The three of them arrived in a receiving square within an orderly public market. Officials rushed forward to register them. Hector and Dorian stood back with hands clasped before them and head half-bowed in respect while Zara spoke through a translator. After filing the paperwork, they were shown to the auction house – a large stone box of a building lacking windows. It looked more like a fancy fortress than a place of business to Hector.

Staff gave a gold medallion to Zara. Hector accepted a silver one along alongside Dorian. On the medallion was a unique identifier that could be used for them to place bids. The process for this auction, an attendant explained, involved placing bids on specific lots that would be recorded on chalkboards. They could stop back at any time to check if someone had outbid them.

The setup neatly avoided the language barrier. Which was undoubtedly the reason for it, because Hector could tell there were a lot of different tongues spoken around him. At least six languages other than Amaratti. A fast-talking auctioneer calling out bids as people raised paddles would simply not work. Which was a bit of a shame. Hector had been excited for the authentic experience from film and television.

Zara whispered her instructions to them. "I'm going into the main auction area myself. The two of you each have leave to bid with a hundred platinum coins. Do not go over the limit. Dorian, I recommend the Heavenly Honey Pill of Flesh. Hector… I don't know what resource most benefits someone with your particular advantages. Just be certain to investigate everything available in the minor auction before you start placing bids."

When their lord had gone, Hector looked around at the large hall eagerly. It was full of people, but everyone moved slowly and respected personal space. The booths had products on display. Before each one there was the chalkboard with the top bids. Polite queues of powerful cultivators waited for their chance to inspect the wares on display.

Hector noticed that the bids were displayed in multiple numeral systems. There were also signs in multiple languages explaining each exhibit. He moved closer to the nearest one and read. 'Seal blubber, level six, twenty lots.' Suddenly the lines on the chalkboard made more sense. There wasn't a single item being auctioned at this booth – there were twenty identical portions of seal blubber. He could sense the potent cosmic energy from the exhibit. It was a chunk of fat about the size of his fist.

The current bids for it were all at one and a quarter platinum coins. While Hector squinted at the board, Dorian cleared his throat. "You have to bid higher than a current bid to get on the board. Judging by how all bidders are in agreement on this one, I don't think the blubber is worth more than those offers. It's said that the meat lots of the minor auction are mostly here so that everyone can have the pleasure of buying something during their visit. We're in Zing, Hector, so what you really want are pills."

They left behind the seal blubber booth. Hector's eyes next landed on one advertising candles. "Dorian? How is a candle a cultivation resource?"

"It is made from imperial beeswax. Oh, you probably don't know what that is. You know how animals cultivate? Well, Zing has colonies of level nine bees that make the honey for their pills. The wax they make into candles. You can burn them in a cosmic chamber to release some of their energy." Dorian glanced around to make sure no one was in hearing range. "Those might be useful to burn on an unempowered world."

Hector checked the price. All the current bids were for a single platinum coin. Maybe he could sell a couple of these to Esther for use in the cosmic chamber of Tian Tower. Though as he thought about it, using this unique opportunity for the benefit of the cafe would be horribly shortsighted. If he intended to keep his body enhancement at his soul level in the years ahead, he couldn't afford to waste opportunities like this.

According to Eva, the Mother would produce a new batch of the elixir only twice a year. That span of time would increase if Hector couldn't locate enough cores at level eight or higher to feed into the process. His batches would also be smaller than what Eva produced since he had only a single layer of Mother compared to what she'd been working with. So he needed every body enhancement resource he could get his hands on.

Besides, the cafe didn't need more than simple food products from Tian. Bringing Esther exclusive items from a world famous auction would be overkill. Maybe he would share something with Riley. Or possibly not. Now that her body enhancement was peak four, she could safely consume Tian alcohol at moderate quantities. Riley didn't need special resources yet.

Hector, on the other hand, found himself increasingly faced with danger. He needed to improve his body enhancement as a matter of personal safety. An heir of Volithur cultivating in the background like Matthias could afford to do things the slow way without any resources. Hector's more aggressive path was dangerous without strength. So it was decided. No candles. All the resources Hector purchased would go directly towards his own advancement.

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Convinced that his pragmatism was not rooted in selfishness – or at least not primarily so – Hector began to investigate the options. They did not impress him. Elephant meat. Gorilla meat. Porpoise meat. It seemed like every intelligent animal that Hector could possibly object to being hunted for food was on the menu here. Almost every animal, that was. Dorian saw fit to educate him when his attention lingered too long on the meat booths.

