Chapter 81 - - 81: Night Condensing Bracelet

Chapter 81: Chapter - 81: Night Condensing Bracelet

"Is that the one you were talking about?" Elena asked after noticing my reaction.

I nodded "yes, this one will solve our problem for the time being."

The announcer stood beside the trolley and placed one hand on the box. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have an artifact that should be particularly interesting to those who possess the Dark attribute."

He said until here and opened the box. Inside it was a bracelet. It appeared to be crafted from some kind of silver-colored metal, with two black gems embedded into its surface. The design was not particularly extravagant, and at first glance, it could easily have been mistaken for an ordinary piece of jewelry.

The announcer lifted it carefully "This artifact is known as the Night Condensing Bracelet."

He paused and he smiled "And before anyone becomes confused by the name, allow me to clarify that this is not some heaven defying artifact capable of turning day into night."

A few scattered laughs came from the audience. Not many because the joke was not particularly good.

Still, the atmosphere in the auction hall relaxed slightly, and the announcer continued with a smile.

The announcer continued explaining its functions.

"It is an artifact specifically designed for Dark attribute magic users. When worn during the night, it can increase the speed at which the user cultivates their Dark attribute, while also helping purify the Dark mana within the user’s body."

The auctioneer continued explaining its functions, although he conveniently avoided mentioning one rather important limitation.

The cultivation boost was extremely minor and It only provided a meaningful effect while the user was meditating at night, and even then, the improvement was not particularly impressive compared with genuinely powerful cultivation artifacts.

Most experienced bidders probably already knew that.

Nobody would pay an enormous amount of money merely for that feature. And even I certainly was not interested in it.

My reason for wanting the bracelet was the other ability. Purification.

The bracelet could purify the Dark attribute of its wearer and remove impurities accumulated within it.

After what had happened to Elena, that function was worth considerably more to me than any improvement in cultivation speed.

Ever since the incident with Elena’s contamination, I had been thinking about ways to reduce the possibility of something similar happening again.

Elena had never practiced Evil Magic Arts, yet Evil Essence had still managed to contaminate her.

It had been removed by Principal Alfred before it could cause serious damage, but that did not change the fact that it had happened without either of us noticing it.

And there was no guarantee that something similar would not happen again.

I could not guarantee that Elena would never encounter another person capable of using Evil Essence. I do not want to wait until someone else notices something wrong with her.

But if there were ways to improve her resistance and ensure that impurities were removed before they could accumulate, then I wanted those methods.

And this bracelet was one of them.

The announcer placed it back inside the box. "Now, without further delay, the opening price for the Night Condensing Bracelet is five thousand gold."

I raised my bidding sign immediately.

The auctioneer looked upward "Balcony Number Five opens the bidding at five thousand."

Before even a second had passed, another bidder raised the price "Five thousand five hundred."

I raised mine "Six thousand."

The same person responded almost immediately "Six thousand five hundred."

I was about to raise my sign again when another voice came "eight thousand."

"Balcony number four, eight thousand gold."

Someone was sitting there, also wearing a mask.

So far, I have been increasing the price gradually because there was no reason to spend more than necessary. But that approach clearly is not going to work

The person in the Balcony Four had just jumped from 6,500 to 8,000. They are not interested in casually testing the price

I raised my sign "ten thousand."

The auctioneer’s expression became more animated "Ten thousand from Balcony Five!".

The bidder from balcony number four looked in our direction. Even with the mask covering most of their face, I could tell they were annoyed.

Then they raised their sign again "Ten thousand five hundred."

I did not hesitate "Twelve thousand."

The auctioneer looked around the room "Twelve thousand gold from Balcony Five!"

That was the highest bid of today’s auction so far.

The person from balcony number four stared toward us for several seconds.

I simply waited. If they wanted to continue, they could, I am determined to take this lot.

The announcer looked around the hall.

"Any higher bid?"

There was no response.

"Twelve thousands going once, going twice."

The bidder from balcony number four remained still.

"Sold!. The Night Condensing Bracelet goes to balcony number five for twelve thousand gold."

I lowered my bidding sign.

I looked back toward the stage as the bracelet was taken away.

Twelve thousand is not cheap but was not as expensive as I thought. Maybe particularly because of the low number of buyers.

We still had twenty-eight thousand gold credits remaining. And judging by the catalogue, there were plenty of interesting items still to come.

Elena did not say anything, but I can notice that she is more relaxed now that we have secured what we have came for.

The lots that followed were not exactly disappointing either.

Several magic cores from different monsters and magical beasts were brought forward, and most of them sold for more than ten thousand gold. One particularly desirable core reached sixteen thousand before finally being sold.

The auctioneer explained the properties of each core, and I noticed several familiar-looking symbols indicating different elemental attributes.

Some of the people bidding were clearly experienced magic users.

Others were probably buying them for family members, apprentices, or future research.

The competition was noticeably stronger than it had been earlier. Still, none of the buyers seemed interested in spending truly absurd amounts.

That made sense.

These magic cores were valuable, but most were still useful primarily to normal level magic users.

They were excellent resources for people trying to strengthen themselves before reaching the higher stages, and naturally attracted the attention of wealthy nobles, adventurers, and magic users who were preparing for their next breakthrough.

But they are not yet the kind of treasures that could make the entire auction hall restless.

Then the next lot arrived as another trolley was pushed onto the stage.

This time, there was no box.

Instead there is a single large, shiny red crystal that was bigger than the fist of an adult. Faint golden patterns ran through its translucent surface.

The moment it appeared, the atmosphere in the auction hall changed. Even from our balcony, I could see people leaning forward.

Several masked bidders who had previously been sitting casually straightened in their seats.

The announcer smiled as he stood beside it, he did not immediately said anything.

Instead, he allowed the audience several moments to observe it. Only then he finally spoke "I believe the next lot requires very little introduction."

He placed his hand beside the crystal "This is a magic crystal extracted from a Flame Lion."

A murmur spread through the audience.

The announcer paused before adding the words that truly mattered. "However it was not an ordinary Flame Lion."

He looked around the hall.

"This crystal comes from a Flame Crown Lion that reached the level of a Savage Beast."

The reaction was immediate.

Several people sitting in the normal seats gasped. Some of them clearly had not received enough information about the upcoming lots beforehand to know what was about to appear.

I can’t blame them because a Savage Beast is not merely a stronger monster.

It was the term used for magical beasts that had reached a level comparable to a human Grand Mage or Grand Knight. A level above the normal realm.

And the magic crystal of a Savage Beast was something that nearly every individual who had even a small hope of reaching the Grand Mage or Grand Knight realm would desperately want.

Even people who had already reached that level and have not yet absorbed a magic core could still be searching for a compatible one for themselves.

Which meant that this was not simply another expensive magic core. It was the kind of resource that could attract people who had enough wealth to spend tens of thousands or might even hundreds of thousands.

The announcer had barely finished explaining the crystal’s origin, yet the atmosphere below had already become tense with anticipation.

Several bidders were already speaking quietly with their attendants, probably discussing how much money they could mobilize.

Others were likely deciding whether this was worth spending a portion of their current wealth.

The auctioneer smiled as he looked across the hall. Clearly, this was the sort of reaction the Royal Auction House had been expecting.

"As you can guess this savage beast level magic core is compatible with fire attributes as well with the lion type beast magic...."

The auctioneer gave a detailed description of the magic core, its compatibility with the magic users and the possible ability it can provide after being absorbed.

"Now, without further delay, the opening price for this Flame Crown Lion magic core is.... Ten Thousand Gold!"