Above the mage!

Chapter 496 Rapid Progress (Part Two)

For most guests attending the auction, finished products are the main attraction.

Because raw materials are auctioned, one needs to have relevant "secondary professional knowledge" to be able to use them, but there are very few mages who have truly mastered a secondary professional skill.

This is especially evident in the lower ring stage.

—When they reach the middle or high level, mages' lifespan is greatly extended. When their mage level stagnates, most of them will take the time to learn one or two "secondary profession subjects".

In this case, raw material auction items ultimately belong to a niche category of auction items.

Finished products auctioned are items that everyone can use; the only difference might be personal preference.

Therefore, at this point, the auction truly entered its climax.

But for Gaode, he actually became disinterested.

Finished exceptional items are far more valuable than raw materials of the same grade.

It's easy to imagine the quality of the finished products auctioned in the "200 Gold Coins" section.

Gao De's weapon is the "North Wind," and his armor is a self-made, completely custom-designed rune construct. He has extremely high standards for extraordinary equipment and doesn't even look at ordinary extraordinary equipment.

Therefore, the ensuing heated auction had little to do with Gaode, but he didn't leave. He treated it as a performance, and the back-and-forth bidding was quite interesting.

"The Frost Mist Staff comes with the [Ice Mist Jet] ability, which reduces the mana cost of casting low-level ice elemental spells. It's perfect for low-level mages to practice ice elemental spells."

"Warning Badge: When a hidden creature appears within five meters of the wearer, the badge will emit a warning signal. It is also effective against invisibility spells."

"Underwater breathing agent"

"A fire bomb, a projectile made from the skin of a sea monster, will trigger a fire explosion with a radius of three meters, with a power equivalent to..."

"The Secret Scroll of Embers, a rare fire-attribute cultivation method"

More than seven hours have passed, and the number of items up for auction has reached nearly three hundred.

The first three days of the beginner session focused on offering a large quantity at a low price.

The crystal pillar rose once more.

"This is the last item for today's auction. Guests who haven't yet made a purchase should not miss it." Nearly eight hours of work did not tire the white-haired old man; his voice remained passionate and his emotions were still strong.

Finally, it's time for the last item of the first day's auction.

As the closing item, this last lot, like the opening lot, is a level above the other lots.

Gao De looked up and saw that the object on the tray at the top of the crystal pillar was a strange quill pen.

"Izuru's Feather Brush, a third-tier lightning element feather brush," the old man's finger hovered above the feather brush without touching it, "Please look at this crystal nib."

The next moment, the spotlight shone.

“This was forged from the core of the outermost tail feather of the left wing of the Izuru Thunderbird,” he paused, his voice becoming more solemn. “When writing lightning element spell scrolls with it, the crystal pen tip will automatically guide the free lightning elements in the air. Take the most basic [Thunder Wave] for example, an ordinary scroll can only condense three arcs of electricity at most, but when drawn with this pen, it can generate an extra forked arc of electricity, directly increasing the damage by one level.”

The old man continued, "Furthermore, these silver patterns on the pen are natural magic-conducting circuits, which can reduce the loss of magic power injected by mages by 40% when writing. Scroll masters specializing in lightning can use it to more easily create higher-quality lightning elemental spell scrolls."

It turned out to be an elemental feather brush used exclusively by scroll makers.

A scroll maker is a craftsman who specializes in making spell scrolls.

To some extent, scroll makers and rune makers share certain similarities.

Of course, there is a huge gap between the two in terms of technical difficulty, potential, and status.

Rune Literature is one of the "Big Three" secondary professions, holding a stable position and even subtly implying its position as the leader of the Big Three.

Scroll studies is just one of the many secondary professions, and its status is even lower than that of puppet studies and golem studies.

Ultimately, it's because the price-performance ratio is too low.

A spell scroll stores the power of a spell within a scroll, which can be unrolled to cast the spell when needed.

The higher the ring of a spell, the more powerful it is, and the higher the quality of the medium needed to store it.

Firstly, such high-quality carriers are extremely difficult to find and are very valuable.

Another point is that spell scrolls are one-time use items; they automatically turn to dust after the spell is cast. Using such a precious medium to make spell scrolls is too extravagant.

This results in spell scrolls typically storing spells up to the fourth level.

Such a low ceiling means that scroll studies are destined to be a minor path.

According to Gao De's understanding, scroll masters and rune masters are very similar to talisman masters and formation masters in his previous life's fantasy novels:
The formation was applied all the way from the Qi Refining Realm to the Ascension Realm.

But what about talismans? Even in Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stage battles, there's talk of using talismans. Which Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage expert would still use talismans in a battle?
Of course, they are only similar; the differences are still quite obvious.

