A Wizard’s Secret

There was an increasing number of Wizards who came for the auction, and the Elemental fluctuations of each Spell Caster who entered a luxury suite were frightening. The time of the auction drew nearer.

Merlin sat quietly in his suite. He had a good view here and was able to see the auction podium clearly. If an auction item was displayed on the podium, one was best able to see it from the luxury suites.

Time passed minute by minute, and soon the auction began. Down below, it was a black sea of Spell Casters. Any Spell Caster who was qualified to join the auction must be rather competent. At the very least, they would have prepared a large sum of elemental crystal stones, ready to display their wealth in full during the auction.

“My fellow Wizards, welcome to Dara City! In the history of all our auctions, this auction has the greatest number of distinguished guests. I believe that this auction will surely satisfy all of you as well!”

It was a female Spell Caster, sporting an alluring figure in a blue robe, who walked onto the podium. However, no one paid attention to her looks for they were observing the Seventh-level Elemental fluctuations that wavered indistinctly around her. She was a powerful Seventh-level Spell Caster!

After the female Wizard walked onto the auction podium, the entire venue fell silent. Everyone fixed their unwavering gazes upon the podium because the first auction item was about to emerge.

The female Wizard gave a charming smile, following which she waved a hand lightly. Instantly, a few Wizards who had been waiting below gently carried a silver tray to the podium before settling it down just as gently.

This silver tray seemed imbued with mystery as it twinkled with a silver light. It was a feast for the eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the first auction item of today is extraordinary. In this auction, it can be considered a relatively rare treasure! Therefore, it shall be our first auction item. Please take a look, everyone.”

With that, the female Wizard uncovered the silver tray with a flourish, and a soft glow came from within. It was a short, tiny rod that seemed to be made of silver.

However, this was no mere short rod. As the female Wizard tapped the rod lightly, it glowed with a soft light instantly and mysterious runes quickly flew from it. Following that, the short rod lengthened rapidly, becoming larger, turning into a unique scepter in the blink of an eye!

This scepter was a very special casting tool!

“Everyone, watch carefully. Perhaps many of you haven’t seen this scepter before but you’re surely not a stranger to its name. It’s called Kellen’s Scepter!”

As the female Wizard announced the name of this scepter, many Spell Casters cried out in shock.

“It’s Kellen’s Scepter. How did Dara City manage to obtain this scepter?”

“This is a famed scepter indeed. It’s a casting tool used by a noble Wizard named Kellen in the past. Thereafter, Wizard Kellen joined the Glorious Palace, and there was even news that he had become a Great Wizard of the Glorious Palace!”

“This scepter has an even greater symbolic meaning. Back then, Wizard Kellen was full of ambition and even tried in vain to unify the entire continent. Although he didn’t succeed in the end, he still founded a massive nation. Kellen’s Scepter is the sole keepsake of that nation. I didn’t expect that it would appear here.”

Many Spell Casters seemed to have heard of Kellen’s Scepter before and were even more familiar with the master of Kellen’s Scepter, Wizard Kellen.

In the luxury suite, Lady Phillie explained in detail the origins of Kellen’s Scepter. When he heard that Wizard Kellen was in the Glorious Palace and had become a Great Wizard, Merlin could not hold back his astonishment.

Regardless of whether it was in the Glorious Land or this new dimension, a Great Wizard was a lofty, powerful Wizard. During the golden years of the Dark Magic Region, there had only been the emergence of one Great Wizard.

Kellen’s Scepter was rich with symbolic meaning, but putting that aside, it had a unique function as a casting tool as well. Naturally, it would attract the attention of some Spell Casters.

The female Wizard waited until the crowd of Spell Casters below had had their fill of discussion before she spoke slowly, “Kellen’s Scepter has the ability to enhance spells below the Ninth-level. As for the extent of enhancement, it depends on the Spell Models constructed by the Wizard. If the power of the Spell Model is too great, then the enhancement would not be much. Starting bid is at a hundred thousand elemental crystal stones. Every subsequent bid must raise the price by a thousand elemental crystal stones at least!”

The starting bid for Kellen’s Scepter was a hundred thousand elemental crystal stones, as expected of the auction in Dara City. It should be known that a hundred thousand elemental crystal stones would be considered an immense amount of wealth to most Spell Casters. Here, it was merely the starting bid for a casting tool with rich symbolic meaning.

There were still Wizards who bid for it. From one hundred thousand elemental crystal stones, it soared smoothly to one hundred and eighty thousand elemental crystal stones. At last, it went to a slightly overweight Spell Caster.

Merlin observed carefully. Previously, not one distinguished guest from the luxury suites had made a bid for Kellen’s Scepter. This meant that these guests had no interest in a casting tool with symbolic meaning such as Kellen’s Scepter. Like Merlin, they were silently waiting for the auction item that they needed most.

After the first item was smoothly auctioned off, the following auctions gradually became livelier. There were precious potion materials, a powerful Runic Magic Disc, and even a few alchemy puppets, all of which astounded Merlin.

