I Evolve By Collecting Infinite Spirits-Chapter 57: Auction Carnival

*EXTRA LONG Chapter*

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Sin followed the man all the way to the city’s auction. He didn’t sneak behind him or anything.

He simply ran after the carriage that the merchant rode in. He didn’t put in any effort to make it look unobvious either.

The merchant kept peeking out his window every few seconds, thinking, ’What in the hell is wrong with this boy? I’m getting creeped out at this point...’

He was making the man uncomfortable as hell, but it wasn’t like Sin actually gave a shit. In fact, it made him smirk just thinking about it.

Sin followed the carriage for an hour straight. Due to pedestrian traffic, it wasn’t hard to keep after it.

They arrived on the north side of the city, where Sin was met with an impressive scene.

It was a large area on the edge of the city that was completely clear of any manmade stone buildings or houses.

Instead, this several thousand feet area was filled with a bustling market--almost like a festival.

There were no sturdy structures, only tents, stalls, and marquees.

Carnival games were lined across the dirt in uneven rows, shouting with color and clamor.

Some booths had crooked wooden signs dangling by chains, and others had giant stuffed beasts hung like trophies to lure in suckers.

People were all over this place, like ants over crumbs.

Laughter, clinking coins, and the occasional frustrated yell created a messy orchestra of life, layered over the steady creak of wheels and murmurs of haggling voices.

The scent was thick—sweet fried dough, roasted meats, burnt sugar, and something musky, maybe incense or sweat, or both.

Bright paper lanterns floated overhead, tied from pole to pole like a lazy constellation.

Children dashed between stalls with sticky fingers and prizes too big for their arms.

Barkers howled about unbeatable odds and "just one more try."

But the centerpiece—what pulled Sin’s eyes in first—was the marquee.

It was a beast of canvas and light, towering at the center of the chaos. Over a thousand square feet, the thing captured the attention of the carnival with ease. Striped in deep red and gold, it rose in swooping arcs, each corner staked down with thick iron spikes. From its peak, a massive banner fluttered:

"GRAND AUCTION — RARE GOODS, RARER LUCK."

People poured in and out of it in waves, dressed in silks, leathers, even armor.

Nobles, Hunters, merchants, thieves—they all gathered under the same canopy, driven by greed, desperation, or curiosity.

’Damn... I just have explored the city more. I had no clue something like this was here.’

Sin didn’t stall much. There were several shops outside of the main auction house as well, but he wasn’t interested in any of that.

He joined the long line outside of the marquee, people quickly building up behind him as well.

Right in front of him was the merchant from before. Sin recognized him instantly from his distinct attire.

As the line moved forward, Sin finally saw the entrance.

A single man large in stature guarded the front. It looked like he was collecting an entrance fee, along with verifying identities.

The people in front of Sin seemed to be of higher status for the most part. He figured this since the large guard at the entrance let in multiple people with just a glance at their faces.

It took only a few minutes for him to reach the front. Only two people remained in front of him now--the merchant, and also another young man at the very front it seemed.

The young man greeted the guard, showing his Hunter ID.

The guard’s large fingers grabbed the small ID, inspecting it closely. He towered over 8 feet in height, wearing green knight armor and a long green cape.

A large broadsword was sheathed over his back, giving a fearsome presence.

’I can sense this guy is strong... his Spirit Energy is noticeable even to me.’

Unbeknownst to Sin, what he was mostly sensing was through his natural intuition.

Compared to others, his ability to sense Spirit Energy was still lacking. This was because he hadn’t leveled it up nearly as much as even his base stats yet.

"Looks decent... but you are only an F-Rank." The man exclaimed, staring down at the young man with low eyes, "Your fee will be 5 gold coins..."

"W-what!?" The young man exclaimed, "What are you saying? The fee is 5 Silver... you are asking for 10 times the amount!" He retorted in confusion and frustration.

The guard’s expression soured, a condescending look glossing his eyes.

