Chapter 9: The Auction
As night fell, Donald, who had successfully deceived Master Bert and his two companions, led Codd, Clinton, and others into the VIP lounge prepared by Golden Sword Auction House for clients and mysterious guests who preferred to remain anonymous. There, they enjoyed exquisite food and top-quality wine reserved for VIPs, while watching the special auction that had already begun in the hall below.
This auction was organized by Master Bert specifically for Donald’s ancestral treasure. He had sent out invitations at the last minute to notify the nobles and influential figures staying in the city. Not only did most of the nobles already in the city accept the invitation, but some who heard about the auction of a mysterious treasure also rushed to attend.
When Donald first introduced his ancestral treasure, he added many fictional details. Unexpectedly, the chief appraiser, Orchi, agreed with Donald’s account and even exaggerated its value highly, completely ignoring Master Bert’s darkened expression. Master Bert had originally planned to lower the treasure’s value so he could buy it at a reasonable price, settle the deal, and then organize a grand auction through the auction house to reap a huge profit. In that way, no matter how much the price rose, it wouldn’t affect the original owner, and he could still earn a substantial commission.
But Orchi immediately praised the knight’s sword as if it were a divine artifact, making it difficult for Master Bert to offer a lower price in front of the owner. He had to abandon his original plan and agree to let the auction house handle the auction, charging only a 5% commission.
Of course, aside from Donald’s fictional ancestral treasure, the auction house also prepared many other items as accompaniments. After all, merchants are driven by profit—any extra money they could make was welcome!
Giant Rock City was just a second-rate remote city in Celt, nowhere near as big as the capital city. Therefore, the auctions held by Golden Sword Auction House here usually weren’t too complicated.
After several artworks and luxury goods favored by nobles and wealthy merchants were displayed one after another, it was soon time for the highlight of this auction—the mysterious treasure.
The magnificent knight’s sword was carried onto the display stand by two strong auction house guards. Under the bright lights, it shone with dazzling brilliance.
The sword, five feet long—1.524 meters—immediately drew gasps from all the guests present.
“What a beautiful sword! Is it just a ceremonial weapon?”
“Shut up! If you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense. This is a real weapon for killing!”
“What long sword have I never seen? A sword this huge is almost as heavy as a knight’s lance. Who could wield such a weapon? Is it meant for giants?”
“Foolish! This is a rare great knight’s sword, designed for highly armored elite knights to use on the battlefield. It relies on the power of their warhorses to swing it—those with limited knowledge have never even heard of it!”
…
Only after the noble guests stopped discussing did the auctioneer have time to explain the origin of the item for sale.
“This great knight’s sword is named Wind of Glory. It was used by an ancestor from a knightly family during the founding wars alongside our great first king of the Celt Kingdom. It has been a treasured heirloom in that family for nearly a thousand years. Made entirely of the hardest steel, with mysterious materials added to make its blade even stronger and less likely to break, it remains uncorroded after a thousand years and still possesses astonishing sharpness.”
Next, materials such as wood and rocks were brought in to test the true quality of the item. As a product of the Book of Truth, it naturally sliced through those test materials effortlessly, suffering no damage at all. This performance once again drew gasps of astonishment from the guests in the audience.
After the auctioneer’s introduction, even Donald, the one who started it all, found it amusing.
Who would have thought that the more this knight’s sword was praised, the more grand its origins seemed? Recalling the historical records he had read, the Celt Kingdom had been established over five hundred years ago. The original Celt royal family were nobles under the once-unified Banai Empire.
During the Catastrophe of Demon Invasions a thousand years ago, divine punishment and the ravages of abyssal demons caused even the mighty ancient magic empire of Banai to collapse completely, with many great warriors falling like meteors.
The Celt family was forced to migrate to the northern part of the continent, considered barren land by others, but they escaped the chaos of war and survived that devastating disaster.
