As soon as Kadgar finished speaking, the entire hall fell eerily silent. This strange quiet lasted for almost three minutes before the place suddenly erupted with a roar!
"Heavens, Oblivion Inferno!"
"Is it really Oblivion Inferno? Did I hear that right...?"
Oblivion Inferno—legend says it was created by the last Heaven-Tier Mage of the Third Dynasty to fight against the Abyssal Demons. This spell was known as the only transcendent magic, and in that era, it nearly overturned the entire magical system.
But after the Third Dynasty, this spell was completely lost. Rudolph fell during the Battle of Dusk, and the only transcendent spell was buried with that Heaven-Tier Mage. For over a thousand years, countless mages tried to revive this world-shattering magic, but it never returned.
No one expected it to show up at the Blackhorn Auction today...
It's true, the spell is incomplete. As mentioned before, no matter how skilled a mage is, it's impossible to cast using this fragment. But for everyone present, that hardly matters. Even if it were complete, so what? This is transcendent magic—power no mortal should ever possess.
What truly matters is the knowledge hidden within this spell.
This is the legacy of a Heaven-Tier Mage—even a single character is bound to hold infinite mysteries.
"Next, this incomplete Oblivion Inferno spell will start at fifty thousand gold coins, with each bid increasing by no less than five thousand coins."
The starting bid was set at fifty thousand gold coins—the same price Leon paid for that bottle of River Styx Water. But when Leon bought the River Styx Water, the entire hall’s alchemists mocked him for half a day. This time, Oblivion Inferno’s fifty thousand gold coins instantly sent the auction into a frenzy.
"Sixty thousand gold coins!"
"Seventy thousand!"
"One hundred thousand!"
......
In just one minute, the price for the incomplete spell had already soared to a hundred thousand gold coins.
And it looked like this was only the beginning.
The hundred-thousand mark was quickly surpassed—then came one hundred fifty thousand, one hundred sixty thousand, and at two hundred fifty thousand, the bidding finally paused for breath.
But soon enough, a new round of bidding began. Insane sky-high offers followed one after another, and this fragment of Oblivion Inferno was pushed all the way to five hundred thousand gold coins.
Five hundred thousand gold coins—what does that even mean? Back when Roger Merlin opened a Gilded Rose on Triumph Avenue, from buying magical materials to hiring alchemists, he spent only a hundred thousand coins in total. In other words, the current price for Oblivion Inferno could fund Roger Merlin opening five more Gilded Roses on Triumph Avenue...
For this fragment of Oblivion Inferno, nearly every mage in the hall had gone mad. This Blackhorn auction had drawn a hundred mages, dozens of Grand Mages, and even several Archmages. Their desire for Oblivion Inferno was impossible for outsiders to understand—this was the legacy of a Heaven-Tier Mage, an unimaginable treasure for any mage.
Of all these mages, Leon was probably the only one who wasn't tempted...
For Leon, Oblivion Inferno wasn't worth much. He had at least ten spells of similar power in his mind—all of them complete. His real headache wasn't mastering these spells, but reaching the level required to cast them.
In other words, the four materials for Mana Baptism were, in Leon's eyes, far more important than Oblivion Inferno.
So Leon was perfectly relaxed, just here to watch the spectacle—and maybe, in a slightly dark way, hoping they'd fight harder. The more fiercely they competed now, the less competition he'd face for the remaining three materials later.
And the mages at the auction didn’t disappoint. Even the sky-high price of five hundred thousand gold coins only quieted the hall for a moment, before another voice rang out from one of the private boxes.
"Six hundred thousand gold coins."
The bid came from Sage's Spire—after a long silence, Salomon finally made his move.
After that bid, the hall fell silent again—and this time, the quiet lasted even longer than before.
