Chapter 99: The Source Crystal

After examining the pendant for a few moments, Chris activated his Dragon Vision and looked around the auction house.

To his surprise, he discovered that he could see through the glass walls separating the private rooms. Although they were designed to provide privacy, his Dragon Vision allowed him to observe everyone inside.

He heightened his senses, searching for traces of demonic energy.

Soon, he discovered something.

In another private room, there were three people with demonic energy surrounding their bodies. They appeared to be ordinary guests, but Chris immediately recognized the energy coming from them.

He carefully examined their expressions and noticed that all three were staring at the pendant on the stage, their faces filled with shock.

’It seems they didn’t know about this either...’

Chris thought to himself before taking out his phone and dialing a number. He couldn’t risk allowing anyone to leave and inform others about the pendant.

Once the call connected, he spoke in a low voice. "Surround the entire auction house. Don’t let anyone leave until I give you permission. Make sure nobody notices what you’re doing."

After giving a few more instructions, he ended the call and put his phone away.

He glanced toward Aelia and the twins, who were looking at him.

"I’ll be right back. Don’t leave this room."

Aelia nodded. She could tell something had happened, but she didn’t ask any questions.

Chris stood up and exited their private room, walking down the hallway toward the room where the three people were sitting.

Once he reached the door, he stopped briefly before raising his leg.

*BANG!*

He kicked the door open, startling the three people inside.

"What?!"

Before any of them could react, Chris waved his hand, and Dark Gwenor immediately spread throughout the room, enveloping their bodies and restricting their movements.

They struggled to free themselves, but the crimson energy held them firmly in place.

"W-Who are you?!"

Chris didn’t bother answering.

He raised his hand, and flames erupted around the three people. Their bodies were consumed within seconds, leaving nothing behind but ashes.

He couldn’t risk allowing them to contact anyone else and inform them about the pendant. Even if they didn’t know its exact purpose, the fact that they had recognized it was enough to make them dangerous.

After making sure there was nothing else inside the room, Chris turned around and left.

He returned to his private room as if nothing had happened.

The auction was still ongoing, and the pendant was currently being presented on the stage. Several people had already started bidding, seemingly interested in the mysterious object.

Chris casually sat down and raised his paddle.

"One hundred thousand!"

A few people turned toward his private room, but someone quickly raised the price.

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

Chris didn’t hesitate.

"Two hundred thousand!"

The room fell silent. The auctioneer waited for a moment, but nobody else attempted to challenge the offer.

"Sold! Two hundred thousand gold coins!"

Chris leaned back in his seat, satisfied with the result.

A servant soon arrived at their private room carrying the pendant. Chris accepted it, examined its smooth black surface for a moment, and stored it inside his storage ring.

The auction continued for a little while longer, but none of the remaining items caught his attention.

There were a few good weapons and pieces of armor, some of which were even Epic rank, but Chris had already made arrangements for his own equipment. He had no reason to spend money on something he would probably replace soon anyway.

Just as he was watching another item being presented, the door to their private room opened.

Aldric walked inside. "Chris, the soldiers have surrounded the entire auction house. Nobody will be able to leave without being inspected."

Chris nodded and stood up, patting Aldric on the shoulder.

"Good job. And old man, make sure to pay my tab."

Aldric raised an eyebrow but quickly nodded. "Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it."

Chris smiled before turning toward Aelia and the twins. "Let’s wait until the auction ends."

It didn’t take long before the auctioneer finally announced the last item. She thanked everyone for attending and expressed her hope that they would return for future auctions.

The guests slowly began leaving and heading toward the exit. However, as soon as they reached the entrance, they were stopped by the soldiers stationed outside.

"Please remain calm. An investigation is currently underway, and nobody is permitted to leave until they have been inspected."

Naturally, this caused quite a commotion.

Several nobles complained, questioning why they were being detained despite having done nothing wrong. Others demanded to know who had ordered the soldiers to surround the auction house.

However, the soldiers remained firm and refused to let anyone pass.

Chris slowly walked out of the auction house with Aelia and the twins, heading toward the soldiers stationed at the entrance.

The moment they noticed him, several soldiers straightened their backs and saluted.

"Sir Ashen Rain!"

Chris nodded before giving them instructions.

"Let the people leave one by one. There’s no need to keep everyone here for too long, I will be examining them from the side."

"Understood, sir!" The soldiers didn’t understand what was going on, but they knew they had to follow the orders.

Chris moved to the side, choosing a position where he could observe everyone without attracting too much attention.

Soon, the soldiers began allowing the guests to leave individually.

Chris carefully examined each person as they passed, using his heightened senses to detect any traces of demonic energy.

Some guests looked irritated, while others were confused by the sudden inspection. However, nobody attempted to resist the soldiers.

Time passed as more and more people left.

Fortunately, Chris didn’t discover anyone else carrying demonic energy. It seemed the three people he had dealt with earlier were the only enemies inside the auction house.

Once the last few guests had been inspected, Chris finally relaxed.

"Let’s go home."

He turned toward Aelia and the twins before walking toward their limousine.

Seven was already waiting beside the vehicle. As soon as everyone got inside, he started driving them back to their residence.

Once they arrived, Chris settled on the sofa and took out the black pendant from his Storage Ring.