From then on, the Celt family claimed large areas of land in the north. With no other forces competing, they gradually developed from villages into towns, and eventually into a kingdom.
Over five hundred years ago, the wars on the continent had largely subsided. Land resources were divided among various factions, and no one bothered to compete with the Celt family and orcs for the harsh western wastelands and northern forests of the north, leaving the orcs time to recover while the Celt family successfully established the Celt Kingdom.
It was not until after the establishment of the nation that the Celtic Kingdom, which had been almost isolated from the powerful forces on the mainland for hundreds of years, gradually became known to the world. Although the climate was harsh, its vast lands, abundant resources, and the magical beasts in the forests made it desirable to many nations, even those with richer and more fertile lands of their own. As a result, various forces set their sights on this kingdom bordering the orc forces. Yet aside from a few foreign merchant guilds and the usually low-key and benevolent Agricultural Goddess Church, no other forces could interfere in this isolated and united remote kingdom. The ancestors of the Merlinna family did indeed follow King Celt I in battles in the northern lands, but their status was merely that of cavalrymen in the army, without even receiving the title of knight. It was only after that ancestor’s death that they were posthumously honored as honorary knights, allowing the Merlinna family to barely be considered a knightly family—though they had no fiefs and the title was not hereditary. At that time, over five hundred people from the cavalry unit were honored alongside their ancestor; most died in battle, and only a few of their descendants survived to become nobles and enjoy wealth to this day. This illustrates the cruelty of war and the difficulty of gaining power and status in this world. The Merlinna family only received hereditary knight status and a fief the size of two villages in the border region after achieving merits in the war against the orcs three hundred years ago. Over thirteen generations and three centuries, they gradually expanded their territory to a size comparable to that of a barony, making it prosperous and strong. Yet within just a few decades, they lost most of their lands and wealth, ending up with nothing but a house. This undoubtedly proves Donald’s old saying from his past life: “It’s easy to start a business, but hard to maintain it!” That terrifying knight’s sword, nearly as tall as a person, might be awkward to use in one-on-one combat but is undoubtedly a powerful weapon on the battlefield. This sword was Donald’s clever idea to make money—unlike the standard infantry longswords, which are of good quality but plain in appearance, the great swords worn by human knights, the fourth rank of soldiers, combine elegance and power, making them truly formidable weapons. Although they lack magical effects, these swords, forged from pure steel, are not only visually striking but also designed with both grace and coldness, making them genuine weapons of death.
Even without an auction, according to Donald’s estimate, this knight’s great sword could fetch at least three thousand gold sols—a price equivalent to the value of a wealthy noble’s estate. Even Castle Stone’s annual taxes amount to only about five thousand gold sols. But since Donald wanted to make a big profit, he believed the price could rise by another two thousand after an auction. That’s why auction houses exist. The knight’s great sword, directly manifested from the Book of Truth, had a quality surpassing even that of master blacksmiths’ finest works, with all its attributes reaching perfection within the limits of the item itself. Such a divine weapon made it highly coveted by several nobles of knightly descent. Moreover, as a family heirloom passed down for centuries, acquiring it would be a magnificent collection to show off, even if one couldn’t carry it into battle. Thus, wealthy merchants and nobles were also very interested in this knight’s sword. Seeing everyone’s desire to acquire it surge, the auctioneer felt the moment was right and quickly said, “According to our research, this Sword of Glorious Wind is likely the work of an unknown dwarf craftsman. The starting bid is five hundred gold sols. The auction begins now!” Five hundred gold sols was far below the true value of the sword, and such a low starting price prompted many who initially thought they couldn’t afford it to bid higher. The price quickly rose to the minimum Donald had in mind—three thousand gold sols—and continued to climb at a rate of at least two hundred gold sols per minute. In the private room, Donald, the mastermind behind this, grinned like a little fox that had stolen a fat chicken, unable to stop smiling. Meanwhile, Codd, watching the price rise steadily, felt nervous but also had a strange thought—why had his originally kind young master suddenly become so cunning and deceitful? In the end, the “thousand-year-old” knight’s great sword was sold for seven thousand three hundred gold sols by a wealthy merchant from the capital. He laughed loudly and ordered two of his warriors to carry it, saying he intended to take it back to the capital and present it to the king. Donald was also very pleased after receiving a chest containing over seven thousand one hundred gold sols. As for who gained and who lost, only they knew. Donald felt somewhat guilty for deceiving the local inhabitants of this world, but seeing so many golden coins, that sense of guilt vanished quickly.
