Chapter 203: Chapter 203: The Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association
After hearing the details of the situation, a warm feeling rose in Charles's heart. Even though Ezra hadn't said much when he returned.
The combination of the Mysterious Fragment and the warning to the Taylor and Robinson families was enough to show how much he cared for Charles.
Now, it seemed that no one in Genosha Calivia would dare to provoke Charles without reason.
"Hale, do you have any suggestions regarding the Robinson family?" Charles asked, passing the matter over to Hale. After all, Hale used to be part of the Robinson family, and he might still have some feelings for them.
To Charles's surprise, Hale responded directly, "The Robinson family is the Robinson family, and I am me. Charles, you don't need to worry about my feelings. However, I still suggest you set a time to have a good talk with the Robinson family. If they want to apologize, they must show sincerity and will likely offer some valuable things."
Hale was also considering Charles's situation. He knew that Charles was about to reach the fourth level as a Beast Master, and that would require a good amount of money for contracting mystical beasts. This was just the right opportunity.
Charles nodded and replied, "Alright, I'll see when I have time. For now, I need to focus on breaking through to the fourth level of Beast Master in the next few days."
"By the way, there's one more thing I just found out: the exchange competition of the three academies is going to be held earlier." Hale said.
He briefly explained the general situation.
The tension at the border between Genosha and Kingston was increasing, with other countries stepping in to mediate the situation. However, neither Genosha nor Kingston was willing to back down or suffer losses.
They had no choice but to agree to hold a battle between talented Beast Masters to negotiate based on the outcome.
Therefore, the exchange competition of the three academies was moved up, scheduled for a month from now.
"A month from now?" Charles thought about the timeline. By the time he broke through to the fourth level as a Beast Master, a month should be enough for him to contract his fourth mystical beast and raise its level to a decent standard.
However, a month was still a bit short, he needed to speed up the creation of his combat techniques and the fusion of multiple elemental energies.
"Charles, my suggestion is that you should try to participate. When you face off against the talents from Kingston, you will likely encounter competitors for the Cyber Academy's main campus slot." Hale advised.
Charles nodded, agreeing with Hale's perspective. Moreover, gaining exposure to the talents from other countries would be beneficial.
After Catherine left, there had been no new students in the Cyber Academy who could keep up with Charles, which was not advantageous for his Beast Master training.
Competition brings pressure, and that is what accelerates improvement.
"Additionally, the top few in the exchange competition of the three academies will have the opportunity to enter a special secret realm in Genosha, where they can expedite their Beast Mastery training. It's a precious opportunity." Hale added another piece of news.
Charles's eyes lit up at this. A secret realm that could speed up Beast Master training?
This was extremely important to him, and now he had to participate in the exchange competition and the subsequent battles.
With only a few days left until Colton returned, Charles found that he no longer needed to study alchemy at night, making his schedule even tighter.
"The Calivia auction is starting in three days. I wonder if I have enough money to buy a suitable mystical beast egg. Should I refine some revival pills to make some extra gold?"
Charles pondered. He didn't want to find himself in the same situation as before, where after reaching the third level as a Beast Master, he couldn't find a suitable mystical beast.
However, that would delay his training progress. If only Colton could give him that diamond-quality mystical beast egg ahead of time.
Thinking about this, Charles shook his head. There was still a long time before the agreement with Colton was to begin, and he hadn't fulfilled his part yet. How could Colton hand him a diamond-quality mystical beast egg?
"I guess I should sleep less in the next few days and refine some miracle drugs to earn a bit more gold." Charles said to himself.
After returning to his dormitory, he didn't rest but began the process of refining revival pills.
Time passed quickly, and on the day the auction was set to begin, Charles successfully reached the fourth level as a Beast Master. No one knew this news,
The gold coins in Charles's possession had reached one hundred and fifty!
This includes the gold earned from refining revival pills over the past two days, as well as the fifty coins awarded by Genosha before.
One hundred and fifty gold coins—some of the smaller families in Calivia would have to liquidate all their assets to gather this much!
With dark circles under his eyes, Charles took out his phone to check his balance and said uncertainly, "I wonder if there's an emerald-quality mystical beast egg. This money should be enough, right?"
