Arpious of the Planes

"OKAY! Wait! Don't get out of your seats just yet because we have a surprise to show all of you, and I will say the starting price as it comes out!" Lan shouts while shifting his eyes to a slave trader near the edge of the stairs.

"Oh, it's the guy who captured me," I say out loud, and in response, all of the maids, butlers, and knights began to glare at me.

"Quiet," The queen orders.

"Forgive me, my lady," I respond.

The queen doesn't respond and pays attention to the cart currently being carried to the top of the stage.

"We have one last item that I bet you all will shout in excitement with. A few of these have only been recorded in the history of this plane! It grants you a special ability that you can't get from anywhere else! It's said that emperors had to fight with the great spirits to hold these within the palms of their hands!

And with a starting price of 5000 Diamond Coins! I present to you! A NETHER STONE!" Lan shouts, causing everybody in the room to burst into chatter.

Huh? Isn't that mine… wait, no, it has a tad bit of red in it, so that's definitely not my Nether Stone…

[Item - Nether Stone]

[A stone created by a large concentration of cursed energy and when fully formed, it can grant beings powers necessary to become great spirits]

"My lady, investing in this Nether Stone can increase your power by leaps and bounds," I speak up.

"Didn't I tell you to stay quiet?" The queen asks, turning around with ice-cold eyes.

"*sigh*... Do as you please," I respond while redirecting my eyes to the Nether Stone, which almost seemed to call my name.

I wanted it. I wanted this Nether Stone for some reason. It might've been a voice in my head. It might've been an instinct. But one thing that I do know… is that every fiber in my being calls out to this Nether Stone.

"My lady, are you going to buy this stone?" I ask the queen who sat on her grand throne while I stood to the back and slightly to the right.

Bridget was on the left, and her strange changed demeanor from before had disappeared, and I could only guess that was an effect of the collar.

Right now, she seemed pretty calm as she probably got something similar to what her original plan was based on.

"I told you to stay quiet, or do you need a punishment?" The queen asks me without even turning her head.

"Forgive me, but may you answer my question?" I ask the queen once more.

The room went silent, and gazes filled with anger penetrated my body.

"Your highness! I have had enough of this slaves' insolence! Buying her was a mistake, and I suggest we get rid of her and demand a refund!" A knight from the corner of the room burst out after being fed up with me.

And it seems everybody else wanted to join in but was waiting for the queen's response to make sure they are safe when trying to get rid of me.

"Calm down, Gill; once we get back, I'll be sure to give her a punishment, but how about some entertainment as this bidding will go on for quite a while…." The queen says, eyeing the knight with a slight sadistic smile.

"That's the first time I've seen you smile… but did you have to make it so creepy?" I respond.

"Oh, that's right, I don't even know your name, or do you not have a name?" The queen asks me, ignoring my previous statement.

"Arpious… My name is Arpious, and I have no last name,"

"Arpious… an interesting name. Then Arpious, you will be fighting Gill here, and if you win, I'll buy the Nether Stone, but if you lose, then I'll be abandoning you, and I won't be buying the Nether Stone? This is your chance to prove your strength,"

"Can I use skills against him?"

"No. You said you could beat me without skills, so you should be able to beat him easily," The queen says with her usual cold expression.

"Can I use a weapon then?"

"Hmmm… Are you proficient with a weapon, or are you saying that to get a slight advantage as you've seen his greatsword?"

"I am proficient with the scythe,"

"A scythe? Well, do we have any scythes laying about?" The queen asks everybody present, but of course, everybody shook their heads side to side.

Even if there were a scythe, none of them would've given me an advantage anyway as they obviously dislike me.

"Then you'll have to fight with your bare fists as if I create an abyssal scythe for you; you'd easily just cut straight through Gill's pitiful metal greatsword,"

"Well, whatever… It's not like I need one to beat this small fry anyway," I mutter before cracking a few of my joints.

I took a peek at Gill, who was the knight I was about to face off against right in the middle of the room, which wasn't that big, but enough to move around.

Veins were bulging from his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot. I could even still see it as he pulled down the face shield on his metal helmet.

