Marcus and Old Vine quickly settled on the auction price and completed the remaining paperwork without further delay. Once everything was finalized, Marcus left the rest of the arrangents to the auctioneer. He then reached into his inventory and took out the Mythic Artifact, the Ironwood Staff.
"Old Vine, this is the Ironwood Staff Firebrand ntioned," Marcus said, holding it out. "I was supposed to give it to them after the fight yesterday, but we had a small disagreent that got in the way."
"No, Stone," Old Vine replied imdiately, waving his hand. "I know Icefall and Firebrand’s temperants well. They’re spoiled, both of them. They must have been in the wrong. I can’t let them take sothing like this from you for free. Na a price, you absolutely have to be compensated."
His refusal was firm and sincere, his tone carrying a clear sense of generosity rather than negotiation.
"Old Vine, this Ironwood Staff was always ant for Firebrand," Marcus said calmly. "I was a bit out of line yesterday myself, so please don’t refuse."
As he spoke, Marcus pressed the Ironwood Staff directly into Old Vine’s hands, leaving no room for argunt. He knew he was partly at fault, especially for bringing up the idea of splitting the loot, sothing that had clearly struck a nerve with Icefall and Firebrand and escalated the situation.
"Old Vine," Marcus added after a brief pause, "please apologize to Icefall and Firebrand for ."
’Fine, I’ll swallow my pride,’ Marcus thought. In the long run, it was always better to have a friend than an enemy, especially when Old Vine had already waived the auction fee and would be handling his future sales. Giving Old Vine so face and offering an apology to the sisters was a small price to pay.
"Stone, are you sure about—"
"Old Vine, let’s leave it at that," Marcus said, cutting him off gently before he could finish. "I’m logging off to rest for a bit. I’ll be back before the auction starts. See you then."
Before Old Vine could protest again, Marcus logged out of the ga, leaving the staff behind.
---
"Grandpa, where is he?"
Not long after Marcus disappeared, Icefall and Firebrand returned. Firebrand imdiately craned her neck, scanning the area. When she didn’t see Marcus anywhere, she asked the question without hesitation.
"Stone?" Old Vine replied. "Oh, he logged off to rest."
"Grandpa, you didn’t even help just now," Firebrand complained, her lips puckering as she pouted. "You just stood there and watched him bully ."
Old Vine felt a headache coming on. He had seen the entire exchange clearly, and the Knight, Stone, hadn’t even said a word. When exactly had he bullied her?
"Grandpa," Firebrand continued without pause, "did you teach that Knight Stone a lesson while I was gone? Did he apologize? Do you know him? Where is he from? How dare he treat like that? I’m going to find him."
"Yes, yes, I taught him a lesson," Old Vine said quickly, rubbing his temples as the questions ca one after another. "You asked to, didn’t you? How could I not?"
"Grandpa, is he part of the Corporation?" Firebrand pressed on. "How do you know him? Who is he? Have I t him before?"
"I only t the Knight Stone yesterday," Old Vine said patiently. "He asked to auction so items for him. That’s all. We have a purely business relationship, and I don’t know anything about his personal background."
As he looked at Icefall and Firebrand standing in front of him, Old Vine felt a familiar warmth rise in his chest. No matter how troubleso they were, they were still his precious granddaughters.
"If he really knew who I was," Old Vine said, deliberately putting on a stern, authoritative expression, "would he dare offend my Firebrand? He’d have to have a death wish."
Despite the harsh words, his eyes were full of laughter.
"Hehe, Grandpa is the best," Firebrand said happily.
Just like that, she decided to let the Knight Stone off the hook. She would forgive him this once.
"My Ironwood Staff," Firebrand suddenly exclaid. "Grandpa, did the Knight Stone give it back to ?"
"Sister, look," Icefall said, surprised. "We each have one now."
Firebrand spotted the Ironwood Staff resting on the table, grabbed it at once, and jumped in place, her earlier frustration completely forgotten.
