The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 107: Thirty Six

"Perhaps it’ll really be going home today!"

The auctioneer had a grin crawl over his face.

Around Ignotus, the crowd whispered while their heads turned. Even those below him craned their necks to see who’d bid so fast.

By now, many had recognized him, the "Stranger" from the Colosseum Trial.

Others didn’t really care, already licking their lips for drama. But before Loren could even call out for another bidder...

"Six gold."

Someone seated higher up the steps raised his hand.

"Six gold! Do I hear seven?"

The auctioneer’s grin widened even further.

And sure enough, more had raised their hands.

"Seven!"

That one belonged to a man in a dark blue cloak, his chin propped on his fist.

"Seven gold! Do I hear eight?"

Almost instantly, a fox-folk waved her fan, joining in on the fun.

"Eight!"

Loren spun with an exaggerated flourish.

"Eight gold! And we’ve got another brave soul—nine?"

A bearded merchant down front didn’t even hesitate, his thick arm shooting up.

"Nine!"

"Ten gold! Do I hear—"

Another one halfway up the stands raised their hand.

"Eleven! Eleven gold, going once!"

The auctioneer clearly loved every second of it.

"Do I hear twelve—no? Thirteen!"

The price climbed before Ignotus could even breathe, eventually making him blink a few times while glaring at them all, genuinely confused.

"Are these bastards bidding just to increase the price? All of them can’t be brokers."

Lykos groaned beside him.

"You should quit. That’s already enough to buy two normal Runes from the markets."

Mer raised a brow, watching the crowd too.

"Why would anyone pay this much for it when they can’t even use it?"

Before Ulv or Lykos could answer, Ignotus leaned back with a soft sigh.

"They’re probably not buying it to ’use,’ little cat. Many of them are merchants or brokers. They’ll resell it at some provincial auction and double the price. Or maybe take it to a Divine Forger and have it broken down and separated."

Mer tilted her head.

"Separated?"

Ignotus knew of Divine Forgers well; he’d dealt with many in his past life. Runebearers focused on crafting Divine Relics, enchanting armor, and storing spells into Scrolls, the same ones sold just earlier.

"Yes. Relics like that carry sealed spellwork under their complexity. A Forger can extract those and rebind them into a new gear."

Ignotus hummed, his eyes drifting back toward the gloves.

"It takes time, of course, time that this auction doesn’t have, but the potential profit is huge."

"So they’re vultures." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Rich vultures."

Ulv corrected Mer.

"Don’t underestimate how fast they smell profit."

Ignotus’s smirk widened.

"Good words."

Then, as the auctioneer shouted from across the hall—

"Thirteen going twice!"

He raised his hand right after, ignoring Lykos’s glare completely.

"Fourteen!"

His face dared anyone to outbid him.

"Fifteen!"

And sure enough, several hands followed.

"Anyone going for sixteen?"

Only for those hands to suddenly quit.

"Yes, sixteen!"

The rhythm had slowed to a near halt following Ignotus’s bid.

Sixteen appeared to be the highest bid that most participants would offer for an item like this.

Perhaps that was the bid they’d reached last time before the auctioneer took pause and decided that it wasn’t going to sell that day, believing it held a lot more worth than that.

And sure enough, in the eyes of the two remaining bidders, it did just that.

It was Ignotus and the same masked man up on one of the smaller balconies on the right side of the amphitheater. Someone possibly of liquid wealth higher than even the lowest chairs beneath Ignotus’s group.

Everyone else had dropped out, clearly deciding this madness wasn’t worth it.

So now, watching the fight, the crowd buzzed, anticipating blood.

Ulv did as well, rubbing his temple.

"You’re serious about this, huh?"

"Of course he is."

Mer crossed her arms.

"It steals attacks using Luck. It’s literally made for him."

"Please don’t encourage him."

Lykos waved her off and then looked at Ignotus.

"Sixteen gold is your last chance to be reasonable."

Ignotus revealed a deadpan face.

"Reasonable is expensive, boss."

Lykos was taken aback for a moment.

"That doesn’t even make sense."

"It will when I win."

With that, Ignotus began his waiting game.

Would this hidden bastard up there match his bid or not?

The auctioneer lowered his hand dramatically.

"Sixteen gold going once—going tw—"

"Thirty gold!"

A bastard’s voice cracked through the air.

The entire hall went silent, and even the band stopped mid-note.

Heads turned toward the balcony, where the man smirked behind his half-mask of silver.

They weren’t the only ones surprised, as even Mer’s jaw dropped.

"Thirty gold?! Is that guy drunk?"

"That’s way beyond overkill."

Ulv agreed while Lykos wiped his face, exacerbated.

"Just let it go, Ignotus. You don’t even have that much."

Ignotus’s expression didn’t shift.

Only his eyes moved...

’Fuck it.’

Towards the auctioneer.

"Use my share from the Rune!"

The crowd murmured again, enjoying the drama, while the auctioneer slowly glanced towards one of the clerks on the far end of the stairs, seemingly asking for confirmation.

After a quick exchange of nods, Loren raised his hand.

"Thirty-one gold!"

His declaration was loud.

"We’re nearing strong tier-two prices!"

The masked bidder, in a flash of anger, slammed his hand down on the railing.

"Thirty-five!"

The room erupted in noise again, now all in disbelief, with Mer alongside them, throwing her hands up.

"Oh, come on! He’s just showing off now!"

"Agreed."

Ulv exhaled through his nose.

"That’s either a Great House or an utter lunatic."

Ignotus’s lip twitched into something halfway between a grin and a snarl.

"I’m leaning towards the latter..."

Without hesitation, he raised his hand high.

"THIRTY-SIX!"

The whole hall stilled again.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Loren, the auctioneer, stood stunned before breaking into delighted laughter.

"Thirty-six gold!"

He’d be getting a sweet bonus after this~!

"Thirty-six gold for the Hands of Lethe! Going once—"

Loren looked up at the masked man, who didn’t move.

His jaw was clenched beneath the silver.

"Going twice..."

The man slammed the armrest, furious—

"FUCK!"

But didn’t bid.

"Going thrice!"

Clap! Clap!

The auctioneer slammed his hands together.

"Sold! To the tall gentleman in the lower ring! Lord Ignotus!"

The crowd broke into cheers, with many applauding and whistling.

It almost seemed like they were celebrating a show’s conclusion.

’Dammit.’

Ignotus exhaled slowly, slumping into his chair, having just survived his toughest war, which was saying a lot considering his history.

"You’re insane, you know that?"

Ulv laughed softly while Mer shook her head, looking impressed.

"Even I won’t spend that much on something... I wish I saw a weapon that could get me that excited though."

It was obvious that she came here to strengthen herself after what happened in the Colosseum Trial. not liking the outcome and the buildup to it one bit. Something that, unsurprisingly, none of the cohort had talked about yet.

It was obvious they preferred to act like they didn’t just go and kill each other over and over in their insanity.

Thankfully, their minds were fully healed alongside their bodies after the battle, leaving them able to simply ignore it and act like normal.

"I swear..."

Lykos sighed.

"...you attract trouble just by existing."

Ignotus only shrugged.

"It’s mutual."

He glanced back up toward the balcony, where the masked bidder sat motionless, staring directly down at him.

’Hm.’

That silver glint hadn’t moved once since he’d lost.

’No way that guy came just because of my Calamity...’

Ignotus frowned slightly.

’Something’s up with him.’

The thought lingered, but the auctioneer had already moved on, clapping for the next item.

And once he did, Ignotus turned back, chuckling to himself.

Though at an incredible price...

He’d won.