shake his interest in the skill. Its allure was simply too enticing, and he couldn't resist considering the possibilities it held for him.
As he decided that he wanted to buy the skill, he took a moment to look around the room, observing the reactions of others. Among the five assassins who were present earlier, only one seemed interested in the skill. It was evident that the high cost and limitations were deterring many potential buyers.
Yet, the person who stood out the most in the VIP Suite was Jake. He was the only one who seemed genuinely interested in acquiring the skill. From the start, Jake had announced his determination to obtain it, which might have intimidated the others, leading them to retreat from the bidding war.
Aiden found himself in an unusual position. Despite the apparent drawbacks, he still wanted the skill, making him an outlier among the attendees. But he knew that the potential benefits were worth the risk.
As the succubus continued talking and the bidding war began, Aiden snapped back to reality, focusing on the stage below him.
"We will start the bidding war, 30000 Credits is the starting price," announced the succubus, her voice resounding through the room.
Aiden, sitting in the VIP Suite, felt a bit lost. He had no experience with auctions and didn't know how to proceed. However, he didn't have to wait long to figure it out, as Jake confidently raised his hand in the VIP Suite. The succubus immediately spotted him and declared his bid aloud.
"We have 30000, anyone else?" she asked, scanning the room.
Aiden hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether he should compete with Jake for the skill. He raised his hand, showing his interest and determination. However, in the back of his mind, he knew he had a budget constraint, and he could only afford to spend 34500 Credits – not a single credit more.
Glancing at the other bidder, he couldn't gauge their budget, but they seemed unperturbed by the increasing price. It was possible they had a significantly higher spending limit than Aiden, making him uncertain about his chances of winning the bid.
Then, Emma got closer to Aiden once again, realizing that he seemed to want this item.
She didn't care about finding and buying an item for herself, she would simply help Aiden as it would probably help their relationship go back to how it was before.
Emma really had changed a lot.
The first time she had met Aiden, she didn't like him at all, lying about him to his mother hoping for him to get kicked out of the family.
After that, her mother forced the two of them to live together, which wasn't something Emma nor Aiden had appreciated, well... at the start.
Because soon after that, they decided to spar against one another to determine who was the strongest between the two of them as they participated in the tournament.
Aiden lost, but this caused them to get closer as Emma was happy to have proven herself.
Then, Aiden decided that he wanted to learn how to use a bow with her help, and at the same time, he helped her learn how to make better use of her dagger.
And after that, well Emma got a little memory problem which made her not remember how close, she and Aiden had gotten.
That was for the better..., yeah probably.
It actually was because if she even had an idea of how she had acted in front of Aiden on that fateful night, then she probably wouldn't even be able to look him in the eyes.
Remembering all that happened between them, she whispered the same thing as earlier.
"Want me to help you?"
Aiden still didn't respond as he had some funds yet, but realizing that he probably wouldn't get it, he turned toward her.
"Alright, but what do you want in exchange?" he asked not believing that Emma was simply offering help out of the goodness of her heart.
There had to be some secret plan behind that proposal of hers.
He knew that people weren't always as benevolent as they might seem and he had learnt that the hard way.
He had died to learn it.
However, the answer coming out of Emma's mouth surprised him, to say the least.
"I don't want anything, I just want you to stop ignoring me, and go back to your old self. I don't know what happened to you, but please try to go back," she pleaded, as much as she could.
This was a golden opportunity to make him try to change how he was before.
She had felt really lonely in the past month, sure all of her life, she had been away from others since she was always scared that the people she was getting close to only wanted to get closer to her because of who she was.
Did they want to get closer to Emma because of her personality and who she truly was or did they want to get closer to her because of the connections they could gain from doing so?
Aiden was the first person she had met that seemed to not care about any of that.
It was like he didn't care about her background or any of that, treating her like any other human being.
He wouldn't try his hardest to please her, he would simply act how he wanted and that's what Emma liked the most about him.
"Alright, I'll try," said Aiden, realizing that maybe Emma wasn't the type of person to betray him in a heartbeat.
After all, she was about to help out of the goodness of her heart, well... almost.
She had made a small little request, that Aiden would try to respect.
But, it wasn't going to be simple, because if he started opening up to her once again, he was scared that he would need to do so with others around him.
Emma, hearing his answer, simply smiled and decided that if needed she would give the whole 30000 Credits that she currently had in her possession.
It wasn't like she actually needed them.
Then, the succubus seeing Aiden's raised hand once again started talking.
"31000 Credits!"
Then, Jake who was right behind Aiden also raised his hand.
"32000 Credits!"
Aiden once again raised his hand, as he knew that he had a lot of Credit left because of Emma's help.
Then, as he was about to raise his hand once again, he heard a voice from behind him.
Looking back, he saw that the owner of this voice was Jake and he certainly didn't have the friendliest expression on his face.
"Are you sure that you want to go against my family?" asked Jake as if the family he was a part of was common information.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