"Grandpa," Icefall asked, still frowning slightly, "did Stone really apologize?"
She found it hard to believe. Given how stubborn the Knight Stone had seed just monts ago, the idea that he would willingly apologize didn’t quite add up.
"I gave him a piece of my mind, and he didn’t say a word," Old Vine said slowly. "But he was planning to auction this Ironwood Staff. After I spoke with him, I bought it back."
"What?"
Firebrand froze.
"He didn’t apologize to ," she said, her voice trembling, "and this Ironwood Staff wasn’t even a gift?"
The grievances she had been holding in all day finally overflowed. Her vision blurred, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"You jerk," Firebrand shouted. "You big anie!"
She slamd the Ironwood Staff onto the floor with a sharp clang, the sound echoing through the room.
"Grandpa, where is he?" she cried. "I’m going to find him."
Even Icefall, who was usually calm and restrained, couldn’t suppress the chill in her expression. The Knight Stone had gone too far. A deep sense of disappointnt settled in her chest, heavy and uncomfortable.
Did he really dislike them that much?
Was he truly so petty and calculating, so lacking in basic courtesy, that he would argue over sothing like this with a girl over nothing more than playful teasing?
Watching the expressions on Icefall and Firebrand’s faces, Old Vine felt a faint pang of guilt. He knew he had upset them, and he knew his actions were sowhat underhanded. Still, he didn’t regret it.
He was doing this for their own good.
The Knight Stone might be a big figure inside the ga. He was not only the top expert, but also the first person to unlock the Guild System. The Guild Creation Token he was auctioning could easily sell for over fifty million gold coins, which translated to five million dollars in the real world. He was earning money effortlessly.
But no matter how impressive that sounded, this was still just a ga, not reality.
Based on the Knight Stone’s in ga choices, Old Vine had already ford a clear picture of the man behind the screen.
Stone had obtained the first Guild Creation Token, yet he chose not to build his own guild, not to seize the opportunity to rise, not to establish power or influence. That alone showed a lack of ambition, drive, and the will to shape his own future. This was not the kind of man Old Vine respected.
A man without ambition could never achieve greatness. A man who could not lead or command others could never be truly successful.
The fact that Stone was willing to auction off the Guild Creation Token only reinforced this view. He was overly concerned with that amount of gold, which ant that in the real world, Stone was likely an ordinary person. No background, no family connections, no wealth, no power.
Such a man was not qualified to stand beside his family.
Old Vine had countless talented individuals working under him in reality, people who surpassed the Knight Stone in every conceivable way. Stone did not et any of his standards, and was not even worth a second glance.
If not for their chance encounter in the ga and this simple business transaction, there would have been no connection between them at all. Stone would never have had the opportunity to sit across from him.
Yet sohow, his two precious granddaughters were actually paying attention to the Knight Stone. Worse, they were getting upset over him.
That alone was enough to make Old Vine uneasy.
He looked at Icefall and Firebrand carefully. They were exceptional in every sense, and he was endlessly proud of them. At tis, he even wondered if anyone in the world was truly worthy of them.
Icefall stood quietly, her expression composed and unreadable, as if nothing had happened. Firebrand, on the other hand, was still muttering curses under her breath, her anger far from spent.
For so reason, Icefall’s calm worried Old Vine more.
Firebrand had been the one to openly clash with the Knight Stone, while Icefall had seed indifferent at first. But Old Vine knew the twins were connected in a way others could not understand. Their thoughts aligned more often than not, and when it ca to matters that truly mattered, their opinions were usually the sa.
If Icefall had not objected, then it ant she felt the sa way. Firebrand had simply been the one to voice it.
’No. Absolutely not.’
Old Vine’s gaze sharpened as suspicion crept in.
The two of them showed no interest in the heirs of wealthy families who regularly visited their ho. They often couldn’t even be bothered to speak to them, let alone give them a second look.
So why were they reacting so strongly to the Knight Stone?
No matter how he thought about it, Old Vine simply couldn’t understand.
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