Chapter 74: Silver Moon Coins

After receiving the box brought by his servant along with Donald’s instructions, the old man showed a hint of surprise. Then he looked up at Donald again, smiling and nodding in thanks.
What Donald had given was naturally the red tea produced by his estate. He could tell that the noble lady from Gardere was determined to win the auction earlier, but had to give up due to her elders’ advice.
Still, since Donald had made him earn a few hundred gold sols, he was happy to return a small gift—it was good to make a friend. After all, a little red tea was not something precious to him.
On the other hand, the noble lady seemed quite delighted after receiving Donald’s gift, sending him several smiles in succession. This made Katherine beside her jealous, and she rolled her eyes at Donald, saying, “You really know how to be kind—even to a foreign girl!”
Ferdinand and his sister couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at this. Donald replied helplessly, “It’s just to make a friend. That old man is a highly skilled mage, at least a silver-level expert. He helped me earn a lot, so it’s only right to return a gift!”
Katherine wasn’t an unreasonable child either; she had only been teasing Donald on purpose.
Ferdinand, however, upon hearing that the man was a powerful mage, began to observe the people from Gardere more carefully. Then he changed his expression and said, “These people are no ordinary ones! Aside from the old man and that lady whose strength I can’t assess, the others are all warriors at least at the peak of bronze level. I wonder what their purpose in coming to our Celt is!”
Cornelia said impatiently to her brother, “Ferdinand, why worry so much? Those from Gardere probably pose no danger—they’re not those madmen from Sendel!” “Exactly. I think they’re here with good intentions. Besides, the kingdom must have agencies to handle such matters. It’s unnecessary for us to worry; they won’t appreciate it anyway!”
Facing his sister and Donald’s advice, Ferdinand smiled self-mockingly and said, “I’ve been in the army for too long, so I can’t help but think too much! You two, stop talking about me and keep watching the auction!”
The luxury items that followed were diverse—ranging from clothing and jewelry to food and spices, all of which were beyond the reach of ordinary people. Soon, it was time for the item Donald had commissioned to be auctioned, his last item: the popular Moonlight Wine from the North County.

Since the sales rights had already been handed over to the Mage’s Club, Donald didn’t bring many bottles—only ten. Rarity makes things valuable; when there’s an abundance, people stop paying attention. Unlike the packaged auction of black tea, these ten bottles of Moonlight Wine were auctioned separately, allowing multiple guests to taste this fine wine. The reputation of Moonlight Wine, a mage beverage rumored about only, was much greater—even His Majesty the King bid to acquire one bottle. In the end, each of the ten bottles of Moonlight Wine fetched a price of over a hundred gold sols, bringing Donald thousands of gold sols in revenue. “Donald, these two products from your estate are truly profitable! With such profits, even medium-sized merchant guilds across a large territory in the kingdom must be envious.” Hearing Ferdinand’s admiring words, Donald just smiled without saying anything. Cornelia joked, “I didn’t expect you to be so rich. When I visit your estate someday, you’d better treat me well! Give me ten or eight bottles of that Moonlight Wine so I can taste what wine worth a hundred gold sols tastes like!” Donald replied with a smile, “Don’t worry! There will be plenty of Moonlight Wine, and the delicacies in my estate will surely make your taste buds sing!” After the luxury goods auction, it was time for high-quality weapons, magical items, and alchemical tools. Nearly two hours had passed since the auction began. Donald wasn’t very interested in the fine weapons forged by master blacksmiths or the enchanted gear created by mages, as the items available for exchange in the Book of Truth were of better quality and had more comprehensive attributes. The Ferdinand siblings felt the same way—Ansel’s family’s collection consisted of the finest treasures, and even when equipping their elite troops, they were no worse than what was auctioned here. The real highlights came at the end: rare artifacts from ancient ruins, exotic equipment, advanced potions, and finally, the precious treasure auction. After the Ferdinand siblings bid on several items they liked, something that caught Donald’s interest finally appeared on the auction block. It was a silver moon coin from the ancient Arcane Emperor Empire. It is said that when the ancient Magic Empire of Bannai minted their unified magic coins, they included… Thus, the gold coins of the Bannai Empire were called magic coins. This practice also originated from the great archmage lords of the ancient Arcane Emperor Empire.

