“Bring me there!” Leylin answered concisely. Soon after, he followed the servant and came before a few customized cubicles.
As he was passing through, he even sensed the spell formation that was buried under the ground as well as the concealed runes on the wall. The security in here was much tighter than the outside, with even a rank 3 Magus keeping watch.
They came up to a room that was a reception area, and the servant respectfully invited Leylin to take a seat. “Customer, please wait a moment, I will get the appraiser here immediately to serve you!”
“Alright!” Leylin nodded, his eyes following the young woman as she exited.
After a short period of time, the door opened and an elderly man with a headful of silver hair and a face that had seen the vicissitudes of life entered.
“Honourable guest, I am a rank 2 appraiser, Norta!” the old man bowed.
“Hello!” Leylin smiled faintly in response. He pointed to the seat in front of him and invited the appraiser to sit.
In the central continent, appraisers also had ranks. This rank 2 appraiser was already a rank 2 Magus as well, and still maintained such respectful conduct. This was considered rare.
Furthermore, his hands were covered with all sorts of scars, making him seem extremely experienced.
After Norta sat down, he looked at Leylin with a hint of amazement.
Now that Azure Mountain City’s auction was about to begin, it was not odd that various kinds of customers had shown up. However, just by the smell and appearance, he was able to judge that the Magus before him was very young. Yet, his body carried a dense fog that even he could not see through, which seldom occurred.
It was hard to say, maybe this customer had in his possession unique treasures that were hard to come by.
The appraiser stroked a ring on his hand as he was unable to repress the slight anticipation that flashed in his heart.
“I am a Potions Master. I’m thinking of selling some potions here!” Leylin spoke straightforwardly.
Of course, he had with him many more items that were more valuable than potions, but those were to be saved as exchange items for the barter later on. Only these potions that were made during his free time happened to be available to be offered for sale.
With his Potioneering talents, in the a span of 100 years—which was about half of Leylin’s age—Leylin had amassed a large number of completed potions as a Potions Grandmaster.
“How unexpected, for you to be a Potions Master as well!” Norta’s eyes sparkled. No matter where, proficient Potions Masters and alchemists always enjoyed preferential treatment.
After some thought, Norta still informed him beforehand about the matters that needed to be taken note of. “However, I would like to explain the rules of the auction to you first. In our auction, only high-grade potions and above are sold, if it is a middle-grade potion that is not very valuable, it will have to meet a certain quantity…”
“Don’t worry, I know that!” Leylin smiled, reaching his hand out and sweeping it across the table.
A silver radiance shone. After spatial energy waves passed, the red table was filled with test tubes of all kinds of colour.
“So…… So many!”
Norta’s eyes widened instantly in surprise. He then lost that last bit of calmness in his expression of his after he recognised a few of the potions. “And they are all high-grade potions!”
“Hoho……” As he watched the old man lose his composure, Leylin smiled kindly. In fact, these were only a small portion of his achievements over the last few centuries, but it was enough to scare the other party.
“This is already all my gains over hundreds of years…” On the surface, Leylin laughed proudly but he still sighed.
“Sir you are actually a Potions Grandmaster!” This time, Norta’s voice contained a slight tremor.
Potions Grandmasters were always given special treatment even among strong organisations. The scarcity of such masters in the central continent was actually very scary. This was clearly evident from the sole fact that even in the Ouroboros Clan, which had 3 Morning Star Magi and was regarded as one of the top forces of the central continent, there were not more than five.
“This…These…” Drops of cold sweat slid down the appraiser’s forehead and even more so, he had an embarrassed look on his face.
“My apologies, honourable guest! This deal is beyond my abilities, please wait a moment……” Even if he was at the Azure Mountain auction house. An ordinary appraiser like him did not stand a chance to serve such a Potions Grandmaster.
“Then I hope you can hurry!” Leylin spoke indifferently with a straight face, concealing his discontentment.
“Yes sir!” Towards a Potions Grandmaster of unknown origins, this appraiser dared not be tardy and he immediately withdrew.
‘It seems that the identity of a Potions Grandmaster is pretty useful in the central continent!’ Leylin smiled while stroking his chin.
This time, the other party did not make him wait for long. Almost within a minute after the old man left, a polite knock sounded again, “Honourable guest, may I enter?”
“Please do!” Leylin smiled, and shortly after he saw the previous appraiser pulling open the door respectfully, inviting a middle-aged western lady in.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Serene, Serene Oakheart! The administrative matters of the Azure Mountain auction house, as well as Mister’s business, will be fully handled by me!”
This beautiful lady named Serene was like a ripe peach, there was not a part of her body that did not emit an alluring scent. Furthermore, her surname made Leylin raise his eyebrow.
Not only that, although she had used some sort of technique to cover up her aura, the A.I. Chip was still able to detect that she was actually a strong Magus who had attained rank 3 as well!
*Ka-cha!* Norta made a bow and exited the room respectfully. Before he left, he even shut the door, as if he was only a doorman.
