Leylin opened his eyes, and through the transparent glass screen, focused on the platform below.
At this moment, there was a dull-gold metal long sword put on display by the servants behind the announcer.
This long sword was around 1.5 m long and two fingers wide. For Branded Swordsmen, such as Number 2 and Number 3 who used swords that were the size of regular humans, this was merely pocket-sized.
However, a hint of glee appeared on Leylin’s face. On the surface of the long sword of the Rays of Dawn, there were some strange runes which were quite similar to the runes he had branded onto the bodies of Number 2 and Number 3.
“Looks like it’s the real deal!”
He nodded, and a slither of spiritual force quoted a price through the communication device, “Five million magic crystals!”
A middle-grade magic artifact naturally was not so valuable, but this long sword was evidently worthy enough to do research on, which garnered the interest of the rank 2 Magi.
Quickly enough, a price was quoted from a VIP room not far from Leylin, “5.5 million!’
Leylin’s face darkened and he looked towards that VIP room. It was a pity that he could see naught but a blurry shadow.
The glass in the VIP rooms had naturally been processed. Guests could see outside through the glass, but people on the outside could not see anything inside the room.
“Six million!” Leylin immediately increased the price. Other than the magic crystals he possessed, he also had materials he had obtained from the secret plane and the wealth of two rank 2 Magi. This would obviously cause rank 2 Magi to be jealous, and it was natural that he could be so generous.
As if able to sense Leylin’s resolution and immense wealth, the rank 2 Magi nearby stopped raising the price and this long sword became Leylin’s.
“The guest at VIP room 7, please take note! Our staff is bringing your auction item to do the exchange. Please prepare magic crystals or items that are of similar value…”
News travelled through the communication device, and after just five minutes, an expressionless man brought the servant who had been holding the silver plate to Leylin’s room.
“May I know where this long sword was created?” After the delivery, Leylin’s eyes flashed as he questioned them.
“My apologies! This belongs to the client and it is our duty to keep this a secret for him!”
Though they were speaking to a rank 2 Magus, the staff still rejected Leylin’s demands. This exhibited their manners and professionalism.
“Very well!” Leylin nodded and waved for these two people to take their leave.
Next, he picked up the long sword on the table, and gold rays shined in Leylin’s hand.
A regular middle-grade magic artifact could no longer satisfy the needs of a rank 2 Magus. What was more useful was a high-grade magic artifact or even a magic device!
However, Leylin had no desire to use it. He was merely interested in the runes on this long sword.
“A.I. Chip! Scan and record the runes, and then compare it with the runes of the Branded Swordsmen!” Leylin thought in his mind.
[Beep! Recorded runes, now comparing with the runes of the Branded Swordsmen…]
The A.I. Chip loyally intoned. Right after, Leylin received the results, [Similarity to fire elemental Branded Swordsmen runes recorded by Host body is 67.1%. Similarity to foundation metallic runes: 34.2%. Similarity to basic sharpness: 13.9%. Estimated to be the runes of the weapons of the Branded Swordsmen! Estimated time required to perfect and alter: 294 hours!]
“Like I thought!”
Glee appeared on Leylin’s face. The information he had on the Branded Swordsmen was extremely limited. Even with the A.I. Chip perfecting and supplementing information, he was still only able to gain the fire elemental runic spell formation suitable for males.
As for the runes for other elements and the weapons suitable for Branded Swordsmen, he had no clue at all.
Now, with the appearance of this long sword of the Rays of Dawn, Leylin could finally see some hope.
He also had another thought. The Fallen Star Pendant, which was a magic artifact that had accompanied him all these years, was beginning to be unable to meet his needs. He had hence sent it back to his family.
He now lacked an offensive-type magic artifact.
Perhaps, he could carve these branded runes on a magic artifact by imitating those on the long sword and create a weapon that was meant for him!
Leylin touched his chin and pondered over the feasibility of this plan.
While Leylin scanned and analysed the sword in his hands, a few Magi were quietly discussing in the VIP room that had been competing with him for this magic artifact.
“Torp, why aren’t you quoting another price? It’s just six million magic crystals. That’s nothing to you, right?”
A female in purple-gold Magus robes spoke to a red-bearded old man, a bewitching aura surrounding her.
“The magic crystals aren’t much, and I don’t actually want that magic artifact that much. I just want to analyse the runes on it, and I’m sure this kind of special magic artifact has very strict requirements for users. I’ve even come to suspect that those who aren’t Branded Swordsmen will be unable to use this long sword… The ancient Branded Swordsmen have already vanished from the south coast for thousands of years. It’s not worth it to spoil our plans for this item.”
The red-bearded Torp touched his beard.
“En! You are truly a Master Blacksmith! To be able to glean this much information from just a look…” The woman seemed to be in awe and then continued on worriedly, “I keep having this feeling that the plan is much too hurried. Will he really come…”
“Don’t worry! He’ll definitely be here!”
The red-bearded Torp spoke with conviction, “We’ve put out bait this time that is definitely irresistible to him. In order to use that item more effectively, he’ll definitely come!”
“That’s great!” The woman patted her chest, and then glanced at Leylin’s room with some conjectures in mind.
“Say, do you think he’s inside? Should I sound him out?”
“Don’t do it!” Torp immediately stopped her. “Don’t act rashly. If it really is him, would he dare be so bold as to compete with us? Besides, offending an unfamiliar rank 2 Magus would probably be unfavourable to us…”
“Hehe, I’m just joking. You actually took it seriously…”
The woman giggled coquettishly, and her figure disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind the old man who looked to be in a difficult position.
On the platform, the last item on the public auction was sent out. The announcer went on, “The auction has ended, and we will now enter the segment of the exchange meeting. Those who wish to leave may exit through the passages at both sides.”
*Rumble!* Along with his words, the large doors at two ends of the hall opened loudly.
Bait
Many rank 1 Magi left the hall on the first floor through the two doors.
Though they did not know much, from the serious atmosphere that emanated through the hall after the announcer’s words, they felt as if they were being pushed down by a mountain.
*Hua la la!*
The masses dispersed quickly and in an instant, only a few rank 1 Magi were left in their original seats.
On the second floor where the VIP rooms were, not one Magus left.
*Boom!* The doors closed, and the solemn atmosphere shot up to the extreme!
“Oh? Is it starting?”
With a smile about his lips, Leylin watched the centre and prepared for a good show.
“Alright! Let’s start with me!”
From a VIP room on Leylin’s far right, there travelled a very robotic voice that was neither male nor female. It had obviously been heavily processed.
“I have one portion of the potion Sea of the Ocean. I wish to exchange it for the hearts of three Fire Scorpions, or the core of a Lava Tyrant! Is anyone willing
to make this trade?”
Along with the words, a projection of the potion was sent over, and could clearly be seen by everyone in the hall.
“I have two Fire Scorpion hearts, and wish to replace the rest with magic crystals. How does six million sound?”
A hoarse old voice sounded.
“No, I only need fire elemental materials! However, I can buy those two hearts from you for whatever price you name…” It was a pity that this offer was rejected by that Magus. Next, these two Magi spoke through the communication device, their conversation now a secret to the Magi outside.
The MC on the platform was already just standing aside, leaving the area for the rank 2 Magi to use.
Leylin waited silently and watched as all kinds of precious items were traded. His expression was calm, like that of a cheetah waiting for its prey to rise up to the bait.
After discussions with Iron Crown and Leylin’s own judgement, he could now confirm that this exchange meeting was a setting that Iron Crown or the light Magi faction were using to lure out Alistair.
All that they were putting out were items that Alistair could not resist.
At this moment, an item that made Leylin’s eyes twinkle was exhibited in the hall.
“A high-levelled alchemy notebook, recording terrifying information from the abyss. Those who possess too little spiritual power will see illusions while flipping through it. The previous owner has already gone completely crazy and died, so the next buyer has to be careful.”
Along with this voice, a book that was black on the outside and had blood-red eyes projected in the middle of the notebook was displayed.
This notebook looked to be extremely torn, and even a few corners were damaged. However, the red eye in the middle was still extremely agile. Though it was just a projection, Leylin felt as if this eye was focusing its attention on himself, causing him to tremble inside.
In addition, Leylin also noticed something interesting on the surface of this black notebook.
Beside the red eye, there were countless veins and black runes. These runes were all twisted together, and actually seemed to resemble little black snakes.
“This…” Silver light flashed at Leylin’s palm, and the Book of Giant Serpent that had been kept in his spatial pouch appeared in his hands.
The runes on the surface of the Book of Giant Serpent were extremely similar to that on the notebook.
“The Great Magus Serholm! This is likely to be the notebook left behind by him…” Leylin mumbled to himself, eyes shooting out crimson rays.
At the same time, blood-red rays furiously exploded forth from the crystal on Leylin’s wrist.
“89”
[Warning! Warning! Too much adrenaline is being secreted, and there is an 89% chance that this will stimulate the nerves indefinitely, and result in a detrimental effect on the mind!]
The A.I. Chip sent out blue words before Leylin.
