The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 248: Ratri’s Edge

"Cus! I’m back—guess who I brought with me!" Elinor burst into the VIP box, completely forgetting her actual duty—keeping an eye on Ace.

Janice, Sonia, and Lola turned toward the entrance just as Ace, Delores, and Evil Eyes stepped inside. Hiding any concern behind a casual front, Janice smirked and said, "You guys made it. So, how was the haul? How much did I make?"

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on freёwebnoѵel.com.

Ace squinted at her, debating whether to say something, but ultimately let it go—only for Sonia to chime in snarkily, "Ace, you’re alive. Good. I’d have gone crazy if you died an easy death."

Ace smirked and strolled toward her, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Just admit you’re into me. Don’t worry—I’ll let you down easy," he teased her, riling her up.

"Fucker, you wanna die?" Sonia snapped, shooting to her feet as her teeth and nails grew sharper with her rising temper.

Ace grinned, completely unfazed. "I love you too—but strictly as a colleague," he said, purposefully taking the empty seat next to her, as if daring her to make a move.

Sensing an imminent brawl, Elinor hurriedly stepped between them, throwing up her hands. "Hey, hey! No fighting in C.I.B. headquarters. If you guys wanna let off some steam, we can hit the ring in the bureau gym. But if you’re really looking to throw down, there’s a nice, wide back alley just waiting for you two to go all out."

Delores shook her head in exasperation, watching the chaos unfold. How did she even get recruited by the C.I.B.? It had to be her family’s influence—there was no way any rational recruiter would willingly bring a troublemaker like Elinor into a secret government agency.

She sighed, wondering how this so-called niece of hers would even survive in life, forget having a successful career.

"Well, which is it?" Elinor pressed, tilting her head at Sonia.

Sonia flinched, suddenly regretting her outburst. Are all C.I.B. agents this unhinged? she wondered. Not wanting to get into trouble on her first day inside the local C.I.B. headquarters, she huffed and sank back into her seat.

Ace, unfazed, turned to Elinor asking, "Did they auction off the sky-tier innate curse tools yet?"

Before Elinor could respond, Janice cut in, answering him, "No, not yet. But you made it just in time. They’re up next. It’s gonna be intense—all three have good abilities."

"Good," Ace said with a smirk. "Which one do you like? Since I’m buying you one, I might as well get the one you prefer."

Janice raised a brow, momentarily puzzled, until Delores leaned in and whispered the whole story in her ear, helping her catch up.

Entering the box, Delores immediately took her post behind Janice, while Evil Eyes stood watch by the exit. Unlike Elinor, neither of them had forgotten their role as Janice’s security detail.

"You took down three sky-tier curse masters?" Janice asked, turning to Ace in astonishment.

He simply nodded. This caused Elinor to widen her eyes wondering if the teenager in front of her was like Evil Eyes. That would explain a lot, especially EAD Matthews and Delores’s attitude toward him.

Processing the sheer weight of what he had done, Janice exhaled and waved a hand dismissively saying, "You don’t have to pay for the Leprechaun Scope. Let’s just call it even with half of your loot. But on one condition—you let me study that rifle-shaped curse tool of yours."

She wasn’t expecting Ace’s haul to be this massive. Sure, she had seen him snipe a sky-tier curse master, but knowing that most of the S.S.S. core members were at the scene, she figured he’d be lucky to make it out in one piece. Yet here he was, not only alive but walking away with two sky-tier innate curse tools.

A single one of those tools was worth her troubles—and definitely worth a hundred of those scopes.

Ace, caught off guard by her offer, shook his head, rejecting it outright. "No. The Leprechaun Scope is worth it. Don’t make this awkward. Just pick one. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with whatever I choose—don’t come complaining to me later."

Janice raised a brow as she eyed him suspiciously before asking him, "Did you suddenly come into money? A good sky-tier innate curse tool can go for a few hundred million dollars."

"Don’t worry about that. Just name your picks," Ace assured her, his confidence unwavering.

Sonia and Lola exchanged confused glances, unable to figure out where his boldness was coming from. Elinor, on the other hand, just assumed Ace was some ancient senior who had amassed wealth over centuries. Meanwhile, Delores and Evil Eyes barely blinked—they already knew the boy was loaded.

Janice sighed, leaning back no longer bothering to figure out if Ace was kidding or being serious, "Any one of those three will do. They’re all solid."

Before Ace could respond, Lola hesitantly spoke up, pointing at the crystal orb beside Janice. "Um… guys, they’ve started auctioning the sky-tier innate curse tools. Should I turn off the noise isolator?"

Thanks to the curse array formation covering the box, they had been able to talk freely without disrupting the auction—or being disturbed by it.

"Yes, go ahead, sweetie," Janice nodded.

As soon as Lola adjusted the array, the hum of the auction filled the room, just in time for Ace to hear the beautiful auctioneer announce, "...making Ratri’s Edge a one-of-a-kind and a must-have for collectors. Now, let’s begin the bidding. The minimum bid increment is one million dollars. Do I hear fifty million?"

Ace’s gaze shifted to the stage, where an ornamental dagger rested in the spotlight before he asked Janice, "How do I place a bid?"

By the time she finished explaining how he could use the crystal orb to submit his bid, Ratri’s Edge had already climbed to 76 million dollars.

Without hesitation, Ace placed his palm on the crystal orb and mentally fed it his bid, "152 million dollars."

The entire auction hall fell silent. Even the auctioneer froze, realizing that a serious high-roller had just entered the fray, fast-forwarding the bidding wars.