Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 281 Potion Auction

Soon, Locke entered room 31 with the Green Witch Christine.

Locke followed the Green Witch into the private room. Using the private room auction at the Four Seasons Garden had another advantage: it allowed him to conceal his identity.

No matter what you photograph, you can always attribute it to Four Seasons Garden.

Christine the Green Witch was clearly willing to do this small favor for herself.

The private room was decorated in an extremely luxurious style. The sofas were made of genuine leather, and the tables and chairs were made of special magical plant wood. Many delicacies prepared by seasoning masters were displayed on the table, all of which were delicacies that ordinary people could not access.

Meanwhile, the temperature and humidity inside the private room are kept constant, always maintaining a position where the body surface temperature is most comfortable.

Locke waited in the private room for about half an hour before the grand auction began. The auctioneer was a senior first-class wizard apprentice with 700 magic power, and also a wizard seed in the general studies direction of Lilith's Hut.

As an auctioneer, he must be familiar with the basic provenance of each item being auctioned.

For general scholars, hosting such a grand auction is a significant project in itself, offering valuable experience and valuable lessons.

On the auction stage, auctioneer Regan Thomas announced, "Today's first item is a rare artifact from the Sunshadow Peninsula: the Prophet's Skull. According to my teacher, Dr. Robert, a professor of general knowledge, this skull originates from another plane outside the Prime Material Plane, and is suspected to be the body of an evil spirit from an unknown minor plane."

"If one were to offer up one's senses, such as sight or hearing, to this skull, one could obtain images of one's future fate, but Dr. Robert believes this is usually a form of deception."

"The starting bid for this rare item is 5000 magic stones."

Inside the private room, Locke finished examining the lichen shield in his hand, and then looked at the auction hall. He saw that there were hardly any wizards in the auction hall who wanted to bid for this rare item.

Soon, despite the auctioneer's calls, the item failed to sell.

After all, this thing is almost only of research value. A first-class wizard apprentice would never bid on it, and a formal wizard would not waste 5000 magic stones unless they happen to have a research direction in this field.

Christine the Green Witch said to Locke, "If that artifact starts at 1000 magic stones, I reckon a few wealthy, officially recognized wizards will bid for it."

"But five thousand is too expensive."

“At auctions, sometimes you’ll find some strange things that are actually useless.”

"Junior brother, what do you think?"

Locke nodded, indicating that he wholeheartedly agreed.

Soon, the prophet's skull was taken down by several second-class wizard apprentices from the auction, and replaced with a golden helmet.

At the auction, a beam of light was specially focused using the Light Magic Particle Direction Technique of the Evocation School and shone on the helmet. Instantly, a golden light flashed on the surface of the helmet, like a small sun.

Auctioneer Reagan glanced at the list of auction items in his hand, and after confirming that the information was correct, immediately said, "This is a first-ring level enchanted item, the Sun Helmet, which is enchanted with a first-ring protective barrier [Sun Guardian], which can create an extremely high temperature field around the body."

"Of course, to activate this first-level protective magic, one needs at least first-level mental strength, so apprentice wizards cannot use this enchanted item, and using it may even be life-threatening."

"At the same time, the helmet itself is made of a magical alloy called Sun Gold, which has the property of converting high temperatures into magical energy, so it can ignore high temperatures."

"Dr. Robert, this piece was identified as the work of an alchemist from the border between the light and the dark."

"Starting bid: 10,000 magic stones."

As soon as he finished speaking, wizards eager to bid emerged one after another, and the price of magic stones easily surpassed 10,000, heading towards 20,000. After a formal wizard made a bid, the price quickly soared to 30,000 magic stones.

The Green Witch Christine kindly explained the logic behind this situation to her junior brother Locke. "A magical item with an attached defensive barrier can be considered a small, permanent defensive force field."

"Therefore, a normal first-level enchanted item costs a little over ten thousand, but an enchanted item with a defensive barrier can cost up to fifty thousand magic stones or even more, which I consider normal."

The Green Witch said, "Of course, this has nothing to do with apprentices. No one would spend so much money to buy an enchanted item that they can't use. Unless there's a specific need for a gift, but the average wizard apprentice simply doesn't have that much money."

Locke nodded and said, "I see, senior."