“Sir, how may I address you?” Serene looked at Leylin whose face was covered, especially curious at the deeply concealed aura of the other party.
“Just ‘Blood Rogue’ will do!” Leylin immodestly used one of his old names.
“Hoho… Lord Blood Rogue, how are you planning to sell these potions!” Serene swayed her slender waist, waving her sleeves as she sat down in front of Leylin languidly. Every single movement of hers seemed to be of the highest quality, with a polite scent that yet stirred up men’s burning desires even more.
‘This woman is a temptress, comparable to Celine from Twilight Zone!’ Leylin sighed in his heart but he spoke without a tremor, “Tell me about your plans!”
Serene’’s eyebrows furrowed, but they relaxed shortly after. “Since sir is interested, Serene will first explain the rules of our auction. For ordinary customers, we have two methods of auctioning!”
“Firstly,” Serene stretched out a spotless jade-white finger, “These potions, can all be auctioned here. No matter what price they are dealt for, our Azure Mountain auction house will have to take out a part of it as a commission fee! Of course, if the auction fails, you will have to pay us a guarantee fee as well!”
“Secondly, our auction house can purchase these potions from you directly. Price wise, it will be calculated according to the market price! What we do with them afterwards will not be of your concern anymore. If you need magic crystals urgently, you may opt for this method!”
Leylin nodded, this second method was evidently prepared for those Magi who were planning to accumulate large funds to bid for certain items during the auction.
The only thing was that the auction house would definitely buy items priced lower than market price. Unfortunately, the other party was willing to purchase at market prices, not only because these potions were rare, but even more so because of their interest in a Potions Grandmaster’s identity.
“I certainly hope that I can get my hands off these items as soon as possible, so that I can obtain
enough magic crystals to use during the auction! Since you are so sincere, of course I’ll go with the second method!” Leylin said. Although he might be able gain more by auctioning them, it was definite that he could only receive the payment after the auction. He did not want that.
“That’s great! Purchasing so many high-grade potions is also very helpful for my sales record, Thank you, Sir.” Serene chuckled, as if she could not see the many precious potions piled up in front of her.
“I estimate the total price of the potions to be around 98 million magic crystals! Sir, do you have any objections?” The words that Serene said after that slightly shocked Leylin.
However, his shock immediately relieved. He was in the other party’s territory and the potions had already been piled up on the table for a long time. Estimating their worth based on detecting techniques was not something hard.
No wonder she did not look much at the table after entering. This was why.
“A very reasonable price!” Leylin nodded. Of course, he already had an estimate of the value of his items. This price was obviously based on the current market rate, and might even have a little bit higher.
“Ordinary customers automatically become VIPs once their transactions involve a total of over 50 million magic crystals in our Azure Mountain auction house, making things much more convenient for them… But for someone to enter the VIP rank in the first transaction like you, Sir, is very rare!”
Serene smiled, her blue eyes gleamed with a charming radiance. It was as if she wanted to see through the veil and take a look at Leylin’s real face.
She clapped, and the door opened for a moment before a servant walked in, holding a tray.
On the red tray lay a purple-gold card as well as a black pouch.
“This is the payment and the VIP certificate! Please verify and accept this, customer!” When it came down to business, Serene regained her serious expression.
Without any trace of politeness, Leylin walked up to check on the items, especially the magic crystals. Using the A.I. Chip, he scanned continuously to check for their purity and quantity, before giving a nod upon confirming that nothing was overlooked.
When the transaction ended, Leylin did not leave immediately. Serene also accompanied him, beaming with a smile without a trace of annoyance.
The two beat about the bush for a long time before Leylin spoke up. “Actually, I still have two more matters to ask for your help!”
WMW Chapter 454
The Commencement of the Auction
“What does Sir need?” Serene beamed while asking.
A Potions Grandmaster was hard to come by, and even the Azure Mountain auction house would spare no effort to entice him.
If the other party had any requests, that would be easy to handle! In the central continent, there were few things a Morning Star Magus could not do.
“The reason why I came to the Azure Mountain auction this time round was because I want to acquire a precious resource. My sources tell me that said resource is going to be sold here…” Leylin said without a hurry.
“Is Sir trying to ask about the details of the seller before completing the transactions?” Serene’s face revealed her dilemma, “What is it? If it’s about the few rare items, we, the Azure Mountain auction committee is unable to make any decisions!”
Leylin laughed and whispered a few words into Serene’s ears.
“You actually want… ” Serene’s pupils widened, before she instantly smiled wryly.
“Those things are too hard to come by. Even my grandfather would not sell it. I’ll not keep it from you. Previously, a few batches of people have came to me wanting to obtain some information, but we have not revealed any of the information because the high-ranked Masters have already noticed the auction pieces…”
“Ah, I see…” Leylin seemed slightly disappointed. From the looks of it, the astral stone was indeed very precious. Just its appearance here had already aroused attention.
For Serene to call them Masters, they had to be Morning Star Magi; there was no other possibility.
At the same time, Serene also looked at Leylin with astonishment.