It is said that tens of thousands of years ago, those great archmage lords, whose powers far exceeded even legendary levels, used rare magical metals such as pure gold and secret silver to mint currency. Thus, the Ancient Arcane Empire had only two types of currency: Dark Day and Silver Moon, both of equal value, with at least 60% of their composition being magical metals. This allowed archmages to engrave powerful arcane matrices on the currency, making it extremely convenient for storing powerful spells or various attributes—truly remarkable arcane creations.

This practice made the value of ancient arcane currency far exceed that of its materials, turning it into the primary medium of exchange among spellcasters for nearly ten thousand years. It was not until a thousand years ago, with the collapse of the Ancient Magic Empire and the drastic decline in the number and strength of mages—far less powerful than during the Banai Empire era—that ancient arcane currency became a highly sought-after treasure rather than the main medium of exchange. The later currencies of Gold Sol and Silver Moon were modeled after these ancient ones, with ordinary gold and silver substituted as materials.

According to statistics from the major merchant guilds on the continent, a used blank magic coin from the Banai Empire is currently worth around a hundred Gold Sol, typically purchased only by nobles and mages. These spell storage items, akin to low-grade elemental crystals, still have a strong market demand, as they can be used by all non-divine spellcasters. What sets them apart from elemental crystals is that they can be refilled repeatedly and are not limited to elemental energy, which is why mages other than elemental mages also collect them eagerly.

Nobles, on the other hand, value them for their collectible nature. Ancient families usually stockpile large quantities of magic coins, as Gold Sol and Silver Moon may depreciate during times of war. Yet as long as the profession of mage exists in this world, these magically charged coins will never lose their value. Compared to magic coins, which are merely low-grade spell items, the two ancient arcane currencies, valued far above high-level spells, are true rare treasures. Currently, a Silver Moon coin sold at an auction fetches at least five thousand Gold Sol, while Dark Day coins, even rarer due to their scarcity, have seen the highest recorded price being a hereditary lordship.

After all, Silver Moon Coins generally store defensive magic or pure arcane energy, leaning more toward support functions. In contrast, Dark Sun Coins, due to their composition containing large amounts of refined gold—a magically resilient metal—store powerful and destructive offensive spells. Any arcane caster, even a novice apprentice, can unleash them. These are no longer merely arcane artifacts but strategic deterrent weapons akin to nuclear bombs from Donald’s past life, capable of destroying enemies when necessary.

Thus, both in terms of scarcity and practical utility, Dark Sun Coins far surpass Silver Moon Coins of the same era, which explains why their value is multiplied several times over and makes them hard to circulate in the market.

This Silver Moon Coin was also one of the star lots acquired at great expense by the United Merchant Guild Auction House. It piqued great interest among mages and nobles, with mages even feeling desperate for it.

As a result, competition for this first star lot was fierce. Donald was determined to win it.

Starting at 3,000 gold sols, the price quickly rose to 7,000 gold sols due to intense bidding. Aside from a few major lords of the kingdom and the old mage in black robes from the Mage Association who still hadn’t given up, Donald was the only other bidder, somewhat unexpectedly.

When the price reached 9,000 gold sols, the noble lords who had been bidding occasionally gave up. Though Silver Moon Coins were rare, they weren’t worth nearly double that price.

Now, only the mage in black robes and Donald remained as competitors. After bidding 10,000 gold sols, the mage declared it his final offer—any higher would cost him everything he had.

After making this bid, the mage glared fiercely at Donald, sending a powerful mental force in his direction.

Faced with the mage’s threat, Donald remained unshaken. No matter how strong the mental force was, it could only exert pressure on him. If it tried to attack his soul, the Book of Truth would protect him.

“10,000 more, plus 100 gold sols!” Since the opponent had reached their limit, Donald increased the bid by 100 gold sols. Sure enough, the old mage in black robes, though furious, couldn’t utter a word.

With tens of thousands of gold sols in his storage space, along with numerous elemental crystals and magic cores, Donald could overwhelm his opponent with wealth.

But he wouldn’t show off his wealth needlessly either; he just added another hundred gold sols on top of ten thousand and successfully bid for what he wanted.