Chapter 133: The Value of a Single Sword (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: The Value of a Single Sword (2)
Adelian.
Thanks to the presence of a Warp Gate, it was the most commercially active city in the northeastern region. Because of this bustling trade, the public widely believed the Adelian family to be the wealthiest in the northeast. In reality, since the Central Government had spearheaded the installation of the Warp Gate, the family was burdened with exorbitant annual taxes. Even if their gross revenue was similar, there was a stark difference in true wealth between them and the Dmitry family, who generated their fortune entirely through their own capital and technology.
Upon arriving in the bustling city, Lucas pulled his hood low and headed straight for the auction house.
"Customer number twenty-three."
"Yes."
The waiting line was long.
The Adelian Auction House was famous for its efficient and reliable business practices. Sellers preferred it over any other venue, even if it meant traveling great distances. Leaving the murmuring crowd behind, Lucas stepped into the appraisal room. When the clerk asked to inspect the item, Lucas handed over the sword.
"I will now inspect the item."
The clerk slipped on a fresh pair of white gloves. Lifting the sword with careful hands, he examined it from various angles, illuminating the blade with the light of a magic artifact.
Oh?
The clerk's eyes widened.
Appraisal artifacts displayed seven different colors depending on an item's durability. Right now, a subtle blue light—the hallmark of a high-grade weapon—swirled around the sword. But that wasn't all. Its sharpness was extraordinary. Even for a seasoned clerk who had appraised countless weapons, a blade that commanded such immediate reverence was exceedingly rare.
The clerk looked up. "How would you like to proceed with the auction?"
"Anonymous, open bidding."
"Open bidding does not guarantee a minimum winning bid. We also take a ten percent commission fee. Is that acceptable to you?"
"Yes."
An open bidding item. It was always the highlight of any auction. Given the sword's exceptional condition, the clerk realized a standard appraisal wouldn't suffice.
"I don't believe I can accurately judge the true value of this sword with my current abilities. To secure the highest possible price in an open bid, we need to be able to explain exactly how incredible this item is. I will call for an expert to conduct a more precise appraisal."
* * *
Not long after, a high-ranking figure entered the room. It was a balding man with a bright, welcoming expression who immediately offered his hand.
"I am Morris, the manager of the Adelian Auction House."
"A pleasure."
They shook hands. Having no reason to drag out the pleasantries, Morris glanced at the appraisal expert who had followed him inside.
"Check it."
"Understood."
The expert took a seat. After examining the blade from various angles, he offered an assessment similar to the clerk's.
"The durability and sharpness certainly meet the standards of a top-grade product. A sword crafted this well is incredibly rare... Furthermore, the weight is perfectly balanced, proving it was forged by a master blacksmith. Normally, a sword of this caliber would fetch at least thirty gold. While thirty gold is no small sum, acquiring a masterfully crafted weapon requires that much investment."
Thirty gold. It was a staggering amount.
Considering the annual living expenses for an average family of four was typically one gold, the value of this single sword could support one hundred and twenty people for an entire year. And that was merely the standard appraised value. If a bidding war broke out among interested buyers, it could realistically fetch around forty gold.
"I will now test the mana response."
This was the most essential step in the appraisal process. Depending on how the steel accepted mana, it would be classified as either a weapon for ordinary swordsmen or one for Aura Swordsmen. Mana response was divided into ten levels. A sword had to reach at least level three to earn the title of a true Famous Sword.
Hummm.
He channeled his mana into the blade.
That was when it happened. The expert's eyes bulged at the sword's reaction.
"...Gasp?!"
The sword greedily devoured the mana. It showed absolutely zero resistance to the foreign energy, swallowing the expert's mana like a starving ghost. This was far from normal. Lesser swords would shatter if even a fraction of this mana was forced into them, but this blade accepted it flawlessly.
Furthermore, the power of the mana was actually amplified. It didn't merely contain the energy; it actively maximized its destructive output.
