The Villain Professor's Second Chance

Her gaze, however, was drawn toward the treasures carefully arranged on elevated platforms throughout the hall. These were no ordinary items. Each one was a magical artifact or rare item from the Drakhan vaults, each holding a value beyond imagination. The platformed displays were set in a strategic yet aesthetically pleasing manner, making the entire hall feel like a gallery of power and mystique.

And Liora, the mastermind behind this auction, could hardly contain her excitement.

With a soft hum of satisfaction, she stepped toward the newly opened vault, the heavy stone doors revealing the priceless contents within. Her eyes sparkled as she moved closer, her fingers tingling with anticipation. Before her, piles of artifacts, enchanted weapons, and ancient relics sat waiting to be auctioned off, their auras almost vibrating with untapped power.

Liora couldn't help herself. She reached out and gently ran her fingertips along the smooth, cold surface of a glowing mana crystal. Its faint hum of energy sent a thrill through her. A laugh bubbled up in her throat as she touched it, almost giddy. She bent forward and pressed her cheek to the side of an ancient runic tome, her skin tingling as the dormant magic within reacted to her touch.

"Ohhh," she sighed, a strange glint in her eyes as she rubbed her cheek against the tome, feeling the age and power in its pages. "So beautiful... so precious..." Her voice dipped into a whisper, her excitement spiraling into something almost... unsettling.

She moved from item to item, a peculiar look of adoration on her face as she caressed an enchanted staff that crackled with faint sparks of lightning. Her breath hitched as she held a golden chalice aloft, the intricate carvings glowing faintly in her hands. Each artifact seemed to call to her, and she reveled in the sheer volume of power amassed under her control. The wealth! The prestige!

Her mind raced with the possibilities, her eyes gleaming as if she could already see the mountains of gold this auction would bring.

Her manic excitement built with each step, her fingertips trembling as they brushed against a set of forbidden scrolls, neatly bound and sealed with magical locks. She brought one close to her face, inhaling deeply, as if the scent of ancient knowledge could fill her with its secrets. "Ahh… the knowledge inside...

I can feel it..." Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes unfocused as she let the scrolls dangle between her fingers.

"Liora," a voice interrupted, sharp and stern. One of her adopted sisters, Ithra, stood a few feet away, her arms crossed, her brow furrowed in concern. "You're doing it again."

Liora blinked, startled, and quickly straightened up. She glanced at her sister, a sheepish smile creeping across her face. "Oh… was I?"

Ithra sighed, stepping forward and gently pulling the scroll from Liora's hands. "Yes, you were." She gave her sister a small shake of her head. "Honestly, you need to calm down. You get... weird when you're around all this stuff."

Liora rubbed the back of her neck, still grinning, though the manic edge to her excitement faded a little. "I know, I know. But look at all of this! We're about to make history with this auction. We're going to sell things that people have only dreamed of! Just imagine the bids—"

"I'm imagining you rubbing your face on that tome like a weirdo." Ithra quirked an eyebrow, but there was a playful smile tugging at her lips.

Liora let out a laugh, her energy returning to something more grounded. "Fine, fine. I'll save the face-rubbing for later." She winked and took a step back from the treasures, allowing her sister to carefully reposition some of the items she'd disturbed in her excitement.

With a deep breath, Liora turned her attention to the security measures. This auction was far too important to leave anything to chance. As she walked the length of the hall, her sharp eyes scanned the placement of the guards, both living and... otherwise.

Positioned along the walls, about eighty knight-status skeletons stood at attention, their hollow eye sockets glowing faintly with an eerie, blue light. Each one was motionless, their weapons drawn, ready to spring into action at the slightest sign of a threat.

These undead warriors were the work of Draven, her firm's necromancer partner, who had raised them from the remains of ancient knights to serve as the perfect guardians for the treasures they held.

Liora admired the symmetry of the skeletons. Though undead, their posture was perfect, their forms rigid and disciplined as if their knightly honor remained intact even in death. She paused in front of one of them, marveling at the craftsmanship behind their creation. "Draven really outdid himself with these ones," she mused aloud, though there was no emotion in her voice.

Draven had a way of impressing her with his cold efficiency, and this was no different.

