Is this really a Game?!

The room fell into stunned silence. The fourth bidder, a man with an aura of calm confidence, had remained silent until this climactic moment, his bid shattering the previous record and causing ripples of shock and intrigue throughout the audience. The auctioneer, momentarily taken aback, quickly regained composure.

"Four million S Coins," the auctioneer's voice rang out, echoing through the grand hall. "Do we have any further bids?"

The tension in the room was palpable. The cloaked figure, the man in the golden suit, and the woman stared at the figure, their expressions a mixture of surprise and frustration. They had all expended significant resources on the previous items and were now faced with a formidable competitor.

The man in the golden suit raised his hand slightly, indicating his intention to bid higher. But after a moment's hesitation, he withdrew. The cloaked figure and the woman followed suit, their resolve clearly shaken by the unexpected bid.

The auctioneer, seeing no further bids, raised the gavel. "Going once… going twice… sold! To the gentleman in the fourth row."

As the gavel came down, the grand hall erupted in applause and murmurs of excitement. The man in the fourth row remained composed, nodding slightly as he accepted the winning bid. Reign and his team watched him intently, intrigued by his sudden and decisive entry into the auction.

The auctioneer, now visibly pleased with the evening's success, addressed the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation in tonight's auction."

"We hope you have enjoyed the event and wish you all a pleasant evening."

With that, the auction officially concluded. The attendees began to disperse, some making their way to settle their payments while others congregated in small groups, discussing the evening's events and speculating about the identity and motives of the bidders.

Reign turned to his team, his expression thoughtful. "We need to keep an eye on that fourth bidder, he's a wildcard, and we don't know his intentions."

Wolf nodded in agreement. "Agreed, he stayed under the radar the entire auction, only to make a move at the very end, that kind of strategy suggests he's not to be underestimated."

The team subtly followed the man as he made his way through the crowd, careful not to draw attention to themselves. They watched as he exchanged a few words with the auction staff, finalizing the payment for the saber. The man then turned and headed towards the exit, his movements deliberate and unhurried.

As he walked toward the exit and got near it, he suddenly stopped and glanced to the side before showing a slight smile.

"Might I know why the leader of the Heaven's Hooligans is waiting for me near the exit?"

"I would like to get acquainted with you, a person with your strength and the decisiveness to wait until the very end to buy an item is definitely not a person to be underestimated." Reign stated with a smile as he approached the man who chuckled.

"Are you not angry at me?"

"We placed the item to be sold, the more money it was sold for, the better for us, so why would I, or any of my teammates and faction members be angry?"

"We both know that although this auction did earn you a pretty sum, it was also created for another reason, and my sudden appearance and the fact I didn't even go to the gathering and have no plans on appearing in the celebration that is being held right after the auction makes it seem as if I am not showing any respect."

"None of those things are a must, the gathering was for people to meet one another, the celebration is pretty much the same thing, allowing the strong and influential people of the regions around us to talk to one another, form alliances, and decide what is best to be done in the future to make sure our factions and the people in them are safe."

"If you see no reason to do so, then you won't go, it's as simple as that, and although it is a shame, I will never hold a grudge over such a petty reason." Reign stated with a calm tone as the man nodded his head.

"I have to be honest, I was expecting to see you and your team during the auction, I didn't realize you would be hidden away from sight." The man told Reign as the latter chuckled.

"You have hidden yourself quite well, I think it's only fair for us to not show ourselves during the auction, it is supposed to be focused mainly on the items offered after all."

"Of course, there is nothing wrong with that." The man stated with a smile as both he and Reign continued staring at one another.

"I am curious, however, what rank of an item is it that is covering your face, I was barely able to notice it." Reign said as the man chuckled again.

"So you were able to notice it, it's a Rank SS helmet, allows the user to change their face, and should be impossible to be noticed by those below Tier VI, but even most Tier VI combatants will find it nearly impossible to notice it as well." The man stated with a smile as Reign nodded his head.

"I will not ask why you are hiding your face, after all, plenty of people came today and disguised themselves or hid their identity in different ways, it is a dangerous world, and one can never be too safe."

"I agree completely with you, one can never be safe enough." The man said before he nodded his head.

"I will be leaving now, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure was all mine … apologies, I just realized neither one of us has even introduced ourselves, my name is Reign, and yours would be?"

"Hahahaha, you may call me Richard, I hope we meet again, and I hope we meet again soon, Reign," Richard said as he nodded his head at Reign again before leaving the auction house.

"Richard, that's probably a fake name as well." Reign muttered before shaking his head and going back to Shadow and the others.

Jin was also there, as was Shadow's mother.

They, as well as some of the top teams and merchants of the faction, had also been present during the auction and even bid for some items, but most of the items became too expensive and they decided to stop bidding for them.

"Did you learn anything?" Wolf asked Reign who nodded his head.

He started telling them of how the man, Richard, acted, the way he spoke, the way he moved, the way he was calm and collected and how his face was hidden, what people saw was not his real face but a disguise.

The more Reign spoke, the more Jin's face started changing, a confused expression present on it. Reign noticed it, but continued speaking as he thought that maybe Jin knew Richard. After all, he was one of the leaders of an Order, and it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary if 'Richard' was a member of an order in the past, just like how Carlos and Marco were in the past.

"Reign, how were you able to notice that his face was not his true face?" Jin asked Reign before staring at him with a serious expression.

"Were there any forms of disruptions that you could see around his hair, sometimes a bit around the ears maybe?"

"His eyes could have also looked a bit weird, as if they were a bit bleak, not really all there, right?"

"Yeah, that's right … how … how do you know that, Uncle Jin?" Reign asked as Jin's face turned serious, as well as angry.

"Tell me, what name did he give you, how did he call himself?"

"Richard."

In that instant, Jin's aura exploded around him, the air distorting while the guards who were employed by Reign and the others quickly appeared, as did one of the two head guards who was a Tier VII combatant.

"Sir, please refrain from allowing your aura to-"

"Shut up," Jin said coldly, causing even the Tier VII combatant to feel a cold chill go down his back before Reign glanced at him and shook his head.

"It's alright, we'll deal with it, thank you for your quick appearance."

"Uncle … who was that?" Reign asked, but deep inside, he believed he already knew the answer.

For his uncle to have such a reaction, and for him to know about the reason why Reign noticed that Richard's face was a disguise, it all pointed to one answer.

He would not lose his cool and explode with his aura if the person that Reign had met was just a random person he might have known.

"He … is the one we have hunted ever since your father died, the one we all believed was the culprit behind the death of your parents."