“How… How… How troublesome!” Leylin roared lowly, and then loosened a black water flask from his waist and gulped deeply.
The water that had the potion of tranquility mixed inside calmed the impulse that had risen in Leylin.
At this moment, the sounds of people quoting prices out there could be heard again and again. It was evident that this notebook that recorded information about the abyss had garnered the interest of many rank 2 Magi.
After advancing to become a rank 2 Magus, a lot of Magi who did not possess high-grade meditation techniques had lost their direction. Hence, they were extremely enthusiastic about researching information regarding the Ancient Era as well as other geographical locations, hoping to discover methods for them to advance.
The aura of the abyss on this notebook was extremely strong, to the point that Leylin’s face paled slightly.
For this reason, this alchemic notebook had received the attention of numerous rank 2 Magi.
“I really like this notebook. What do you want?”
Leylin contacted the Magus selling this notebook through the communication device, speaking in a low voice.
“What do you have for me?”
Evidently, this notebook was extremely popular and the seller was waiting for something good before he would sell it.
“Three standard portions of an ancient spiritual force potion that can be said to be useful in helping a Magus break through. I can even add in 500g of Filthy Magic Dust! Since you have this notebook, you must have done some research on items in the abyss. This Filthy Magic Dust is a precious ingredient that came directly from the abyss!”
Leylin thought for a moment and immediately showed his bottom line.
The Tears of Mary potion was now of little use to him. In addition, after advancing to rank 2, they were now nothing in his eyes.
Also, he was now disguised and this person would not be able to investigate his background. Even if that happened, would anyone dare make things difficult for a rank 2 Magus?
Leylin now had the power to take care of himself on the south coast, and was not afraid of any challenges!
“Hss… Ancient spiritual power potion that’s useful in breaking out of a bottleneck? And Filthy Magic Dust from the abyss?”
It was evident that after Leylin quoted this price, the Magus was shocked into silence for a long while.
After a few minutes, Leylin received his reply.
“Show me the potion!”
“Fine!” Leylin pondered for a moment and then produced a test tube filled with the Tears of Mary. Some silver light bundled up a bit of the potion and disappeared into that Magus’ room.
“It really is an ancient potion! Alright! Let’s proceed with the trade!”
Though the Magus tried his best to suppress it, Leylin could still hear the impatience in his voice.
“Alright! However, I’m not getting the better end of the deal here, so you need to tell me about the origins of this alchemy notebook!”
Leylin, on the other hand, was extremely composed and hoped to gain more clues.
“… Alright, I’ll tell you everything I know…”
The voice was quiet for some time and then sent some information over to Leylin’s room.
Leylin carefully skimmed through the information and then nodded.
The trade between these two VIP rooms was extremely rapid. Outside were the spiritual forces of many rank 2 Magi, seemingly extremely curious about the trade between these two people.
However, Leylin nor the Magus had any intentions to reveal anything.
A moment later, rank 2 Magi continued with the exchange and one after another, all sorts of precious and rare items were displayed.
“Next up is a treasure from the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane!”
A lazy voice sounded from the VIP room right smack in the middle.
In a split second, people seemed to even stop breathing, focusing on the VIP room from which this voice was produced.
The secret plane was now a hot topic and all the precious materials from there were sold at a very high price.
Upon hearing that the rank 2 Magus in the VIP room wanted to make a sale, even the few rank 1 Magi downstairs began to whisper amongst themselves after getting over the shock.
“Is it coming?” Kemoyin’s Scales surfaced on Leylin’s skin as he stared hard at the room.
From the information he had gathered, Leylin knew that the rank 2 Magus Alistair had only stolen a treasure from the ruins. What he did not know was that this treasure could display its might only when coupled with another item in the ruins. It could even help a rank 2 Magus to advance.
With his fervent desire to break through, Leylin could confirm that even if he knew this was a trap, there was a high chance that Alistair would still come charging in.
What appeared on the screen was a concentrated green liquid that formed a ball, floating in mid-air.
“This is the extract of a Wisdom Tree. Its purity is at 5, the highest level. The ancient Wisdom Trees have the intelligence of an enlightene
d Magus, and its extract has the effect of raising one’s spiritual force. When used with other treasures to break through, it is extremely effective!”
The hall broke out into a large commotion.
Even potions that could help acolytes or rank 1 Magi to increase their spiritual force would result in a mad scramble for them. A precious item like this that could help a rank 2 Magus break through to rank 3 was something that had not ever appeared in the entire south coast.
“Wisdom Tree?”
Understanding flashed in Leylin’s eyes.
Warlock of the Magus World 1-596 Page 208