Chapter 454: Golden Mana Liquid [ 2 ]

That answer alone made Boren raise an eyebrow.

Garen folded his hands across his stomach and continued watching the stage. "There are treasures a merchant buys because he expects to sell them later, Brother Boren. There are treasures he buys because possessing them creates opportunities. Then there are treasures that can change the strength of the people standing behind an organization."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Those aren’t purchased casually."

For once, Boren didn’t mock him.

Orwin finally raised his hammer. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Adventurer Guild has provided its appraisal and usage conditions. One complete drop of Golden Mana Liquid, with an estimated formation period of approximately three hundred years."

He paused. "The opening price is twenty million gold coins."

A paddle rose before the last word had completely faded.

"Thirty million."

Orwin turned toward the bidder, but another voice immediately interrupted.

"Forty million."

"Forty-five million!"

"Fifty million!"

The numbers climbed so quickly that the audience erupted.

Orwin barely managed to acknowledge one bidder before another paddle appeared. Iron Fang’s representative entered at fifty-five million. Black Banner answered with sixty million. Edmund Krail raised sixty-five without changing expression.

Then House Varell entered at seventy million.

The room changed. Most of the remaining bidders disappeared immediately.

Seventy million gold coins wasn’t the sort of wealth an individual Warrior casually carried. Even wealthy organizations couldn’t throw such amounts around without consequence. At this level, the bidders weren’t simply asking whether they wanted the treasure.

They were deciding whether it was worth disturbing treasuries built over generations.

"Seventy-five million," Iron Fang’s representative called.

"Eighty million," Black Banner answered.

The Iron Fang man turned toward him with visible irritation before consulting the two men seated beside him. After a tense exchange, he lowered his paddle.

Iron Fang was finished.

Black Banner survived only another round.

"Eighty-five million," Edmund Krail said.

The Black Banner representative remained silent.

Orwin looked toward him.

The man slowly shook his head.

Another bidder entered.

"Ninety million."

House Varell.

Edmund Krail finally frowned. "Ninety-five million."

"One hundred million," House Varell’s representative answered.

Silence crashed over the hall.

One hundred million gold coins.

Even Sage found himself appreciating the number.

This was no longer the wealth of successful individual Warriors or prosperous merchants. This was institutional money. Family money. Wealth accumulated through land, mines, businesses, taxes, investments and generations of inheritance.

Edmund Krail stared at the pedestal for several seconds before lowering his paddle.

Then Lucan raised his. "One hundred and ten million."

Boren nearly turned his entire body around.

Lucan wasn’t smiling.Neither were the Auremont representatives behind him.

Orwin pointed toward the private box. "One hundred and ten million gold coins from House Auremont!"

House Varell hesitated before answering, "One hundred and fifteen million."

The older Auremont representative whispered something to Lucan.

Lucan listened.

Then raised his paddle. "One hundred and twenty million."

House Varell’s representative clenched his jaw.

He didn’t answer.

Orwin surveyed the room. "One hundred and twenty million from House Auremont. Do I hear one hundred and twenty-five?"

For several breaths, nobody moved.

Then a man near the rear stood. He had barely participated throughout the entire auction.

His robes were dark grey with silver embroidery, and against his chest rested a small emblem depicting a silver tower surrounded by seven stars.

Iris recognized it instantly. "The Argent Spire."

Sage looked toward her.

Iris’s expression had become even more serious. "They are a small Mage organizations in the surrounding districts."

The representative raised his paddle. "One hundred and thirty million."

Whispers swept through the hall.

Lucan turned toward the Auremont representative.

The man shook his head once.

Lucan stared at the Golden Mana Liquid, clearly unhappy, but he didn’t raise his paddle again.

House Varell did. "One hundred and thirty-five million."

The Argent Spire representative answered almost immediately. "One hundred and forty million."

"One hundred and forty-five."

"One hundred and fifty."

House Varell fell silent.

The Argent Spire representative remained standing.

Orwin looked across the hall.

"One hundred and fifty million gold coins."

Nobody answered.

"One hundred and fifty million once."

Silence.

"Twice."

The hammer struck the podium.

"Sold!"

For several seconds, nobody reacted.

Then the Grand Auction House erupted.

One hundred and fifty million gold coins for a single drop of Golden Mana Liquid.

Boren stared at the pedestal as though he expected another drop to appear if he looked hard enough. Irene had already begun writing figures into her ledger.

Leon leanedback slowly, his expression thoughtful rather than disappointed, while Iris stared toward the Argent Spire representative with the look of someone already considering how difficult it would be to convince them to let her study their purchase.

Garen finally released a long breath.

Lucan remained seated against the railing, clearly experiencing the unfamiliar sensation of losing something because another organization had been willing to spend more.

Orwin announced the formal conclusion of the Guild’s first Grand Auction.

Yet almost nobody stood.

Sage noticed it immediately.The treasures had been sold. The bidding was finished. Servants could begin arranging payments, purchased items would soon be transferred under Guild supervision, and there was no reason for the guests to remain seated.

Still, they remained.

Edmund Krail was looking at Sage.

The Iron Fang representative was looking at Sage.

Black Banner’s people were looking at Sage.

The minor noble representatives, independent Warriors, merchants and Mages were doing exactly the same thing.

Even the Argent Spire representative who had just spent one hundred and fifty million gold coins wasn’t looking at his newly purchased treasure.

He was studying the Guildmaster standing beside it.

Sage understood why.

These people already knew what Golden Mana Liquid was. They knew how rarely it formed. They knew approximately how long it required. They knew the kind of environment necessary for even one drop to exist.

And tonight, the Adventurer Guild had casually placed one on an auction stage.The question hanging over the Grand Auction House was no longer how much that single drop had been worth.

It was where Sage Alistair had obtained it. And if a three-hundred-year-old Golden Mana Liquid was something the Adventurer Guild was willing to sell...

What in the world had Sage decided to keep?