Bab 133: CH153 - CH154
CH153
The next day, Brack took Helag around White Fang Castle, introducing him to various wizard families and letting him make an appearance.
Helag noticed that these wizard families seemed to have good relations, each engaging in different businesses.
While a single wizard family wasn't as strong as a wizard organization, together they formed a formidable force.
The auction began the following evening, held in a palace-like venue.
"Please present your invitation," two elegantly dressed women checked each person's invitation at the entrance.
The auction was exclusive, and only open to invited guests.
As a shareholder in the auction, the Terchy family had no trouble securing invitations.
Inside, a red carpet stretched along a long corridor leading into the palace.
A guard escorted the two to the palace's main doors, which opened automatically after a gentle knock.
Inside was a grand hall filled with people in formal attire, holding wine glasses and engaging in conversations.
Tables were scattered throughout, each marked with placards indicating seating arrangements.
Helag scanned the room but didn't see a place for the Terchy family.
Brack greeted others along the way and said, "Don't bother looking, we're not sitting here. We're going to the second floor."
He pointed to the second floor with a smile.
Helag followed his gesture, seeing many private boxes with large windows, their interiors obscured from below.
Brack led Helag up the stairs to the second floor, entering room six.
Inside, Helag found a spacious box with a row of sofas by the window, offering a clear view of the hall below.
"Make yourself comfortable. They'll bring food and drinks soon. Just ask if you want anything," Brack said, lounging on a sofa.
Helag followed suit, sinking into a soft sofa.
The sofa was so plush it felt like he might sink into it completely.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Brack said, eyes half-closed.
Two attendants entered, carrying bottles of wine, plates of food, and a tray of ice.
They poured wine into glasses with ice cubes, placing them on the side tables by Helag and Brack.
"Do you need anything else?" one attendant asked softly.
"Not for now, you can leave," Brack replied.
The attendants bowed and exited, carefully closing the door.
The food included roast beef, a roast chicken, and some fruits and vegetables.
Helag sliced some meat, wrapping it in lettuce to eat.
The flavor was excellent, with crispy, aromatic skin and juicy, tender meat.
After a brief meal, people in the hall began taking their seats, and a middle-aged man in a black suit stepped onto the stage.
A black stone floated before him, amplifying his voice throughout the hall.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the White Fang Castle auction…"
After a brief introduction, he snapped his fingers, and a woman in a stylish dress brought a dagger onto the stage, her hands gloved in black lace.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is tonight's first auction item, an appetizer."
He had the woman display the dagger to the audience.
The dagger was about thirty centimeters long, its blade shimmering blue, with an elegantly carved hilt.
"This dagger is called Blue Wing, a genuine first-level wizard artifact!" the auctioneer announced.
Wizard artifacts are a higher tier than enchanted items, requiring at least a first-level spell to be permanently enchanted.
Items enchanted with zero-level spells are merely enchanted items.
First-level spells are significantly more complex than zero-level spells, making the enchanting process exponentially more difficult, thus rare.
In the Barren Lands, few can create wizard artifacts, most originating from the Land of Dawn.
A first-level wizard artifact indicates a first-level spell is enchanted, usable by at least a third-level wizard apprentice.
Unlike enchanted items, which require minimal mana to use and no specific wizard level, wizard artifacts demand high-quality mana even to activate.
At least third-level apprentice mana is needed to activate a wizard artifact.
The hall was quiet, eyes focused on the dagger, awaiting more details from the auctioneer.
Prices for first-level wizard artifacts vary greatly, depending on the enchanted spell.
Seeing the attention, the auctioneer continued, "This first-level wizard artifact is enchanted with Spatial Transference!"
Wow!
The crowd gasped, the hall buzzing with excitement.
Helag raised an eyebrow, surprised by the revelation of Spatial Transference.
Spatial Transference is a superior spell to Blink, allowing two coordinate points to be recorded.
The caster can choose one point to teleport to after casting.
Even among first-level spells, Spatial Transference is rare and advanced, almost unheard of in the Barren Lands.
Helag had only read about it in books, never expecting to see a wizard artifact with it.
He sighed, sipping his wine, knowing the price would be steep and out of reach.
Owning this dagger meant an additional life-saving measure, teleporting to a preset safe location in emergencies.
For wizards, it greatly enhanced safety.
The auctioneer cleared his throat, "Please settle down. The value of Spatial Transference is clear. This Blue Wing is unique in the Barren Lands…"
He extolled Blue Wing's virtues, aiming to raise its final price.
"Now, the auction begins at 3,000 magic stones, with minimum increments of 500."
"3,500 magic stones!" someone immediately bid.
"Five hundred more? You think you'll win?" a friend teased.
The bidder chuckled, "Just getting involved, better bid now than later when I can't afford it."
CH154
"Four thousand magic stones!"
"Five thousand magic stones!"
