Chapter 201: Auction by Another Name
For over a thousand years, the Black Tower believed that the excavation of the Sun King's Ruins had been both successful and flawless—no casualties, every valuable relic packed up and shipped back to the Black Tower.
Yet, more than a thousand years later, a young mage delivered a resounding slap to the Black Tower's pride...
It was only then that people realized the Black Tower's excavation of the Sun King's Ruins had been neither successful nor flawless. They had made a mistake so grave that it would haunt them for another millennium...
Of course, these thoughts were not something one could share with Heron.
So Leon could only suppress his laughter, barely holding it in.
The deal for the second Meditation Codex was struck while both men struggled to keep straight faces.
With two out of three Meditation Codexes already traded, the last one instantly became the object of everyone's envy. A dozen Title Archmages stood there, glancing at each other with barely concealed fire in their eyes. At that moment, everyone was thinking the same thing: Black Tower got one, Cloudspire Tower got one, surely the last one should go to me, right?
The problem was, there were far too many 'me's...
Worst of all, at that very moment, Leon said something else...
"For this last Meditation Codex, I'd like to trade for some Mana Crystals..."
...As soon as Leon said this, both Joey and Heron, who had already secured their deals, couldn't help but show looks of sympathy and relief. Thankfully, they'd already gritted their teeth and gotten their Meditation Codex; otherwise, they'd be fighting with a dozen red-eyed Title Archmages, and the currency would be Mana Crystals...
This was going to bleed them dry...
Before, Joey's South Norland and Heron's Sun King's Ruins were straightforward trades—everyone got what they needed, and it was fair value, since there were no competitors...
But now, trading with Mana Crystals...
Among mages, trades are always made with Mana Crystals. These Title Archmages have been famous for decades, backed by powerful factions, and all have huge reserves of Mana Crystals. This isn't a one-on-one deal anymore—Leon had just turned the trade into an auction. Now, a dozen Title Archmages could join in, and it was going to be a bloody fight...
Elgin was the first to step forward: "Sixteen Soul Mana Crystals."
Only Mana Crystals of level thirty or above are called Soul Mana Crystals.
Soul Mana Crystals contain exceptionally pure magical energy, which ordinary mages can absorb directly. They're used as sources of magical power in nearly every field of alchemy. But they're extremely rare—Magical beasts above level thirty are as strong as Title Archmages, and even top mages must risk their lives to hunt them.
Sixteen Soul Mana Crystals—Elgin was putting everything he had on the line for that Meditation Codex.
"Fifty-three."
"Fifty-four."
"Fifty-five."
Morg was practically cursing under his breath as he gritted his teeth and called out each new price. By the end, he even wondered if the two of them would keep bidding one crystal at a time, all the way up to hundreds or thousands...
Fortunately, that didn't actually happen...
When Morg called out "Sixty," Nolan, who had been relentlessly pursuing him, finally hesitated for the first time...
"Alright, I give up..."
"Sixty-two... wait, you give up?" Morg had instinctively wanted to call out "Sixty-two" when he saw Nolan speak, but as he opened his mouth, he suddenly realized Nolan had said... I give up?
"Yes, I give up..." Nolan nodded, still smiling, showing no sign of disappointment at losing the bidding.
After saying that, he glanced over at Leon from afar.
Sure enough... When Nolan looked over, Leon sighed—this old guy really had come as a shill...
Strictly speaking, Nolan had helped Leon raise the price to sixty Soul Mana Crystals—Leon should be grateful.
But the more Leon thought about it, the more unfair it felt.
Damn it, the old guy didn't spend a single crystal, but Leon still owed him a favor!
How was anyone supposed to feel balanced after that?
In any case, Morg finally sealed the deal with sixty Soul Mana Crystals, securing the last Meditation Codex.
This price was unimaginable for most people. Sixty Soul Mana Crystals meant a fortune of three hundred million gold coins—enough to shake the kingdom's financial system if released at once, buy ten True Spirit Artifacts, or hire a squad of Title Archmages to take out an enemy.
It was an irresistible price...
When Morg held those sheets of paper, his expression was extremely cautious, as if holding a priceless treasure. He was terrified of creasing them—after all, they had cost sixty Soul Mana Crystals, nearly a third of Howling Isle's wealth.
Of course, Morg wasn't carrying sixty Soul Mana Crystals on him.
Besides, even Howling Isle couldn't produce sixty Soul Mana Crystals at once—at most, they could scrape together forty or fifty, and the rest would have to be paid with other magical materials.
Fortunately, Leon wasn't picky about magical materials these days...
With the Gilded Rose, that enormous alchemy machine, he could make use of any amount of magical materials...
With the last Meditation Codex claimed by Morg, the commotion Leon had caused finally died down. The gathering returned to its usual rhythm, with over half the Title Archmages presenting their latest research, hoping to exchange for magical knowledge they needed.
Unfortunately, the three Meditation Codexes had been so sensational that the other magical knowledge suffered by association. Many research findings that should have been celebrated were met with indifference—most of the Title Archmages were still thinking about the Codexes, with no energy left for anything else.
As a result, Leon, Joey, Heron, and Oswald picked up quite a few bargains...
Especially the set of data Oswald bought—it had taken all the master craftsmen at Mercury Tower years to calculate, yet Oswald got it for a pittance.
Of course, compared to Leon's three Meditation Codexes, these were just minor episodes.
Three days later, the Order of the Arcane Hand Gathering ended. Leon boarded his carriage and left Rockridge, the city that had brought him such great wealth...
With sixty Soul Mana Crystals in hand, Leon finally had the confidence to pursue many of his plans...
For example, the Doombringer Staff, destined to become the strongest Essence Relic!