Chapter 326: Shapeshifter's Robe

Clad in Cloaks of the Faceless One, the White Dragon Lord and Mage Miphen merged into the bustling street crowd side by side.

Many figures in Grey Tower City walked the streets in dark robes to conceal their identities, so the pair hardly stood out.

The walk passed without incident, and they soon arrived beneath the towering Gray Tower. Standing at its base and gazing up, the White Dragon Lord—currently in his dragonborn form—felt like a mere ant staring up at a gargantuan tree.

Aside from being Mage Xidewarha's personal mage tower, the Gray Tower also served as the administrative center of Grey Tower City. A steady stream of people was currently bustling in and out of its first floor.

"The first floor of the mage tower is the administrative center for Grey Tower City. We're heading to the second floor. Follow me."

Mage Miphen led the White Dragon Lord away from the throng and toward a secluded corner. Disappearing from the crowd's line of sight around a bend, Mage Miphen stood at the base of the Gray Tower and placed a hand against the gray stone wall.

The White Dragon Lord sensed Mage Miphen channel a trace of magic into the structure. An instant later, a portal materialized on the wall.

"Let's go."

They stepped through the portal together.

After stepping through the portal, the White Dragon Lord found himself in a brightly lit private booth fully furnished with sofas and a table. One wall of the room was entirely transparent glass, and he stepped up to it to peer down at the grand hall below.

A sprawling, fan-shaped seating area fanned out around the central auction stage below. The interior space was staggeringly large; it had clearly been expanded using spatial folding magic.

Right now, only a sparse smattering of people dotted the seats.

Mage Miphen dropped onto a sofa, plucked a blue fruit from the table, and popped it into his mouth.

"Take a seat. The auction won't start for another half hour. If nothing unexpected happens, a friend will be dropping by to visit shortly."

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of someone knocking on the door rang out.

"That was fast."

Mage Miphen chuckled.

"Come in! It's your territory, do you really need me to open the door for you?"

"Miphen, is this how you welcome an old friend?"

The door was pushed open directly, and a handsome elven man walked in. He wore a snow-white robe trimmed with gold and carried a long staff, his dazzling golden hair spilling loosely over his shoulders.

A gold elf!

The White Dragon Lord recognized the man's race at a glance. He was a gold elf, one of the high elves and the true royalty of their kind. Even the Elven King back in Nordhill was a High-Tier Legend gold elf.

Listening to their banter, the White Dragon Lord also realized that this gold elf was the master of Grey Tower City—Xidewarha.

Mage Miphen shrugged at Xidewarha's questioning.

"Welcome you? Please, I'm the guest here."

"By the rules, a private booth is personal space. It's your territory."

"Fine, my mistake. But I doubt you came all the way here just to bicker. Let me introduce you. This is Lord Amos from Nordhill."

Mage Miphen then turned to the White Dragon Lord.

"Lord Amos, this is the master of the Gray Tower—Mage Xidewarha."

"A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency."

"The pleasure is mine."

"..."

Thanks to Mage Miphen's introduction, the White Dragon Lord and the master of the Gray Tower officially met.

After exchanging pleasantries for a moment, Xidewarha pulled out a crystal ball.

"If you are willing, Lord Amos, you can leave a trace of your magic imprint inside this. The next time you attend an auction, simply channel a wisp of magic into the Gray Tower's outer wall. The Tower Spirit will open a portal for you, leading straight into a private booth like this one."

"I would be glad to."

The White Dragon Lord left his magical imprint inside the crystal ball. The three chatted idly for a short while before Xidewarha excused himself, citing pressing business.

"Amos, did you see that smile on his face when he left?" Mage Miphen said. "Didn't it look a bit like an old fox that just caught a chicken?"

The White Dragon Lord offered an awkward smile. He wasn't familiar enough with Xidewarha to comfortably joke about him like Mage Miphen did.

Finding his joke unappreciated, Mage Miphen went back to snacking on the fruit on the table.

Seeing the mage enjoying himself so much, the White Dragon Lord grabbed a blue fruit and popped it into his mouth. As his jaws clamped down, cold, blue juice burst across his tongue. A sweet, icy sensation washed from his taste buds straight to his brain.

It wasn't just delicious; the fruit was also rich in magical elements. Consuming them over a long period could effectively improve a creature's magical aptitude. Of course, that only applied to ordinary people. For a High-Tier Legendary Level existence like the White Dragon Lord, this kind of fruit could merely satisfy a craving.

"Mmm, not bad."

Mage Miphen nodded.

"They really are."

"What is this fruit called?"

"Bluecore Fruit. They're a specialty from Xidewarha's homeland. The annual yield is limited, so only during a massive auction like this does that stingy fellow bring them out to entertain guests."

