Chapter 67 Death Penalty
The [Archmage Goldfridus] legacy was bound to his treasured magic Grimoire, an item of Mythical quality that was broken into three books, and one of those books is owned by a wealthy merchant who hates the Gold kingdom.
Alex would rather collect all three books himself than give the information to the Royal family, who would flip the whole human continent to get their Ancestor's legacy and may mess things up in the process.
"Mr.Hidden One, if the Gold kingdom Royal family can't get involved, what do you suggest we do?" Darius said, not angry at Alex's refusal to share information.
"Prince Darius, I could acquire the legacy of [Archmage Goldfridus] in less than six months," Alex replied.
"Mr.Hidden One, You need to set some realistic goals in life not to meet disappointment, but I respect your confidence and will give you a chance at your terms," Darius said, not taking Alex's words seriously.
'I can acquire the legacy in less time, but I have more important things to do in the next few months.'
------------
[Prince Darius Request] [SSS]
Objective: Archmage Goldfridus Legacy
Time: Six Months
Reward: (????)
Failure Penalty: Permanent Death
Description: Find Archmage Goldfridus legacy within six months.
Accept: [YES / NO]
------------
'What a cunning bastard.' Alex thought, seeing the quest window.
Alex knew Darius wanted him to get scared by seeing the punishment as the quest would only get clear after he acquired the legacy, and if he failed to obtain the legacy in six month time, he would permanently die.
Darius wanted Alex to give him all the information he knew so he could get it validated quickly and find its actual value.
'This will scare even the most confident players, but it will not work against me.'
Alex was confident in acquiring the legacy because he completely trusted the information from his previous life as he got it directly from the Olympian guild.
"If you share the information about my Ancestor's legacy, then you don't need to accept this request, but if you can't, this is the only option left for you,"
"Mr.Hidden One, before you select any option, if you accept my request, then this meeting will be over, and we will only meet after you acquire the legacy, so consider both options very carefully."
Darius made it clear that Alex needed to choose at least one option, and if he decided to accept his request, he would be responsible for the consequences.
"Prince Darius, How should I meet you after six months to get my reward," Alex said as he accepted the quest.
"When you acquire the legacy, use this badge to contact me and drink this potion before leaving the carriage," Darius said as he gave Alex a gold badge and a small potion bottle with a starry silver liquid inside.
'A Signal badge and an invisibility potion.' Alex thought after seeing the item Darius gave him.
"Prince Darius, I will be taking my leave," Alex said after drinking the invisibility potion.
After a few seconds, the potion took effect, making Alex invisible, and being free to leave, he quickly left the carriage.
"Fianna, Make sure nobody is following him," Darius said after Alex left the carriage.
------------------------
'Prince Darius is more cunning than I give him credit for.'
Alex knew Darius didn't believe his information to be valid, but he couldn't take any risk, so he bound Alex to himself by giving him an impossible quest with the death penalty at failure.
If Alex found the legacy, it would be great for Darius, and if he failed to acquire the legacy, he would get killed by AI Zero, and Darius will lose nothing.
Alex was sure that if he didn't find the legacy in five months, Darius would meet him again to get the information he had, and depending on the information, he would either release Alex from the quest or leave him to die for giving him false hope.
'I need to run fast, or the auction entry will be closed.' Alex thought as he sprinted at full speed toward the capital city's inner area.
Alex didn't want to miss the auction because he found some rumors online that Rare beast companions and high Ranking beast eggs would be available in the auction.
Alex didn't know how accurate the rumors were as they were from players and not from some Noble NPC, but he still didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get a high-Ranking beast companion and regret it later if it turned out to be true.
Alex could join another high auction with guaranteed beast companions for sale, but it will consume too much time, and acquiring a good beast companion with his funds would be nearly impossible in a brutal bidding war.
After sprinting for a few minutes, Alex reached the core area of the capital, and after showing his guest noble badge at the checkpoint, he was allowed entry without facing any problem.
'This is my first time in the core area of the capital city Quivira.' Alex thought as he walked toward the location of the private auction.
The location of the private auction was Duke Brythan's mansion, as he was responsible for the auction, with most items in the auction being his property.
In the Gold Kingdom majority of the Nobles were merchants, and Duke Brythan was no different, but he was not just good at earning money as his strength was peak Rank Five, and he was also a collector of exotic and rare items.
Duke Brythan had a collection of the most bizarre and rare items in the Gold kingdom, and every time he held a private auction, it was to clean some of his unwanted items.
The items may be unwanted by Duke Brythan, but most of those items were treasures for low Ranking nobles and guilds. Hence, many nobles and small guilds would participate every time he held a private auction.
----------------------
After walking for some time, Alex reached the Duke's mansion, and after going through an identity check, he was successfully registered as an auction participant.
After entering the mansion, a guard led Alex to the main hall, where many players and NPCs were gathered.
'This looks more like a party than an auction.' Alex thought, seeing players and NPC Nobles drinking and enjoying their time.
The big hall had many NPC waiters who served drinks and food items to Nobles and players, and in the middle of the hall, three beautiful ladies were showing their elegant dance moves on the big stage, garnering every one attention.
'Let's look around for some faces I could recognize and hear if these people are talking about some auction item.' Alex started causally strolling through the hall to gather any useful information.
'There are some big guilds representatives here, which means the bidding will be very competitive.' Alex thought, recognizing many players from the big guild.
'The auction should start in a few minutes, but I don't see any of these people going to some private place?' Alex thought, looking at nobles and players casually chatting, not showing any concern about the auction.
'I can't do anything about the auction, so let's just wait and eat these free dishes in the meantime.'
After waiting for a few minutes, Alex got his answer as to why everyone was standing in the hall.
----------------------------
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think it is time we start the auction." A man entered the hall wearing a butler suit and said out loud, garnering every one attention.
After garnering every one attention, the butler vanished from his position and appeared on the stage in the middle of the hall.
"I will explain the auction rules while my helper makes this place more comfortable." The butler said slowly with a professional smile and started explaining the usual auction rules.
'Now, this is something I was not expecting.' Alex thought, seeing close to one hundred guards entering the hall with one-person luxury sofas.
All the waiters left the hall, and ten or so maids cleaned the hall using magic within a few minutes while the guards neatly placed the sofas in front of the stage.
The sofas were placed around the stage in a semi-half circle, with every following line having more seats, and as the stage was four feet high from the ground, even the person sitting in the last line would get the perfect view of the stage.
'What the hell are they doing?' Alex was confused seeing some players and Nobles going to the back seats while some rich-looking nobles were taking the front seats.
'Now that I look carefully, the front rows sofas are fancier than the one at the back.' Alex was very confused by what the hell was going on.
"Hey brother, you look confused by how everyone is selecting their seats." Alex heard a heavy voice from his right side.