"Status report," Liora commanded as she reached the control center near the back of the hall, where the captain of the guards stood. The captain, a tall, stoic man dressed in enchanted armor, was more machine than man at this point—a living puppet infused with Draven's magic to function as a central hub for all the defenses in the hall.

The captain turned toward her, his eyes glowing faintly beneath his helmet. His voice, when he spoke, was flat and robotic, lacking any trace of humanity. "All systems operational. Security protocols are at maximum. The undead are programmed to respond to any intruders within a two-hundred-meter radius. Magical barriers are reinforced with double-layer enchantments.

No threats detected."

Liora nodded, satisfied with the report. "What about the external wards? Have they been calibrated for magical tampering?"

"Affirmative," the captain replied in the same monotone. "The wards are set to detect any form of magical interference. Should anyone attempt to breach the defenses, the system will activate the countermeasures."

Liora folded her arms, pacing slightly as she considered the layers of protection. Magical barriers, enchantments, undead skeletons, and a finely-tuned security system. Nothing had been left to chance. She could feel the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, but she thrived on it.

This auction wasn't just about selling magical artifacts—it was about proving that her merchant firm could handle the most valuable, most dangerous items in existence.

Her firm had grown in reputation, but this auction would cement their place at the top. And with Draven's undead creations bolstering her security, she felt an edge of invincibility.

The captain's voice interrupted her thoughts once more. "Magical sensors detect minor fluctuations. Investigating now."

Liora's pulse quickened for a moment, but she forced herself to stay calm. "Keep me updated," she said, her tone cool and commanding. The captain nodded stiffly, returning his attention to the monitors that flickered with faint mana signatures.

With security checks in place, Liora made her way back toward the vault. The scent of the treasures, the weight of their power, beckoned her once more. As the stone door groaned open, revealing the trove of ancient artifacts, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Inside the vault, the pile of treasures gleamed under the soft light of mana lamps, casting long shadows across the room.

The air itself seemed to hum with the energy of the magical relics. Mana crystals, their pale glow pulsing gently like a heartbeat, sat nestled beside enchanted weapons—swords and spears that hummed with dormant power, waiting for the right wielder to activate them. Scrolls of ancient knowledge, bound in cracked leather, lined the walls in neat stacks.

Each one was imbued with a magic that was both dangerous and irresistible.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Liora walked slowly around the treasure, her fingers tracing the edges of the artifacts, her mind racing with the possibilities. The value of these items was incalculable. Some of the rare origin attributes could change the course of magical history if placed in the right hands—or wreak havoc if they fell into the wrong ones.

She stopped in front of a staff, its shaft carved from obsidian, swirling with dark energy. It was an artifact she had acquired from one of her more dangerous deals. She couldn't help but smile at the memory. This staff alone could fetch a fortune.

"Thirty thousand at the very least," she murmured to herself, mentally calculating the bids she expected from the wealthiest buyers. "Maybe even fifty, depending on who shows up…"

Liora turned her attention to the ancient spell tomes stacked high in the corner. Each one was a relic of a bygone era, and scholars would kill to get their hands on them. She could already picture the frantic bidding war between the arcane researchers and the magic academies. "Priceless," she whispered, her pulse quickening with the thought of the gold this auction would bring.

Her mind drifted to the mana crystals. Some were as small as a fist, while others were the size of a man's head, their light shimmering like trapped stars. These would bring in buyers from all corners of the continent. Mana was the lifeblood of magic, and possessing even a fraction of what these crystals held would be enough to power entire cities or arm legions of battle mages.

Excitement bubbled in her chest as she paced around the vault, her hands clasped behind her back. The treasures were overwhelming, a testament to the sheer power and wealth that would soon be within her grasp. And she was the one who would oversee it all.

The auction would not only bring wealth—it would bring prestige, establishing her firm as the most influential force in the magical economy. Bidders would come from across the continent, powerful mages, noble families, and perhaps even royalty, all vying for a chance to take home the priceless relics.

The thought sent a shiver down her spine. The auction hall was ready, the defenses were in place, and the treasures… the treasures were more than she could have ever dreamed.

And soon, they would all be hers to sell.