I have to become stronger… that Amalia was simply too good.
“What are you spacing out for~? The auction will start soon~” She looks just like she did before we had sex, but if you look closely you’ll notice her hair is a little disheveled “Hmm, I’ll give you 72 points~, you have potential~”
What now?
She doesn’t bother to give me an answer, and just leaves.
Damn you.
I pull up my pants and leave the forest as well.
At least I managed to condense from this encounter, but I can’t feel too happy about it.
What did she mean by points?
What would have happened if I had scored less than 72?
Tudor was right, danger does increase cultivation…
I notice a blonde petite girl with large twin tails looking at me in a funny way.
“You have a problem with me?” I don’t think I’ve seen her before.
“I- I have to go!” She quickly flees into the building.
Hmph, what’s her deal?
Maybe she saw us have sex?
There’s a chance that’s the case, we didn’t hide too well.
I hope she won’t do anything troublesome.
* * *
Inside the building I notice the auction has already begun, and the auctioneer is someone I’m familiar with, surprisingly enough.
It’s Simon, he’s the guy who fought Timotei not too long ago.
I look for a seat, but there aren’t many left, but I notice the girl from before has free seat at her side.
I go to that one, I want to sit next to a cute girl.
Obviously.
She looks a little bothered once I sit down, but seems to get over it rather quickly when she sees I’m not going to talk to her.
I’m very curious in the auction itself, I want to see what kind of unconventional treasures are going to appear in this kind of place.
The current auctioned item seems to be some sort of painting, but it’s covered in a piece of cloth, apparently it’s a rank 3 artifact, the starting price is 1 gold.
It feels a little familiar, but I can’t place from where it is.
I don’t care too much about it to be honest, and the flickering lights distract me from the explanation.
I bet they’re mass-produced garbage.
But the painting sold for 2 gold and fifty silver rather quickly.
My artifacts are one rank higher, and I know they will sell for much more than this.
* * *
“And now we have the [Wulfrum pills]! They can increase and purify the metal energy in your body! They can be considered excellent for rank 3 pills! But after taking them the user will become very hungry for 3 days!” Simon is excitedly presenting the items. “The starting price is 4 golds!”
These should be one of the things Amalia made, right?
Purifying the metal energy inside oneself is not bad at all, for example, my <Body of steel> is a metal-element spell, so depending on how much my energy is purified its effectiveness will increase dramatically.
And the more pure one’s elemental energy is the more effects each condensation will have, of course, you also need a lot of it so it matters, but the amount each person has is decided by birth, methods to increase it should be rare.
My amount of metal energy should be too bad, I think it was above average in the clan.
It’s my water and fire that are big, according to Master they’re exceptional even if you consider the geniuses in the capital and some elemental monsters. That’s one of the reasons I have such an easy time using those elements.
Of course, I also have my own shortcomings, my wood energy is low, and I barely even have any light energy, I don’t think I could use any light spells even if I tried with all my might.
The effects of the pills aren’t bad at all, even the blonde girl seems interested.
I don’t really care about it though.
I have no money!
None of it!
“4 50!” But some guy clearly does, it’s a bald man wearing an orange suit.
“5!” The girl at my side also makes an offer
…
“7!” After a fast back and forward between Blondie and the bald man, she’s the one to finally buy the pills.
She looks proud of herself, and I look to where Amalia is seated, she seems to be in a good mood.
* * *
“We have the corpse of a Quetzal! The exact details of the monster are unknown, but it’s a monster with 4 patterns, and has very thick light and fire elemental energies!” Simon presents the corpse of a massive feathered snake that has 8 wings with enthusiasm “Our starting price is 6 golds!”
“6 gold and 30 silver!” A hooded man quickly makes an offer.
Damn you.
I would love to have those materials.
“7 gold!” Amalia makes an offer.
“8 gold!” The hooded man quickly increases his offer, it seems he’s dedicated to get this corpse.
Is this what it feels like to have a loved one be fucked in front of you?
I must become stronger!
I can’t let this happen again, not even if I die!
Blondie is giving me a weird look, but it doesn’t matter!
Hmph! You can’t hope to understand the determination of a blacksmith!
I see that Amalia is also a little frustrated.
Even if she’s a creep, she is still an alchemist after all!
Amalia should understand this pain!
* * *
At the end the corpse sold for 10 golds…
The hooded guy bought it…
Damn you.