Soon, several more items were put up for auction. Some failed to sell, while others were snapped up. Christine even managed to snag a rare and special potion called the Soul Potion. The raw materials for this potion had long been extinct in the major wizarding lands and could not be purchased through normal channels. It was only possible to obtain it through the Lilith House's Super Potion Auction.

After spending 50,000 magic stones to acquire the [Heart Soul Potion], Christine was much happier. "Great, now I can start preparing to transform my spiritual energy."

"I've been stuck at the level of a regular wizard for many years."

Christine said to Locke, "Junior, aren't you going to bid on something? Your wealth is no less than that of a formal wizard." Locke smiled at Christine and said, "I just haven't met the right person yet."

Even Christine, Locke had no intention of telling her that he was preparing to break through to become a formal wizard.

The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better.

Most people currently believe that they are only in the stage of understanding the permanent defensive force field and are far from trying to break through to the level of a formal wizard.

The Green Witch Christine glanced at Locke and smiled, "Is that so? That's true, auctions are mostly about fate."

"Only buy what you find appealing."

In the auction hall, auctioneer Reagan said, "The next item, well, some wizarding apprentices might want it. This is a [Disposable Spell Inscription Knife] from the Wizarding Lands of the Blue Nile River Basin."

An enchanted object, shaped like an invisible scalpel and existing somewhere between illusion and reality, was carefully placed on the stage by a second-class wizard apprentice.

Inside room 31, Locke's eyes immediately locked onto the spell knife. If he remembered correctly, the so-called disposable spell engraving knife should be a technology unique to the wizarding lands of the Blue Nile River basin.

It is a magical item that only comes from a small branch of a special school of spiritualism that has developed to its extreme, so it is rarely seen in other wizarding lands.

This thing can help wizards better inscribe first-circle magic onto their souls, increasing the success rate, and in the process, there is almost no risk of damaging their souls, completely avoiding the common soul injury stage that occurs when breaking through to become a formal wizard.

It usually takes about five years for a qualified wizard to recover from the weakened state of their soul.

After briefly introducing the item, auctioneer Reagan said, "The starting bid for this item is 5000 magic stones."

"Dear students, if any of you have students who need to break through recently, you can buy this item for them. It's really good value for money. The auction is now beginning."

Locke wrote down the bid price directly in the private room.

Soon, the auctioneer on stage received a note from the private room. The auction logic in the private room is different from that in the seats. There is no need to raise a paddle or call out a price. You only need to write a note in the private room and have the waiter deliver it.

Extremely elegant.

Reagan was taken aback. "It seems there's a powerful wizard at this auction who's determined to get this item."

"Fifteen thousand magic stones, for the first time."

"Fifteen thousand magic stones, the second time..."

Some of the first-class wizard apprentices who had initially been interested in this item at the auction have now given up on their plans.

If it's a few thousand magic stones, they might dare to follow, but if it's more than ten thousand magic stones, it's completely beyond their financial resources.

Ultimately, these special magical items are not the key to breakthroughs, but merely icing on the cake.

Therefore, ordinary first-class wizard apprentices simply cannot afford to compete with Locke.

If they bid recklessly and Locke doesn't match the price, they're doomed. No one can ruin an auction at Lilith's Cottage.

Some formal wizards originally intended to acquire it, and after seeing Locke offer 10,000 magic stones, several formal wizards also wanted to bid and win the item.

However, when they noticed that it was room number 31 that made the purchase, and that room number 31 was a regular room at Four Seasons Garden, these first-ring wizards immediately gave up their ideas. They didn't want to clash with the official wizards of Four Seasons Garden, who were clearly determined to get the item.

A fully qualified wizard looked at room 31 with a puzzled expression. "I remember the first-ring wizard in room 31 is the Green Witch, right? She's so young, and her students are all young too. No one should have any need for a breakthrough in the near future."

"Strange."

"Could it be that the Green Witch has some relatives or friends who need to break through to become formal wizards? Oh well, I'll give Four Seasons Garden some face."

On the auction stage, auctioneer Reagan announced, "Fifteen thousand magic stones, for the third time!"

"Congratulations to the wizard in room 31 for acquiring this spell knife. We will arrange for someone to deliver it to your room shortly. You are welcome to request our auction house to appraise your auctioned item free of charge at any time to ensure there are no problems."

"Alright, here's the next item for auction..."

(End of this chapter)