Above the mage!

Chapter 499 The drama begins

The appraiser, who accurately determined the grade of the two pieces of jewelry using magical light, had a slight change in expression.

His gaze toward Gao De now held a hint of awe, and the hidden resentment he had harbored had long since vanished.

"Distinguished guest, are these two Tier 5 extraordinary ornaments?" he asked Gao De for confirmation.

“Yes.” Gao De nodded calmly.

"May I ask what the purpose of these two fifth-tier ornaments is?" the old man asked again respectfully.

“This ring is the Blue Flame Ring,” Gao De pointed to the ring and said, “It is an extraordinary ornament made from the finest Blue Flame Crystal. It can grant the wearer extremely strong mental resistance and can play a miraculous role when facing mental immunity spells.”

It also comes with a [Mental Burn] effect, which can be unleashed to attack the target creature when needed.

"However, because the Blue Flame Crystal has cracked, causing energy to dissipate, the power of [Mental Burn] has been greatly reduced, and it is estimated that it can only barely reach the level of the fourth ring."

"This is an embroidered silver necklace with an elemental buffering effect. The wearer gains resistance to all elemental damage, including acid, cold, fire, and electricity. It also has a [Shield] spell that triggers automatically three times a day, equivalent to a fifth-ring mage's level-up spellcasting."

"But as you can see, it's rusted, so the [Shield] spell can only be triggered once, and the all-elemental resistance effect is almost halved."

“I see.” The appraiser did not change his attitude because of the flaws in the blue flame ring and the embroidered silver necklace, and remained very cautious.

Even flawed or defective fifth-tier extraordinary accessories can be more valuable than ordinary fourth-tier extraordinary items.

He took a deep breath, took out a pair of thin silver gloves from the drawer under the table and put them on. Then, with his gloved fingers, he very carefully picked up the rusty silver necklace and the blue flame ring.

"Excuse me, sir, could you please wait a moment? I need to request a physical test to confirm the actual product's performance and the impact of any defects on it."

"Okay, try to be as fast as possible." This is the normal procedure, and Gaode wouldn't say it's making things difficult for "working people," so they had no objections and waved their hand.

The appraiser nodded quickly, then hurriedly got up and left the room, leaving Gao De and Lan Wen to wait in the appraisal room.

The appraiser returned shortly with the two pieces of jewelry, accompanied by a middle-aged monk who was clearly more professional and of higher status.

“Both extraordinary ornaments have been tested, and the test results are exactly as you said before, without a trace of falsehood,” the middle-aged mage said eagerly to Gao De. “Sir, are you planning to consign these two fifth-tier extraordinary ornaments for auction at our firm?”

“Yes.” Gao De nodded.

"That's wonderful. It's a great honor for our auction house to have these two extraordinary pieces of such high quality added to this auction."

"What do you think about arranging the auction for the grand finale tomorrow?" the middle-aged monk asked Gao De for his opinion.

"Can we arrange to sell them today?" Gao De frowned. "Because I also want to bid for that bottle of Five-Ring Upgrade Potion tomorrow, but I don't have enough money on hand right now, so I have to put them up for auction to raise funds."

"If it's auctioned tomorrow, I won't be able to make it."

"I see." The middle-aged monk fell into thought upon hearing what Gao De said.

After a moment, he spoke again: "These two extraordinary ornaments of yours are quite valuable, and it would be most appropriate to put them up for auction at tomorrow's auction."

If this auction had been held today, the final price would have been significantly lower.

"How about this, we'll proceed with my suggestion and hold the auction tomorrow. However, we can arrange for your two ornaments to be auctioned before the Ring-Up potion auction, so that it won't interfere with your bidding and you can still get a good price."

"What do you think?"

"No problem, thank you." Gao De immediately nodded in agreement to this perfect idea.

After making the arrangements, the middle-aged monk took out a rolled-up piece of parchment from his robes.

"This is the receipt you entrusted to our auction house for these two treasures. Please take a look and see if there are any problems?"

Gao De took the receipt, glanced at it, and after confirming that the information was correct, handed it to Lan Wen beside him so that he could put it away.

"No problem, then I'll await your good news. I'll head to today's auction now." He then stood up and left slowly under their watchful eyes, without lingering in the appraisal room.

"Chief Karen, should we report this?" After Gao De and Lan Wen disappeared, the appraiser asked the middle-aged mage beside him in a low voice.

“Of course.” The middle-aged mage, known as the leader of Karen, abandoned his previous amiable demeanor, his eyes revealing an undisguised thuggishness.

