Booty Bay Auction

Three days later, Goldtooth opened his ship's hold and began moving his cargo onto the docks, crate by crate. He then hired a few laborers to transport the goods to the auction house located in the heart of Booty Bay. Having been extorted and bled dry over the past few days, the few silver coins he had to pay the laborers made his heart ache with every coin spent.

Andy had not been mistreated during these days; Goldtooth did not want to starve him thin and ruin his resale value, as that would only result in a loss for himself. However, he had added the cost of Andy's upkeep to the boy's price tag anyway—he was certainly not the type to engage in a losing business.

Andy sat in the hold, and although his hands and feet were bound, he watched Goldtooth's every struggle with amusement. It wasn't that he couldn't break the ropes; initially, it was because they were at sea and the opposition was numerous, but now, he was truly stuck. Having been brought deep into the lair of the pirates, there was little else he could do.

"Be quick with your hands and feet! Hurry up!" Goldtooth stood on the dock, directing the crowd. "Hey, watch my cargo! Be gentle!" After the commotion, Goldtooth's goods were all transported to the auction house. Today was his exclusive showcase!

Although the auction house only held private auctions for one client per day, the people who utilized it were all residents of Booty Bay. Booty Bay was a town built by goblins around a harbor, originally lacking any land-based entrance. Later, however, as the town came under the control of a faction known as the Blackwater Pirates, they opened an entrance on land for the sake of development. It was kept extremely secretive, known only to the major clients of Booty Bay.

Those major clients were all members of great families or wealthy conglomerates from various races and kingdoms. They came to Booty Bay at fixed intervals to purchase goods, rare treasures, and slaves, and they also posted various tasks—anonymously, of course.

At this moment, numerous seats were arranged below the auction stage, ranging from ordinary chairs to the VIP seats in the front. At the very front of all the seating, three chairs were set aside. One was for the leader of Booty Bay, the head of the Blackwater Pirates, Rivaz. The other two were reserved for the two major figures attending today.

As the owner of the goods, Goldtooth could not sit in the audience; he had to go backstage to arrange the order of his items. The thrill of the Booty Bay auction lay in its unpredictability. None of the buyers knew the contents of the auction in advance; it was a completely closed, randomized live event.

Andy was also backstage, but his head was covered by a black hood so that no one could discern his true identity. This was a protective measure Goldtooth had taken for his grand finale. A faint, chaotic noise drifted into Andy's ears. If not for the Monster Spirit amplifying the external sounds for him, he likely wouldn't have known what anyone was saying through the hood.

"Hurry, take this one up! It's the first item!" Goldtooth commanded.

Andy could not see what Goldtooth's first item was and could only judge its value by the reactions of the crowd below. However, based on what he knew of Goldtooth, the man didn't possess anything of real worth.

Goldtooth walked onto the stage, placed the cloth-covered item on the auction pedestal, and bowed deeply to Rivaz and the other major figure below. Rivaz nodded, and Goldtooth returned backstage. He did not recognize the other major figure, but since one chair remained empty, it meant one more person had yet to arrive.

Andy listened as the crowd outside shifted from dead silence to hushed whispers, and then, after the host made his announcement, erupted into raucous laughter. Goldtooth's face turned beet red backstage, but he gritted his teeth, thinking to himself, You'll be shocked soon enough.

Even the auctioneer wanted to laugh, if only his current position and the situation allowed for it.

"What is this?" someone from the floor asked. "Why is it just a big seashell?"

"Exactly! Even a string of rare shell necklaces would have been more acceptable!" another person chimed in.

For a moment, the floor was in an uproar. Rivaz couldn't help but frown. This had happened more than once with Goldtooth; why wouldn't the man ever learn? Did he have to revoke his auction privileges permanently for him to remember? As he thought this, he shot a glance at the auctioneer on stage.

The auctioneer nodded and shouted, "Everyone, everyone! Please quiet down! Given that the item for this auction is somewhat baffling, let us invite its owner, Mr. Goldtooth, to come up and explain it!"

Goldtooth, who had been gnashing his teeth backstage, heard the auctioneer call him and walked to the front with a flushed face. He cleared his throat and tried to make his voice as resonant as possible: "Ladies and gentlemen, it is actually like this!" As he spoke, Goldtooth pulled out a small knife, inserted it into the gap of the shell, and with a forceful shove, pried it open.

A jet-black pearl with a dark, lustrous sheen sat quietly inside the shell. The crowd below gradually ceased their chatter, staring at the pearl. Goldtooth's face stopped burning, his breathing steadied, and he calmly put away the knife and slowly retreated backstage.

The moment Goldtooth stepped backstage, his legs turned to jelly, and he nearly collapsed. In truth, he hadn't known for sure that there was a pearl inside; he had merely relied on his experience to guess. The best outcome he had hoped for was a white pearl. Who would have thought that not only was there a pearl, but it was a rare black one? Though not large, its value lay in its rarity. The people who came to Booty Bay had seen every treasure imaginable; they were here specifically for the novel and the rare.

Next came the bidding for the pearl. In the end, a wealthy merchant bought it for fifty gold coins and gifted it to his young mistress on the spot!

Aside from the surprise of the black pearl, the remaining goods were truly not worth mentioning. Goldtooth's ship was, at best, only good for scavenging along the coasts; as for raiding, he should just forget it! When the final item was presented, the major figure sitting next to Rivaz spoke up: "I want this."

Rivaz nodded toward the stage, and seeing no reaction from the floor, he declared it sold. The auctioneer was also quite surprised that a piece of yellowed, tattered paper could pique the interest of such a major figure. What they didn't know was that this tattered paper was actually a blueprint for mechanical engineering.

The final items to be auctioned were the slaves. Because Goldtooth's sources were limited, he didn't have any high-quality stock, so he simply sold them all off at a very cheap price. The slave auction was less of an auction and more of a wholesale clearance!

Just when people thought the auction had concluded, Goldtooth and two goblin pirates brought out a tall person wearing a hood.

"What is this?" Rivaz asked, puzzled. He thought that on his own turf, did Goldtooth really need to take such protective measures?

Goldtooth didn't speak; he just smiled faintly, thinking, Just wait until you're all shocked, and then yanked the hood off Andy's head. Andy's long, pointed ears were instantly exposed to everyone's eyes. Everyone present, save for that major figure who remained unmoved, let out a collective gasp.

"An... Elf!" Rivaz muttered in a low, drawn-out tone.