* * *
“Now we have a very interesting artifact! The <Collar of slavery>! This is an artifact of the fallen arcadian empire! Once the collar identifies the user as its owner, they can put it on a victim, and they will be compelled to follow every command of their master!” Simon is presenting this evil thing with the same enthusiasm as every other artifact. “However, if the slave is stronger than the master, the user will have to accept certain conditions from the slave in a magical contract, and if this contract doesn’t go through, the collar will begin to choke the victim.” He claps his hands “This is an exceptional rank 4 artifact, and it’s starting price is 7 golds.”
How brutal…
Man, I knew this wasn’t a place for good people. But it’s still surprising to see something like this being sold so openly.
“7 golds and 40 silvers!” A man wearing a green hat makes an offer
“8 gold!” Someone familiar makes another offer, Amalia.
I guess it’s good to have confirmation that she’s not one for morals.
I won’t associate with her after I fix my arm, I don’t want anything to do with that.
* * *
After a fast back and forward, Amalia bought the collar for 13 gold coins.
* * *
“And now we have a very interesting item, this is the <hundred-thousand snowmelt roots>! This is a wood-water elemental cultivation spell that increases the absorption of ether while meditating! It can also be used to scout an area depending on one’s cultivation, the past user of this technique could scout in a radius of 500 meters! She was very talented in the water element and had 4 patterns!” Simon looks a little dissatisfied, but that doesn’t reduce his energy. “This is a rank 3 spell, and the starting price is 12 golds!”
This…
That spell should belong to Bianca, right?
I wonder what kind of face she’s doing right now.
She absolutely can’t be happy.
Understand a fraction of my pain!
I got my arm broken by my own spell, so this is only fair!
“13 golds” The man with the green hat makes an offer
“20.” The man I least expected to make a move, made an offer in a very authoritative voice…
Sebastian, the lanky guy that accompanies Tudor.
There’s silence for a moment, and the spell is sold to him without much fuss.
How cool, I’ll definitely try that once I’m stronger.
* * *
Simon is presenting a small vial with a small amount of black liquid inside “This is an excellent item right here, a genuine drop of Shoggoth blood! This is the blood of the Nepheloid Kraken that was slain some 30 years ago! And as proof of its authenticity…” Simon touches a white piece of cloth with the vial, and a breath later 8 lines form a deep blue spiral pattern from the point of contact. “As you can see from the corruption, this is a genuine item! Since it’s only a single drop, it can be considered an outstanding rank 5 ingredient, and the starting price will be 20 golds!”
Will it really be ok to consume something like that?
For some reason I feel it would taste great, and that’s probably not a good thing.
I gulp.
“21 golds!” The man with the orange suit makes a swift offer
“22!” Amalia moves just as quickly.
“24 gold coins!” A woman with very thick glasses makes another offer.
After the longest back and forward yet, Amalia buys the small vial for 35 golds.
I really hope she keeps her word.
* * *
This is the moment I was waiting for!
My knives are finally being sold!
“This is an astonishing set of blades, all 6 of them are powerful rank 4 artifacts!” Some girls bring a few dummies, and Simon starts introducing all of the knives.
I think he did a good job at it, and he clearly understands good craftsmanship.
“Our starting price will be 24 golds!”
This is it.
I would pray for good fortune, but as an atheist I don’t think it’s appropriate.
I guess I’ll just hope for the best.
This isn’t a good place for praying anyway…
“25 golds!” The man in the orange suit makes an offer.
“27 gold coins!” The girl with the thick glasses also makes her move
“We have 27 golds, does anyone have a better price?!” Simon excitedly moves along and lifts 3 fingers.
“In 2!” He lowers one finger.
“In 1!” He lowers another one.
I gulp
“28 gold!” A hooded man makes an offer!
“30 gold coins!” The woman with thick glasses and purple hair makes another offer.
“31 golds!” The orange suited man moves again.
“34 gold coins!” The woman doesn’t relent!
…
“34 golds! We have 34 golds! 35!? Do we have 35!?”
However, no one makes an offer this time…
“34 golds it is! This set of 6 powerful rank 4 weapons has been sold for 34 golds!”
/////////////////
Author's note:
In order to celebrate 100 readers I decided to release all the chapters I had.
Thank you guys for the support!
Zonkermd· Jan 11, 2022