Charles sighed. Human desire never diminishes. He now only wanted to contract an emerald-quality or diamond-quality mystical beast, he had already lost interest in silver or gold quality.
After thinking for a moment, he realized that he had been so busy with his Beast Mastery training and refining pills that he hadn't seen Celestine much lately.
Charles pulled out his phone and arranged a time to meet Celestine at the location of the Calivia auction.
This auction was the annual event in GenoshaCalivia, hosted by the renowned Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association, which was well-known throughout the Abyssal Depths.
It was a coalition of major forces from seven different countries.
The auction would take place over three days, with the items becoming more valuable as the event progressed.
Charles didn't know much about this auction, most of his information came from online searches, and there was very little available. Clearly, this was an event that only the upper echelons of Genosha's elite could know about and attend.
Before long, Charles arrived at the most bustling commercial area of Genosha.
A towering building stood before him, with the words "Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association" prominently displayed on a sign. At the entrance, a stone statue carved from rare materials exuded an imposing presence, almost appearing alive at first glance.
After waiting for a moment, Celestine's figure appeared in front of him.
"Charles!" As soon as she got out of the car, Celestine eagerly waved her arms to greet Charles.
She knew that Charles had been very busy lately, so she had refrained from disturbing him.
However, during the quiet of the night, she often found herself thinking about him.
So, as she jogged over to Charles, Celestine once again unhesitatingly linked her arm with his, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Alright, let's go inside. I heard online that you need to register as a member to participate in the auction." Charles led Celestine into the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association.
As soon as they entered, a receptionist dressed in black stockings respectfully called out, "Welcome to the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association. How may I assist you?"
"Hello, I'd like to participate in this year's auction. Is there anything I need to do?" Charles replied calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall began to buzz with conversation.
"Annual auction? This young man doesn't look like he comes from money. He can't possibly belong to any major family, people from big families don't come here to handle procedures."
"He's probably just an inexperienced kid who thinks he's important because he has a few gold coins."
"That's true. He looks like he's only eighteen or nineteen. How much money could he possibly have?"
"However, he does look somewhat familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
At this moment, in the hall of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association, many people were busy with other matters. Upon seeing the young Charles and Celestine, they began to whisper among themselves.
Some staff members found Charles somewhat familiar, but before they could pinpoint who he was, a mature female staff member wearing a name tag quickly jogged over.
"Hello, I am Yana, the hall manager of the Genosha branch of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association. It's a pleasure to serve you." Yana said, swaying her ample bosom as she extended her hand toward Charles.
Charles had not reacted much yet, but Celestine was feeling a bit jealous. She glanced at Yana's chest, then looked down at her own.
Unconsciously, she tightened her grip around Charles's arm.
Charles showed no change in expression and said, "Hello, I would like to process my participation in the annual auction."
"Sure, Mr. Charles, please follow me." Yana replied with a gentle smile.
Charles looked at her a bit longer, he hadn't introduced himself, yet this manager already knew his name, clearly having heard of him before.
Meanwhile, the others in the hall were starting to react, chatting among themselves:
"I remember now! He is Charles! The apprentice of the Level 8 Beast Master and also the apprentice of a Master-level Alchemist!"
"So it's him! I thought it couldn't be someone from a major family, they wouldn't need to come here to handle procedures."
"Damn, I hesitated for a moment, thinking this guy was just an ordinary Beast Master, and now Yana has stolen my client!"
"Don't feel bad, maybe this Charles doesn't have much money after all. Just because he's the apprentice of a Level 8 Beast Master and a Master-level Alchemist doesn't mean he's rich."
"That's true!"
As Yana led the way, she listened to the laughter and discussions of those around her, and her smile grew even brighter.
Could Charles really be short on money?
She didn't think so. She had seen clearly that while Charles dressed simply and modestly, the items he wore were anything but ordinary.
Even a single jet ring was worth a pretty penny, not to mention the necklace he wore at his chest—she couldn't even tell what quality it was!
These people talking really had no sense of perception at all!
Yana brought Charles and Celestine to a private room and turned to ask, "Mr. Charles, according to the rules of the Seven Kingdoms Chamber of Commerce, the annual auction is held in three sessions, each with different participation requirements."
"I was wondering which session you would like to participate in?" Yana continued to ask.