"You either pay..." He spoke in a low tone, "Or you get the fuck out of the line." He nodded to the side as he spoke.

The young Hunter was left speechless, his voice struggling to say another word.

Finally, he swiped his Hunter ID from the guard’s hand: "This is absurd! You are exploiting your position to loot innocent bystanders. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

A few people in the line let out silent gasps, surprised at the sudden remarks from the boy.

People began to murmur. This told Sin that the guard clearly had some sort of reputation around here.

Sin observed the guard as he glanced at those who were murmuring about him.

The guard’s expression contorted--his eyebrows furrowing in anger.

He grabbed the young man by the back of the neck, lifting him up from the ground.

"Hey!" The Hunter struggled to get free, pulling at the guard’s fingers with no luck.

"What did you say to me? What makes you think you have any authority to talk back in such a tone?" The guard’s tone was low and menacing.

Immediately, the Hunter felt chills crawl up his spine. He stopped struggling, gulping before whispering: "I-Im sorr--"

He was cut off--the guard kneeling down and slamming the boy into the ground face first.

A loud crunching noise punished everyone’s ears as people winced and looked away with discomfort.

The boy instantly stopped responding--either dead or completely unconscious.

The guard threw his body to the side like a ragdoll--the Hunter skidding to a stop.

The guard stood up, a smile on his face now: "Anyone else wish to speak up against my rules?" He grinned.

With resounding silence coming from the crowd, the guard resumed his work.

The merchant in front of Sin was let in with a simple nod and a smile--no fee nor identity needed.

Finally, it was Sin’s turn.

He handed the guard his Hunter ID, musing with slight concern: ’It’s going to be a hassle if he doesn’t let me in.’ He tsked inwardly.

The guard scanned Sin’s ID with a disdainful look already on his face.

’Get a load of this guy...’ Sin thought, already dreading.

"Checks out..." The guard said, looking back at Sin before smiling, "That will be 10 Gold Coins."

Sin’s left brow immediately raised as if to say: ’What the hell did you just say?’

Before he could say a word though, a loud and growing commotion toward the back of the line caught his attention.

The guard also seemed to get distracted, glancing behind Sin.

Sin turned to look and saw that everyone in the line behind him also had their heads turned--looking at something behind them all.

Finally, Sin saw a massive horse galloping full speed toward the auction house. He was even more confused than before, his left brow raising another centimeter.

The horse was twice the size of a normal one. It was fully white and donned in thick shoulder pads along with a saddle that was encased in red and gold armor.

Sin observed as everyone in the line made way for the horse, moving aside.

More and more murmurs sounded in the crowd, this time so loud that even Sin could hear them:

"He’s coming!?"

"He hasn’t joined one of these in a while..."

"Well, there goes my luck."

"Tsk! Of course he had to come."

"Don’t say stuff like that! He might be able to hear you even right now."

"You’re right... that Prince is no joke."

Sin’s left eyebrow raised another half-centimeter. It couldn’t raise any more than that at this point, ’Are they talking about the horse? What is--’

His train of thought was interrupted.

"BEHOLD, PEASANTS," A thunderous voice boomed throughout the entire carnival from the clouds. Everyone faced the sky as if a storm was brewing. The voice was imbued with Spirit Energy, rattling everyone’s eardrums until it shuddered their hearts.

A gust of wind crashed down from the sky. The wind brushed past everyone’s face, ruining hairstyles and undoing the clothing of some unlucky folk.

"THE SUPREME DIETY HAS ARRIVED." The voice roared again with the same effect.

Finally, Sin saw a golden blur of a figure falling from the sky.

His eyes widened as he recognized the young man who was falling.

As though he was a meteor, Magnus fell from the sky and landed on his horse with a massive impact--his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

The impact was enough to shake the ground, causing everyone to lose their balance slightly.

Sin’s left eyebrow somehow managed to raise another half-centimeter, truly reaching its limit.