When part 3 of the auction finally started, I saw Marta and Silvia participate. They bought many rare herbs, Laura also bought some. Any item that sold for inferior gems I also bid on, since they could be useful for the many Blood Mages we were nurturing. Me, Omar, Liza, Zaya and Vitarys. We were all following the Bloodmage profession, with only Jhon and Jack following the Shadowmancer path. Zhang was our only necromancer. Speaking of which, I hope he is well. Contrary to what I said in the meeting about him being alive, there are worse things than death in this world…
Soon, the auction entered part 4, where there were many new, unique spells and rituals, but most were traded through one-time sales, and even included blood contracts to prevent disclosure by anyone other than the original creator of these methods. But with the money on the side, I just let it go for now. We already had several spells and recipes for all the totems Zhang had sent us, and Natasha had introduced almost all of the ones that belonged to her former master. So we were fine in that sense, my new blood ritual was my main secret, and I wouldn't risk selling it at this auction.
As for the rare animals, I took the opportunity to get my hands on a rare creature that only existed in Sothoryos, and would be a crucial part of the experiments that Omar and I would carry out in the Land of Shadows. A baby Wyvern! I thought I would have to go to the distant continent to get one, but today baby Wyverns were being auctioned. Even though it cost 3,000 soul stones, I used the Order's funds, since it was something that Omar and I needed.
Then, I completely ignored the part about the altered animals. I could make many of these animals, and there were no guarantees of the longevity of the animals sold, nor methods that could verify this. It was a risky and high-risk purchase. But some still tried their luck, especially when they saw large flying animals.
Leaving the altered animals behind and moving on, the natural treasures began to be auctioned off, the 7 fruits of the Order followed by my 9 fruits that belonged to Master Sun, only fetched 1000-1100 superior stones each, well below what I earned at the auction. The reason was that the Masters had no need for such items and only bought them for their servants and family. This left me with 55 thousand stones and 104 thousand in the Order's stock. The natural items that came after my fruits were quite tempting as well.
There were items like the Alliance's soul sphere that could allow us to instantly learn spells of other affinities. Their prices were low as well, costing 1000~3000 each. So I went ahead and bought 2 items that allowed me to learn a shadow spell and an earth spell. Using the Order's funds, I bought 4 more items worth a little over 1000 each. Leaving me with 50 thousand stones again and the Order at its initial 100 thousand.
These 4 items could be acquired by members of the Order using wisdom points, so it was worth it both in terms of spending resources and to strengthen some of them more quickly. With the natural resources part finished, the auctioneer took a break, at which point we received a list of the 6 relics that would be sold today.
When I saw the list, I was surprised and disappointed at the same time. One of the relics was a Valyrian Steel sword. I didn't think that such an item would be in the same category as the magical items that only existed in the towers of Asshai and Stygai. It was then that I read its effects:
Sword of the Lone Walker
-Maximum sharpness
-Weight reduction
-Resistance to fire and corrosion
-Damage against undead +500%
-Damage against souls and specters +1000%
I already knew about all these effects, the last one against souls was what Omar told me when he participated in the immortal soul dungeon. So the effect could be quantified like this? Interesting…
The reason I was disappointed with the other 5 Relics was that none of them had the advanced Fly spell that I needed the most.
One of them was an offensive Ice Relic, the other was a defensive Wind Relic, and the other was a Shadow Relic that focused on movement. And the last two were Healing and Resistance. More specifically, resistance against curses and diseases in general. I would try to get my hands on the two Relics that the Order of Sages needed and buy one more at most, if the resources were sufficient.
It wasn't bad to save the money to look at the special items either. The special items would be displayed at the end of the auction. Someone wanted something very specific for these items, but having extra stones could help in these negotiations. Speaking of which, my primary heart would be in these final items. What I asked for in exchange for it was a primordial item of fire or earth. As for selling it for soul stones, that didn't even cross my mind; their price was immeasurable. Items like that were called supreme natural treasures, and no one would sell them just for money.
Not long after, the auction started again, and this time it was much more hectic. The reason was the slave auction, lots and lots of 100 slaves were constantly being sold. The simplest ones were humans, who were snatched up quickly, while the many exotic races fetched huge prices. What surprised me the most was a lot of 100 Valyrians.
Most of the slaves were sold in the range of 3-4 soul stones per person. But this batch of Valyrians started immediately with 9 soul stones per person. This batch also made the sisters participate in the bidding again. Marta, who was bidding, seemed quite interested in the Valyrians, or maybe she just wanted to save them? After the disaster, there weren't many pure-blood Valyrians alive... I bid a few times, too, but quickly gave up when the price climbed above 3000.
Master Baron Bones kept trying to take this batch of Valyrians, speaking of the Necromancers, they were the biggest customers in the slave auction, followed by the Blood Mages. Many were snatched by them, and Baron Bones was the main buyer. Baron Bones alone had taken 3 batches of 100 Dothraki warriors, not giving anyone a chance. But this time he met a powerful enemy, in the end Marta took the 100 Valyrians for 8000 soul stones. One of the highest prices in the slave auction so far.
After the slaves in batches, came the individual slaves, among whom the females and warriors had the highest prices, regardless of the species. The highlight was a species that resembled a mermaid, it was auctioned for 4500 soulstones. a species that resembled a dark elf captured in Sothoryos was taken for 4100, and lastly, a true giant from the North of Westeros.
This one had the highest price since it was an endangered race even in modern times. The fight for the giant was great; many Necromancers and Blood Mages wanted it. In the end, everyone gave up, and again, only Baron Bones and his rival in the many bids, Master Poison Soul, were left. With smaller pockets, the giant was taken by Master Baron Bones again, for almost 10 thousand soulstones. I can say that in this part of the auction, the Necromancer easily spent at least 50 thousand soulstones, showing that he has deep pockets.
With the slave auction coming to an end, the Relic auction soon began, and everyone was actively participating in this part. The first item to be auctioned was the Lone Walker sword. Its initial bid started at 30,000 soul stones with minimum increments of 1,000 soul stones per bid.
While the bids remained below 50,000, I tried to take the sword. After all, it would work well as the special item of the Order of Sages. For Omar, it wouldn't be much help, and he already had a Valyrian Steel sword. But it was naive of me to think that I could take a Relic for only 50,000 soul stones.
Perhaps because it was the first Relic to be auctioned, and also an attack Relic, the sword reached an incredible 79,000 soul stones, being snatched by none other than Master Priest Grym, the Pope of the Lord of Light…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magical Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, and Niteo akuma!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley!