Primordial Draconic Incubus With A Gourmet Chef System

But even so... Although the Secret Realm held no value to them, possessing the map to a Secret Realm held significant value. If they could win it and present it to their Masters, they were sure to obtain some benefits.

Even if they could not eat the meat, a single drop of the meat juices would be enough.

"Forgive my rudeness, but how does the Branch Leader's friend know what's sealed within the coin, if she can't unseal it?" Someone brought up a good point, earning countless nods.

Meng Ruo smiled at the question. She was already prepared for the question… no, it was more accurate to say the Branch Leader had been prepared for the question.

'The new Branch Leader is much better than that smelly old fart.' Just remembering the previous Branch Leader almost caused Meng Ruo to lose her composure.

She was thankful there were strict rules in place. Even more so, the Branch Leaders were bound by Soul Oaths.

Without missing a heartbeat, Meng Ruo continued, "A valid question. Though the Branch Leader's friend couldn't unseal the Artifact herself, she is still someone with immense strength and knowledge. Moreover, she is well-versed in Runic Symbols. Through careful analysis, she discovered a hidden marking on the coin, which states a map to a Secret Realm is contained within the coin."

"A map to a Secret Realm is one thing, but if the Runic Formation can't be broken by even the Branch Leader's friend, then what can we do?"

"That's right. Moreover, what if the Secret Realm has already been discovered by accident? Wouldn't we be buying a useless item?"

"Risk and reward go hand in hand." Meng Ruo said with a sweet smile. "Isn't that what our city's experts doing at the moment? They're braving the potential dangers to change the course of their and their family's lives."

After that, Meng Ruo became silent to give the guests time to ponder.

"Cody and Coby, open your eyes and look at that coin. Tell us what you two see." Garrett suddenly said.

"But-" They hesitated, worry-filled their faces. The Head Auctioneer had explicitly stated that Detection Skills were not allowed.

"Use your brains for once." Hervy furrowed his brows. "Do you really think Captain would want to harm you?"

The twins shook their heads, but this and that were different.

[Your eyes are innate.] Hervy's voice suddenly sounded in their heads, [You two were born with them; they aren't a Skill. If you choose to use them, the auction house can only blame themselves for their ignorance.]

"Captain is only asking you both to open your eyes. Understand?" Hervy winked meaningfully.

Cody and Coby exchanged a quick glance, noticing each other's hesitance.

But, what Hervy said was true. Their unique eyes were not acquired from a Skill but were a gift from birth. Technically, that would mean they were not violating what Meng Ruo said. It was a gray area. Even if she and the Branch Leader had complaints, they could only blame themselves.

With a quick, silent agreement between the brothers, Coby gave a small nod to Cody.

After that, they simultaneously opened their eyes, revealing thousands of red irises.

This was their innate gift — the innate gift of the Oculith Race.

As they turned toward the silver coin, what they could not see previously, instantly became apparent. Runic Symbols continued to flash across the surface of the silver coin.

However, that was not all, amidst the Runic Symbols, they saw what Meng Ruo had mentioned — a mark.

But this was no mere mark.

Piercing, vertical red eyes glared back at them, burning with an intensity that felt too real. The pressure from the gaze alone sent chills down their spines, as if a ferocious, Magical Beast was glaring directly at their Souls.

In an instant, the twins nervously gulped, and beads of cold sweat slid down their foreheads.

Hurriedly, they shut their eyes, not daring to open them, even if they were begged to.

[How is-

[That a mark!?]

What they saw was not a mark, blemish, spot, or stain, but the eyes of a ferocious Magical Beast.

Meanwhile, in the third floor's office, a sudden beeping sound caught Yoshiko off guard. Glancing in the sound's direction, a deep frown appeared on her face.

"Inexcusable." Mei suddenly said from the side. "Meng Ruo said Detection Skills were prohibited. Do they take us for fools?"

However, Yoshiko shook her head. "Forget it. No harm was done. Let them see, it won't change anything."

Meanwhile, after calming down the twins, Garrett finally asked them, "What did you two see?"

The twins stiffened and unconsciously turned their heads in Lucian's direction, who continued to peacefully sleep, unaware of what was happening around him.