The bidding quickly escalated, with each new bid immediately surpassing the last.
Currently, the bidding came from the wizards seated in the hall, while those in the second-floor boxes remained silent.
Helag glanced at his four thousand magic stones, smiling wryly.
His savings were too little compared to the seasoned wizards in the hall, who had likely accumulated wealth over many years.
Helag felt like a recent graduate with minimal savings.
Noticing his expression, Brack offered, "If you want it, the Terchy family can help you buy it. You can pay back the rest slowly, interest-free."
Helag waved it off, "No, thanks. This thing will definitely be expensive."
While useful, Helag didn't want to incur a large debt.
The bidding continued, reaching twelve thousand magic stones.
"Twenty thousand magic stones," came a voice from Box Three, quieting the hall.
"That's someone from the Moss family," Brack explained to Helag.
The Moss family was another powerful pure-blood wizard family, as strong as the Terchy family.
After the Moss family bid, the hall fell silent, with no further bids.
"Danny, I like this item too. Let's see who wins. Thirty-five thousand magic stones," a voice came from Box Seven, next to Helag's.
"Horace Kirk, a first-level crystallized wizard from the Kirk family," Brack said, sipping his wine.
Helag nodded, memorizing the names.
At this price level, he was out of the bidding.
Box Three countered, "Thirty-eight thousand magic stones."
Box Seven paused, then said, "Forty thousand magic stones."
Box Three fell silent, not bidding further.
The auctioneer announced, "The Blue Wing dagger is now at forty thousand magic stones! Any higher bids?"
Silence.
Seeing no further bids, the auctioneer continued, "Forty thousand magic stones, going once!"
"Forty thousand magic stones, going twice…"
"Forty thousand magic stones, sold! Congratulations to the gentleman in Box Seven for winning the Blue Wing dagger!"
With the first auction item sold, the hall buzzed with quiet discussions and chatter about recent events.
The auction's pace was slow, with breaks between items.
Soon, the second item was brought in by two first-level wizards—a thick book.
The book's cover appeared to be some animal's fur, its hair moving on its own.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Next, I present a major auction item!" the auctioneer announced.
All eyes turned to the stage, focusing on the book.
"This is a complete second-level defensive wizard array!"
Wow!
The crowd erupted, even more excited than before.
A second-level defensive wizard array could withstand a full attack from a second-level wizard.
In the Barren Lands, it was nearly invincible, valuable for family or personal defense.
"Second-level defensive wizard array! Starting bid at thirty thousand magic stones! Minimum increments of one thousand magic stones!" the auctioneer shouted enthusiastically.
The hall remained quiet, with no bids.
For most independent wizards, it was too extravagant and impractical.
Only wizard families or organizations found it valuable.
Independent wizards, often alone or with a few companions, could flee if needed, making arrays less useful.
The second floor was also quiet, as most wizard families already had arrays protecting key locations.
For example, the Terchy family's Blackrock Valley had a second-level array, capable of briefly withstanding a third-level wizard's attack.
After a pause, Box Three bid, "Thirty-one thousand magic stones."
"Thirty-five thousand magic stones," Brack bid.
"Brack! Isn't Kent Valley's array strong enough? Why compete with me?" someone from Box Three complained.
Brack explained, "The Terchy family has many potion garden bases, but only Kent Valley has array protection. This second-level array is very useful to us."
With that explanation, Box Three said no more, only raising the bid to "Forty thousand magic stones!"
The Terchy family had numerous potion gardens and potion masters, with Helag being just one.
"Forty-five thousand magic stones," Brack said calmly.
Box Three countered, "Forty-eight thousand magic stones!"
Brack, undeterred, said, "Fifty thousand magic stones!"
"Fifty-three thousand magic stones!" The Moss family seemed interested, persistently bidding.
"Sixty thousand magic stones," Brack raised the bid, unfazed, as if money was no object.
The Moss family paused, with Box Three falling silent.
The auctioneer was about to speak when Box Three bid, "Seventy thousand magic stones!"
"Eighty thousand magic stones," Brack countered without hesitation.
The Terchy family was known for its wealth, and Brack exemplified this.
The room gasped; while bids of eighty thousand magic stones weren't unheard of, Brack's lack of hesitation was rare.
Box Three fell silent, with eighty thousand magic stones seemingly their limit.
"The second-level defensive wizard array is now at eighty thousand magic stones! Any higher bids?"
Silence.
"Eighty thousand magic stones, going once!"
"Eighty thousand magic stones, going twice!"
"Eighty thousand magic stones, sold! Congratulations to the gentleman in Box Six for winning the second-level defensive wizard array!"
Applause filled the room, congratulating Box Six's success.
The array was quickly delivered, with Brack accepting it.
He didn't need to pay immediately, as the Terchy family's account covered it. As a shareholder in the auction, he wasn't going anywhere.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone