Sacrificial Thievery

[ It's either I steal my original body before it accepted the title of [Gatemaker] or I find some Blessing that can obscure the sight of these Diviners and Seers. Otherwise, there will surely be issues when I go to Archaeon University... ] Magnus muttered from within the Hivemind.

Over the course of a few hours, he had been hounded by a team of 3-star and 2-star beings. Every time he appeared, they would come knocking on his door in just a few minutes. They were like wolves hungering for flesh.

Thus, he simply decided to stay inside the Hivemind, and not bother with leaving until he found a reliable solution.

His pursuers had taken the weeks of downtime since the Hellia Park incident to prepare well it seemed.

They had not started the chase instantly but instead bided their time.

It was admirable of them.

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"Gah!" An exclamation of frustration was birthed from one burly man's gritted teeth. "How can he still disappear despite space being locked? Are you sure you have an anti-teleportation Blessing?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's not purely anti-teleportation. Rabid Field Sorcery is a Blessing that takes control of the battlefield. Though, the Molecular Text spell I created should have the effect of restraining any form of space warping techniques. It should have worked as intended. I don't know what went wrong!" A short young woman replied.

"Tsk," The burly man clicked his tongue. "Then figure it out! Where is the [Gatemaker] now?"

The lanky man standing beside him sighed. "I can't locate him now. I don't have enough Spirit Energy and replenishing supplies to continue. Let's rest up and think of another way to catch him."

Thus, the little pursuit they had of the [Gatekeeper] had to be put on hold. Just when Magnus was hiding as well.

If Magnus knew that his pursuers were resting when he was hiding, he would display a wry smile.

'If only I had more information,' He would say.

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While Magnus experienced the thrill of the chase, Klaris had enjoyed his time watching an auction and memorising the many exotic items put on display.

"It's about time I take what I want," Klaris smiled from among the amphitheatre's seats.

It was currently a time of rest for both the auctioneer and the people attending the auction. A short fifteen-minute break before the final part of the auction.

Klaris stood up from his seat, still cloaked and masked, and headed to the comfort room.

Standing before the toilet, he softly chanted.

"I am the thief of mirrored creation,

The cloned child,

The descendant of greens,

And the walker of reflections."

Instantly, the world warped before Klaris' eyes. He found himself sitting beside a Mirror World version of himself, watching the same auction he had seen earlier.

"And here we have our next item..." The young female auctioneer's voice trailed as a mysterious box was put on display.

A red cloth was covering this box, and with a swift tug, it was taken off.

"—The Phantom Rose! One of the ethereal flowers from the continent of Pilaksies! A rare 4-star material!"

There it was, the material he was looking for.

Klaris' eyes shone as he eyed the security guards scattered throughout the area.

'They're set up in a way that any prospective thieves would have no way out even if they are able to take the items on the auction into their hands.' He analysed.

It was a good setup for him.

After all, he had no need to 'escape.' All he needed to do was grab hold of the item and then it would be his.

He was unlike the thieves of the norm.

Still though,

'Is that lady... a 4-star threat?' The auctioneer herself was giving him threatening vibes.

Klaris wasn't sure, but from Magnus' information gathering over the weeks, he felt that the young lady was indeed familiar.

He just couldn't place his finger on it.

Either way, Klaris had to be cautious. Any wrong move and he could perish. Although he had a spare body, it would still be an inconvenience to suddenly die again.

His previous body had been collected by the faction behind the black market. They were going to investigate his sudden death.

After all, he died inside the black market: It was something unforgivable in their eyes. No one was allowed to murder another on their grounds.

If Klaris truly died due to murderous intent, it would be a slap on this faction's face. They would lose the credibility they once had for creating the perfect environment for shady transactions.

Shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts, Klaris put his attention back on the task at hand.

"The starting price is 20 thousand dollars." The auctioneer said, her hands clasped together in a respectful manner.

"You may bid, at minimum, one thousand dollars each time." She glanced at the cloaked individuals before her, as well as at the VIP booths far above her head.

"Let the bidding..." She raised a hand,

"Begin!"

Klaris smiled.

The plan was awfully simple.

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"34 thousand."

"35 thousand.

"36 thousand."

"Oh! 40 thousand coming from number 262!"

"45 thousand from Booth 3!"

"50 thousand!"

"55 thousand!"

"Oh my! 100 thousand from number 111!"

"150 thousand from number 262!! Who else is bidding?"

The auctioneer was slightly winded after calling out so many numbers, but she was taking things in stride.

Number 262 was Klaris, bidding far beyond his financial capacity. At least, it was the Mirror World version of Klaris.

Since they were seated beside each other, the original Klaris had struck up a conversation with himself from the Mirror World.

Naturally realising the abilities of his own Blessing, he accepted the plan to bid crazily for the Phantom Rose.

"Alright," Was all he had answered. "Consider the rose ours."

"For the Hivemind," Klaris (Original) whispered.

"For the Hivemind," Klaris (Mirror World) answered back with a nod.

Thus,

"150 thousand," The auctioneer announced once more, "Going once—"

Klaris was thinking that he had the item in his hands already, but there was still someone fighting against him.

"160 thousand from Booth 4!"

He couldn't help but grin.

"200 thousand!" He inputted another bid through the buttons on his seat.

The crowd stirred.

That much for a 4-star material? That was four years of a 4-star threat's annual pay! It was too much in their eyes.

"200 thousand going once! Going twice!" The auctioneer breathed heavily. Her cheeks were rosy and pleasantly surprised that someone was willing to spend this much for a single rose.

"And... Sold to number 262! You may approach us once the auction is over to claim your item and hand in your payment. Or, you may do so now. A clerk of ours will approach you if you simply press the bright blue button on your seat."

Ding~!

"Ah," The auctioneer smiled, "Excited, are we? Very well."

She then called a few people over as someone approached Klaris (Mirror World). Klaris followed after him.

The duo was then led towards a small room where only a single table was placed at the centre of it.

"Here is the Phantom Rose you have won," The clerk said respectfully.

He then reached out his hand as if waiting for something.

Klaris (Mirror World) nodded and tossed him a 2-star Storage Scroll.

Seeing this, the clerk's smile grew as Klaris stepped forward and asked, "May we inspect the goods?"

"Yes, you may." The clerk bowed before reaching his hand into the Storage Scroll.

Klaris (Original) dashed forward at this moment.

Bang!

He reached out but soon discovered that a transparent box was placed around the Phantom Rose.

"What?" He furrowed his brows as he tugged. The transparent box was stuck to the table, moving with the table itself.

"Hmm," A cold voice suddenly rang out from behind him, "It seems like you don't have enough in here."

The clerk turned around with half a smile, gazing at the flustered Klaris.

"Trying to scam us, eh?" The clerk scoffed. "GUARDS!"

The sound of a special gun being fired rang out.

Zzzzzt! Bang!

Klaris discovered that his Mirror World equivalent had stood in front of him. Blood suddenly welled from a wound, new and deep.

Crimson stained his clothes.

"Shit!" Klaris cursed as he watched himself nearly collapse from the weird gunshot.

Desperately, he grabbed the entire table and lifted it up.

He then began his chant.

"I am the thief of mirrored creation,"

The clerk noticed his lips moving rapidly and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

"Guards! Swiftly!" The clerk commanded as he took aim once more.

Zzzzzt! Bang!

He aimed for the head, but Klaris (Mirror World) was still there to block the bullet.

Blood bloomed into the air like a red lily.

The Klaris from the Mirror World was now dead.

"The cloned child, the descendant of greens,"

The words sprouted from Klaris' lips at a hurried pace. Blood had found itself staining his own garments.

He had sacrificed his own body. A part of him felt weirdly warm in his heart. It was a warmth that one would get from having comrades who would never leave you behind.

But at the same time, he knew himself.

He was a person who didn't want to die.

If not for the Hivemind and this special state of being in the Mirror World, his bravery would be at rock bottom.

"STOP HIM!" The clerk roared, shooting another bullet.

"And the walker of reflections." But Klaris had completed his chant.

And with that, he was gone.

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In a restroom stall.

The black market.

Klaris was grinning from ear to ear.

"Success!"

Well...

"Half a success..."

He was currently holding a table in his hands, barely fitting inside the already spacious restroom stall. The Phantom Rose was still stuck inside the transparent box.

He had to figure out how to relieve the table of the rose.

He thought for a moment as he went through the abilities available to the Hivemind.

He also had Rie search up the exact details of the Phantom Rose.

With a nod, Klaris received all the important information he requested from Magnus.

Magnus himself even appeared beside him in a flash of light.

Magnus activated his ethereality as he grasped the Half-Night Tome in one hand and reached out with the other.

He held the Phantom Rose with his equally ghostly form and pulled it out.

The Phantom Rose followed his fingers and phased through the transparent box as if it was nothing.

"Perfect." Klaris and Magnus said at the same time.

They glanced at each other with a satisfied expression.