This is impossible.
The expert's pupils trembled violently. In his decades as an appraiser, he had handled countless weapons, but he could confidently say he had never seen anything like this.
"What on earth is going on? Just how incredible is this item for you to react like that?" Morris asked, his anxiety and curiosity piqued by the expert's shock.
The expert looked up at Morris, his voice trembling with sheer excitement—clearly intending for Lucas to hear as well.
"Lord Morris, the mana response level is a whopping ten! No, the levels themselves are meaningless here! It accepts mana so perfectly that it actively amplifies the user's power. And what's even more shocking is that this isn't a magic artifact! Not a single shred of a mage's power was used to enchant this, yet the steel itself assimilates perfectly with mana!"
Morris was astounded. Level ten. That was an unprecedented figure in the history of the Adelian Auction House.
* * *
That evening, a massive crowd gathered at the Adelian Auction House. With far more attendees than usual, the atmosphere was thick with mutual wariness.
They must all be thinking the same thing. Information about a top-tier item has leaked. Everyone is aiming for it.
Ahead of the auction, Morris had intentionally spread rumors. To ensure the sword fetched its true value, it was crucial to get the wealthiest clientele into the seats.
"You must attend this auction. I swear on my name, there has never been an item like this in the history of the Adelian Auction House. To put it simply, it is a Famous Sword meant for Aura Swordsmen. You can think of it as a monstrous weapon that would allow a 1-Star Swordsman to defeat a 2-Star Swordsman."
It was a scandalous claim. The division of Stars was absolute. Common sense dictated that a 1-Star Swordsman defeating a 2-Star Swordsman was an impossibility, yet Morris had boldly used that exact comparison to promote the blade.
The rumors spread like wildfire. Although the top-secret information had only been whispered to a few key figures, others had inevitably caught wind of it and swarmed the venue. The lineup of guests for tonight's auction was nothing short of spectacular. As the clerk admitted the attendees and verified their identities, he had to continuously suppress his shock.
From local powerhouses to the wealthiest tycoons of the capital... Even Marquis Valentino, the richest man in the Cairo Kingdom, is here.
Marquis Valentino had accumulated his vast fortune by operating a massive trading company that spanned the entire continent. While he strictly maintained his neutrality in the political struggles of the Central Government, he was infamous for charging into bidding wars like a rabid fighting cock whenever a good item appeared, completely regardless of who his opponent was.
Marquis Valentino. He was a VVIP of the Adelian Auction House.
At the appearance of a man who casually dropped hundreds of gold every time he attended, the crowd immediately began to whisper. It was a guarantee. Even those who had come without precise information realized, solely from Marquis Valentino's presence, that today's auction was going to be extraordinary. A figure of his stature would never move without solid intelligence. It meant he had received a direct tip-off from the auction house itself.
Marquis Valentino strode inside with an air of absolute confidence. Following close behind him, other prominent, widely recognized figures arrived one after another. Even before the first gavel fell, the atmosphere inside the Adelian Auction House was already at a boiling point.
* * *
The auction got underway. The initial items up for bid were decent—certainly worthy of the Adelian Auction House's prestigious reputation—but the crowd showed little interest.
The reason was obvious. They were only here for the item Morris had spoken of. They refrained from bidding on the lesser lots out of fear that they might run short of funds when the main event finally arrived. It was a terribly unlucky day for the sellers of the other items. On days when such a monumental treasure was scheduled, the winning bids for everything else tended to plummet.
It was the calm before the storm. A heavy, suffocating silence settled over the room. Only after the auction had dragged on for quite some time did the auctioneer finally flash a brilliant smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. It is time for today's main event. Allow me to introduce the Famous Sword, Blaze!"
Whoosh.
The velvet cloth covering the display was whipped away. Instantly, brilliant spotlights focused on the stage, illuminating the sleek, elegant form of Blaze.