Saying that, Mage Miphen grabbed another fruit and stuffed it into his mouth.

The White Dragon Lord gave him a strange look.

"You didn't come to this auction just to eat the fruit, did you?"

Cough, cough, cough!

Mage Miphen choked on the juice. It took him a moment to catch his breath.

"Hahaha, the auction is about to start."

The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow, letting the slightly embarrassed mage off the hook.

After spending the past few days together, the White Dragon Lord had discovered that Mage Miphen possessed a classic cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside personality. Now that they were familiar with each other, he even found the mage to be somewhat of a goofball.

The White Dragon Lord glanced down. The seating area below was now fully packed.

The auction was truly about to begin.

The White Dragon Lord toyed with the golden number plate in his hand. It bore the number 0078. Mage Xidewarha had left it for him, and the White Dragon Lord could keep it permanently.

The first hundred number plates of the Grey Tower Auction House were specially custom-made. They were magical artifacts in their own right, functioning much like membership cards, and were only ever issued to High-Tier Legend powerhouses. Holding number 78 meant the White Dragon Lord was the seventy-eighth High-Tier Legend to be hosted by the Grey Tower Auction House.

The method for participating in the bidding was also simple. By channeling spiritual energy into the number plate, he could transmit his bid directly to the auctioneer on the stage.

Ding, ding, ding!

A chime resembling a small bell rang out. It wasn't loud, yet it was exceptionally clear. The whispering crowd in the seats immediately ceased their chatter and turned their attention to the auction stage.

The White Dragon Lord did the same, though he was slightly surprised when he saw the auctioneer on the stage.

The auctioneer wasn't a beautiful woman; she wasn't even a humanoid creature. She was a beholder.

Then, the White Dragon Lord understood. In an auction of this caliber, the participants were at least legendary powerhouses. Such figures possessed formidable willpower; there was absolutely no chance they would be seduced by an auctioneer's beauty into raising their bids. Therefore, the auctioneer's species didn't matter.

Most importantly, the auctioneer had to process the incoming messages from thousands of number plates across the entire auction floor. That required staggeringly robust spiritual energy, and beholders were renowned precisely for their powerful spiritual strength.

"Respected guests~! Welcome to the triennial Grey Tower City Grand Auction! Your auctioneer tonight is me again, Lena the beholder! I wonder if any of my old friends missed my charming big eye?"

The White Dragon Lord's mouth twitched. This beholder really knew how to crack a joke.

Roars of laughter swept through the seating area below, with a few hecklers even playfully shouting slogans like "Lena, I love you!"

"I'm so thrilled that so many old friends missed me! But alright, let's save the love confessions for our private time. I won't hold everyone up any longer. Please bring out the first auction item."

A red curtain on one side of the stage was pulled back. Four brawny men walked out, straining to carry a massive double-bladed great-axe, which they hauled onto the table in front of the beholder.

A 3D magical projection of the axe materialized in the air, allowing everyone in the hall to clearly see every intricate pattern and detail across the steel.

"This double-bladed axe is named the Mountain Splitter! It was painstakingly forged by Hagni, the dwarf blacksmith Great Grandmaster. Its main body is cast from incredibly hard and heavy Earth-Forged Magic Steel, weighing in at three thousand four hundred pounds! Our appraisers at the Grey Tower Auction House have professionally verified it—the Mountain Splitter is a masterpiece-tier legendary weapon!"

"For a masterpiece legendary weapon, slicing a falling hair in two is just a basic requirement. What makes the Mountain Splitter truly precious are the multiple magical enchantments bound into it—one of which is the Legendary Keen Edge!"

"I hardly need to explain the fame of the Legendary Keen Edge. As for the other enchantments, let's leave them as a surprise for the Mountain Splitter's future owner! Enough talk—the starting bid for the Mountain Splitter is one hundred thousand Divine Power Gold Coins. The minimum increment is one thousand Divine Power Gold Coins!"

A single Divine Power Gold Coin was equal to ten thousand ordinary gold coins. That meant this legendary axe was opening at a staggering one billion ordinary gold coins. Even so, the legendary combat professionals in the crowd who used axes were still incredibly thrilled, and the bidding war erupted instantly.

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

"Two hundred thousand!"

"Three hundred thousand!"

The price for the Mountain Splitter skyrocketed to three hundred and fifty thousand before the number of bidders dwindled. No matter how loosely someone treated their gold coins, throwing away several billion gold coins all at once was still bound to sting.

"VIP 1524 bids three hundred and sixty thousand! Three hundred and sixty thousand—do I hear more? If not, this devastating Mountain Splitter will go to VIP 1524!"