Six hundred thousand gold coins—now that was a real sky-high price. And it was Salomon who’d called it. The names of the Triumvirate of Sage's Spire were legendary throughout the eastern kingdom. No matter how powerful a faction, none could ignore these three Archmages. When Salomon placed his bid, any mage who wanted to compete had to seriously consider what Sage's Spire might do next...
Of course, not every mage would be so cautious.
"Six hundred fifty thousand gold coins." Another voice called out from a private box, raising the price by another fifty thousand. And after announcing the bid, the voice added with a hint of provocation: "Sorry, Salomon, but Ashen Tower is very interested in this Oblivion Inferno spell too."
The response was a fit of violent coughing—and then an even higher bid: "Seven hundred thousand gold coins."
"Eight hundred thousand!" Whether to continue provoking or out of genuine anger, the Ashen Tower mage immediately raised the price by another hundred thousand as soon as Salomon finished speaking.
This time, there was a brief silence from Sage's Spire's box. After a moment, Salomon coughed again and announced a new price: "Eight hundred thirty thousand gold coins."
But the Ashen Tower mage quickly made another offer.
"Nine hundred thousand!"
A fit of violent coughing echoed from Sage's Spire's box, but no new bid was forthcoming...
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Seeing this, Leon couldn't help but shake his head. It looked like this incomplete Oblivion Inferno spell would end up in Ashen Tower's hands. Sage's Spire might stand at the peak of Seaview City, but their finances aren't as abundant as many imagine. With their vast number of mages, they're burning through gold coins every moment. Suddenly producing a million gold coins isn't easy.
But for Sage's Spire, maybe this wasn't such a bad thing. Nine hundred thousand gold coins was truly excessive. If it were a complete spell, maybe it would be worth it—but this one was incomplete. Even if they obtained it, it could never reproduce its former glory. All they could do now was glimpse a sliver of the Heaven-Tier Mage's wisdom from this fragment.
To Leon, that really wasn’t worth it...
"Wait, what’s that..." Just as Leon was shaking his head in disappointment, his gaze swept across the scroll bearing the incomplete spell—and suddenly, surprise flickered across his face.
The magical aura radiating from the scroll seemed... off.
This discovery made Leon frown. He stared at the scroll bearing the incomplete spell, examining it from top to bottom. The first thing he noticed was a patch of scorched marks at the bottom—probably the real reason the spell was incomplete. He also noticed that, despite a thousand years of wear, the characters on the scroll remained perfectly clear, with no sign of fading.
That alone was enough for Leon to be certain: this scroll was written with Eternal Ink. Only Eternal Ink could withstand the erosion of time, keeping its characters unchanged no matter how many years passed.
But the magical aura of Eternal Ink should never feel like this.
The scroll itself held no magical power, and its aura was incredibly faint. Any ordinary mage would probably never notice such a subtle difference. But Leon was different—he’d seen countless scrolls written with Eternal Ink in that vast, decaying library. That unique magical aura was etched deep in his mind, and with just a moment’s thought, he knew this wasn’t the aura of Eternal Ink.
But if it’s not the aura of Eternal Ink, then what is it?
This magical aura was truly unique—it gave Leon a sense of vibrant vitality. The only similar aura he’d ever encountered was on certain soulbound relics.
That's it—Soulbound Relics!
At that realization, even Leon grew serious. He quietly chanted a spell and cast a Life Detection.
Sure enough, there was a faint life aura lingering around the scroll. It was weak, but the sense of vitality was impossible to hide. Leon was now almost certain—this was the aura of a Soulbound Fragment.
But it wasn’t a Soulbound Relic—it was the legendary Soulbound Fragment!
Like soulbound relics, Soulbound Fragments possess a certain sentience.
But unlike soulbound relics, whose sentience is bestowed by alchemists and fixed from their creation—stable, powerful, but never growing—Soulbound Fragments are completely different. Their sentience can’t exist independently; they must attach themselves to other relics, and the stronger the host, the faster they grow. In Northend’s history, several famous Soulbound Fragments reached such heights that their power rivaled extraordinary relics.