The biggest difference is that talismans are often used in actual combat.

This is because the technology involved in storage rings in fantasy novels is extremely low. Even the lowest-level Qi Refining cultivators all have a storage ring, so they don't have to worry about the weight.

Therefore, as long as one is willing and has the means, a cultivator can carry a large stack of talismans with him and unleash them all at once during battle.

However, in the mage realm, Gao De has yet to see a spatial ring with storage capabilities.

Even if such a thing existed, it would be an extremely rare and priceless treasure, something only a high-ranking monk like Master Gao Huan could possess.

In this situation, the size and weight of spell scrolls are significantly greater than those of talismans, making it impossible to carry them close to the body.

This means that spell scrolls are almost impossible to use in actual combat like talismans; they are more often kept by mages for special adventure scenarios and situations.

Despite numerous restrictions, spell scrolls certainly have their market, and given the relatively low entry barrier, there are quite a few scroll makers.

However, scroll studies are a niche "discipline," and consequently, the elemental feather brushes used by scroll makers are relatively inexpensive.

This Izuru quill pen, a Tier 3 extraordinary item, had a starting bid of 1000 Gold Sparrow Coins, but surprisingly, it met with a cold reception, with no one bidding for a long time.

Under normal circumstances, a Tier 3 extraordinary equipment without flaws or damage can usually cost around 1400 gold.

Just when Gao De thought the Izuru quill pen was going to go unsold, the numbers on the screen finally jumped up.

1000 became 1050.

It triggered a chain reaction.

This was immediately followed by a rapid change in the numbers.

"1100!"

"1150!"

"1400!"

Although the price fluctuated rapidly, it was all in increments of 50 gold coin. After several rounds, it finally settled at 1400 gold coins, and then no one placed any more bids.

With the Izuru quill pen also sold for 1400 gold, the first day of the auction came to an end without much excitement or surprise.

But Gaode was not disappointed.

The first three days of the auction can only be considered a warm-up; the real good stuff is reserved for the last four days, especially the grand finale on the last day.

As the elderly man left the auction stage, many guests in the auction hall rose and departed one after another through the corridor, the sound of their shoes on the floor like scattered sand. There were inevitably some brief interactions during this process, but almost everyone remained silent, their eyes fixed straight ahead, their figures shrouded in their robes as they quietly left.

This did leave Gaode somewhat "disappointed":
They did manage to snag a bargain, but the murder and robbery that followed the auction did not occur.

But it makes sense.

First of all, this is a low-probability event, especially in the supernatural power system of this world. Without casting a spell, it is very difficult to accurately judge the mage level of others, and it is too easy to fail if you act rashly.

Moreover, Gao De only made one bid at today's auction, spending 400 gold coin coins, which was a pure small caramel.

Even if a dark sorcerer really wanted to kill and rob, it couldn't be targeting him.

In the hotel on the street, Gao De opened the window, and the rusty window hinges creaked and groaned, as if echoing the noise outside.

Across the street, a tavern sign propped up by the ribs of a sunken ship creaked in the wind. The sound of hammering echoed from a blacksmith's shop adorned with sea monster skulls. In the distance, several women in leather armor squatted by the dark river, gutting fish, blood splattering on their bare arms in stark contrast to their dark skin.

Gao De leaned against the windowsill for a moment before slowly closing the window and drawing the coarse cloth curtains.

The Columbus had already returned to port, leaving him and Lanwen with nowhere to stay in Black Sails City, so they had to stay in a hotel.

Just in time for the Funeral Auction, the Black Sails City saw a surge in visitors, and he and Lanwen couldn't find a hotel with any rooms available. It wasn't until they reached the lower city that they finally found this rather simple hotel in a corner.

The walls were made of broken ship planks mixed with sea mud, and dried seaweed was stuffed into the cracks. It was said that this would protect against the sea wind, and the smell of the seaweed would also repel woodlice and sand fleas.

The rusty stove by the wall was burning brightly.

The fuel used is solidified fish oil, a local specialty.

However, Gaode Maps doesn't discriminate. With [Comfortable Sleep+] available, he won't have trouble sleeping no matter the environment.

He went to the bedside, took out a box from his pocket, opened the lid, took out the Bone-Eating Vine Magic Crystal that he had bought for 400 Golden Bird Flower Coins, and examined it in his palm.

Within the dark green crystal, two gases, emerald green and smoky gray, are intertwined and inseparable, representing the energy of the wood element and the energy of toxins, respectively.

For monks who practice wood-based cultivation methods, the wood element energy is naturally a great tonic.

However, due to the presence of toxin energy, it is impossible to absorb it, because the two have become one and cannot be separated.