Of course, the twins' eyes were firmly shut.

Confused by the twins' silence, everyone in the room followed the direction where the twins were looking.

"Why are you two looking at Big Brother Lucian?" Lily frowned.

The twins sighed and then began explaining what they saw and how the eyes were eerily similar to Lucian's eyes when he activated his eye Skill.

At the same time as the twins explained, Meng Ruo's voice rang out, "Esteemed Guests, before I announce the starting bid, allow me to state one last condition Branch Leader's friend gave. Whoever is the final victor of the map must swear a Soul Oath that if they manage to unseal the Runic Formation and see the map, they will inform the said friend and take her with them to the Secret Realm. Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

The person's identity will be revealed to you after you win. Moreover, you will have to swear a Soul Oath that you will not disclose her identity to anyone else."

After a brief pause, Meng Ruo continued, "Normally, the starting bid for a map to a Secret Realm could even be in Peak-Grade Mana Stones; however, due to the seal, the starting bid is a measly 100 Low-Grade Mana Stones. Everyone, please begin!"

As soon as Meng Ruo finished speaking, a bid appeared on the large screen.

100 Low-Grade Mana Stones - Kang Shui

But as quickly as the bid appeared, it was replaced by a higher bid.

Soon, the price hit 500 Low-Grade Mana Stones, but the guests did not seem like they were back down any time soon.

A fierce bidding war commenced.

—------------------

"Big Brother Lucian."

"Big Brother Lucian."

"Big Brother Lucian."

"Wake up."

Melodic cries from a female pierced through Lucian's dreams, dragging him back to the world of the living. Groaning in response, he opened his eyes and smiled as he came face to face with a black mask peering down at him.

"Good morning, Lily." After Lucian greeted her, he sat up properly in his chair and tidied up his messy chef's uniform. The wrinkles that should have been present were nowhere to be seen, all thanks to the auto-clean effect on the chef's uniform.

Lily sweetly returned the greeting. "Good morning to you too Big Brother Lucian. Did you have a good sleep?"

"It was great." Lucian nodded. He was not lying, he truly meant what he said. He could barely remember when he had gone to sleep, so it must have been a nice, long sleep.

As they were in their two-person world, all of a sudden, a loud cough entered their ears.

Exasperated, Lucian turned to look in the direction of the sound, already expecting who the sound belonged. And just as he guessed, it belonged to none other than Garrett.

[This Orc…] Lucian would be lying if he said he was not a tad bit ticked off at being rudely interrupted every time he was having a moment with Lily.

Lily was also not fairing any better. This time, instead of blushing and hiding behind her Big Brother Lucian, she was glaring at her brother with her arms on her waist.

Realizing he let his over-protectiveness take hold of his emotions, Garrett offered an apologetic smile and pointed below to the first floor.

Garrett casually came up with an excuse for interrupting them. "The auction has ended."

Being aware of this fact, Lily pouted. She woke up her Big Brother Lucian just for that.

'It should have been Lily, who told Big Brother Lucian the auction ended.'

After glancing out the window, it was just as Garrett said the auction had ended and the guests were leaving.

Meng Ruo was still on the raised platform, politely smiling and tactfully refusing the male Mages' offer for a date.

"Miss Meng, you must be tired after presiding over the auction for so many hours. How about-"

Lucian turned to look in the direction the voice came from and felt like laughing out loud. It was an old man, who looked like he was in his eighties. He was so old that he had to use a walking stick and be led by two guards in case he fell.

"Sir Cyrus, you are right. I am quite tired." Meng Ruo politely interjected him.

Lily was taken aback by her words, before snorting, "Shameless!"

The old man, Cyrus, also could not believe his ears. But the words did in fact come out of her mouth. After all, he was old, but not senile.

'Haha, this old man may be old, but he still has it.'

With a wide smile that showed off his yellow teeth, he was about to speak when he suddenly froze upon hearing Meng Ruo's following words.

"It's true I am quite tired, Sir Cyrus. That being the case, if you'll excuse my rudeness, may you please leave the auction house, so I may go rest?"