Those alchemy puppets possessed strength which was in no way inferior to Seventh-level Wizards, and were even immune to certain spells. It looked like in this dimension, puppet transfiguration had been developed to its peak, far surpassing the Glorious Land.

Even alchemy itself was rare in the current Glorious Land, to say nothing of puppet transfiguration, which became extinct long ago. Merlin himself had a puppet which was comparable to a Seventh-level Spell Caster.

However, although these puppets amazed Merlin, he did not bid for them, and neither did the other distinguished guests.

“The following auction item needs no extraneous introduction. It’s called the Thunder Stone. It’s a type of alchemy material as well as a precious treasure. This is something you can only come across by sheer luck. Bidding opens at two hundred thousand elemental crystal stones, and every subsequent bid must raise the price by no less than a thousand elemental crystal stones!”

Initially, Merlin was merely observing the crowd because the Hallucinatory Heart he was hoping for had not appeared yet. Nonetheless, when the female Wizard presented this Thunder Stone as the next auction item, Merlin was briefly stumped. The Thunder Stone was precisely something he required to cultivate the Pandora Demon Ability Thunder Fury. Initially, he had asked Lady Phillie to keep an eye out for it, and did not expect that it would show up in this auction.

This was an extremely precious treasure, and most Spell Casters would choose to utilize it for transfiguring puppets. The Thunder Stone served a great purpose in the transfiguration of Thunder-type puppets.

“Two hundred and ten thousand elemental crystal stones!”

“Two hundred and thirty thousand elemental crystal stones!”

“Two hundred and forty thousand elemental crystal stones!”

As the price rose constantly, there were fewer bids. Finally, the price was pushed to two hundred and sixty thousand elemental crystal stones, and still, no one from the luxury suites had bid.

“Two hundred and seventy thousand elemental crystal stones!”

Suddenly, luxury suite number twenty-eight had made a bid. Although it was not a high bid, it still attracted the attention of many because this was the first time a distinguished guest from the luxury suites had made a bid.

A sweet smile appeared on the female Wizard’s face. In reality, they were not concerned about most auction items. What they cared about were the Wizards in the luxury suites.

Only the Wizards in the luxury suites were able to offer elemental crystal stones by the million. This was the true, crucial point of the auction. It was a good sign that a distinguished guest of the luxury suites had finally quoted a price.

“Huh? It’s luxury suite number twenty-eight. Isn’t that Tambert’s suite?”

“To think that Tambert is interested in a Thunder Stone. Is he unsuccessful in transfiguring a Thunder-type puppet?”

Amongst the luxury suites, there were many Spell Casters who knew of luxury suite number twenty-eight. After all, it was not the first time Tambert had been in the suite nor was it his first time attending the auction.

The news that Merlin had killed Tambert had only spread to the periphery. Spell Casters from more distant lands did not know of this development, and they thought that it was still Tambert in that luxury suite.

“Two hundred and seventy-five thousand elemental crystal stones.”

A Spell Caster hesitated for a moment before ultimately making a higher bid.

“Three hundred thousand elemental crystal stones!”

In a flash, a higher price rang out from number twenty-eight. This time around, the Spell Casters who had been stirring with desire, planning to bid, now lost all inclination to do so. They all shook their heads. Based on the bid of luxury suite number twenty-eight, it was the driving force of someone determined to get something. Therefore, Spell Casters who did not urgently require the Thunder Stone were unwilling to bid further.

“Very well. Three hundred thousand elemental crystal stones, to the distinguished guest of number twenty-eight!”

The female Wizard gave a syrupy smile. Soon enough, someone covered the tray, and brought the Thunder Stone directly to luxury suite number twenty-eight.

“Distinguished guest of twenty-eight, here’s your Thunder Stone.”

The maidservant placed the Thunder Stone in the suite. Merlin nodded to Lady Phillie, who immediately handed over three hundred thousand elemental crystal stones to the maidservant.

Three hundred thousand elemental crystal stones were a huge sum to most Spell Casters. However, for Merlin who controlled Bisque City, and after so many days of extraction from that gigantic mine, it was nothing much. This time, the number of elemental crystal stones he had asked Lady Phillie to bring even reached the level of ten million.

It was because he had his heart set on the Hallucinatory Heart!

Although Lady Phillie was somewhat curious as to Merlin’s use for the Thunder Stone, she did not question him further. She merely needed to manage the elemental crystal stones, and did not need to intervene in other matters.

Merlin picked up the Thunder Stone and turned it over and over in observation. The surface of the stone was rough and uneven. Terrifying Thunder-type power was contained deep within, requiring guidance in order to be unleashed.

However, this was a top-notch treasure for cultivating Thunder Fury. Perhaps it might be hard to find it in the Glorious Land, but in this dimension, a Thunder Stone was not a scarce treasure, even though it was still precious.

“With this Thunder Stone, cultivating Thunder Fury would not be a problem!”

Merlin was highly satisfied. By joining this auction, even before the Hallucinatory Heart had appeared, he had already gained such a prize. He was now anticipating the following auction items.