Whether it’s one’s own mage cultivation or spellcasting, money is required. Just in this small city of Giant Stone, there are so many wealthy nobles—how could they not take advantage? There are also many poor people outside who can’t even get enough to eat! Once he got his hands on Gold Sol, Donald immediately asked the auction house to list it at two thousand. At market price, this amount was equivalent to ten medium-grade elemental crystals and two hundred low-grade elemental crystals. As a result, they almost emptied the auction house’s stock of crystals. Elemental crystal veins are already rare, with medium-grade crystals generally containing more than ten times the energy of low-grade ones and having purer properties. Low-grade crystals can only be upgraded to medium or high-grade by accumulating a certain concentration in an energy-rich environment; otherwise, even after millions of years, they remain low-grade. That’s why medium-grade elemental crystals are always expensive, with most being acquired by various factions, and only a small amount making it onto the market. As for high-grade crystals, it’s not that Donald didn’t want to acquire a couple, but the auction house simply didn’t have any, and it’s hard to find them in stores either. It’s uncertain whether even this small city of Giant Stone can come up with any! Crystals are treated as strategic resources in every country and are only widely circulated among mages. It’s already quite impressive that Gold Sol Auction House has managed to collect them, and they’re willing to sell them all to Donald in one go, seeing potential in this noble mage apprentice’s future. Why wait when he can take advantage of him while he’s still an apprentice? Although this world doesn’t have the saying “it’s better to give help in times of need than to add flowers to a beautiful scene,” wise people still understand its meaning. Moreover, a single auction brought the auction house at least a few hundred Gold Sol in profits—something that usually only happens at the large auctions held once every six months! Two thousand Gold Sol only yielded a small box along with ten or so small, shiny stones, making Donald realize that money comes in fast and goes just as fast. Once the guests had mostly left, Donald bid farewell to the chief administrator, Bert. This was to avoid attracting envious people. Though he wasn’t afraid of any threats given his strength, it was better to avoid trouble if possible. Clinton and the others loaded two wooden boxes—one large and one small—onto the carriage, keeping the ten medium-grade elemental crystals in their arms. At Donald’s command, and with the farewells of the auction house’s chief administrator Bert and others, they left the auction house.
The city gates closed after nightfall. Seeing that he couldn’t return to his home in Red Maple Town, Donald, who had reaped great profits, simply waved his hand and headed straight to the most luxurious inn in the city. Having made over seven thousand gold sols at once—at least one-third more than Stone City’s annual tax revenue—he was in high spirits. Ignoring steward Cord’s concerns, he booked a courtyard that cost two gold sols per day, a place only wealthy nobles and rich merchants could afford.
In the inn room, even more magnificent than those of ordinary rural nobles, Donald ordered his servants to carry two chests into his room and then sent them to the servants’ quarters to rest.
Next, in front of Cord, Donald opened the Book of Truth and summoned the storage device space seal he had long desired. Of course, as a divine artifact, the image displayed by the Book of Truth could not be seen by others.
Although there were no space devices like storage rings in the fantasy series, every hero possessed a space seal. Based on the space laws of this world, the space seal granted by the Book of Truth was a miniature space rift bonded to the user’s mind—a small, stable space created through divine power, existing in the gap between the main world and other dimensions. It allowed the user to summon stored items at will.
