"100 billion!"

The number kept increasing.

Clovis had been observing the auction the whole time. There were already four winners. As he predicted, Iskandar got one, Kalarn also got one, Jeremy Skylark managed to buy one, and Principal Vhalor from the First School also managed to buy one.

This left only one more painting for the rest of the people. They were fighting with their lives, trying to get their hands on this painting.

Ultimately, the auction was over once the last bid was announced.

"230 billion!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"230 billion once? 230 billion twice? Sold!"

The one who managed to buy it was one of the top influences in Absalom, called Blue Ocean Group.

For those who couldn't get the painting, they could only cry in the corner. They wanted to snatch other people's paintings, but Principal Vhalor was backed by the government, while no one really wanted to oppose Clovis' grandfather-in-law.

The only choice would be Iskandar and Kalarn, but it was clear that Curea would be sending reinforcements for the transport. They'd better get their hands on the last painting than steal from them.

Still, there was one person that stepped forward, asking the most important question.

"Will there be another auction like this in the future?"

The auction hall immediately fell silent. All of them wanted to hear the answer.

Clovis simply smiled. This was the greed of those people. In fact, they wouldn't be the only ones. Once the world learned about the paintings, they would be coming for them or Clovis.

That was why Clovis said, "There will be a private auction in the future."

"!!!" This was a confirmation from Clovis.

They could only get one painting, but there might be more paintings in the future. If they could get their hand on another type of painting, they would become much stronger.

However, the message was clear. Clovis emphasized the fact that it would be another private auction.

This meant the people who would have this opportunity would only be his allies.

As long as they remained allies, Clovis wouldn't spare any effort to reward them.

Clovis then nodded to all of them before saying, "In that case, I hope we can meet again at the next auction."

Clovis walked away with Hana.

"It looks like everything has gone according to our plan." Hana smiled.

"Yeah."

"Do you like it? By promising them another auction in the future, you can maintain them as your allies. Of course, we can't announce the date.

"This way, people will be speculating when the next auction will be. And when the paintings are revealed to the world, the world will be trying to become your ally.

"Of course, even if there's a thief, you can simply 'make' another painting, since we have established the fact that these paintings were created by your unique ability.

"In addition, the paintings would become much more expensive in the future, especially after they realized the power of the paintings."

"Indeed." Clovis nodded. "They would do everything they could to prevent it from being stolen. For the time being, we will let the word spread."

"Yes. People will probably inquire about it, but let's just push it to your agent. Still, I'm afraid there will be a bloodbath soon. All of them want the paintings after all. And they can't really come for you because you have the backing of the Hacfield family."

Clovis thought for a moment. "Though I still haven't heard anything from my grandfather."

"Now that I think about it, how is he? Your parents are still searching for him, right?"

"Yes." Clovis sighed. "As expected, a fight between two Tier 9 humans can't be underestimated."

"Anyway, the money will be transferred to you. Should we use this money to create a foundation under your name? We can use it to repair the buildings destroyed by the war."

Clovis nodded. "You take care of it. As long as the money goes through my account first, I don't care about anything else."

"Fine. I guess you're going to open a new shop soon?"

"Yeah. For now, I want to reach Tier 7 first before opening a new shop. The items in the mall will be updated according to my tier, but since I have no urgent schedule right now, it's better to reach Tier 7 first."

"How long do you need to reach Tier 7?"

"Hmmm…" Clovis calculated it in his mind. "7 days. At most 10 days."

"That should be good enough." Hana raised one finger. "In that case, I will also put your share of money in 7 days. You can go on a shopping spree."

"You sound like you're trying to be there." Clovis rolled his eyes.

"Is it too obvious?" Hana grinned.

Clovis shook his head helplessly before pinching her cheek. "I'm just saying that my lady luck can be there."

"Hehehe!" Hana made a peace sign. "Anyway, I will process everything now. You can go home if you want."

Hana didn't wait for him and just rushed off.

Clovis sighed. She was truly a greedy little goblin, but he wasn't really complaining. It was hard to handle her in the beginning, but she ended up having a bottom line, which was to enrich the family. So, it didn't matter to him anymore.

Besides, he had finally revealed his mall to the world. Although it was still camouflaged, it didn't change the fact that people finally knew about his unique ability.

He received another surprise before going home. It was a call from his father.

"Dad?"

"We've found your grandfather. We are with him right now."

"What? Is he okay?" Clovis frowned.

"His condition doesn't look good. Fortunately, he can recover just fine, but the recovery might take at least a year or more. Your mom is taking care of him right now."

Clovis' expression turned grim. "I see. As long as you are all right. Send a trusted shadow guard to me, Dad. I have a little present."

"Present?"

"Yeah. Hopefully, he can recover faster this way."

"I see." Gerald thought for a moment. "All right. I will send someone there… no, I should go there personally."

"How about the Prophet? Is he dead?"

"No. Both of them seem to be heavily injured. Although your grandfather kept telling me that he won, his injuries were worse than the Prophet. Still, the Prophet didn't have your mom, so his recovery speed would definitely be slower than your grandfather's."

"All right. That will be good enough." Clovis nodded with a serious expression. "Just make sure to come as quickly as possible."