"This guy only put these two extraordinary ornaments up for auction because of tomorrow's Ring-Up Elixir. It's rare to see someone who can casually pull out two fifth-tier magical artifacts. Given his skill, he must have other extraordinary equipment of the same level or even flawless ones."

“The boss will definitely be interested in someone like that,” Chief Karen said in a greedy tone.

He then picked up the two extraordinary pieces of jewelry that Gaode had consigned for auction and left the appraisal room.

After leaving the appraisal room, Gao De went straight into the auction hall.

The hall was already full of people, each with their own thoughts, and they remained quiet. Even when they did talk, it was mostly through [communication spells].

When Gaode entered, many of the guests looked at him with scrutiny.

He chose a seat towards the back of the empty seats and waited for the auction to begin.

Less than ten minutes later, a clear chime rang out in the hall, and the lights dimmed, leaving only the central auction stage brightly lit.

The graceful Midi, dressed in a long black dress, appeared on stage with a swaying gait and a smile.

"We meet again, everyone. I hope you haven't gotten tired of me yet," Midi said, tucking a strand of curly hair behind her ear with a touch of self-deprecation. Then she changed the subject: "Everything is the same as always. I won't waste time with pleasantries. Let's get straight to the auction items!"

Her voice resonated throughout the venue through the loudspeaker array, carrying a delightful, magical vibration.

Midi clapped his hands lightly, and a deep hum suddenly came from the ground in the center of the auction stage, as a crystal pillar slowly rose.

A palm-sized object lay quietly on the white jade platform at the top.

This is today's opening lot.

The first item was so unique that it immediately drew everyone's attention, and everyone was wondering what it was:

It was an incense holder carved from moonshine sandalwood, containing three thumb-length pieces of incense. The incense itself had a pale mother-of-pearl color, and its surface seemed to have a slow flow of light. You could vaguely see golden threads wrapped around the incense core.

"This item is called Mind Clarity Incense," Midi immediately explained to everyone.

"The main ingredient is petals from the spirit world, and the most crucial part is the gold thread wrapped around the core, which is made from sand of time."

"Simply light this incense, and the wisps of smoke will enter your body with your breath, transforming into invisible tendrils of thought to untangle the chaotic threads of memory."

Within the next thirty minutes, you will be able to clearly and perfectly recall any information you wish to remember, whether it's the content of a secret conversation three days ago or the details of a magic scroll you saw a hundred years ago. As long as this information has left a trace in your mind, it can be reproduced clearly and perfectly.

"This stick of incense can be used for three meditation sessions, each lasting about thirty minutes."

"Starting bid: 1500 Golden Bird Coins!"

Midi finished his highly persuasive introduction, but no one made a bid immediately.

Many people even frowned.

Is the effect of incense for mental clarity truly miraculous?

That's truly amazing.

The problem is, it's not very useful! Its application scope is far too small.

For most people, there are no memories so important that they require spending thousands of gold coins to recall them.

Of course, it's not that there aren't any.

If they come across someone who needs it, they'd be willing to give up not just a few thousand gold coins, but tens of thousands.

But the probability is extremely small.

Therefore, the auction for the Mind Clarity Incense unsurprisingly met with a lukewarm reception.

"1600!" Just as everyone was watching coldly, the number representing the amount on the screen suddenly jumped.

"Guest in seat 288 has bid 1600 Goldfinch coins!" Midi's voice rose a notch upon seeing a bid.

Upon seeing this, many people instinctively turned their gaze toward seat number 288.

Although the lighting inside was dim, it did not prevent the monks from making their observations.

The person who made the bid was a fellow wearing a long robe with a large hood, completely concealing his figure, making it impossible to tell whether he was male, female, young, or old.

They hesitated for a moment, but none of them chose to bid.

Although the Mind Clarity Incense is indeed of considerable renown, it is simply impractical. In their eyes, spending 1600 Golden Bird Coins to buy something that offers no benefit to their own strength is definitely not worthwhile.

The person who made the bid, Gao De, remained calm and composed in his seat, but an uncontrollable excitement welled up inside him.

Could there really be such a wondrous thing in the world?!
For most people, few memories are worth such a high price to recover.

The memories retrieved using the Mind Clarity Incense are mostly related to knowledge.

But under normal circumstances, how could you possibly miss out on valuable knowledge and not bother to memorize it?
Knowledge that is only briefly browsed is obviously not very valuable. Even if you need it now, it is more cost-effective to buy it directly than to retrieve it through mental clarity and incense-like recollection.