"How cool. You look like a real badass with that full set of armor," I say as I jump up and down a few times to warm up before taking a relaxed fighting stance.

"You two will start on the count of three," The queen says.

We both nodded our heads, and the queen counted up from one.

"1… 2… 3!" The queen shouts, signaling the start of the match.

But it didn't last long as Gill charged towards me with his greatsword raised above his head.

But in just a split second, I jumped up and kneed him in the nose, creating a crunching sound that caused most maids and butlers to gag in disgust.

BAM

His heavy body fell backward, and all you could see was his caved-in face with shards of metal stuck in it.

"My lady, I have disposed of this small fry, so I request for you to keep your word," I say, bowing deeply.

This is pretty fun. Playing a loyal subject while serving a beautiful woman isn't that bad.

"Maids and Butlers, clean it up, and Arpious, Good job. I knew you weren't lying," The queen says before turning back around and putting in a bid for the Nether Stone.

"Thank you very much, my Lady,"

It seems only using half of my stats was enough to break his face. If I ended up using all of it, we would've had an explosion of red pulpy mush.

Tup Tup Tup

My cold eyes regained their color as I moved right back to my original spot behind the queen's throne, with Bridget looking at me in shock.

I even felt a hint of fear from her as she took slight glances at me.

"*yawn* I'm tired… Do I get my own room?" I ask the queen who sat in front of me.

"You both will be sleeping in my room," The queen responds.

"Oh, it seems she wants us both. I won't judge your taste, and I won't mind spending the night with you," I tease the queen but get absolutely no reaction besides,

"Quiet,"

Uh, could've at least made that a flustered "quiet" or something.

…

About half an hour passed, and people were beginning to challenge the queen's bids as if they obtained a special skill from this stone, they wouldn't have to submit to her anymore.

"Your highness, would you like us to kill all of the people present?" A knight came up to the queen and asked.

"No, some of them here are nobles… but it's not like they can challenge a Dulan Coin,"

The queen stood up from her chair and walked right up to the one-way window before declaring something that I had never heard of before.

"I will bid one Dulan Coin!"

Everybody in the theatre went silent, and it took me a few seconds to realize that they went silent due to defeat.

Even Lan was shocked by the queen's announcement, while I had no idea what that was.

"Y-your highness… Isn't that kind of unfair to everybody here?" Lan asks.

"And what if it is?" The queen responds with glowing purple eyes.

Lan takes a few steps back in shock before sighing and announcing the bidding once more.

"1 Dulan Coin going once! Going twice! And-"

"2 Dulan Coins," A voice interrupts Lan, causing an uproar in the theatre.

Looking to the right side of the theatre, I saw an extremely well-built man with flowing fire-red hair, fire red eyebrows, and fire red eyes, which were filled with excitement.

He was about 6'5 in height, causing him to tower over everybody in the seating arrangements, but his presence was almost unnoticeable by me.

『Status』

[Name: Groar]

[Race: Human]

[Status: Excited]

[Level: 291]

[HP: 500/500  MP: 500/500  SP: 300/300]

[Strength: 200]

[Defense: 200]

[Magic: 100]

[Speed: 100]

[Luck: 1]

[Charisma: 50]

[Skills: [Grand Fire Magic] [Grand Lava Magic] [Greater Body Enhancement] [Greater Enhanced Senses] [Greater Enhanced Regeneration] [Contortion] [Concentration] [Tangible Bloodlust] [Destructive Earth Shattering Strike] [Grand Sword Enhancement] [Grand Sword Coating: Fire] [Grand Destroying Sword Swing] [Grand Enhanced Sword Stab] [Grand Fire Enhanced Sword Stab] [Grand Lava Enhanced Sword Stab] [Summon: Army of Magmalings]

[Body Modification: [The Tattoo of Hercules]

[Soul Equipment: [Hercules Nemean Lion Slaying Club]

[Titles: [Hard Worker] [Blessed by the Overlord Spirit of Fire] [One with the Flames] [Leader] [King]

…

"GROAR! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!" The queen shouts with anger.