While guiding the energy of the wood element into one's body, one will inevitably also absorb toxic energy, ultimately leading to the ulceration of the meridians.

This also means that this Bone-Eating Vine Magic Crystal can only be used to craft extraordinary equipment.

But Gao De didn't care about any of that; his eyes gleamed with excitement.

He sat cross-legged on the creaking bed, clutching the magic crystal tightly in his palm.

At the same time, he circulated and directed the magic power within the Wood Magic Crystal in his body. Strands of magic power flowed along the main magic power meridian to his palm, like countless tiny green snakes, slowly probing into the crystal through the point of contact between him and the magic crystal.

"Om-"

The Bone-Eating Vine Crystal trembled slightly, and the entangled energy within it was stirred up by this external magic power, instantly becoming more active.

Gao De used his own magical power as a guide.

The abundant energy within the magic crystal surged into his body.

The wood element energy, following his main magical energy pathways and refined by the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture," was quickly infused into the emerald green magic crystal within the mana pool.

However, at the same time, the smoky gray toxin energy that Gaode could not absorb and refine was instead impurities that seeped out from various parts of the main magic meridian, and then gradually seeped into Gaode's bones and flesh, invading his body.

This caused Gaode's skin to turn blue and purple, and he even felt pain.

At first, it was just a slight stinging sensation, like countless tiny needles pricking the skin.

But moments later, excruciating pain surged forth like a tidal wave.

His muscles began to twitch uncontrollably, and even his bones felt a tingling numbness, as if countless ants were gnawing at his marrow.

Anyone else would have been horrified.

But Gaode not only didn't panic, he even grinned and laughed, as if trying to find humor in the situation.

[Your body is continuously subjected to the attack and tempering of toxic energy, and its immune and metabolic capacity against various toxins is gradually improved. Your immunity to toxins has increased by 101%, and your body's organs' ability to metabolize and excrete various toxins has increased by 101%.]

The body's toxin immunity and metabolic capabilities, which had been dormant for a long time, started to stir again.

Gao De could clearly feel that the toxins that had invaded his body were being broken down and metabolized by some invisible force.

However, moderation is key; you must find the right balance, otherwise your body will "break down," and even the strongest metabolic and excretion abilities will be useless.

And Gaode Maps is able to grasp this balance perfectly.

"The body's toxin levels have reached 78.5%, 78.6%, and 78.7% of the tolerable levels."

【Insight & Derivation】

Gaode has already established its own precise model through the fourth-order Mandora's Eye [Calculation].

At this moment, all that is needed is to input the toxin energy value obtained through [Precise Perception], and [Calculation] will accurately calculate the safety threshold of the toxin based on the toxin resistance data on his model and his physical condition.

"The body's toxin levels have reached 95% of the tolerable level."

When it reached 95%, Gaode did not hesitate to sever the magical connection with the magic crystal.

After all, the calculation results given by [the person] are only based on his cognition. Due to the limitations of parameter errors and his own level of cognition, there will still be errors.

To be on the safe side, Gaode has left a 5% margin for error, which is a basic respect for its own life.

Although the magical connection had been severed, the toxic energy continued to assault his body, causing Gao De's face to turn bluish-purple and his lips to become completely bloodless.

He ignored it, focusing instead on refining the pure wood element energy.

Time passed slowly amidst this monotony and pain.

When all the wood element energy that had entered the body was completely absorbed and transformed into its own mana, the pattern on the octahedral rhomboid jade magic crystal in the Gaode Mana Pool had reached 63 patterns.

He focused his attention on the two newly formed water-ripple-like patterns on the wooden magic crystal and exhaled a long breath.

When Gao De opened his eyes again, he saw that the gray and green gases in the Bone-Eating Vine Magic Crystal had decreased by a quarter.

In other words, as long as he refines all of this Bone-Eating Vine Magic Crystal, his mana patterns will reach 69.

"I've made a fortune!" Gao De was overjoyed.

Unfortunately, there are still too few ley line creatures that possess pure elemental condensation.

Therefore, each pure elemental condensate can be sold for a price far exceeding its own grade, and they are often consumed by mages themselves, rarely appearing on the market.

The reason this Bone-Eating Vine Magic Crystal appeared at the auction and was easily acquired by him for 400 Golden Bird Flower Coins was mainly because although it was an elemental condensate, the elements were impure, and the impurities were the most deadly toxins.

What would be a fatal flaw for others is a golden opportunity for him.

Such good things are rare, so we should cherish them as they come.

However, with six days left in the auction, Gao De believed that given the scale of the Annecy auction, he would surely have other gains to make.

(End of this chapter)