Chapter 1310
For Leon, this kind of thing was essentially useless. Some of the magical artifacts sold by the Gilded Rose did require Elemental Amber as a material, but those were just regular Elemental Amber—dirt cheap, really. In fact, the Gilded Rose's team of alchemists was already researching the technology for synthesizing Elemental Amber artificially.
The Elemental Amber needed for a single magical artifact was worth, at most, a few dozen Purple Gold Coins. Yet this particular piece of Elemental Amber had a starting bid of thirty thousand Purple Gold Coins—there was simply no need to buy it.
Leon watched quietly. In less than two minutes, the Elemental Amber was auctioned off for eighty thousand Purple Gold Coins—almost triple the starting price. It was just a warm-up item, but the final price was absolutely outrageous.
Soon after, another Earth Elemental Gem was auctioned off, fetching a final price of sixty thousand Purple Gold Coins. But when the third item was brought out, Leon suddenly became interested.
“Legend has it, this gemstone comes from the distant Nesser Dynasty. It is the essence condensed within the Moonwell of the Nightshade Elves. After the Nightshade Elves vanished from Northend World, all those Moonwells that gathered the power of moonlight fell into ruin.
This crystal was formed in a Moonwell that survived tens of thousands of years without being destroyed—a crystallization of moonlight, condensed over millennia. Its largest diameter is 130 centimeters, smallest 88 centimeters.
It contains an incredibly pure and vast essence of moonlight—eight times better than the finest Moonstone currently known.”
As the host spoke, the lighting in the auction hall gradually dimmed. The Moonlight Essence Crystal began to emit a gentle moonlight—not dazzling, but enough to illuminate the entire hall.
When the lights came back on, the glow from the Moonlight Essence Crystal faded, as if a veil of moonlight still lingered on its surface.
"Alright, I think everyone can see for themselves—this crystal is self-explanatory as a crafting material. If you place it up high, its light can illuminate at least ten kilometers, and it even has the power to pierce through invisibility."
Starting bid: one hundred twenty thousand Purple Gold Coins. The auction begins now!"
Staring at the massive crystal, Leon's eyes held a trace of shock.
Moonlight Essence Crystal? Who the hell did the appraisal for this? No wonder I felt something was off when I saw the catalog. For a Moonlight Essence Crystal this size, you'd need the largest Moonwell ever made by the Nightshade Elves, running nonstop for at least thirty-eight thousand years—and you couldn't take a single drop of Moonwell Water during that entire time.
Are you kidding me? After the Nightshade Elves vanished from Northend World, the first thing people snatched up were the Moonwells. The Moonwell Water they produced was the purest mana imaginable—capable of restoring magical power instantly, usable by any mage. Could something like this really operate quietly for tens of thousands of years, exposed to moonlight the whole time?
For an ordinary Moonwell, you'd need it to run undisturbed for at least a hundred thousand years to possibly condense a crystal this large.
Damn, there's a Moonlight Gem inside this crystal—at least the size of a human head! Only a Moonlight Gem that big could condense a Moonlight Essence Crystal of this magnitude on its surface.
You can't use a Moonlight Essence Crystal directly, but if it's Moonwell Water, any creature—even plants—could absorb it without a problem.
No doubt about it!
Seeing it with his own eyes and sensing its aura, Leon was now completely certain. He sat back down, quietly waiting for the others to bid.
Moonlight Gems aren't something people of this era truly understand. Every Moonlight Gem that survived was made into a complete magical artifact, and couldn't be reused. Legend has it the Nightshade Elves created Moonlight Gems, so no one ever suspected this crystal had anything to do with Moonstones.
It wasn't until the Great Tomb-Digging Era of the future, when crazed mages dug up every inch of Northend World's soil, that people finally discovered the truth: Moonlight Gems aren't made by Nightshade Elves—they're treasures naturally nurtured within the Great Tree of Life.
Ever since the Nightshade Elves completely vanished from Northend World, Moonlight Gems lost the chance to be nurtured anew. Every Moonlight Gem that appears now was actually formed ages ago.
Leon waited for the others to bid. As expected, almost all the offers came from people seated in the lower hall; only a few from above joined in, and each bid increment was small. Three minutes passed before the price reached 160,000 Purple Gold Coins, and people were already starting to drop out.
Leon figured it was about time, so he joined the bidding—but he didn't raise the price by much.
"One hundred sixty-five thousand."
He raised the bid by just five thousand Purple Gold Coins—showing a bit of interest, but also a hint of not caring about the money. It let everyone know he was interested, but not desperate for more Purple Gold Coins.
Sure enough, as soon as Leon raised the bid by five thousand, more than half the room dropped out. If it was just a Moonlight Essence Crystal, the size didn't matter much—unless you were collecting, you'd cut it up to use anyway. For a warm-up item like this, there was no need to fight to the death over the price.
As if responding to Leon's bid, a shout came from the Rodney Family's room not far away.
"Two hundred thousand."
Wyatt Rodney shot a cold, mocking glance toward Leon's room.
Andalusian bumpkin, let me show you the Rodney Family's wealth today—something a little Gilded Rose could never match.
But when Wyatt looked over, he found Leon's expression was calm, as if he wasn't surprised at all.
"Two hundred fifty thousand."
With Wyatt and Leon driving the bids, everyone else gave up competing. Even a large Moonlight Essence Crystal, no matter how naturally formed over time, wasn't worth this much. It wasn't even worth collecting. Besides, it was obvious to everyone that the Rodney Family was just trying to provoke Leon.
[Irrelevant passage about reading the next page—skip translation.]
Wyatt's lips curled into a faint smile, and he raised the bid again.
"Five hundred thousand. Archmage Leon Merlin, if you're short on cash, I can lend you some—no interest. All you have to do is kneel and call me 'Grandfather,' and those five hundred thousand Purple Gold Coins are yours."
Leon remained utterly indifferent, completely ignoring Wyatt.
"One million."