Asher didn’t think he’d ever seen Samantha as excited as this before, or as distraught, either. It was a curious combination of expressions on her face, and he couldn’t help but laugh as they made their way to the pick-up area.

  “One point six million shards,” she muttered for the tenth time, as if the entire rest of the world had seemed to exist. “So many shards… So many, many shards…”

  “I think you broke her,” Brian said, poking Samantha in the side and frowning when he didn’t even get a reaction out of her. “Asher, is Sam going to be okay?”

  “I think she’ll forget all about the number of shards we just spent once she finally gets her hands on the Wing element itself,” he said, chuckling at the wave of excitement that swept over her face, before her expression dropped once more as she remembered yet again what it had cost them. He knew Samantha still had hang ups around money due to her traumatic experience being indebted nearly her entire adult life, but he didn’t have a doubt in his mind that this would be worth it.

  Spending the vast majority of his massive fortune certainly stung, but the pros far outweighed the cons. Collecting large sums of shards wasn’t really an issue for him, what with how often deadly assassins came after him these days, and getting Samantha the element she’d literally dreamed of having since she was a small child was something he would have thrown every single shard in his soul toward achieving. It certainly didn’t hurt that her desired element was also extremely strong when it came to both combat and utility. With the enemies they’d be facing, having a second method of rapid travel to fall back on was a no brainer. Doubly so when they already knew for certain that there were methods of locking down his Recall skill.

  Finally, they reached the pick-up area, where they were met by a smiling man in a studded suit. Asher didn’t know if this was some form of high-end fashion, but the man’s suit had thin bands of metal rings wrapped around the arms and legs.

  [Merchant] - 3/3 elements

  “Welcome to the Grand Auction,” the man said, giving them all a polite nod and a warm smile. “I am auction master Bellod, one of the heads of the entire Grand Auction, and the one in charge of the element floor. I wanted to personally come down and thank your party for participating in the auction.”

  “Oh, of course,” Asher said, scratching the back of his head at the man’s sudden appearance. He’d known they were being treated as high-rollers from the offered room, but something about the head of the entire Grand Auction, or at least one of them, coming to personally see them felt strange. “Thanks for lending us that nice room.”

  “I’m simply glad we received a tip that patrons such as yourselves would be attending the auction today,” Bellod said with a chuckle, giving them a knowing look. “You’ve got some friends in high places for people your age. Forgive me for overstepping my bounds, but it would be wise to nurture that relationship as best you can.”

  “Trust me, I’m trying,” Asher said, nodding toward the locked display case beside Bellod. “Sorry, I don’t mean to rush things, but I’m a little worried my companion here might just pass out from stress if she doesn’t get her hands on the Wing element soon.”

  “Of course, I entirely understand,” Bellod said, smiling as he held out his hand. “The winning bid was one million, six hundred thousand shards, if you would, please.”

  With a nod, Asher held out his own hand, willing the massive number of shards to be pulled from his core. Just like when Brian had struggled to give him the shards he’d taken from the fallen royal guard academy instructors, Asher realized immediately there was some sort of hard cap on how many shards one could manifest in a single sphere. First manifesting a clean million shards into a pure violet orb, he then manifested the remaining six hundred thousand into a second orb, this one with the usual look of a ball filled with an infinite number of glistening shards.

  “Thank you very much,” Bellod said, accepting the shards and absorbing them into his body. Asher briefly wished he had Rosh by his side, if only to ask the man exactly how many shards Bellod was currently carrying on his person, but he figured bringing someone with the forbidden Shard element to the kingdom’s largest auction house was probably a bad idea.

  Sure would be funny, though.

  As soon as he had the shards, Bellod turned and did something to the display case with his back turned to them. When he turned back around, all three of them gasped as they were finally hit with the full force of the Wing element.

  This close to the element, the sensation of their bodies growing light and drifting away from anything shackling them down to the ground like responsibilities or fears grew overwhelming. Having felt such intense sensations before from his own Eternity element before absorbing it, Asher could only smile as Samantha’s mouth practically began to water, and she hesitantly held out her hands.

  “Here you are, miss,” Bellod said, his smile only growing wider as he gently deposited the element into her grasp. “I have to say, this is perhaps my favorite part of my job. Quite a number of our patrons are wealthy collectors who pick up elements with the sole purpose of displaying them to guests, but I much prefer getting to hand over elements to people who truly desire them. If I may be so bold, miss, I would recommend absorbing the element now before you leave the Grand Auction. Not that I doubt any of your abilities, but high-rollers tend to draw a target on their backs every now and again, especially when they don’t have a show of force with them, like a dedicated guard unit. In fact, manifesting your wings and keeping them out would probably be the safest thing to do when you leave. That way anyone watching for you will know that you already absorbed the element, and that it’s no longer available to be stolen.”

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  “Thank you, that’s a good idea,” Asher said, turning toward Samantha and laughing at the astonished look on her face as she stared at the element, as if she still couldn’t believe what was happening. “Well? Are you just going to look at it all day, or what?”

