"200 million."

"300 million."

"500 million!"

"Sold!"

The auction started as normal. Even though all these items were not as exciting as Clovis’ paintings, it didn’t change the fact that they were valuable.

Hana had arranged everything for the auction, letting the tension build up as they moved toward the last phase of the auction.

While they were waiting for the next item to be brought in, Kalarn Hatson couldn’t help but glance to the side, feeling a bit lonely with two empty seats. He was supposed to come with his two daughters, but the two daughters had run away before the auction.

Even though he knew why they didn’t accompany him, he thought they would at least push back their schedule and accompany him just for this auction.

"Heh? Raising daughters is useless..." Kalarn sighed.

"Sounds like you are having a hard time, Mr. Kalarn."

"Well, Ambassador." Kalarn shrugged. "I’m fine. It looks like you are the ones in charge this time."

"Indeed. You must know the two next to me." Curea’s ambassador extended his hand, showing Iskandar and Arina. Iskandar was already famous as a Tier 7 human with a unique ability. People said that his strength was growing exponentially after the government took him in.

They speculated that it would be just a matter of time before Iskandar became a Tier 8.

Arina, on the other hand, had become Iskandar’s girlfriend. She was the government’s agent who had been assigned to take care of him, but with her continuous accompaniment, Iskandar finally gave in.

"Of course. Nice to meet you two." Kalarn nodded. Since Iskandar’s problem had been solved, there was no more bad blood between them. Iskandar nodded his head gracefully, greeting Kalarn back.

"Still, I wonder what you think about the paintings, Mr. Kalarn?" The ambassador asked.

"What do I think about the paintings?"

"Yes.. You are quite close with the Libation Fiesta, aren’t you?"

"Well, even with our relationship, there is no way they will tell me anything about it, especially not this level of a secret." Kalarn shook his head helplessly. "Besides, you may not know it, but Jay Havenson is a man with integrity. Do you think he will reveal any secrets that are not his?"

"That’s a shame." The ambassador sighed.

"All I know is that these paintings must be real." Kalarn’s expression turned serious. "I may not know Clovis Hacfield that much, but I have met him a couple of times. From all my experiences, I can see that he is a man who takes promises seriously."

Iskandar added, "That is indeed true. He may not reveal everything, but he is definitely not someone who lies. That’s what I felt when facing him."

The ambassador and Kalarn were slightly startled.

Iskandar just looked away and continued watching.

Kalarn coughed before nodding his head. "Indeed. If you look around, I don’t think he will bluff in an auction like this. I can see a lot of organizations, mostly from this country."

There were a total of 70 people inside the venue. It might not be much, considering each group only allowed three representatives.

They were all the people that had helped Clovis in one way or another. Jeremy from the Sky Group even participated in this auction. There was also Absalom’s first school.

Obviously, their aim was the same. They wanted to see whether Clovis was bluffing or not.

It looked like they had finally passed the boring side and reached the main event at this auction.

This time, five paintings were brought in. Each of them was covered in a light quilt with an attendant standing behind them.

Then, Clovis walked onto the stage, showing that he was ready to be blamed if he lied to them.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for attending today’s auction. I believe most of you come for the same reason, so I won’t say much. This is an auction to thank everyone’s participation and help.

"At the same time, I have to be fair and give everyone a chance. Hence, I want to add one unorthodox rule for the auction of my paintings.

"Anyone who has bought a painting will not be allowed to bid for another painting. I know you might think this is a ridiculous rule, but I will just say that either you accept the rule or leave the auction.

"The paintings were created using my own unique ability, but I won’t share the details of my unique ability.

"Now, this makes it a bit interesting. The first painting can become the one with the highest price, or it can be the lowest with my rule. We can only see."

Clovis raised two fingers. "Before the auction starts, I want to add two things. First, after revealing my paintings, we will have a small break. Second, those who have met the paintings’ requirements will understand the power of paintings.

"These five paintings represent: ’Mobility’, ’Strength’, ’Flexibility’, ’Control’, and ’Defense.’ So, you may choose which one you will be aiming for."

Clovis then stepped to the side and nodded to all five attendants. "Please reveal the paintings."

The people were quite skeptical.

"Heh? One organization can only bid for one item? What’s that supposed to mean?"

"There will be no one competing for the painting anymore if those big shots are gone."

"Well, I don’t care. I want to see what kind of trick he has up his sleeve."

The people were whispering, wondering what Clovis planned to show them.

But half of those chatters suddenly disappeared when the attendants lifted up the quilt.

"Hmm... I am an art person. While it looks like they’re done by professionals, I don’t think they’re worth that much, right?" One person scoffed and asked the person next to him.

However, he was stunned when the person next to him was staring at the painting with eyes wide open. It was as if he couldn’t take his eyes off the painting.

"What’s going on? Eric? Eric?!"

"Samuel? Wake up!"

"Hypnotized? Are you hypnotized?"

"Wait! What’s going on? Many people are in a trance right now?!"

"Clovis Hacfield. What have you done?!"