"Our final item," the auctioneer said, his voice dropping to a dramatic whisper. "This document contains a verified map to an untapped mana crystal deposit. Estimated yield is one hundred thousand mana crystals."

Adrian stared, his hands shaking from both nervousness and anxiety. The Auction House didn’t just sell everything that they were given. They had their own diviner who could check the authenticity of the items. This meant that even if the person who was trying to sell something got scammed and didn’t know the truth, the auction house would.

This also meant something else to Adrian. His drawing and address which was just a sort of an estimated guess based on what he read, was confirmed to be real.

The crowd lost their absolute minds and Adrian watched and people jumped and began shouting.

Up on the third floor balcony rooms, two Dukes and the Emperor himself leaned forward, looking interested.

"Starting bid is one million gold coins!" the auctioneer roared.

"Five million!" a Duke screamed from his box.

"Six million!" the rival Duke countered.

They fought like dogs and in less than a minute, the final bid was made.

"Twelve million gold," a deep commanding voice echoed from the highest balcony.

The Emperor had spoken and the Dukes instantly shut their mouths. They wished they could outbid the emperor and they weren’t really scared. But the reality was that the Emperor was just much richer than them.

"Sold to His Majesty!" the auctioneer slammed his gavel.

A few minutes later a knock hit Adrian’s door and the head of the auction house walked in.

"His Majesty requests an audience with you," the royal said respectfully. "He wishes to offer an alternative payment to the twelve million gold."

Adrian smirked behind his mask. "Lead the way."

They walked up to the third floor and two massive Imperial Knights opened the door to the Emperor’s box.

The Emperor sat on a throne like chair, smiling brightly as Adrian walked in.

"Thank you for bringing this to the auction," the Emperor said. "You were smart not to claim it yourself. It would have cost you your life."

"Exactly why I sold it, Your Majesty," Adrian bowed slightly. "What is your offer?"

"I will grant you the noble title of Marquis," the Emperor said grandly. "A massive territory and a seat at my high council."

"I refuse," Adrian said instantly.

The Imperial Knights gripped their swords and the Emperor looked stunned.

"I have no interest in high nobility," Adrian said slowly. "I hate politics and I am not a fighter. I’m just a travelling adventurer who likes reading books."

Adrian pointed at the Emperor.

"Instead of the title, land or money,could you please give me unrestricted access to the Royal Library."

The Emperor frowned and slowly rubbed his chin.

"The Royal Library is highly restricted," the Emperor said slowly. "Even high nobles only get access to the first floor. The second and third floors hold the empire’s greatest magical and martial secrets."

"I gave you a hundred thousand mana crystals," Adrian countered. "I think that buys me a library card."

The Emperor chuckled. "Very well. You shall have access to all three floors, but you may not remove a single book from the premises. You must read them all inside."

"I agree," Adrian said. "In fact let us add another rule. I am not allowed to bring any blank books or papers inside the library with me. That way you know I cannot copy your secrets."

The Emperor beamed. A human brain could only memorize a few pages a day. Adrian was basically trading a fortune for nothing.

"Excellent suggestion," the Emperor laughed.

They signed a Soul Contract. It was infinitely stronger than a blood pact and it bound their very souls to the agreement. The Emperor had to let Adrian in and in return Adrian could not take books out and could not bring any books or papers inside.

Adrian took his VIP card to the cashier desk, collected his massive payout of one hundred and twenty either thousand gold coins from the crystal sales. This was after deducting the 10% tax and the amount of his bids on the books.

Adrian stuffed the bags into his dungeon and walked out the front doors of the auction house. He knew spies were following him.

He took three random turns into narrow alleyways and finally stopped in a dead end.

He linked to his dungeon and walked straight into his dungeon, disappearing from the eyes of his trackers.

He changed clothes, took off his mask, and then used the dungeon link to move his exit point a few streets away. He stepped out of the dungeon and casually walked back to his inn.

The spies were left searching an empty alley.

The next morning, Adrian walked up to the massive iron doors of the Royal Library. He showed the guards the Imperial Crest the Emperor gave him, and the guards let him in without a word.

The library had nothing but endless rows of towering bookshelves. There was just a small table with a few chairs near one of the walls.

Adrian had no plans to read anything at the moment. He walked up to the first shelf, grabbed a thick leather book and moved it into his dungeon. The dungeon instantly scanned and recorded the every atom of the item. One second later Adrian pulled the book back out and put it on the shelf.

He grabbed the next book, shoved it in, pulled it out and put it back on the shelf. He continued the repetitive task and soon, he reached the end of the shelf.

He thought it would take weeks, but it didn’t. He cleared the entire first floor in eight hours. He walked upstairs and cleared the second floor in six hours.He then walked up to the highly restricted third floor.

There was only one single bookshelf that seemed to be made of gold. He copied the entire shelf in just a few minutes.

He walked out of the Royal Library as the sun was setting. He had literally stolen centuries of imperial knowledge without breaking a single rule on his Soul Contract.