There were also space wraps that could be given to peasants, acolytes, and other lower-ranking units to enable them to carry items, but these could only create up to two spaces, each only one cubic unit in size. Moreover, carrying them in backpacks the size of suitcases was inconvenient, so Donald abandoned the idea right away.
The lowest-level space seal created a private space of one cubic unit, requiring thirty cubic units of lower-grade elemental crystals to summon—something Donald had previously found unattainable. Now, in just one night, he could afford it effortlessly.
Theoretically, space seals could be stacked infinitely as long as one could afford the energy, but considering the stability of space structures, it was impossible to expand a private space seal to the size of a country. Otherwise, the structure of this world might not be able to accommodate such an alternate space, and frequent openings between the main world and these space gaps could even cause chaos in spatial forces.
However, he didn’t need such a large space for now. A space seal of one cubic unit, obtained for thirty cubic units of lower-grade elemental crystals, was more than enough for his needs.
One cubic unit may seem small, but it can hold far more than one would imagine. Aside from keeping twenty gold coins with the butler, everything else was packed into the private space along with the crystal chest, yet it only occupied a portion of the space—there was still room for several more chests of that size.
Soon after, the inn’s servant brought dinner for five people. Donald, as the host, naturally received the most lavish meal—more abundant and delicious than any he had eaten in this world, worthy of the two gold coins spent per night.
After dinner, Donald, with his huge sum of money, felt uneasy. He spent a first-level magic core to summon an owl, a female night elf hunter, and sent it to scout the trees in the courtyard. Then, still worried, he used a low-grade elemental crystal to obtain a sentry guard, which he placed in a hidden spot in the courtyard.
With these dual precautions, even if an assassin of bronze rank or higher tried to sneak into the courtyard, they would likely not be able to do so unnoticed. Even if they avoided the owl outside, once they entered the surveillance range, they would be detected promptly by the sentry guard, which could reveal invisibility.
Unlike the temporary effects in the game, the sentry guard Donald obtained could monitor all activities within a one-kilometer radius and detect any invisible entities within a hundred-meter range. It could operate for three days, and whenever any unknown creature or object entered its surveillance range, it would form an image in Donald’s mind, indicating its location and issuing a warning.
This was the result of combining the Book of Truth with the game’s settings and the rules of this world—more than enough to defend against any hostile enemies.
Unaware of this, Donald, who had slept soundly through the night, left the Goldthorn Auction House by carriage shortly after his harvest. Before long, a document appeared on the beds of the leaders of various factions in Stone City.
The Goldthorn Auction House, which received the news first, delivered it to its owner at the fastest speed.
Manager Bert stood respectfully in the study, waiting for instructions from the person reviewing the document behind the desk.
In a luxurious leather chair, an elderly man dressed like a noble looked at the papers in his hands, a faint smile on his lips.
“Interesting! It’s actually a mage apprentice. Even a place like Stone City can produce such a person!”
“Continue to keep an eye on it. Report any news to me immediately!”
Manager Bert nodded repeatedly and then bowed before leaving.
After Bert left, the old man clenched his hand tightly, turning the paper in his grasp into fine powder. Then, a barely audible voice came from the study. “I’ve been managing the affairs of Giant Stone City for decades. Now that the old man’s life is coming to an end, it’s time to think about myself!” Donald naturally had no idea about these factions’ investigations, and even if he had, he wouldn’t care. After all, he had already considered that once he took action, it would be hard to avoid being noticed by outsiders—at least the lord of Red Maple Town and the viscount of Giant Stone City, the two most powerful forces within a hundred miles, would surely find out right away. After all, he also held the title of hereditary knight heir and lived on one of their territories. What Donald knew was that as long as he grew strong quickly, those factions wouldn’t be able to threaten him, no matter what plans they had. So, he focused on eating and sleeping in peace, rather than worrying endlessly. It was better to enjoy life and quietly amass wealth!