That's true, at least under normal circumstances.

But Gaode is an exception.

He did indeed possess a wealth of knowledge that seemed worthless at the time, but is now incredibly important, and something that cannot be obtained no matter how much money is spent.

—Knowledge from a past life!

In his previous life, although he was a top student, he was ultimately just a mortal. Apart from the subject-related knowledge and common sense that he could remember, he could only glance at many things.

For example, when he was bored, Gaode once looked at the floor plans of several of the best-planned cities in his country, but while he looked at them, it was impossible for him to replicate them.

There are many similar examples.

But now, with the incense of spiritual clarity, the impossible can be turned into the possible.

While Gao De was lost in thought, Mi Di had already shouted three times, making the final decision.

"Congratulations to guest number 288 for a great start, winning this precious Spiritual Clarity Incense." Although the first item was met with a lukewarm reception, Midi showed no embarrassment and continued to speak with a smile.

Gao De felt a sense of relief.

Soon after, auction house staff approached him with incense for mental clarity.

After inspecting the goods and paying, the Mind Clarity Incense successfully fell into his hands.

However, compared to the previous few days, his actions today clearly attracted a lot of attention.

Gao De didn't care. After all, he would be bidding for the Five-Ring Upgrade Potion tomorrow, which would definitely attract more attention. He would just treat today as a rehearsal.

However, the subsequent auctions brought no surprises for Gaode.

Indeed, there were several items in excellent condition and of considerable value that attracted fierce bidding among the guests. There was even a magical plant that could enhance the magic power of a third-ring mage, called the Magic Source Vine, which was a mutated magical plant.

No one ever complains about having too many magical plants that can directly enhance magical power, and they are extremely rare to see on the market.

Therefore, its appearance sparked fierce bidding and became the climax of today's auction.

Although it had no effect on fifth-ring mages, many of them still bid higher. After all, even if they didn't need such a treasure themselves, they would still be able to buy it first and then resell it or give it to their descendants, which would not be a waste.

Finally, after nearly thirty rounds of frantic bidding, this Fayuan Vine was auctioned off for a high price of 7600 Golden Bird Coins.

And unsurprisingly, this magical plant ended up in the hands of a guest in the private room.

Ultimately, today's auction concluded in a relatively successful manner.

Gaode stood up and quietly left with the crowd.

"Boss, the auction house staff reported that a stranger consigned two flawed fifth-tier extraordinary accessories to the auction house today. What do you think, should we take them?"

The speaker was a burly man with a menacing snake tattoo on his arm. He was making a throat-slitting motion with his large, fan-like hand, his Adam's apple bobbing violently with excitement.

"Tier 5 extraordinary accessories, and two of them?"

The man known as the leader was lounging lazily in his carved armchair.

The oil painting hanging above the chair depicts a burning pirate ship. The flames on the canvas are painted with special pigments, and under the light, the flames seem to be real, reflecting perfectly on his face.

This man had an extremely fierce hooked nose with a slightly reddish tip. The sides of his nose were covered with scars of varying depths, one of which extended from his brow bone to his jaw, casting a menacing shadow in the candlelight.

At that moment, he was casually tapping the armrest with his fingers, which were covered in brass finger guards.

"Yes, this is a fat fish!" The burly man was very excited. He took out a black wooden box with copper horns inlaid in his pocket. The box was engraved with runes to prevent magic detection.

He carefully opened the box, inside lay the blue flame ring and the embroidered silver necklace, their extraordinary materials still evident despite being covered in dust and rust.

"These are the two Tier 5 equipment pieces he consigned for auction. Boss, take a look. Although they have some flaws, after testing, they actually look pretty good."

"Let me see." The boss gave a slight nod, sat up straight, and casually glanced at the box.

The moment his casual, scrutinizing gaze fell upon the two ornaments inside the box, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the tapping of his brass finger on the armrest abruptly stopped.

"etc."

He stretched out his left hand, which was covered by a black leather glove, and grabbed the embroidered silver necklace and the blue flame ring in his palm, examining them carefully.

Finally, he brought the Blue Flame Ring close to his eyes and stared intently at a certain inconspicuous spot on the inside of the ring.

There, a pattern with a very peculiar shape, resembling an irregular cross, was clearly engraved.

The entire pattern is less than the size of a fingernail, and the engravings are so shallow that most people wouldn't even notice them.

"Blackwing!" The man, known as the leader but whose real name was David Jones, uttered the two words through clenched teeth.

(End of this chapter)