Astral gate research and experiments could only be conducted and hosted by Morning Star Magi. Even preliminary research had a high requirement, needing one to be a Hydro Phase Magus with a high-ranked Magus Tower.
This customer’s strengths seemed to be very robust.
“Let’s put this matter aside and talk about another matter, the private gathering after the auction. What are the prerequisites to entering the venue?” Leylin asked casually after quickly collecting his feelings when he was not able to obtain a reply from Serene.
‘This question!’ Serene lightly let out a sigh of relief.
This was within her purview. If it hadn’t been, she would have failed at satisfying either of her guest’s questions, which was equivalent to stepping on his feet.
“The private gathering will be held within 3 days of the closure of the auction. We will announce the actual venue later. With regards to entrance requirements, sir is already a VIP of the Azure Mountain auction, and hence you fully qualify for the private gathering. I’ll send someone to inform you closer to the event date…”
“Excellent!” Despite a few flirtatious invites from Serene urging him to stay, Leylin left behind a few methods of contact and got up to leave for the auction.
Even though she was rejected, Serene did not feel an ounce of anger. She smiled until Leylin had left before returning to the auction.
“How was it? Did you verify his identity?” In her office quarters, a golden-haired middle-aged man with a walking stick asked casually, and seemed to be very aware of Leylin’s actions.
“Nope. He was very cautious!” Serene smiled wryly.
“I looked through the details of all the Potions Grandmasters in the vicinity, and none of them match his personality. Is he from a different region?”
Even though the Azure Mountain’s auction had a great reputation, but they only attracted Magi below the Morning Star realm. Moreover, the list only contained Magi residing in this region.
“Perhaps he’s someone with a lot of experience, someone worth recruiting. After all, we can involve him in the matter that we are currently plotting, which would fit Grandfather’s requests…”
The middle-aged man’s tone was very neutral, but having heard his words, Serene’s eyes lit up, “Do you mean…”
……
With growing anticipation and the many conspiracies in the shadows, time ticked by, until it was finally the first day of the auction.
This was a festival for Azure Mountain City. Not only did the residents carry lit lanterns and played with fireworks, but the streets were also bustling with activities.
It wasn’t uncommon for Magi to make underground exchanges and interactions.
And the Oakheart Clan, as the regional power, had sent out many elite units to suppress the situation and maintain order.
‘Speaking of which, this is a festive event for many of us magi who are below the Morning Star rank!’ Leylin snuck into the crowd and walked along, occasionally glancing from side to side.
The A.I. Chip gave out warning after warning.
The crowd that Leylin was in mainly consisted of Magi. Ranks 1 and 2 were common, and even rank 3 Magi were not rare, with some who were on par with Leylin himself.
Those Magi were all like Leylin. They were in disguise, and had concealed themselves further with thick cloaks or veils, appearing to be very cautious.
‘Whether major powers or fugitives, no vengeance can be had here. This rule has been carried down from previous auctions, eh.’ Leylin smiled and pressed his cap down further, as his continued to inconspicuously scan through the dangerous people identified by the A.I Chip.
At that moment, the Azure Mountain auction’s gates were opened at the city center. Numerous hosts and Magi came forth, welcoming the incoming Magi in the most glamourous gowns.
The normal entrance had already been filled to the brim with Magi, and the rest had no choice but to line up behind them.
Why were they so obedient? The welcoming committee was the greatest deterrent.
They were elite Magi of the Oakheart Clan. Not only did many of them possess powerful spells, they even had some methods of combined attacks. Even Crystal Phase Magi would be hard-pressed to even flee were they to attack in large numbers.
The VIP entrance, on the other hand, was vastly different. Magi entered from time to time, and they would immediately be given looks of respect.
VIP membership in the Azure Mountain auction represented not only identity, but also status. To take out 50 million magic crystals for a business deal was not just a matter of being wealthy. This was the Magus world; were they to not have enough power to keep their wealth, all the riches in the world would not prevent their being robbed.
As a result, the status of a VIP represented a certain amount of power.
Of course, Leylin would not choose to queue with those low-ranked Magi for a seat, and so he took a turn and walked towards the VIP entrance.
After Leylin left the crowd, he realised that a huge bunch of people had the same intentions as him, and he even knew them.
“I’m sorry, but according to our regulations, a VIP card can only allow for the entrance of two more Magi!” Serene bowed in apology, but the young married woman in front of her still refused to budge.
“Who do you think you are? We are the Rolithe Family…” Jessia became red in the face, but Nolan pulled her to the side, face plastered with a bitter smile.
The two bodyguards at the side had a solemn look on their faces, and did not seem to be intimidated by the reputation of the Rolithe Family.
The other party was a small clan without even a Morning Star Magus. If they were to give in to them, the Oakheart Clan would be treated as a joke!
Nolan obviously knew this point, and he muttered a few words to Jessia.
Beside them were two Magi, both at rank 3. One caught his eye—“That old man?”
Warlock of the Magus World 1-596 Page 318