"Blaze is a weapon that emitted a pure blue light during its durability test. However, if that were its only merit, the Adelian Auction House would not have featured it as our main event. The true power of Blaze lies in its 'mana response.' About a year ago, a rapier named Needle demonstrated a level seven mana response and sold for a staggering three hundred gold. An astronomical sum, indeed! But that is just how massive of an advantage it is for a sword to exhibit such an outstanding mana response purely on its own."
Three hundred gold. It was an amount that minor noble families wouldn't dare dream of possessing. To win a single sword, the wealthy tycoons of the capital were willing to bid an amount that could feed twelve hundred people for an entire year.
It was an exorbitant scale of wealth. For context, people often called the magical siege weapon known as the Flare a "money pit." To bring down a single castle, an army had to fire dozens of shells, and each shell for the Flare boasted an astronomical cost of dozens of gold. There was even a saying that if a family deployed the Flare and still failed to win the war, they would go completely bankrupt.
The people gathered here today—the true elites of wealth—were of the class that could casually drop hundreds of gold as if they were buying a single artillery shell.
"Prepare to be amazed," the auctioneer continued, his voice echoing through the silent hall. "Blaze's mana response reached a staggering level ten! Not only that, but it has also demonstrated the ability to actively amplify the power of the Aura channeled into it. I have hosted auctions for countless Famous Swords, but I have never even heard of such an item existing in this world until today. We will now begin the bidding. The starting price is ten gold!"
Murmurs erupted across the room. The crowd was thrown into an absolute frenzy. They had known it was an incredible item, but even so, they had never expected a weapon with a level ten mana response.
It was a peerless treasure. If a sword's innate conductivity—completely unaided by a mage's enchantments—was at that level, Aura Swordsmen would absolutely lose their minds over it. Magic artifacts were indeed powerful, but in the end, only a pure, unadulterated blade could fully withstand and channel an Aura at maximum output.
Hands shot up from all directions. As the bids poured in, the auctioneer rapidly called them out as fast as he could spot them.
"Number twelve, ten gold! Number twenty-nine, twenty gold! Number eighteen, thirty gold... From now on, we will proceed in increments of fifty gold! Number thirty-nine, one hundred gold! Number forty-one, one hundred and fifty gold! Ah! Customer number twelve has doubled the bid, bringing it to three hundred gold in an instant!"
It had already tied the record of Needle. This was expected. With a precedent already set, everyone knew the bidding wouldn't end anywhere near three hundred gold.
"From this point, we will proceed in increments of one hundred gold!"
The price climbed rapidly. Hearts raced across the auction floor.
Increments of one hundred gold. Even for the obscenely wealthy, this was a burdensome pace. Spending hundreds of gold wouldn't ruin them financially, but investing that much capital into a single sword was not a decision to be made lightly. Moreover, it didn't look like it would end anytime soon. As the price quickly surged past five hundred gold, the bidders finally began to hesitate.
Finally.
"Number twelve, six hundred gold!"
"Whoa."
"...Six hundred gold."
The crowd gasped. Six hundred gold. It was an astronomical sum. By simple calculation, it was enough to feed two thousand four hundred people for an entire year—an amount most noble families wouldn't dare dream of spending. Number twelve was a well-known regular at the auction house. Even for him, this was a massive expenditure that required liquidating assets, but from the moment he heard the description of Blaze, he had been determined to win it at all costs.
But then—
From one side of the room, a man who had been quietly observing the bloodbath finally raised his hand, causing the auctioneer's eyes to bulge.
"Ahhhhh! Customer number fifty-three has doubled the bid, bringing the price to twelve hundred gold! This is an unprecedented bid in the history of the Adelian Auction House!"
Instantly, all eyes snapped toward the bidder. Upon identifying the face of number fifty-three, the remaining competitors fell into despair.
Marquis Valentino.
The tycoon of the Cairo Kingdom. He had just declared his absolute determination to win the sword, no matter the cost.