Chapter 226: Chapter 226 - Horizon Auction House
Feng slowly tore his eyes away from the television.
’’Are we going somewhere?’’
Before he could even understand what was going on, an emerald-green portal rapidly opened behind the unicorn.
Feng’s eyes widened immediately.
’’Wa—’’
Whoosh!
Before it could even finish its sentence, the portal swallowed it whole.
The room instantly fell silent.
Theo stood still for a moment and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry,’’ he muttered. ’’Don’t really have a lot of time, though.’’
With that, he stepped outside and locked the door behind him.
The university grounds were incredibly crowded as many people were still in the process of moving out.
Theo quietly walked between the students, staff, and many handlers from wealthy families.
Even with that many people, not a single person looked at him thanks to the hood covering his head.
Before long, the university gates appeared ahead.
Countless luxurious cars stood outside. Yet, Theo was heading for one with a specific family name written on its side.
As he reached it, the rear window immediately rolled down.
’’Theo,’’ a familiar voice rang out.
Jim leaned out with a large smile.
’’Get in.’’
Theo opened the rear door before sliding into the luxurious leather seat.
The moment he closed the door, the car quietly pulled away from the curb.
’’How’d you get here so fast?’’ he asked, turning to Jim.
Jim leaned back in his seat with a large smile on his face.
’’I was getting picked up too,’’ he said. ’’And coincidentally, we were planning to go to the same place.’’
Raising an eyebrow, Theo couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment.
’’Oh?’’
Jim nodded confidently, a faint smugness in his smile.
’’I too needed some equipment for my new element,’’ he said lightly.
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
’’You’ve broken through?’’ he asked.
’’Yep.’’
A satisfied expression appeared on Jim’s face.
’’Just yesterday.’’
Theo couldn’t help but smile too.
He firmly patted Jim on the back.
’’Congrats,’’ he said. ’’What affinity did you get?’’
Jim raised his right hand and flicked his fingers.
A cold breeze blew through the car.
Tiny translucent crystals slowly formed above his palm, reflecting the sunlight streaming through the windows.
Theo watched them for a moment.
’’An ice affinity?’’
Jim snapped his fingers.
The crystals shattered into dozens of glittering fragments before dissolving into mana once more.
’’Bingo.’’
For a moment, the back of the car fell silent.
Theo slowly nodded as he looked at the faint traces of Ice mana disappearing into the air.
"That actually suits you," he admitted. "Light and Ice... I wasn’t expecting that combination."
Jim chuckled faintly.
’’Neither did I,’’ he said, reaching into his pocket. ’’But it’s safe to say my parents were ecstatic with the news.’’
He paused for a moment as he pulled out a black credit card.
’’They gave me quite the spending money after all.’’
Seeing the black card, Theo couldn’t help but let out a small whistle.
’’Looks like they wanted you to celebrate.’’
Like that, the two continued chatting happily as the car drove on.
After nearly twenty minutes, the driver began slowing down before coming to a smooth stop.
’’We’ve arrived, Young Master.’’
Theo stepped out of the car, his eyes slowly sweeping across the building before him.
Standing before them was a massive marble skyscraper that easily covered an entire city block in length.
Countless other luxury vehicles lined its circular driveway, while well-dressed attendants welcomed guest after guest.
Even the hunters near the entrance seemed to be extremely powerful, likely sitting at the Platinum Core level.
Above the massive doors was a single line engraved in stone.
’Horizon Auction House.’
Jim smiled as he pushed open his door.
’’Welcome to the most expensive place in the city... maybe even the country.’’
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
’’It’s quite the place,’’ he said, still amazed.
Chuckling faintly, Jim gestured for Theo to follow him.
’’Come on,’’ he said. ’’we can look through some nice regular items before the auction starts.’’
Theo nodded once, still amazed.
He quickly followed Jim up the wide marble staircase.
Before they reached the entrance, another familiar figure stepped away from one of the pillars supporting the building.
A warm smile immediately appeared on Iris’ face.
’’There you are,’’ she said lightly, her eyes locked on Theo.
Jim glanced between Theo and Iris for a moment.
Then he quickly took a step back.
’’I’ll give you your time,’’ he said, smiling smugly. ’’I’ll be inside when you’re done.’’
Before Theo could say anything, Jim had already disappeared through the massive entrance, leaving the two of them standing alone at the foot of the staircase.
Theo let out a helpless sigh.
"He really likes making things awkward, doesn’t he?"
Iris couldn’t help but chuckle.
But then, both of them fell silent.
It had been a few days since they had last seen each other.
Ever since they’d returned to the university, Theo had been way too busy with the tournament, barely giving them the chance to be alone.
And in the days after the tournament, Iris had been away from the university.
Eventually, Iris was the first to break the silence.
’’I wanted to come see you the day after the tournament,’’ she said, her voice low. "But my father called me home almost immediately."
Theo nodded in understanding.
’’I figured something happened,’’ he said. ’’Is everything alright, though?’’
Iris remained silent for a moment.
Then, a smile slowly appeared on her face.
’’Yes,’’ she said warmly. ’’Just something with the main family.’’
Theo nodded once.
’’As long as everything’s alright.’’
For a brief moment, the two simply smiled at one another.
Then Iris glanced toward the towering entrance behind her.
"Well," she said, "we probably shouldn’t keep Jim waiting."
Theo nodded once more, still smiling.
The two climbed the remaining steps together before passing through the massive glass doors.
Once they stepped inside, Theo couldn’t help but stop for a moment.
The lobby alone was as large as a football field and filled to the brim with all kinds of wealthy people.
Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the spotless marble floor beneath while golden decorations covered every corner of the lobby.
’This...’ he thought. ’Do I even have enough money to shop here?’
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