Beast Hack: Customizing Beasts and Capturing Beauties

Lucius, Luna and Loreia had teleported and arrived in front of Liora.

Liora smirked, leaning back slightly as she greeted them.

"Welcome, Master, to the grand auction of Beast Castle."

Lucius grinned, sitting on the sofa. "Let's see how the first SS-Rank beast auction of Beast Castle will go."

Luna crossed her arms, scanning the auction hall below.

"Hmph. Looks fancy enough."

Loreia glanced around the private suite. "They've spared no expense to make this feel high-class."

Liora, however, wasn't going to let the real question slide.

"But Master… why did you say that this auction would be a failure?"

Lucius only smirked. "As I said, just sit tight and watch. You'll know the answer soon enough."

Liora narrowed her eyes, slightly annoyed but still intrigued.

"Tch. You always do this. Keeping secrets until the fun part."

Luna chuckled. "That's just how Master is."

Lucius merely tilted his head. "That's because watching others realize their mistakes in real-time is far more entertaining."

The auction was about to begin.

And soon, everyone would understand why Lucius had already predicted failure.

---

The auction was about to begin as the light began to dim and the hall fell into silence.

A tall man soon stepped onto the grand stage. He was wearing quite a nice suit.

He raised his hand as his gaze swept over the audience.

"Welcome, everyone, to Beast Castle's special auction."

The crowd's entire focus was entirely on him and some of them were even surprised.

"The Director himself, Sir Varen?"

"They're really pushing this sale, huh?"

"He wouldn't be here unless this beast was truly special…"

Varen smiled slightly, enjoying the effect his presence had on the room.

"Because this beast is quite special…"

He spread his arms and smiled wide. "I will personally oversee its auction."

A spotlight suddenly illuminated the center of the auction stage, revealing a massive transparent cage.

Inside it—

A huge and tall warhorse stood. Its muscular frame was covered in dense stone-plating.

"Let me introduce you to the star of today's auction—Titanhoof."

Varen continued to describe the magnificient beast.

"Titanhoof stands at five meters tall with its entire body reinforced by hard stones."

"Titanhoof also fears nothing. It doesn't hesitate to charge through enemies even when facing overhelming odds."

He gestured toward Titanhoof's massive body. "This is truly the king of warhorses. A beast for kings."

Some nobles nodded in agreement. They were really interested in this beast.

---

Just as Varen was building the momentum, another voice from one of the VIP rooms, interrupted him.

"Hello. I am Sylvia Aurelius of the Aurelius Family."

The entire crowd turned toward the VIP section, whispering among themselves.

"Aurelius? That's one of the wealthiest families!"

"They're here too? Of course, they'd want an SS-Rank beast."

Sylvia remained calm but sharp.

"What you've said so far is great, Lord Varen… but what about its weaknesses?"

The room fell into silence.

Even from within the VIP suite, Liora, Luna, and Loreia watched with amusement.

Sylvia continued, unfazed by the attention on her.

"You are aware, aren't you? The recently viral pet shop openly listed the weaknesses of their own beasts during their auction."

Whispers quickly spread among the crowd.

The audience nodded, remembering how Luxoria Castle's first auction stunned the industry.

They did it by openly displaying weaknesses along with strengths of their own beasts.

One noble nodded, agreeing with Sylvia.

"That's true… Luxoria Castle was completely transparent."

Another muttered.

"And their beasts still sold at ridiculous prices despite that."

Varen's calm expression immediately shifted into a frowning one.

Inside the VIP suite, Luna turned toward Lucius, smirking.

"Master, is this what you meant by failure?"

Lucius, arms crossed, merely watched the scene unfold.

He didn't say any words.

Varen was about to experience firsthand why Luxoria Castle wasn't just another pet shop.

---

Varen's frown lasted only for a moment before he quickly recovered.

"Of course, we have an answer."

He gestured toward Titanhoof once again.

"Our competitor has listed the weaknesses of their beasts, but so will we."

The crowd whispered to each other in anticipation.

Some nobles nodded.

"Alright, let's see if they actually answer properly."

"Transparency is important."

Varen stepped closer to the massive cage, raising his hand toward it.

"The weaknesses of Titanhoof are actually quite simple."

Varen began explaining, his smirk never fading.

"First, because of its earth element, Titanhoof has a natural disadvantage against water."

Some nobles muttered to themselves, nodding.

"That makes sense… Earth and Water usually don't mix well."

Varen continued.

"It avoids water-based battlefields and does not fight at full potential in such environments."

He gestured again, with two fingers in his hand.

"Secondly, soft ground terrain such as swamps and quicksand can trap Titanhoof."

"They made it hard to escape or move efficiently, so remember to avoid it."

Some of the audience quickly took some notes in case of meeting Titanhoof themselves.

"So it's powerful on solid ground but weak in soft ground. That's important to know."

Varen then smirked, turning toward the audience with one on his hand.

"And lastly—Titanhoof is incredibly strong and fast. However…"

"Because of its unstoppable charge, it is quite difficult for Titanhoof to change direction midway."

The crowd nodded in understanding, some looking impressed with the explanation.

Varen turned his gaze back toward Sylvia, smirking.

"Now then, Miss Sylvia, what do you think of that?"

Sylvia leaned back slightly in her VIP seat, tapping her fingers against the armrest.

"Oh, I see. That's certainly… informative."

But the way she spoke didn't sound like praise.

It sounded like she wasn't fully convinced.

Liora narrowed her eyes, watching Sylvia's reaction carefully.

Luna, standing beside Lucius, chuckled.

"I think she noticed something."

Lucius, still leaning back with his arms crossed, simply smirked.

"Of course she did."

The real problem with the auction had yet to be revealed.

Then he turned toward Liora.

"You know the problem now, don't you?"

Liora nodded, crossing her arms.

"Yeah… I do."

Lucius chuckled.

"Good. Then go ahead. Argue with him."

Liora's smirk widened.

"Oh? You're giving me the green light?"

Lucius grinned, leaning back in his seat.

"Go ahead. Have some fun with it."

Liora laughed a bit, already preparing to speak.

"Sure. Let's see how confident he stays after I'm done."

The real auction battle was about to begin.