  Shaking her head, Samantha took a deep breath. Asher watched as the element almost seemed to open up in her hands, growing its own pair of wings that stretched out wide, enveloping her in a curtain of light before absorbing directly into her chest. Shivering, Samantha’s eyes unfocused as she read over her new skill, and a smile slowly spread over her face.

  “Winged Shield,” she muttered, turning to direct her smile at him. “It’s a passive effect. So long as I have energy, my wings can act like a solid object, and I can use them to block attacks.”

  “That is a relatively common skill for the Wing element, but that does not mean it is bad by any means,” Bellod said helpfully, nodding his approval. “In fact, it is actually one of the more sought-after ones by anyone with the element who frequently finds themselves pulled into battle. Part of your passive that allows you to manifest wings and fly will allow you to move them about like a brand-new set of limbs. For those without that skill, attacks will simply go straight through the wings as if they weren’t even there.”

  “Come on, why haven’t you done it yet?” Brian whined, frowning up at his sister. “Do the wings!”

  “I have to say I’m with Brian on this one,” Asher added, grinning at the nervous hunter as she looked to him for reassurance. “Stop stalling and do the wings!”

  “Alright, alright, I’ll do the wings!” Laughing, Samantha closed her eyes, her expression turning to one of concentration. Before Asher could try to lighten her nerves with a joke about her having indigestion, two beautiful, emerald green wings jutted out of her back, stealing his breath as they stretched out nearly eight feet in either direction when fully extended.

  “Dear God,” he muttered, staring at the glowing green feathers as he took a step closer. Other than the fact that her wings were an emerald green instead of white, Samantha looked like a literal angel, minus the halo around her head. Despite being made of magic, the wings each appeared to be filled with long, sleek feathers that looked like they were designed by evolution to allow her to shoot through the skies like a missile. “Samantha, open your eyes!”

  “Please don’t tell me they look weird!” she begged, finally cracking her eyes open, only for her mouth to drop as she stared at her wings in disbelief. “Wha… Are those mine?!”

  “Try moving them for yourself. I hear that helps people grow used to the new appendages,” Bellod offered, his warm smile only growing at the expression on Samantha’s face. Sure enough, as her wings slowly folded and unfolded at her whim, before flapping a few times and then pulling in so she could brush a hand against them, Samantha finally let out a noise that Asher couldn’t quite tell if it was a laugh or a sob.

  “They feel so warm,” she muttered as she stroked the green feathers.

  “Can I feel?” Brian asked, timidly watching her as she poked and prodded at her wings.

  “Oh! Yeah, of course!” she said, grinning as she stretched out with one of her long wings, actually wrapping it around her squealing brother and using it to pull him close. “This is amazing!”

  “And you haven’t even tried flying with them yet,” Asher pointed out, laughing at the look on her face. “Come on, let’s see it!”

  Once Brian had his fill of touching the glowing feathers, Samantha gently pushed him back using her wings, before making sure the area around her was clear. The current area of the Grand Auction they were in had a large, domed ceiling that went at least a few stories up, giving her plenty of room to stretch her literal wings. Steeling herself, Samantha extended her wings fully out, flapping them a single time.

  And jerking as she shot up into the air.

  “By the realms!” she shouted, laughing as she quickly flapped her wings again to stop herself from falling. As she hovered there, bobbing up and down in the air with a few slow flaps of her wings, she grinned down at them. “The passive comes with some sort of innate understanding of how to fly! Otherwise, I think I would have already crashed by now!”

  “Indeed it does,” Bellod called up, watching her hovering in the air. “I have to say, miss, it brings me no end of joy to witness your very first flight. Thank you for indulging me in this.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m shocked it took her as long as it did to actually absorb the element and take to the sky,” Asher admitted, smiling up at Samantha as she carefully flapped around the large room. Even with the supposed innate understanding of how to fly, he had to admit that at the moment she looked like a drunken bird struggling to keep airborne.

  “Even if you aren’t planning on making any large bids in the future, having successfully won an auction that reached higher than a million shards, I’m pleased to inform you that the Brian party has earned a permanent spot in one of our luxury rooms,” Bellod said, giving him a respectful nod. “All you need to do is give your name to one of our employees upon arrival, and they will lead you to one that is available.”

  “I’d say that’s very kind of you, but I have a feeling that’s just a rather clever ploy to try and bring us back and drain us of the rest of our shards,” Asher said, chuckling at the man’s honest shrug.

  “There is no reason why it can’t be both a kind and a smart gesture on our end,” Bellod said, turning to gaze up at Samantha once again. Though his smile flickered and he winced as she tried to pick up speed and barely stopped herself from slamming headfirst into the domed roof.

  “...I will say, as much as I’ve enjoyed this and hope you’ll return in the near future, it might be wise for you to bring her somewhere more open where she can practice before she damages either herself or the auction house. Or both.”

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