"VIP 0356 bids three hundred and eighty thousand! Three hundred and eighty thousand, going once!"

"Wonderful! VIP 0698 bids four hundred thousand! Are there any higher bids?! If not, I offer my early congratulations to VIP 0698!"

Ultimately, the Mountain Splitter was bought by an orc for four hundred and thirty thousand Divine Power Gold Coins.

"Congratulations to VIP 1428 for obtaining the Mountain Splitter! Moving on, please welcome our second item—the magical artifact, the Shapeshifter's Robe!"

The four brawny men hauled the massive axe away. From the other side of the auction stage, a slender elven maid walked out carrying a red tray. Resting atop it was the folded Shapeshifter's Robe.

"The Shapeshifter's Robe is a precious robe brought out from the ruins of the Arcane Empire by the Magic Sword Expedition Team. Ultimately, they chose to trust our Grey Tower Auction House and placed this treasure up for auction here."

The beholder lifted the Shapeshifter's Robe with two of her tentacles, and a 3D projection flared to life above the stage once more.

"The Shapeshifter's Robe has exactly one function: transformation. It is no mere illusion, nor is it a time-limited Polymorph spell. It is a flawless transformation. Once you put on this robe, you can permanently live as an entirely different biological species! Of course, as to whether you can reproduce in that form, that hasn't been tested yet. Perhaps the future owner can give it a try."

Amidst the amused chuckles of the audience, the beholder handed the robe to the elven maid.

"Simply looking and listening to an explanation isn't enough to grasp the Shapeshifter's Robe's wonders. Next, this elven maid—an intermediate ranger professional—will give you all a demonstration."

The elven maid draped the Shapeshifter's Robe over her shoulders and transformed into a tiny yellow bird, fluttering back and forth across the stage.

The majority of the legendary practitioners remained unmoved; a casual Polymorph spell could achieve the exact same effect. However, a small handful—the White Dragon Lord included—revealed looks of keen interest in their eyes.

This elven maid was an intermediate professional, but after turning into a little bird, her professional aura completely vanished along with her original form.

If that worked in reverse... if someone turned into a dragon...

As if aware of what the White Dragon Lord was thinking, the little bird transformed into a massive Gold Dragon.

The Gold Dragon exhaled a small burst of Dragon Breath toward the ceiling, its formidable legendary pressure permeating the surroundings. At this, the expressions of everyone in the audience shifted simultaneously, their gazes flickering with uncertainty.

At a gesture from the beholder, the elven maid shifted back to her original form and took off the robe.

"I'm sure you all noticed! Whoever wears the Shapeshifter's Robe gains the abilities and strength of whatever species they become! The only downside is that the robe's transformations have a power cap—the highest it can reach is the Legendary Rank."

The White Dragon Lord's expression relaxed, confirming his own suspicions. If the robe hadn't possessed a strength limit, the Magic Sword Adventure Group never would have put it up for sale.

"Even with that power cap, you all understand how precious this robe is. It serves as a disguise for escaping danger, or as a gift for a junior with poor talent. If someone were able to research it and unravel the unfathomable technologies of the Arcane Empire, that would be even more..."

The beholder let her sentence trail off abruptly, allowing everyone's imaginations to run wild.

"The starting bid for the Shapeshifter's Robe is one hundred and fifty thousand Divine Power Gold Coins! The minimum increment is one thousand!"

"Three hundred thousand! VIP 0245 jumps straight to three hundred thousand!"

"Three hundred and twenty thousand! VIP 0356 bids three hundred and twenty thousand!"

"Four hundred thousand! VIP 1687—"

"Five hundred thousand! VIP 0054 bids five hundred thousand!"

Hearing the number 0054, the White Dragon Lord realized a High-Tier Legend powerhouse had stepped into the fray. Refusing to delay any longer, he channeled his spiritual energy into his own number plate.

"Five hundred and fifty thousand! VIP 0078 bids five hundred and fifty thousand! Are there any more?"

Since Mage Xidewarha hadn't avoided him when handing the number plate to the White Dragon Lord, Mage Miphen already knew the dragon's number was 78.

"Oh? You're interested in this, Amos?"

"I'm interested in everything from the Arcane Empire."

"Hmm..."

After a moment of thought, Mage Miphen decided to offer some advice.

"Much of the Arcane Empire's technology has already vanished into the river of time. Even if you somehow reverse-engineered the principles behind the Shapeshifter's Robe, you wouldn't be able to craft one without the materials."

The White Dragon Lord naturally caught the hidden meaning in Mage Miphen's words. The Arcane Empire's technology wasn't something so easily cracked.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I just happen to be an obsessive collector."

Although Mage Miphen felt that the White Dragon Lord was just brushing him off, he didn't press the matter any further.