"You won't find any heavenly meat in the minor auction."

"Heavenly meat?"

Dorian lowered his voice. "From humans. If you see 'heavenly' in the name of any resource, that indicates human origin."

"You think I'm looking for that?"

"You're paying a lot of attention to the meat on display. 'Heavenly' is by the most compatible. Energy density counts for a lot, but compatibility is just as important because it greatly improves the efficiency of enhancement efforts."

Rather than publicly state his disapproval, Hector chose to demonstrate his newfound mastery of etiquette by not saying anything. His attention was soon caught by a booth advertising spirit pills. The sign indicated that each lot contained a hundred pills of standard weight. The purchase price was at one and a half platinum coins for the top bid and there were a couple bids at the bottom of the list for one and a quarter platinum coins.

"You don't need those," Darius said.

That was true enough. Hector made to move on but found his path obstructed by figures in familiar blue robes. Their leader had her arms crossed as she watched Hector. She spoke something in her native tongue that was dutifully translated by her sister.

"Mei wishes to know how it is you still live."

Hector bowed politely to the group of Azure Spear Maidens. "Hello, Mei and Isabel and Yan. I'm alive because One-Shot has fired his last shot."

Isabel narrowed her eyes. "Your humor is still lacking, Hector. How did you kill him?"

"It was simple. I distracted Jerry and Darius blew his head off. If you'd stuck around to help, you could have taken his core." Hector reigned in his impulse to criticize their actions any further. This wasn't the time or place for a heated discussion.

The women had an exchange in their own language before Isabel addressed him again. "The Emperor declared the treasure hunt will end at the conclusion of this lunar month. He believes the recipe lost for good and does not wish to further inconvenience the people of Stein."

Hector glanced to Dorian, who hastened to offer a reply to the Zing woman. "That seems wise. If no one has retrieved the recipe in half a year, then it is surely lost."

Though Dorian spoke to Isabel, the message was for Hector. The Mother Elixir's recovery was to remain a secret. People might figure out it had been found in a few years or decades. By then its owners would have grown stronger. Even if Hector didn't own a layer of the Mother himself, he would still be leery of spilling a secret that the Zing Emperor wished kept quiet.

The women spoke among themselves again. It sounded like there was some disagreement. Eventually, Mei spoke up to bring an end to the dissent. Isabel, passive throughout, turned her attention back to Hector. "Our branch of the sect has been awarded a contract with Oceania to harvest beast cores in the southwest atoll chain for a period of one month. Due to Zing law, only licensed imperial porters may form transit sphere externalities. Their prices are not cheap."

Hector glanced to Dorian. The other man gave nothing away about his thoughts on the matter, so it looked like Hector was on his own. "You want my services as a porter?"

Isabel sighed. "One month. You will receive an equal share of our bounty."

"It wasn't long ago you were trying to kill me," he noted.

Mei chopped her hand and said something, which Isabel translated. "We were opponents in Stein. Even then, we managed to cooperate."

"Until you abandoned me during the battle."

"You had a transit sphere summoned. What guarantee did we have that you wouldn't abandon us?" Isabel shook her head. "None of that matters. We will formally contract with you for the Oceania expedition. The honor of the Azure Spear Maiden Sect is unquestionable."

Rather than contest that claim, Hector simply raised a brow.

Isabel huffed in annoyance. "Your presence here indicates you have powerful backing."

Meaning they would be foolish to betray him. "I'm afraid I must decline."

"If you receive less than ten level seven cores, our expedition will be judged a failure. We will eat high level fish and squid and shellfish every day," Isabel expounded. "Even without considering your share of our bounty, you will greatly benefit from the meals. High level beasts of the land are rare compared to what can be found in the deep oceans."

His hesitation was eroding fast. There were only two things preventing him from accepting so far. First, his promise to Riley not to take unnecessary risks. These women tried to kill him in the past and then abandoned him when they were allied. He couldn't trust them to have his back. Second, he needed to go to Aes. The Reconquest was the noblest work he could accomplish, so pursuing dubious benefits on Tian was not a good reason to delay. Further, he wanted to take advantage of the abundant chaos that would be available on Aes.

"I must decline. Thank you for your consideration."

After the women made their displeasure known with stern expressions and hard words in the Zing language, they departed, allowing Dorian to speak bluntly. "You lead an interesting life, Hector."

Hector didn't bother to comment on that. His eyes had just latched onto an interesting booth.

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