Aura immediately jumped out of the Beast Pouch and landed on his lap.

Chris looked at the little fox before examining the pendant again.

"Do you know what this thing is?"

Aura stared at it for a while before shaking her head.

"Not exactly. However, I know it’s extremely important to the demons. Finding something like this by chance is practically a miracle."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Important? How important?"

"Even during the old war, the demons were looking for these pendants. There should be more than one, although I don’t know how many exist or where the others are."

Chris looked at the pendant with renewed interest.

"Then it’s a good thing we found it before they did."

"Indeed. You were quite lucky to come across it at that auction."

Chris nodded before extending his hand and releasing his Dark Gwenor.

The dark crimson energy slowly surrounded the pendant, covering its entire surface. After a few seconds, his Dark Gwenor had started consuming the demonic energy inside the pendant.

Chris widened his eyes slightly as he felt the strength of his energy increase.

The change was noticeable almost immediately, and within just a few minutes, his Dark Gwenor had become considerably stronger.

He quickly examined the pendant again, trying to determine how much energy it had lost.

But there didn’t seem to be any noticeable difference. The enormous amount of demonic energy inside remained almost unchanged, as though his Dark Gwenor had barely consumed anything.

Chris stared at it for another moment before a wide smile appeared on his face.

"It seems I’ve found something very good."

He withdrew his Dark Gwenor and stored the pendant inside his storage ring. He could experiment with it more later.

He then remembered something else and took out the large crystal ball he had purchased at the auction.

"Now, Aura, what about this thing? You said the twins could use it."

Aura jumped off his lap and approached the crystal ball.

"This is a Source Crystal. It’s something that can only be found in the Wilds."

Chris looked at her in surprise.

"A Source Crystal? I’ve never heard of something like that."

"That’s because they’re extremely rare. They can occasionally be found inside caves scattered throughout the world, although discovering one inside a dungeon is even rarer."

She paused before continuing.

"Source Crystals contain enormous amounts of energy. However, not everyone can use them. The energy inside each crystal is connected to a particular element or affinity, and only people whose talents match that energy can properly absorb it."

Chris glanced at the crystal ball.

"Why didn’t the auction house find out about this?"

"They likely tested it with ordinary mages and discovered that it could amplify their magical attacks. That’s certainly one of its uses, but they didn’t realize its true potential."

Aura then turned toward the twins.

"This particular Source Crystal contains the energy of nature and plants. It’s extremely suitable for both of you."

Astra and Stella looked at each other before turning toward the little fox.

"Really?" Astra asked.

Aura nodded.

"If you train with it every day and gradually absorb the energy inside, your control over your abilities will improve considerably. It should also help increase your levels."

Everyone was surprised by her explanation.

Chris finally understood why Aura had insisted that he purchase the crystal.

"Then you two should take good care of it."

He picked up the crystal ball and handed it to Astra and Stella.

"Train with it whenever you have time, and make sure to absorb its energy regularly. Don’t rush things, though. I don’t want you exhausting yourselves."

The twins carefully accepted the crystal, their faces brightening.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you, big bad man!"

Aura nodded as well. "I’ll help you two with your training. I’ll make sure you learn how to use it properly."

The twins immediately turned toward her with grateful expressions.

"Thank you, Aura!"

After putting the crystal aside, Astra suddenly looked at Chris.

"By the way, big bad man, why didn’t you buy anything for yourself? There were some really good weapons and armor at the auction."

Stella nodded in agreement. "Yes. You didn’t even look interested."

Chris chuckled. "That’s because I’ve already made arrangements for my equipment."

He leaned back against the sofa before explaining.

"I gave some of Azreon’s scales to Gale and Dale. They’re the blacksmiths who serve Aldric’s family, and I asked them to use the scales to forge a sword for me. As for the armor..." Chris raised his hand, causing dragon scales to cover it. "As you can see, I don’t really need armor."

Aelia looked at him with interest. "So that’s why you weren’t interested in the weapons at the auction."

"Exactly. I expect them to finish everything soon."

Chris then remembered something and added, "I also asked them to put the Recall enchantment on my sword. It’s about time I collected on that promise."

Astra and Stella exchanged a glance before looking back at him.

"But... how did you get Azreon’s scales, big bad man?" Astra asked with a slightly worried expression.

Stella tilted her head. "You didn’t hurt him, did you?"

Chris shook his head immediately.

"Of course not. Sometimes Azreon sheds some of his damaged scales by himself before new ones grow in their place. I simply collected the ones he discarded."

The twins relaxed upon hearing his explanation.

"That’s good!" Astra said.

Stella nodded. "We wouldn’t want you hurting Azreon."

Chris smiled, finding their concern rather amusing.

Just as he was about to say something else, his phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the screen, recognized the caller, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"What a coincidence."

He answered the call.

"Lord Chris, it’s ready! You can come and collect your sword whenever you have time!"

Chris’s smile widened.

"Excellent. I’m on my way."

He ended the call and slowly stood up, looking toward Aelia and the twins.

"I have to go collect my sword. I’ll be visiting Aldric’s family home."

With that, Chris headed toward the door, already looking forward to seeing what the two blacksmiths had created using Azreon’s scales.